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This is Part III in our Interview Series. We’ve previously talked about what to wear and background preparation. You should definitely check them out if you are getting read to interview.

Certain interview questions are universal across almost all industries and you should always have preconceived, practiced answers for these questions. While most interviews will always throw you a curveball or two, preparing for the basics will go a long way.

When I was preparing for interview season, I spent quite a bit of time discovering what were the obvious questions that I would be receiving. I started a notebook of each of these questions and then sat down and came up with a solid answer on paper for each question. I then practiced these answers until I was sure that I could give polished answers when I was under pressure and nervous.

A general thought in interviewing is that most questions are not meant to be 2 word answers. Each time you are asked something, the interviewer likely wants a brief story illustrating this point. Well over half of interview questions are situation based, meaning the interviewer wants to hear an example in your life. Be able to tell stories about yourself.

Here is my list of the 50 most common interview questions and my thoughts on each one.

ANYTHING ON YOUR RESUME IS FAIR GAME!
The most common mistake people make is not reading through their own resume well enough. We all know people exaggerate on their resumes and interviewers are looking for you to slip up. Many interviewers will look for a random entry on your resume and ask you tell them about it.
Before going anywhere near an interview you should walk through your entire resume bullet by bullet. If you can’t tell me a story and details about something on their then it shouldn’t be there. Make sure you have your own resume down to a science.
For example, if your resume says that you had an accounting internship and “prepared basic tax returns for clients,” then you should be able to tell me the basics of preparing tax returns. If all you really did as an intern was file papers and run errands then this can be a big embarrassment when they zero in on this area of your resume.

1. Walk me through your resume.
Many people (myself included) find this to be one of the most difficult interview questions there is because of the lack of structure it gives you. It will likely be asked first or second in the interview and sets the tone for the rest of the interview. The first key is to remember not to just read through your resume. They have your bullet points in front of them and don’t need you to narrate. Also don’t get nervous here. Once you start speaking most interviewers will guide you toward the things they want to hear more about.
You should try to spin your resume into a brief story or history of how you ended up here. For example, I am a finance major at the University of Arkansas. So when I go in, I give a couple of lines on why I chose the U of A for it’s business program. I then talk about how I loved the financial markets and that led to my major and then the internships I’ve had. At this point the interviewer will likely have made it clear what he’s most interested in. Take cues from that and focus in that area.

2. Tell me about yourself.
This is one of the other most dreaded interview questions. It will also likely be asked first or second and sets much of the tone for the interview. Remember don’t tell personal information that is unrelated to the job. Focus on your 3 strengths when answering this question. Talk about how you are as a person. This is also a chance to convey something that you don’t believe is very clear from your resume.

3. Do you have any questions for me?
This is normally reserved as the last question in the interview. It gives you a chance to pick the brain of the interviewer for a moment. The key to this question is preparation. You should never walk into an interview without several questions for the interviewer already memorized.
Your goal is NOT to just show that you checked out the companies website and read the annual report. Don’t reference the recent article about the company in the paper. Also don’t show blatant ignorance about the position or company.
Try to stick to questions that you would genuinely like the answer to and that would require some insider view to answer. You don’t want to ask something that you can find on google. I advise being cautious with this question.
Some typical safe questions might be, “could you tell me about the last (or favorite) project you worked on?” Another might be, “what is your typical day like?”

4. What are your 3 greatest strengths?
You now get the chance to highlight the things about you that are important. Be honest, but be strategic. While there is no right answer to this question, you should always to remember what the position and company are looking for. In general companies are looking for work ethic, attention to detail, quick (and motivated) learner, communication skills, and the ability to work well with teams. There will also likely be specific things that they want for this position. After you have a strong 3 strengths you should come up with brief, compelling example of each one as many employers will ask for an example.

5. What is your greatest (or 3 greatest) weakness(es)?
This question is one that almost all candidates struggle to find a good answer for. First, it is difficult to see (and admit to) your own weaknesses. Second, it is very difficult to decide what is acceptable to tell an interviewer.
The key to this question is to remember that it doesn’t matter what you answer. It only matters that you show you’ve actually gave this some thought, understand yourself, and show that you are working on this. Most interviewers will follow up with the question of how are you recognizing and dealing with your weakness. This is where the question actually matters. Your story of recognition and your active steps to improve this are what the interviewer cares about.
The most cliché answers that you do want to avoid are: “I’m a perfectionist,” “I tend to take on too much on my own.”

6. What is your greatest accomplishment?
Be honest. Hopefully you have something you are very proud of. This can be anything from becoming President of your fraternity, to starting your own lawn care business, to getting a full scholarship to college.
The key is not what the accomplishment was, but how you got to that accomplishment. You want to use this question to highlight your key strengths with a story the interviewer will remember. Employers like to see leadership ability, teamwork, self-sacrifice, and motivation.

7. What is your greatest failure?
This question is similar to your greatest accomplishment, in that the actual failure doesn’t matter. What matters is how you handled this failure. You want to demonstrate you understand why you failed, what you should have done differently, and how you handled that failure.

8. What type of people do you like to work with?
You should answer something along the lines of smart, capable, friendly people. Talk about how you want to work with people you can learn from and who will push you to be better.

9. Do you like (or are good with) details?
In 99.99% of cases this is clearly yes. Like many of these questions the real key is to be able to give compelling examples. You should be able to tell about a time that you worked with a large amount of details without screwing up, getting lost, or getting bored.

10. How well do you handle surprises?
The answer is very well. Have a story.

11. Why did you decide to study _____ in college? (recent grad)
In this question your goal is to show that you put thought into your decisions. Be able to tell a VERY brief story about how you decided to major in what you did.

12. What courses did you enjoy most in college? (if you are a recent grad)
This is softball question. The only thing to remember to pick a class related to what you are interviewing for, or at least within your major. If you are interviewing for an accounting position don’t say your intro to marketing class was the greatest class of your life.

13. Why ______ (specific job/industry)?
They key to this question is in the details and relates to my previous post. You should have a very strong understanding of the position/industry and should have a detailed reason that you want to do this. Don’t be vague.

14. Why ______ (their company)?
In reality this question is often unfair. You are interviewing within an industry with as many companies as possible. While you might have a favorite, most college grad’s just want a foot in the door. Interviewers know this, but ask anyway.
The beauty is in the details. Find out what this company prides itself on and how they think they’re different. The easiest way to do this is to get on the company website. They normally have a page for prospective clients where they will speak about how they are different from everyone else. You can normally take the highlights and turn this answer around.

15. Why ______ (your university)?
While any recent grad might receive this question, it is most often geared toward students at an interview who are coming from a school they do not typically encounter. A top tier graduate will rarely hear this, but it is a question I often received because I was from the University of Arkansas and often interviewing with many Ivy League kids.

16. What are you passionate about?
This question is normally asked to see if a candidate is well-rounded person. They want to know that you are interesting, have hobbies, and feel strongly about something other than work. The answer to this question does not normally need to be about work.
Bad answers: partying, drinking, watching tv.
Good answers: writing, college sports, Big Brother, Big Sister, camping. Be interesting.

17. Are you prepared for (to do) _____ (some negative about the industry, ex: long hours)?
The answer is clearly yes. The key is to have an example in your life of how you have dealt with the same issue or something similar. If no examples are forthcoming be able to talk about the positives that make it worth it. In fact, do both.

18. What do you like/dislike most about this job?
If the question is dislike it is the same as the above answer with a twist. You have to know enough about the position to know what its drawbacks are. If you have followed my advice then this should be easy.
If they ask what you will like the most just make sure you’ve done your research and be honest. This is a chance to show both your knowledge of the position and what you are passionate about. There is no right answer as long as you genuinely show why you are excited about the job.

19. What motivates you?
If you have an honest, solid answer then you should use it. If you are unsure of what to say here then a typical answer would involve your “competitive drive,” “need to succeed,” or “love of ____.”

20. If you could have any job in the world regardless of money what would it be?
I normally wouldn’t even address this question, because any answer works. The only key is to not suck up. Don’t say the job you are interviewing for or anything similar. My personal answer would be Alex Rodriguez (famous baseball player). This is doubly true if the reason people enter the industry you are entering is money.

21. What is a common misconception about you?
There is no right answer. The key is to show your self-awareness. After giving an answer be able to state why you can see why this would be the case and how you address the issue.

22. What other industries are you considering?
There are two opposite answers to this question. One is “no other industries”. One is “I’m also looking at _____.” My approach to this question is a hybrid. I tend to say that, “Working in _____ blank is my number one choice, but because of the competitive nature of this industry I’m looking into ______ and _______ to keep other options available.
While I consider this the best approach some of my peers disagree. They believe you should always answer you have no desire to work in anything but _____ and are not interviewing outside of the industry. They believe this shows dedication and confidence. I find my honest approach best. I’ll let you decide what works best for you.

23. What did you like/dislike most about your last job?
NEVER BAD MOUTH YOUR LAST JOB OR THE PEOPLE WHO WORKED THERE. Stay positive. My answer always begins with a positive.
“Well I loved the people and ______. I only wish that I had had the opportunity to _______.” Also if you have something legitimate that you wish had been different and you can express this in a non-judgmental way then go for. My honest answer from my last position was that, “while I was accounting for hundreds of millions of dollars, I had little understanding of the actual financial products and their structure. I would have enjoyed a clearer understanding what these numbers actually represented.”
This is a very custom answer but demonstrates several important points. I do not judge, lay blame, or bad-mouth. I also show my curiosity in my work and company.

24. Why should we hire you?
This question goes back to your 3 strengths. Be able to tell the interviewer why you are different from the other people he is interviewing. If you think there is something genuinely unique about your resume and background use it. If not try to convey how much you want this position and how hard you will work if you receive it.
Also be sure to never speak negatively of the other candidates. Putting down others is the easiest way to lose the interview.

25. What would your friends, co-workers, bosses, etc… say about you?
This is another self-awareness question. The interviewer is normally looking for you to names several strengths and possibly one area that you could improve in.

26. What do you know about our company?
This is a softball if you have done your research. What you say isn’t so much the issue as long as you show a strong knowledge of the company. Talk about what the companies main working areas (what the company does), recent changes, some basic financial information, position with the market, etc…

27. Where do you see yourself in 1 (5, 10, 20) years?
This answer depends on the type of job. Many jobs for recent graduates are only designed to be 2-year positions, so they don’t necessarily expect you to say that you still be at their company. Other types of positions are looking for long-term employees that they can turn into upper management. Try to get a feel for the expectations of the company before the interview for this question.
My personal answer this year has been, “I hope to gain some great experience in with your firm over the next few years, return to school for my MBA. After that I hope to be in a more senior position within the finance industry where I can continue to learn and add value.”

28. What is your dream job?
This is a difficult question. The key is to not give them an actual specific job. Instead try to describe your perfect job. My typical answer is something like, “I’m looking for a place where I can learn the absolute most over the next few years. I’m also looking for a place with a great work environment and co-workers that are going to be constantly pushing me to be better.”

29. Why do you think you would do well here?
Sell your strengths.

30. What is the most important thing to you about a position?
NEVER answer money, vacation time, benefits or anything else of this nature. Your answer should relate to either how much you can learn, the experience you can gain, or possibly the type of work you will be doing or how much you will be contributing.

31. Do you multi-task well?
Yes. Now have a story about the semester you had a job, a senior thesis, ran your fraternity, and trained for a marathon.

32. Do you work well under pressure (and deadlines)?
Yes. Have a story.

33. Are you willing to work ___ amount of hours (weekends, nights, etc…)
This question should be obvious, because if you’ve done your research you are already aware of the negatives and ok with them or you wouldn’t be interviewing. Be able to name a positive or 2 that make the negative unimportant.

34. Will you relocate?
Be honest. This can be a deal breaker for either party, so you just need to tell them your expectations.

35. What is your typical role in a group?
They typical answer is that you assume the leadership roll. If this is you, great. Just talk about the time you were in charge of _____. If you are not typically the leader of the group that is not a problem if you can spin it well. Be able to tell why your role is important and how it contributes to the group.

36. What areas did your last supervisor say you needed to improve upon?
This is typically related to your weakness question. Try not to give anything to drastic, but be honest. Say my supervisor talked about the how this area could you some improvement. The key is then to talk about the steps you have since taken to improve in that area.

37. What role required the most juggling?
Have an answer ready and be prepared to talk about all the tasks you were juggling and how you managed to pull it off.

There is a second set of questions below which I will call situational questions. Each of them typically begins “tell me about a time…” There are a hundred variations of this type of question and you can never prepare for every one of them.

The key to answering is to have know your resume well and prepare stories that cover the most common themes of the questions. When answering these questions try to keep your 3 strengths in mind. The most common themes are leadership, problem solving, team work, and self-improvement. Below I’ve listed some of the most common of these type of questions.

38. Tell me about a time you showed leadership.

39. Tell me about a time you faced a difficult problem.

40. Tell me about a time you received criticism you didn’t agree with and how you
handled it.

41. Tell me about a time you had to work hard (self-sacrafice) to achieve a goal.

42. Tell me about an ethical dilemma you faced and how you dealt with it.

43. Tell me about a time you worked in team and it went well (badly).

44. Tell me about a time you made a mistake. How did you deal with it?

45. Tell me about a time you worked with someone you didn’t get along with.

46. Tell me about a time you went above and beyond.

47. Tell me about a time you had to convince (persuade) someone else to do something.

48. Tell me about a time you have been responsible for leading a team in order to achieve results.

49. Tell me about a time you were had to plan and implement a project or a assignment.

50. Technical Questions
Many industries will have questions that are specific to that industry and are often technical in nature. For instance, in my area of expertise there is a large amount of information about how to value a company. I will often receive questions related to the 3 financial statements, evaluating them, their relationships, and other similar topics. I might also receive questions about stocks I like and dislike.
While these are specific to my industry, many jobs will have these questions. You need to look into the specific industry and job you are applying for and find out what technical and industry specific things they are likely to ask you.