JOB INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Open-ended Questions
- Used by interviewers when they expect more than a yes or no answer. Some typical
open questions are: "What can you tell me about yourself?", "Why are you interested in
the posted position?" or "What are your most remarkable skills?". 

The best way to answer these questions is by doing the right research before going to
the interview (check your own resume and the organization website) and by making a
list of possible open-ended questions so you can rehearsal your answers before the
interview. 

Closed-ended Questions
– Used by interviewers when they need to know a specific piece of information (years of
experience, technical knowledge, etc.). These questions require a brief and solid
answer. 

The best way to deal with these questions is by reviewing and making sure you don't
have any doubts about your background and CV details. If the question requires a
yes/no answer then always try to add a brief piece of valuable information to the
answer. For example: "Are you experienced teaching children?" – "Yes. I have 4 years
of experience and I think they have been really rewarding". 

Hypothetical Questions
– Used by interviewers to assess your problem-solving skills and to make sure you do
have enough experience in the field to be able to face day-to-day problems. Of course,
reply speed is also assessed. 

The best way to face these questions is by having all the required information so you do
not give plain, meaningless answers. The best way to gather info is by asking follow-up
questions before answering. 

Leading Questions
– These questions are assumptive ("So, you have a lot of experience in the Customer
Service Area, don´t you?). The idea of leading questions is to get a specific response
from the interviewee ("yes, as you can see in my CV, I worked as a receptionist for 7
years and…"). 

The only way to answer these questions is by not being caught off your guard. That is:
Listen carefully and process questions before you answer them. The interviewer may be
asking a leading question with a negative emphasis ("it must have been really difficult to
get along with your boss as a salesman"). Always go for positive answers. 

Multi-Barreled Questions
– They check your reasoning skills. These questions are linked in such way that
suddenly what seems to be one question are actually two or three questions about the
same topic. 

First of all, remember that they are checking your reasoning skills so do not give an
answer unless you truly understand the questions. Do not fear to ask the interviewer to
either repeat or rephrase his/her question. 

Behavioral Questions
– Used by interviewers to check the behavior of candidates. This type of question states
that the best way to know what a candidate will do is by knowing what he/she did in a
similar situation in the past. 

It is important to be completely honest when asked a question about a past experience,

interviewers will ask for more and more details and it would be impossible to keep a lie
going on. The best way to prepare yourself for these questions is by doing all possible
research: What the company wants and what skills are required for the position. Get
an Informational Interview to get and insight of the posted position. 

The ‘STAR’ Approach for Answering a Question

S: Situation – describe the situation

T: Task or problem – what dilemma or problem did you face?
A: Action – what action did you take?
R: Result – what was the result of your action?