Job Interview - Questions and Answers

1. Answering tough questions!

1.1. ‘Why did you leave your last job?’ Complete the sentences below with the words in the box:
excellent match full time employment real room responsibility sets and abilities
a) There was no ___________ for growing my career.
b) The position you are advertising seems like an ___________ for my knowledge, abilities and qualifications.
c) I am keen to use my skill ___________ in a different capacity than I have in the past.
d) I am looking for a job that has more ___________.
e) The reason for leaving my last job was that I wanted to spend more time with my family. I am now ready to go
back into ___________.

1.2. ‘What is the biggest mistake you have ever made?’ Complete the following sentences with the appropriate
form of the verbs in the box:

go have offer stay take

a) If I ___________ a time machine I would ___________ back to University and ___________ a degree in
Business Studies rather than Hospitality.
b) I ___________ too many years in a job that was stable but ___________ (negative) me enough challenges or
opportunities for growth.

1.3. ‘How would you cope with a difficult colleague?’ Complete the following sentences with an appropriate
preposition from the box:

against in of on (x 2) to with
a) This really depends ____ what my co-worker is doing, the severity ____ their actions and the specific problems
or disruption that they may be causing. Having said that no matter what the situation is, I would always remain
____ control of any situation and concentrate ____ my work. I would not take any arguments or heated discussions
personally or hold grudges ____ work colleagues.
b) I would avoid them and only talk ____ them or cooperate ____ them when required to in the course of my daily
duties.

1.4. ‘You’ve changed jobs five times in the past five years, why should we think you are likely to stay here for
a long time?’ Complete the following sentences with an appropriate noun from the box:

abilities career CV period reason

reason reflection relative roles stability
a) I do not believe that my ___________ history is an accurate ___________ of my character or ___________.
___________ is important to me and I am anxious to work long term for one company. Although my ___________
shows that I have worked for five different companies over a short ___________ of time, the ___________
for this was that I had an elderly and frail ___________ to look after during this period.
b) The ___________ for that is that previous job ___________ failed to challenge me.
2. Match the following commonly asked questions in job interviews to their possible answers:
Common Questions Possible Answers Answers
1. What do you enjoy about a) The job I perform, the salary I receive and the circumstances at
the industry you are in? my current company are not really comparable to the opportunity
we are discussing today. However, when I consider my skill sets,
academic qualifications and work experience, I am confident that a
salary between £25,000 - £33,000 would be appropriate.
2. What are your strengths? b) I have been told that I am honest, reliable and ethical. I am also
flexible enough to handle changing environments and able to cope
with setback and learn from my mistakes.
3. Tell me about yourself? c) I’m an experienced Sales Manager who has worked in the marketing
industry for over 10 years. I have a successful track record of
setting targets, developing sales teams and then motivating and
training these teams to achieve goals.
4. Where do you see d) In four years time I aim to have improved my abilities and to be a
yourself in say four years leader in my field. This will mean that I can contribute more to my
time? employers and their business.
5. What do you like about e) It provides me with constant new challenges to test my abilities.
your present job? Communicating and meeting with new people. I also enables me to
use my initiative and work as part of a team.
6. What’s your current f) As a highly valued member of the company, my present employer
salary? pays me well outside of the norm, I mean, I am paid on the very
high end of current market rates. However, I would not like to limit
my job prospects by using that salary as a comparison.
7. What are your g) Occasionally I have been told that I take longer than other
weaknesses? colleagues to complete complicated projects or tasks. But this is
only because I want to make sure the work I do is to the highest
standards.
8. What do you dislike about h) There are very few opportunities for advancement with my present
your present job? employer who are a small company.
9. Why do you want to work i) After researching your company I have discovered that it is an
for our company? industry leader and has an excellent reputation. I was also greatly
impressed by your company’s mission statement, values and culture.
I feel strongly that yours is an organization that I would like to
work for and be associated with, for your vacancy ideally fits my
work experience, skills and qualifications. Therefore, I will be able
to make a significant contribution to your business as well as fulfil
my potential.
10. What do you do outside j) Travelling; foreign languages; football; running marathons; a
of work? member of any societies or charities.
11. Do you have any questions k) What do you believe are the biggest challenges your company faces
you would like to ask us? in the near future?
Can you tell me what brought you to work for the company, (this
question is aimed at the interviewer)?
Following on from our conversation today and my belief that I am a
suitable candidate for your position, if my application is successful,
when do you think I would be required to start work? (Ask this
right at the end.)