100+ Common Job Interview Questions And How To Answer Them

100+ Common Job Interview Questions And How To Answer Them100+ Common Job Interview Questions And How To Answer ThemWith a fair deal of exaggeration, your resume is just a piece of impersonal paper that offers nothing but crude facts. Interviews, on the other hand, reveal much more about your personality, attitudes, manners and values.The first face to face meeting often becomes the turning point in the hiring process. Thats why its wise to invest some time in research and preparation for your next job interview.Back at school, we always strived to learn all exam questions in advance. Job interviews work in a similar fashion. But instead of marks, good answers can get you a fantastic job.Weve collected 100 fruchtwein common job interview questions to help you get ready to tackle tricky questions and craft smart responses to the major questions coming your way. Five categories of interview questionsCertainly, recruiters wont ask you all 100 questions in a row. But chances are theyll s ample a few questions from each of the below categories to get a full sense of your skills and personality.Traditional questions. Open-ended questions about your background, goals, and work style.Behavioral questions. These ask you to provide specific examples of situations that illustrate an achievement, a learning experience, and even a failure.Cultural fit questions. More personal or creative questions that are common in companies that value workplace culture.Logistical questions. Practical issues revolving around work history, how long you plan to stay or your salary expectations.Oddball questions. Random stuff and icebreaker questions. Your opportunity to let your personality shine through. Yet another way that enables them to gauge your cultural fit.Traditional questionsThese fairly common interview questions may sound familiar to you because theyve been around for decades. Theyre some of the first questions in an interview that get the conversational ball rolling as the inter viewer starts to figure out who you are and what are your qualifications for the jobTell me about yourself.What do you consider to be your greatest professional strengths?What would you say are your weaknesses?Why do you want this job?Why should we hire you?What would you contribute to this job?If you had a personal mission statement, what would it be?If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would it be?What do you feel makes you unique?What do you find motivating?How do you define and measure success?Where do you landsee yourself in five years?How does this position fit in with the career path you see for yourself?Would you consider yourself a big-picture person or a detail-oriented person?What are some of your hobbies?What were some responsibilities in your previous job?Whats your work style like?What were some of your favorite things to do in your brde position?What were some of your least favorite things to do in your last job?What would your manager say are your best s trengths?What would your manager say are areas that you need to develop more?How do you make decisions?What could you contribute to make this company better?What are you looking for in your next position?Whats your style of management?Can you describe the best anfhrer you ever had?Can you describe the worst boss you ever had?How do you manage your time?What are you looking for regarding career development?Whats a goal you have for self-improvement in the next year?How has your education gotten you ready for your career?If you got this job, what would some of your goals be?How do you keep yourself organized?If you could choose, would you prefer working in a team or alone?Tips for answering traditional questionsSome of the questions may sound quite personal - like Can you tell me more about yourself? or What makes you unique? - theyre all openers to point out your professional qualifications.Instead of talking about your own goals and priorities, your responses should reflect the co re competencies of the job in a natural-sounding way. The recruiter wants to make a successful hire and needs to see your value for the company.2. Behavioral questions How do you act on the job?No one ever really impressed a hiring manager with abstract ideas about their work ethic or skills. If you say something, you need to prove it. And thats when behavioral questions come into play. Its simple. Past behavior predicts future behavior. By seeing how youve fared in the past, recruiters can have a clearer vision of how youll perform in the future.Personal stories make your job candidacy far more memorable and colorful. So if you want to leave a great impression, intriguing anecdotes are a great way to do itCommon behavioral questions Can you describe a time you demonstrated leadership?Can you speak to a time that you had to handle criticism of your work?Tell me about a time when your workload welches especially heavy and how you dealt with it.What would you do if you were asked to t ake on more assignments than you could conceivably finish by the expected deadlines?Can you give me an example of a time you had to follow a policy with which you didnt agree?Tell me about a time you went above and beyond expectations at work.Have you ever worked on a time when someone was not pulling his weight? What did you do?Have you ever had trouble working with a manager?Have you and your boss ever disagreed with something you did? How did you deal with it?How do you handle difficult customers?How do you deal with stressful situations?Have you ever had to deal with a coworker who put you down at work? What did you do?Can you tell me about a time that you faced a difficult situation with a colleague?Have you ever had to give someone tough feedback? How did you go about that?Have you ever gone against official policy or directives? Why? What were the results?Can you give me an example of a challenge or conflict you faced at work? Describe how you handled it.Tips for answering be havioral questionsBehavioral questions let you zoom in on specific situations, your reactions and decisions to light.Nows the time to bring in some examples. To highlight success stories that demonstrate you have the core competencies the interviewer is looking for.Remember to stay authentic and true to yourself. Stories that talk about your values implicitly are more digestible those that do so in an explicit and rather embarrassing way (Im a very hard-working person.) For the start, prepare your stories that relate to the most common questions a time you demonstrated your leadership skills, overcome a challenge, were a member of a team, solved a precarious problem and when you failed - but rose like a phoenix from the ashes.3. Cultural fit questions Do you share our values?Research has shown good workplace morale and employee perks can improve individual performance, retention and teamwork as well as prevent workplace conflict.No wonder hot trending topics like workplace values and the happiness levels of employees receive a ton of attention. The same goes for your interview. Recruiters are keen to gain a sense of your cultural fit and will use the following questions to do soCommon cultural fit questionsWhat does teamwork mean to you?What three qualities do you look for in a workplace?How would you deal with a coworker you dont get along with?How well would you say you adapt to change?What are you passionate about?Describe your ideal company culture. What four or five characteristics does it have?Who inspires you and why?What motivates you to come into work every day?What was it like working at your last company?What are some of your workplace values?Do you prefer a more structured work environment or one where you can be more entrepreneurial?What personality types would you say you work best with?What are some activities you like to do outside of work, and how do they benefit your day-to-day job?What would your friends tell me about you?Tips for answerin g cultural fit questionsClearly, most of behauptung questions focus on workplace values. But they also aim to review your soft skills, like communication, flexibility, passion, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.The best approach is to research the company culture and mission statement online and, perhaps, also by talking to its employees (via LinkedIn or in person).These cultural fit questions should also help you to figure whether youre at the right place. If the company values and work style make you feel youd like to work for them, go ahead. Reflect your alignment in your responses and let them know youre up for the job.4. Logistical questions Employment history and salary expectationsThis category contains fairly straightforward questions. Details on your resume, your professional goals, or your salary expectations. Salary negotiations, in particular, may show up a bit later in the hiring process, usually in a second interview when things get a bit more serious.Anyway, you shou ld be ready to talk about behauptung logistical topics regardless of when they crop up. Heres a rundown of what to expectCommon logistical questionsYou worked at your last company for a long time. Will it be difficult moving to a new firm?Why have you changed jobs so often over the past few years?If you got this job, how long would you plan to stay with us?What did you earn at your last job?What are your salary expectations?Why do you have a gap in your job history?Why do you think you can lead a team without any previous managerial experience?Why do you want to join our company?Why do you want to move from an academic field to the business world (or vice versa)?Why should we give you the job over other applicants?Would you jump ship if you received another offer?What other companies are you applying to?What caused you to leave your last position?Why do you want to leave your current position?Why did you take a job that seems unrelated to your career path?Tips for answering logistic al questionsNows the time to talk about your professional history. Be ready to describe your last job, its responsibilities, and your reasons for applying elsewhere. Challenging topics that you should skillfully handle include potential employment gaps or career changes. If thats your case, dont despair - come up with sound reasoning and try to connect the dots on your career path.And concerning the pay, check out websites like Payscale and Glassdoor. They may help improve your position in salary negotiations while still staying within a reasonable range.5. Oddball questions The odd and unexpectedImaginative as they are, these quirky questions deserve a special category. They are far from totally unpredictable, though. Recruiters like to use them to throw you off balance a bit and see what happens when you get out of your comfort zone. Also, they want to check your ability to think on your feet and see how you make decisions in real life. By requiring creativity and wit, these ques tions can tell a robot from a person. Like a CAPTCHA challenge, really. So all you need to do is demonstrate your inventiveness and come up with surprising, fresh answers that will steal the show.Potential oddball questionsIf you could live your life over again from the beginning, whats one thing that you would change?If you could be an animal, which one would you be and why?If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?Whats one new thing you taught yourself in the last year?What would the name of your app be?You have two minutes. Teach me something.Why do people climb mountains?If you were on a desert island and could only bring three things, what would you bring?If you were 80 years old, what would you tell your children?If you were a pizza delivery man, how would you benefit from scissors?Youre a new addition to the bleistift box, what color would you be and why?What is the funniest thing that has happened to you recently?What is your least favorite thing about humanity?How does the internet work?Why are manholes round?How would you cure world hunger?What do you think of garden gnomes?Pepsi or Coke?If youre the CEO, what are the first three things you check about the business when you wake up? (Dropbox)What would the name of your debut album be? (Urban Outfitters)How would you sell hot cocoa in Florida? (J.W. Business Acquisitions)If I gave you $40,000 to start a business, what would you start? (Hubspot)What would you do if you found a penguin in the freezer? (Trader Joes)If you were a brand, what would be your motto? (Boston Consulting Group)How many basketballs would fit in this room? (Delta Air Lines)If you had $2,000, how would you double it in 24 hours? (Uniqlo)How many cows are in Canada? (Google)How many quarters would you need to reach the height of the Empire State building? (JetBlue)A penguin walks through that door right now wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why is he here? (Clark Construction Group)What songs best describes your wor k ethic? (Dell)Jeff Bezos walks into your office and says you can have a million dollars to launch your best entrepreneurial idea. What is it? (Amazon)What do you think about when you are alone in your car? (Gallup)Can you say Peter Pepper Picked a Pickled Pepper and cross-sell a washing machine at the same time? (MasterCard)If we came to your house for dinner, what would you prepare for us? (Trader Joes)How would people communicate in a perfect world? (Novell)How do you make a tuna sandwich? (Astron Consulting)When a hot dog expands, in which direction does it split and why? (SpaceX)If you had to, which two celebrities would you pick to be your parents? (Urban Outfitter)Tips for answering oddballsPrepare for the unpredictable. Theres no single formula that will help you answer every question in this category.However, you can set up a rapid-fire question and answer practice session with a friend to see what you come up with. Youll see how you react without preparation and how good y our improvisation skills are.Remember not to overthink these too much. Keep your einbildungskraft active and flexible. This will help you unleash your creative genius as your spirits loosen up a bit. Keep calm and do your homeworkJob interviews can get a bit intimidating, but it all depends on your attitude.Weve collected 100+ most common interview questions but now its your turn. If you skip preparation, youre about to fail. Once you do your homework, though, youre all set to win the hearts of hiring managers and get the job youre hoping to land.Remember - succinct, thoughtful, witty responses have the power to tackle any tricky question. And thats what will make you feel more confident and ready to put your best foot forward.Share Your Feedback or Ideas in the Comments

Why we make bad decisions, even when we know better

Why we make bad decisions, even when we know betterWhy we make bad decisions, even when we know betterOn a cold, rainy night in 1962, Hershey, Pennsylvania, one of the greatest games in basketball history would take place. Its the Philadelphia Warriors versus the New York Knicks.The star player of the warriors welches a 7-foot, 1,275-pound man with a towering physical presence. His name welches Wilt Chamberlain.In the game of basketball, 7-foot tall players look awkward and clumsy on the court. But Wilt Chamberlain welches different. He was as tall as a giraffe and as graceful as a ballerina.During the 1962 basketball season, Wilt Chamberlain averaged 50.36 points per game. A single season points record that has never been broken. In context, Michael Jordan, widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time, averaged 37.09 points per game in his best single season. Let that sink in for a second.Back to the game. By the end of the first quarter, Chamberlain scored 23 point s. 41 points at halftime. 69 points in the third quarter. And boy, he wasnt slowing down.With 46 seconds left on the clock, Chamberlain broke free from five Knicks players, approached the basketball rim, jumped high and put the ball through the hoop. The arena exploded into a frenzy. Hundreds of spectators stormed the court, to celebrate and touch the hero of the night. Wilt Chamberlain had just scored 100 points, the most any player has ever scored in a professional basketball game.But, that wasnt all. Something strange occurred after this historic game. A head-scratching decision, some would say near insane, by the star man, Wilt Chamberlain.Chamberlains puzzling decision, begs the question why do we make bad decisions, or dumb choices, even when a good choice is right in front of our face?Granny shots and free throwsWhen Wilt Chamberlain first joined the NBA, he dominated his opponents physically, scoring at will, even when he was grappled by two or more players. But, when it cam e time to shoot a free throw - an unopposed attempt at scoring points- he was horrendous. Were talking 40 percent of shots made from the free throw line.At the start of the season leading up to the historic game, Wilt Chamberlain made a decision to try a different way of shooting free throws. Instead of shooting, like every other basketball player - overhand, releasing the ball near the forehead- Chamberlain switched to underhand free throws. Also known as theGranny Shot.Throughout the season, Wilt Chamberlain would hold the ball between his legs, slightly crouch his knees and flick the ball upwards to the basket rim. And all of a sudden, he became a pretty good free throw shooter, netting close to 60 percent of his shots.Then, on that historic night in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Chamberlain netted 28 out of his 32 shots from the free throw line. Thats an incredible 87.5 percent from the free throw line. The most free throws ever made during a single game of basketball in NBA history .This drastic improvement, from 40 percent to 87.5 percent, didnt occur because Chamberlain improved his athleticism or shooting skills. It happened because he changed thewayhe shot free throws. Wilt Chamberlain would stick by this good decision and improve as a free throw shooter.Or would he?After the historic game, something incredible happens. A baffling, near insane moment. Wilt Chamberlain stops shooting underhand, and reverts back to shooting overhand. He chose to go back to being a terrible free throw shooterTheres a saying thatinsanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Could insanity also be doing something different, finding a solution to your biggest problems and then, reverting back to your old ways that didnt work?There were no rational reasons for Wilt Chamberlain to stop shooting underhand free throws, as he wasnt ignorant to the positive results of the new approach. But despite knowing better, Chamberlain switched back to hi s old way of shooting. And for the rest of his basketball career, remained a poor free throw shooter.At that time, the only other player who shot underhand free throws was Rick Barry, a Hall of Famer, and just like Chamberlain, an unstoppable offensive juggernaut, who stood 6 foot 7 inches tall.Unlike Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry never switched back to overhand free throws. And for a damn good reason. At the time of his retirement, Rick Barry held a godlike 90 percent free throw record, ranked first in NBA history. But, this could well have been Wilt Chamberlains record, if he had stuck to the underhand throw for the rest of his basketball career.So, whats it about the Wilt Chamberlains of the world - who makebad decisions even when they know better - thats different from the Rick Barrys of the world, who stick to good decisions, even when theyre an anomaly?The threshold model of collective behaviorIn a famous essay published over four decades ago, Stanford University sociologist, Mark Granovetter, tried to answer the question of why people do things out of a character. 3Granovetter used riots as one of the main examples. Because during a riot, otherwise normal people, get involved in destructive and violent behavior. Why would law-abiding citizens suddenly throw rocks through windows?Before Granovetters paper, sociologists tried to explain this phenomenon in terms of a persons beliefs. Previous theories suggested that when people were in a crowd, theyd lose their independent rational thinking and change their beliefs to conform to the crowd. For example, if say, at the start of a riot, one person in a crowd throws a rock through a window, the beliefs of the people in the crowd would change and theyd act in irrational ways.But Granovetter believed otherwise. In his view, riots arent caused by a collective of people who hold beliefs about whats right, and then suddenly, because of a mob mentality, change those beliefs. Rather, riots are driven by a social rea ction to the behaviour of people in the environment. They are driven bythresholds.Your threshold is the number of people who have to do an activity, before you join them. You can think of thresholds as a form of peer pressure. The higher your threshold, the more people you need to do something, before you participate.In the context of a riot, the rebel who needs little encouragement to throw the first rock through a window, has a very low threshold. But, an otherwise law-abiding citizen, who steals a computer, only if everyone around them is also looting, has a very high threshold.Granovetter formalised these insights asthe threshold model of collective behaviour.The implications of this is that, regardless of our beliefs, within certain social contexts or thresholds, we could make really bad decisions, even when we know better.This brings us one step closer to solving the puzzle of Wilt Chamberlains irrational decision to switch back to overhand free throw shooting.Heres another cl ue. In Wilt Chamberlains autobiography, he wrote I felt silly, like a sissy, shooting underhanded. I know I was wrong. I know some of the best foul shooters in history shot that way. Even now the best one in the NBA, Rick Barry, shoots underhanded. I just couldnt do it. 4Did you notice anything strange about Wilt Chamberlains comments? Any alarm bells ring based on Granovetters threshold model?Lets dissect this. First, Chamberlain mentions that I felt silly, like a sissy. Why would he feel silly or like a sissy? Thats because almost all basketball players in the NBA at the time, minus Rick Barry, shot overhanded. Plus, the underhand throw was mocked as a granny shot for sissies. Chamberlain didnt want to look stupid, in front of his peers and the world.Second, Wilt Chamberlain said, I know I was wrong I just couldnt do it. So, despite being completely aware of a good choice, he still made the bad decision to keep shooting overhanded. As predicted within Granovetters threshold model , it wasnt Chamberlains beliefs that drove his decision. It was the social context. In other words, Wilt Chamberlain was a high threshold person, who would only stick to the granny shot, if a majority of basketball players also did so. But, what about Rick Barry?When Barry first switched to underhand free throw shots, as a junior in high school, he also believed that hed look like a sissy. In fact, early on, he was ridiculed for his shooting style. But,Barry didnt let this discourage him. As far as he was concerned, the only thing that mattered was improving his shots. 5Unlike Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry had a very low threshold. He didnt needapproval from other peopleto stick to a good decision that works. And thats what separates the Wilt Chamberlains from the Rick Barrys of the world.The social courage decisionWe like to think that bad decisions are a result of beliefs or ignorance. But thats not always true. Most times, we dont always do whats best for us, even when we know bet ter, because of peer pressure.But, there are a handful of people, the Rick Barrys of the world, who would rather be right, than liked. They have the social courage to put mastery of a task at hand, ahead of social approval.Unlike the Wilt Chamberlains of the world, who die with regrets of what could have been, the Rick Barrys of the world pass on with no regrets. Because they didnt let the opinion of others hold them back from being the best person they couldve been.Mayo Oshin writes atMayoOshin.com, where he shares practical self-improvement ideas and proven science for better health, productivity and creativity.To get practical ideas on how to stop procrastinating and build healthy habits, you can join his free weekly newsletterhere.A version of thisarticleoriginally appeared atmayooshin.comas The Chamberlain Effect Why We Make Bad Decisions, Even When We Know Better.FootnotesWilt Chamberlainsregular season records.Video ofhis 100 point game.NBA all-time points leaders in aregular season per game average.Granovetter (1978),Threshold Models of Collective Behaviour.Wilt Chamberlainsbiography.The story of Rick Barry being ridiculed comes from aninterviewwith Malcolm Gladwell.

Bank Teller Job Overview

Bank Teller Job OverviewBank Teller Job OverviewBank tellersare the key point of customer contact in bank branches, involving the processing of a variety of transactions.Becoming a teller can serve as an entry-level position in banking, and can help facilitate entry into higher payingcareer pathswithinfinancial services. However, this is the exception rather than the rule. Few tellers actually are considered seriously as candidates for promotion by their current employers. Employment Trends The total number of jobs for tellers tend to follow cyclical patterns, as major banks embark on successive periods of expansion or contraction in the number of their branches.The recent trend toward mergers and consolidation of the banking industry(accelerated bythe 2006-07 mortgage crisis) caused the total number of bank teller jobs in the U.S. to fall 11.2% between 2008 and 2012, from 600,500 to 545,300. Nonetheless, employment prospects for bank tellers are expected to be excellent for the foreseeable future, primarily because the field has a long history of high turnover. While theBureau of Labor Statistics(BLS),forecasts that jobs for tellers will expand by a mere 5,600 positions (1%) in the decade from 2012 to 2022, the high churn rate among tellers means that many positions are constantly coming open. Find Job Openings Use this indeed.comsearch tool to find current job openings in this field. Education In general, a high school diplomais sufficient, though college graduates are increasingly preferred. Due to the sensitive nature of the job, any blemish on your record that may emerge in a background check can preclude employment as a bank teller. Facility with numbers and skill in arithmetic are musts. Additionally, the increasing computerization of banking operations makes computer literacy highly desirable. Good tellers are comfortable dealing with customers, have strong oral communication skills and aregood listeners. Training In all but the largest banks, t he training for bank tellers tends to be strictly on the job, under the tutelage of experienced tellers and/or branch officers(supervisors), with little or no formal classroom instruction. The BLS reports that such training typically lasts about a month. Duties and Responsibilities The basic duties of a bank teller include cashing checks, making deposits, processing loan paymentsand withdrawing funds from customer accounts. Bank tellers also assist customers with opening and closing accounts. The job requires adhering closely to rules and regulations regarding the verification of customers identities, the accounts and transactions that they are permitted to access or initiate, and the amounts of funds that may be placed at their disposal. Tellers also must adhere to various reporting requirements. The rules and regulations in question are a mix of those platzset by law or by banking regulators, and those peculiar to the individual bank. In some banks and banking environments, t he tellers role may be expanded to assess customers needs and to market certain products and services to them. Both this aspect of the job and that related to rule enforcement demand a keen sense of judgment, going far beyond a rote adherence to routine. Typical Schedule A 40 hour work weekis typical, but it can be longer, given the trend for banks to accommodate customers with longer hours, including nights, Saturdays and even Sundays in some cases. The old days of bankers hours that stretched only from 9 to 3, Monday to Friday, are long since past. However, also note that today about 33% of tellers work part-time. Whats to Like Those who enjoy working with people can find interacting with customers an enjoyable aspect of the job. It is particularly true for those fortunate enough to become tellers in bank branches with light to moderate levels of customer traffic, in which time pressure is not a major issue. Depending on the bank and on the initiative of the individual, a bank teller jobcan be a steppingstone to higher-level jobs in banking. The most obvious next step is as an officer (supervisor) within a branch. Whats Not to Like In very busy urban bank branches, tellers can be under severe pressure and find the job physically and mentally draining. The problem can be compounded if the customer base is demanding and hurried. Under such time pressure, the possibility of making computational errors is enhanced, leading to yet mora stress. After the branch closes, depending on the volume of transactions during the day, and the size and efficiency of the staff, the process of proving up tellers work during the day can be a lengthy and stressful process. Normally, tellers are not allowed to leave for the day until their work is proved up. That is, the cash on hand at the end of the day must equal starting cash plus cash deposits minus cash withdrawals. Likewise, non-cash deposits and withdrawals (by check or electronic transfer) must be checked to e nsure that they were accounted for correctly. Furthermore, working as a bank teller does bear some risk of physical danger associated with attempted robberies. The open architecture of many bank branches, with tellers largely exposed to the customers across a counter, adds to the risk. High turnover is spurred by low pay (see the next section). Also, while opportunities for advancement do exist (as stated above), they typically are limited. Compensation Median annual wages for bank tellers(BLS occupation code 43-3071.00)were $24,940 as of May 2012, with 90% earning between $19,630 and $34,320. As with all job categories, expect significantgeographic pay differentials. More than 90% of tellers earn less than the median annual wage for all occupations, which was $34,750. Meanwhile, nearly 75% of workers in other occupations earn more than the median annual wage for tellers ($24,940).