Landing a job requires more than just a stellar resume. It’s about confidently navigating the interview process and providing compelling answers to challenging questions. This comprehensive guide will transform you into an interview expert, focusing on “How To Answer Guide Questions” effectively, improving your chances of success.
22 Most Common Job Interview Questions
These questions are designed to assess your personality, skills, and fit within the company culture. Prepare detailed and honest answers to these frequent inquiries:
- Tell me about yourself.
- Describe yourself in three words.
- What do you know about this company/organization?
- How did you hear about this position?
- Why did you decide to apply for this position?
- Why do you want to work here?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- What is your greatest strength?
- What is your greatest weakness?
- What is your greatest accomplishment?
- What motivates you in your professional life?
- What skills are you currently working on improving?
- What are you looking for in a new position?
- Can you describe your ideal job?
- Are you considering other positions at other companies?
- What is the professional achievement you’re most proud of?
- What kind of working environment do you work best in?
- What are your career goals?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
- Why should we hire you?
- What are your salary requirements?
- Do you have any questions for us?
18 Situational Job Interview Questions
These questions gauge your ability to handle specific situations, either from your past experiences or hypothetical scenarios. Mastering these types of questions are key in understanding “how to answer guide questions”:
- Why haven’t you gotten your degree?
- Why have you switched jobs so many times?
- Why did you change your career path?
- Why did you decide to leave your previous job?
- Why is there a gap in your work experience?
- Why were you fired?
- How do you feel about working weekends or late hours?
- How would your boss describe you?
- What would your first 30, 60, or 90 days look like in this role?
- Are you a team player?
- Are you a risk-taker?
- How do you deal with pressure or stressful situations?
- If you had a choice, would you rather innovate a process or follow the established procedures for it?
- Do you think there is a difference between hard work and smart work?
- How quickly do you adapt to new technology?
- What are your interests outside of work?
- If you had to choose between a high-paying job you don’t enjoy and a lower-paying job you are passionate about, what would you choose?
- What do you think our company/organization could do better?
10 Behavioral Job Interview Questions
Behavioral questions explore your past experiences to predict your future performance. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your answers effectively. When learning “how to answer guide questions”, the STAR method is a lifesaver:
- How have you handled a challenge in the workplace before?
- Can you give me an example of a time when you performed well under pressure?
- What was a time when you showed leadership qualities?
- Describe a situation where you had to collaborate with a difficult coworker. How did you manage it?
- Tell me about a time you had to quickly adjust your priorities to meet changing demands. What did you do?
- Have you ever had to deal with a dissatisfied customer? How did you resolve the situation?
- Can you talk about a time when you had to go above and beyond your regular duties to get the job done?
- Describe a moment when you had to make an unpopular decision. How did you handle the feedback?
- Tell me about a time when you used data or analytics to make a decision. What was the outcome?
- Describe a time when you had to learn a new skill to complete a task. How did you approach it?
How to Answer 22 of the Most Common Job Interview Questions [+ Sample Answers]
Understanding the intent behind each question is crucial for providing effective answers. Let’s dive into specific examples of “how to answer guide questions” from the list above:
#1. Tell Me About Yourself
This isn’t an invitation to narrate your life story. It’s a chance to pitch yourself as the ideal candidate. Structure your response around:
- Brief introduction: Your name, years in the field.
- Passion: What you love about your work.
- Relevant skills/achievements: Top 2-3 skills that align with the job requirements.
Example 1: “Hi, I’m John Doe, a business analyst with 5+ years of experience at Company X and Y. I’m passionate about data analysis, holding a degree in Information Systems. At Company X, I led a project to migrate operations data to a new system, saving the company $200,000 annually.”
Example 2: “I am Jane Doe, a recent biochemistry graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I graduated with honors and have practical experience as a chemistry research assistant. I am passionate, hard-working, and eager to apply my knowledge as a lab assistant.”
#2. Describe Yourself in Three Words
Choose words that are positive, relevant, and genuinely reflect your personality and work ethic.
Example 1: “Innovative, reliable, and adaptable. I bring creative solutions, consistently deliver on commitments, and easily adjust to changes.”
Example 2: “Collaborative, diligent, and enthusiastic. I thrive in teams, pay close attention to detail, and bring positive energy to projects.”
#3. What Do You Know About This Company/Organization?
Demonstrate your research and genuine interest in the company. Go beyond basic information and learn about their:
- Products/services and their impact
- Company culture
- Recent news and performance
Example 1: “I discovered Company X through a job ad and was impressed by your software and mission. I’ve used various project management tools, but yours is particularly intuitive.”
Example 2: “I know you’re a major investment bank that has invested in some very high tech IPOs and have several up-and-coming biotech companies in your portfolio. I’m particularly interested in your investment in Startup X because I love robotics and it’s cool that you’re expanding in that direction.”
#4. How Did You Hear About This Position?
Highlight your interest in the company and the role. Mention if someone inside the company recommended you and their reasoning.
Example 1: “I’ve long been a fan of XYZ Tech and your products. I admire your passion for creating intuitive hardware. When I saw your job ad, I couldn’t resist applying.”
Example 2: “Jim Doe, my former colleague, informed me of the Sales Director opening at Company X. He believed my experience managing sales teams at Company Y would be valuable here. I’m a big fan of the way you do things there and I’ve always wanted to work for a company with a flat organizational structure.”
#5. Why Did You Decide to Apply for This Position?
Showcase your enthusiasm for the role and the company. Explain your motivations and why this specific company appeals to you.
Example 1: “I’m passionate about sustainability and renewable energy, with a minor in Environmental Science. The Sustainability Coordinator role at Company XYZ aligns perfectly with my desire to contribute to a good cause. I’ve followed your company for years and admire your leadership in the renewable energy sector.”
Example 2: “I’ve always wanted to get into marketing. I’ve done promotional jobs here and there, but I’ve never had the opportunity to do something more serious.
I do think I have just the right skills to get started, though: copywriting, basic Photoshop, and, of course, lots of creativity.
So, I thought that an internship at Company X would be an awesome start to my career in marketing.”
#6. Why Do You Want to Work Here?
Demonstrate your knowledge of the company and align your values with their goals.
Example 1: “I’m impressed by your commitment to sustainability and innovation in the tech industry. Your project on renewable energy aligns perfectly with my passion. My skills in software development could contribute to your green initiatives.”
Example 2: “Your company’s reputation for employee growth appeals to me. I also appreciate the collaborative work culture and the recent expansion into emerging markets. I think my skills in international business could help out with that.”
#7. What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses?
Evaluate your honesty and self-awareness. Choose relevant strengths and address weaknesses by showing how you’re improving.
Example 1: “My key strength is leading cross-functional teams. I’m great at bringing groups together to achieve a common goal. As for weaknesses, I sometimes struggle with delegating tasks. I’m trying to consciously empower my team members and focus on mentoring them.”
Example 2: “I’d say my strength lies in my analytical skills. My biggest weakness is public speaking, though. I’ve been trying to work on it by taking a Toastmasters course and volunteering to present more often in team meetings.”
#8. What Is Your Greatest Strength?
Highlight a strength that aligns with the job requirements and back it up with a specific example.
Example 1: “My biggest strength is picking up new skills. I’ve worked a variety of different odd jobs – things like working as a waiter, house-keeper, cook, and a bunch more you’ve probably seen on my resume. For most of those jobs, I ended up picking up all the needed skills within one or two weeks, with basically no previous experience.”
Example 2: “My biggest strength is that I’m very efficient at working under pressure. No matter the crisis or amount of stress, I can make the right decisions on-the-spot. As an event manager at Company X, we were organizing an IT conference for a client. There were a ton of last-minute hiccups – some speakers canceled and the catering company said they’d be late for the lunch break. On top of that, we were understaffed because two of our volunteer organizers got sick and couldn’t show up. At that point, things looked so bleak that we were considering canceling the event or postponing it. Instead, I took the initiative in my hands and sorted through the problems one by one.”
#9. What Is Your Greatest Weakness?
Mention a real weakness that won’t hinder your job performance and explain how you’re working to improve it.
Example 1: “My biggest weakness has always been my communication skills. I’ve always been pretty shy and anxious, even as a kid. At this stage, I’m much better than I’ve ever been, but I’m still far from perfect. This, however, won’t have any impact on my job as a software developer. Despite lacking communication skills, I’m very good at working in a team.”
Example 2: “Well, as a recent graduate, I’d say my biggest weakness is the lack of real-life work experience. While I’ve worked on a dozen software projects at my university, I don’t have the experience of working in a fully agile environment with an experienced team. But I’m willing to do my best and catch up as fast as I can.”
#10. What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment?
Share an achievement that reflects your character and values, focusing on professional accomplishments.
Example 1: “My greatest accomplishment was completing a marathon last year. It required months of disciplined training, pushing through physical and mental barriers. The experience taught me a lot about setting long-term goals, being consistent, and how far perseverance can take you.”
Example 2: “I am a teacher, but what I’m most proud of is volunteering to teach English to refugees in my community. Over two years, I helped over 50 individuals improve their language skills, which helped their integration and job prospects. This experience really improved my communication skills, cultural awareness, and I learned to adapt my teaching style to meet really diverse needs.”
#11. What Motivates You in Your Professional Life?
Be honest about what inspires you and connect it to the job or company’s goals.
Example 1: “I like solving complex problems. There’s a great sense of satisfaction in overcoming challenges and seeing the positive impact of my work. I also find collaborating with talented coworkers incredibly inspiring.”
Example 2: “What drives me, professionally, is the ability to make a meaningful difference. Knowing that my work actually matters keeps me engaged. I’m also really motivated by continuous learning and career growth opportunities in my field.”
#12. What Skills Are You Currently Working On Improving?
Show your commitment to professional growth by mentioning relevant skills you’re actively developing.
Example 1: “I’m currently working on my data visualization skills. While I’m decent at data analysis, I’m learning to use tools like Tableau to create more impactful presentations.”
Example 2: “I’ve been focusing on improving my project management skills. I’ve been studying agile methodologies and using project management software in my personal projects.”
#13. What Are You Looking For in a New Position?
Explain how the job and the company are a perfect fit for your short-term and long-term career goals.
Example: “I’m looking to further apply my machine learning skills that I developed during my 2+ years of work at Startup X. I’m looking for an opportunity to work on a larger scale project that involves setting up programmatic ads for audiences of more than ten million people. I’m confident that working on such a large-scale project will also give my career a significant boost.”
#14. Can You Describe Your Ideal Job?
Be honest about your preferences while aligning them with aspects of the job you’re interviewing for.
Example 1: “My ideal job would involve solving complex problems in a collaborative environment. I thrive when I’m working with diverse teams, tackling challenges, and driving innovation.”
Example 2: “Hmm, well, I’d say the ideal job is one that lets me make a meaningful impact while growing professionally. I’m looking for something that offers a balance of independent work and team collaboration, with opportunities to take on increasing responsibilities over time. I’m also drawn to companies that value work-life balance and contribute positively to society, which is why I’m particularly excited about this position.”
#15. Are You Considering Other Positions at Other Companies?
Acknowledge that you’re keeping your options open but express your preference for the current opportunity.
Example 1: “Well, I’ve had two interviews during the past week with companies in X and Y industries. But I’m very passionate about this industry and the work you’ve done over the past several years is impressive. So, I’m more inclined toward working for you if everything works out.”
Example 2: “Not yet. I wasn’t really actively looking for a job until my friend, John, recommended your company. I’m not looking for just any company – I want an interesting, engaging project, like what you’re working on.”
#16. What Is the Professional Achievement You’re Most Proud Of?
Mention a relevant achievement that showcases your skills and experience.
Example 1: “My biggest achievement is the fact that I went from being an intern to managing company X’s entire marketing over two years. As an intern, I basically had zero instructions on what to do – it went like, ‘Hey, go learn social media advertising and get it going.’ The founders didn’t exactly expect me to achieve much and didn’t particularly care since they were 100% focused on making the product work. Instead of just complaining about a lack of direction, I started reading up on digital marketing – pretty much anything I could get my hands on. I learned how to do content marketing for example, from Neil Patel’s blog and started putting everything into practice. My first success was getting an article to go viral, which generated over $5,000 in revenue in a single day. While that’s not much for a software company, it felt like a lot for an intern. After that, the founders gave me a lot more trust and they assigned me a small marketing budget of $1,000 per month. I had a lot more confidence in my abilities, so I started experimenting with other strategies. Then, over the next two years, I got promoted to Head of Marketing. After making a couple of hires, I managed to scale up our marketing efforts, growing the company from $2,000 to $30,000 in monthly recurring revenue.”
Example 2: “My greatest professional achievement so far is graduating from University X within four years, with a GPA of 3.9. My family wasn’t able to support me financially, so I had to take care of all the bills on my own. But hard work and dedication paid off. I ended up graduating with almost no student loans. I managed this through a combination of working part-time while studying, doing seasonal full-time work during the summer and maintaining a high CGPA and winning two scholarships over four years.”
#17. What Kind of Working Environment Do You Work Best In?
Demonstrate that you’ll fit in with the company’s environment. Research their culture beforehand and tailor your answer accordingly.
Example 1: “I work best in smaller companies. I really dislike the corporate world – rules, guidelines, SOPs, and so on. I perform best when I have a certain level of freedom to do things. Want to find innovative solutions to problems you didn’t even know you had? I’m your guy.”
Example 2: “I love working in a youthful, energetic environment. You know, when you’re working on a common goal with a team of people who are as passionate as you are? I like to think of my work as a second home and my coworkers as family. The last company I worked at had an environment like that, and I excelled at the job. I have had that exact feeling about Company X since the moment I walked in here for the interview. So, I’m pretty excited to get to know how you guys work!”
#18. What Are Your Career Goals?
Show how your aspirations align with what the company can offer and that you’re likely to stay and grow with them.
Example 1: “In the short term, I want to become an expert in my role. Then, in the long-term, I want to move into a leadership position where I can mentor others and drive innovation. I’m excited about the growth opportunities your company offers.”
Example 2: “My biggest career goal is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the industry. I want to have all the know-how necessary to contribute to its advancement. I’m passionate about staying at the forefront of emerging technologies in fintech. Eventually, I want to take on a role where I can influence strategy and maybe drive change on a larger scale. Your company is super progressive and forward thinking, so I think that’s a great match for me.”
#19. Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?
Demonstrate ambition and realistic career expectations.
Example 1: “Within the next five years, I’d like to reach the position of a Senior Business Consultant. By then, I would like to have accomplished a few things, like helping over 20 organizations improve their businesses, creating a personal network of highly specialized professionals and learning as much as I can about optimizing and improving clients’ businesses, as well as the essentials of operating a company.”
Example 2: “As a start, I want to learn if accounting is the right field for me. While I loved what I studied at university, I want to see if actually working in the field feels the same. If I do end up enjoying it, I’d like to specialize in either internal auditing or forensic accounting, since I really like to discover and solve problems. From what I’ve seen from your job ads, you guys are hiring for both, so I hope it’s going to be possible to move up from the position of an intern within the next few months!”
#20. Why Should We Hire You?
Sell yourself without appearing arrogant, highlighting your passion, skills, and how you’ll solve their problems.
Example 1: “Well, as a start, I have all the skills and work experience required for the job. I’ve worked as a Sales Manager for 5+ years, and over the past two years, I’ve closed several deals totaling six figures. On top of that, I have experience working with tech companies, so I’ll be able to pick up all the product specifics much faster than someone from a different background.”
Example 2: “I have just the right skill-set to excel as an executive assistant. While I haven’t previously worked as a personal assistant, I pretty much fit the bill for the role. I’m extremely organized, having managed several project teams at my university. I led the organization of a charity event and the graduation ceremony. In total, both involved continuous communication with 12+ companies, over 30 speakers, and 15 sponsors. I’m very meticulous and organized, and I’m more than capable of helping the CEO get the most out of their free time.”
#21. What Are Your Salary Requirements?
Research industry standards and company compensation. Provide a salary range or your “best” scenario, anticipating negotiation.
Example 1: “My salary expectation is around $70,000 annually.”
Example 2: “My salary requirement is in the $30,000 – $40,000 range, annually.”
#22. Do You Have Any Questions for Us?
Prepare thoughtful questions to show your interest and gather valuable information.
Possible questions to ask at the end of an interview:
- What does a regular day at this company look like?
- What’s the best thing about working for the company?
- What’s the worst thing about working for the company?
- What would you say are the biggest challenges a person in this position might face?
- What are the most important skills and qualities one must have to succeed in this position?
- What do you like best about working for this company?
- What are the most pressing issues and projects that need to be addressed?
- Do you have training programs available to employees?
- What sort of budget is there for my department?
- What kind of opportunities do you have for future development?
- What are the performance expectations for someone in this position?
- Do departments usually collaborate with one another?
- Do you celebrate birthdays or retirements in the office?
- Do employees usually hang out with each other outside of work?
- Is there anything else I can help you with at this stage?
- What is the next step in the hiring process?
How to Answer 18 of the Most Common Situational Interview Questions [+ Sample Answers]
Situational questions aim to assess how you react to work related scenarios. Here’s “how to answer guide questions” pertaining to these unique situations:
#1. Why Haven’t You Gotten Your Degree?
Explain your reasoning for pursuing a career instead of a degree, emphasizing practical experience and skills.
Example 1: “At this stage of my life, I decided to pursue a career instead of furthering my education. On the one hand, I want to make sure that Marketing is what I want to do with my life. On the other hand, I also think that in my field, practical work experience is a lot more valuable than any academic theory I could learn.”
Example 2: “Because it’s not in sync with my future career path. I think that for software engineering, practical experience matters a lot more than having a degree. While I am eventually planning on finishing my Bachelor’s, it’s going to be in a more theoretical field, like Artificial Intelligence or Robotics.”
#2. Why Have You Switched Jobs So Many Times?
Address concerns about job-hopping by explaining your reasons for switching, such as company culture, misleading job descriptions, or career growth.
Example 1: “The last company I got hired at just wasn’t what I expected. The hiring manager didn’t communicate the role well enough. As you already know, I’m a copywriter – I write sales copy. I work with landing pages, email marketing, and sales pages. But around a week after I started work at the company, I realized that they were actually looking for something completely different. They asked me to write generic blog and social media posts, which is pretty far off from what I do.”
Example 2: “Well, as a start, my first job was in a big corporation straight out of university. While I did learn a lot there about Software Engineering practices, I also learned that a huge company with lots of regulations, rules, and the like just isn’t for me. So, at the end of my internship there, I decided to try working at a startup. I enjoyed that job a lot more, as it gave me a lot of freedom when it came to problem-solving. I wasn’t told how to do everything, rather, I was given the option of coming up with my own solutions. Unfortunately, the company went up after failing to raise money, which put me back on the job market. And here I am. XYZ Company is pretty much the place I’ve always wanted to work, from what I’ve heard about your company culture, and I thought I’d really fit in here.”
#3. Why Did You Change Your Career Path?
Be honest about your old job not being the right fit and how the current job aligns with your new career path.
Example 1: “I just realized that being a doctor isn’t for me. While I did enjoy my time in medical school, the commitment was too much. I couldn’t spend so many years studying while my family was supporting me. I wanted to start making money and help them out way before that, so I dropped out of university and started taking online courses in accounting. At this point, I’m pretty good at it, having done two internships so far in Company X and Company Y.”
Example 2: “Simply because I enjoy sales much more than accounting. After five years of working as an accountant for Company X, I decided I wanted to try something new. I asked my boss at the time to let me switch to the sales team, and I ended up liking it and being pretty good at it. I learned a lot, and I’m ready to take the next step in my career.”
#4. Why Did You Decide to Leave Your Previous Job?
Provide a good reason for leaving your last job, such as career growth, better opportunities, or a mismatch in values.
Example 1: “I just felt like it was time – I got to a point where everything I was doing felt monotonous. I learned as much as I could in that position while delivering great results. But it was time to switch to something new.”
Example 2: “I didn’t feel like the company’s values matched mine. The management was too controlling and micromanaging everything. I prefer to have some control over my work so I can go above and beyond when I see an opportunity. Of course, I went through the off-boarding properly. So, I discussed things with my manager, gave a timely notice of resignation, and transferred everything I was working on to my replacement.”
Example 3: “I was fired, actually. The fault was mainly in my communication skills at the time. I misunderstood my supervisor’s instructions and ended up setting a higher monthly spend on an ad account for the client. The losses were less than 3-figures, but apparently, the relationship with the client was already strained, so they ended up leaving. I really took this to heart and worked very hard on improving my communication skills to make sure that I don’t make any mistakes like that again.”
#5. Why Is There a Gap in Your Work Experience?
Be upfront about your situation, such as parental leave, health issues, or pursuing further education.
Example 1: “I had a baby and had to take maternity leave to take care of my family.”
Example 2: “I was really burnt out by my job at Company X, so I wanted to take some time to myself to recover. I used that to get back into school and get my Master’s degree, which put me back on track to pursue the career I want.”
#6. Why Were You Fired?
Be honest about your mistakes and explain what you’ve done to improve.
Example: “The main fault was a miscommunication. The interviewer at my previous company wasn’t clear about the job responsibilities – from what I understood, they were looking for a senior-level marketer to oversee their email marketing operations. At the end of the day, though, it turned out that the company was looking to experiment with email marketing and needed some specifically to set it up from scratch. While I did my best to deliver, in the end it turned out that their niche doesn’t actually need email marketing. This was against the management’s vision, so they decided to let me go.”
#7. How Do You Feel About Working Weekends or Late Hours?
Express your willingness to work odd hours if it’s required for the job, or ask for clarification if it’s not.
Example 1: “Sure! I’m okay with working late hours or weekends, as long as you let me know about it at least a few days in advance.”
Example 2: “Given enough warning, sure, emergencies happen. Is that something I’ll be required to do often? Do you offer overtime pay for this kind of situation?”
#8. How Would Your Boss Describe You?
Focus on your best traits and achievements that you’ve been praised for, perhaps quoting a performance review.
Example 1: “They’d say I’m super hard working. During my weekend-off, not one, but three of my coworkers got sick, and I had to spot for them. The weekend was peak season in Nantucket, so the restaurant was getting seriously overwhelmed. All of a sudden, we went from being very prepared for the season to complete panic. I had to jump between serving, bussing, and line-cooking, but overall, I managed to survive through the weekend successfully. My boss was super grateful, too.”
Example 2: “Well, in my last performance review in September, my boss described me as someone who takes initiative. My position as a PR manager involves constantly keeping track of our clients brand reputation and, if something goes wrong, dealing with it as fast as possible. In a lot of cases, you need to be very proactive – if you wait for your entire team to have a meeting on how to deal with the issue, it might already be too late. There were 4-5 different situations where I had to take charge and react to problems literally the moment they arose, whether it was during my work hours or not.”
#9. What Would Your First 30, 60, or 90 Days Look Like in This Role?
Show off your knowledge of the position and company, explaining how you’ll start making an impact. First 30 days are for learning, next 30 for starting implementations and the following 30 for seeing results.
Example: “Okay, well… in the first 30 days, I’d dive into understanding the company, our processes, and the team’s challenges. I’d get to know what we do, who our key players are, and where we need help. Then, by 60 days, I’d start making changes. Things like improving our email marketing, refining ad strategies, and supporting ongoing projects. At 90 days, I’d aim to have already left a mark. I think we could boost ad performance by 10-20%, streamline email operations, and start seeing real improvements in our marketing efforts. I want to make a positive impact quickly.”
#10. Are You a Team Player?
Always answer “Yes!” and provide a specific example of when you excelled at working as part of a team.
Example 1: “I’m much better at working as part of a team than alone, actually. That’s what I love about working in advertising – everyone has their own specific type of creative spark, and when you combine it all, magic happens! I’m good at both leading and following in terms of creativity and brainstorming. I’m also super receptive to others’ ideas and do my best to help them execute it without nay-saying or criticism.”
Example 2: “Yep, definitely. I excel at team-work. This one time, while working at Company X, I was assigned to an existing team working on a web application for a business process management company. They were working on a tight deadline and needed help on the API side. I optimised their development cycles and oversaw a team of three developers while collaborating with the other two dev teams. Everything went pretty well, and we managed to finish the project on time.”
#11. Are You a Risk-Taker?
Tailor your answer to the profession and field, demonstrating calculated risk-taking when appropriate.
Example 1: “Yes, I’m a risk-taker. I believe that to achieve real results, you always need to be willing to take a certain level of risk. Pretty much any marketing initiative you launch is tied to risk. You can plan everything from the beginning until the end, but no matter how well you plan it out, things might just not work out. It’s just part of the job – in order to succeed, you need to launch risky campaigns on a regular basis, and hopefully, one in every five is going to bring you massive results.”
Example 2: “I’m not a risk-taker; I’m more of a risk-manager. As someone who’s been in finance for years, I can say with a lot of confidence that there’s risk in everything. The most important things are to one, minimize your risks; and two, minimize potential damages if everything goes very, very wrong. While working at Investment Bank X, we had a very interesting policy for investing in new fintech projects. We used to avoid moon-shots, high-tech projects, and anything that had an experimental business model. Our strategy was to invest in proven technology. As in, proven product-market fit, business model, etc. In most cases, these were runner up companies. We wouldn’t invest in that one innovative company that was all over the news – we’d instead invest in their latest competitor. More often than not, this ended up being more profitable and significantly less risky.”
#12. How Do You Deal With Pressure or Stressful Situations?
Show that you perform well under pressure and provide examples of how you’ve handled stress effectively.
Example 1: “Well, I can’t say I particularly enjoy stressful situations, but I am very good at working under pressure. During chaos and panic, I tend to take a step back, think, plan, and prioritize. For example, there have been times I’ve had to juggle multiple university projects and assignments at the same time. I would break up large assignments into small, individual tasks and prioritize based on things like how fast I could complete each task, which task would take the longest and which project had the earliest deadline.”
Example 2: “I actually prefer working under pressure. I look at it as a challenge – a situation where I really have to up my game to succeed. As a cook, working under pressure is pretty much part of the job. I’ve been in several situations where the restaurant was understaffed for the occasion. In fact, it’s pretty much a constant thing during peak season. When there’s a ton of orders coming in and we can barely keep up, I tend to get significantly more productive than usual. Funny enough, my manager even said the kitchen has more blunders when it’s slow than when it’s a rush. I guess we just adapt to that really well.”
#13. If You Had a Choice, Would You Rather Innovate a Process or Follow the Established Procedures for It?
Strike a balance, showing that you can follow protocol but are also open to improvement and innovation.
Example 1: *”I think there’s value in both. It really depends on the situation. If the current process is fine, I’d follow it. But if I see potential for improvement, I’d do some research, propose changes, and look for feedback.
