3 interview questions you ABSOLUTELY NEED to know the answ
There are 5 types of interview questions. Any question an interviewer can possibly ask you falls into one of these categories. If you are…
There are 5 types of interview questions. Any question an interviewer can possibly ask you falls into one of these categories. If you are confident in answering 3–5 questions from each of these categories, you will be prepared for ANY interview. If you haven’t read Crush your next interview, go check it out now! You will find this post 100x more valuable after reading that.
In this post, we will analyze personal interview questions in detail. First, we will define what a personal interview question is. Second, we will identify the purpose of personal interview questions. Why do interviewers ask them? Lastly, we will analyze the 3 most commonly asked personal interview questions.
Definition of personal interview questions
Personal interview questions are questions that help interviewers learn more about you. Typically, personal interview questions are the first questions you will be asked in an interview.
Purpose of personal interview questions
The purpose of personal interview questions is to help interviewers learn more about you. They help interviewers build a profile about you.
Common interview questions
Now that we’ve defined what personal interview questions are and their purpose, here are the most commonly asked personal interview questions.
1 — “Tell me about yourself.”
You will be asked this question in ANY interviewer. It may not be phrased as “tell me about yourself”, but you will be asked it in some form. Here are some other ways your interviewer may ask “tell me about yourself.”
Walk me through your experiences
Tell me a little bit more about yourself
I read your resume, but elaborate on a few of your experiences
Why do interviewers ask this question?
There are a few reasons interviewers ask this question.
Test your confidence — Are you comfortable talking about yourself? Do you know how to sell yourself?
Break the ice — At the beginning of an interview, both parties are nervous. You are nervous. And, believe it or not, the interviewer is probably nervous. The “tell me about yourself” question breaks the ice. It gives both of you a moment to get comfortable.
Set the direction of the interview — The interviewer will determine their next question based on how you answer this question. For example, if you start talking about your job from last summer, they will likely ask for you to elaborate on that job. With this in mind, make sure to answer this question with experiences you are comfortable talking about.
Get to know you — Above all, this question is used to get to know you. Interviewers only know you from your resume. They’ll ask this question to get to know you better.
How should I answer this question?
Answer this question with your elevator pitch. If you need help making an elevator pitch check out my post on How to write an elevator pitch. You’re not going to answer with your elevator pitch verbatim, but it will be a form of your elevator pitch. You need to answer these three questions.
Who are you? — The first step is to introduce yourself. What’s your name? What year are you? What school do you go to? What are you majoring in?
What do you do? — After you introduce yourself, explain what you’re currently doing or what you have done in the past. What projects are you working on? Where did you intern last summer? What clubs are you involved in? What classes are you taking? Keep it brief.
What do you want to do? — Once you explain what you have done, tell them what you want to do! Make this very clear! You want to work for their company. You want to work in the position you are applying for. You want to work on projects they are working on
2 — “What are your strengths?”
Why do interviewers ask this question?
Test if you did your research — Did you research the job you are applying for? Did you read the job description? Are you going to answer this question in a way that highlights a strength that compliments the skills emphasized in the job description?
Test your confidence — Are you confident in your strengths? Are you able to communicate your strengths concisely?
How should I answer this question?
Everyone has a lot of strengths, but you need to highlight the strength that is most compatible with the job description.
State what your strength is — One of my greatest strengths is my ability to communicate effectively.
Support your statement with personal experience — For example, a time I demonstrated great communication skills was when___.
3 — “What are your weaknesses?”
Why do interviewers ask this question?
Are you self aware? — Are you able to identify what you are good at? Do you know what you suck at? Are you honest with yourself? Interviewers want to know if you are capable of understanding when you are not good at something. This is key when working in a team. If you suck at something and someone on your team is great at it, it is better for them to do it as opposed to you. In order for this to happen, you need to be self-aware.
Are you looking to improve? — We all have weaknesses, but are you looking to improve? Are you able to realize what you suck at and take steps to get better?
Are you able to construct a plan for improvement? — If you aren’t good at something, but that skill is critical to the mission, are you able to put a plan in place to get better? Are you capable of creating an action plan to get better at the stuff you suck at?
How should I answer this question?
Similar to how you answered the strengths question, you need to turn to base your answer off of the job description. Do now highlight a weakness that is a critical skill in the job description! For example, if the job mandates that you show up on time every day, do not say that your weakness is being on time. Have common sense!
State your weakness — My weaknesses are___.
Define your plan to get better — My plan to improve___is___.
Conclusion
If you prepare answers to these questions, you will crush any type of personal interview question your interviewer throw at you! Most questions they ask you about yourself will be a deviation of “tell me about yourself”, “what are your strengths?”, or “what are your weaknesses?”