20 Common Interview Questions and How To Answer Them

Interviews feel unpredictable, but the question set rarely is. Prepare these twenty and you will have covered the overwhelming majority of what you are asked — leaving your attention free for the parts that are genuinely specific to the role.

Use one structure for every example

For any question that begins "tell me about a time", use STAR: Situation (brief context), Task (what you were responsible for), Action (what you personally did), Result (the measurable outcome). Aim for 90 seconds. Most weak answers are weak because they spend a minute on the situation and five seconds on the result.

Opening questions

1. Tell me about yourself. Sixty to ninety seconds: what you do now, one headline achievement, and why this role is the logical next step. Not your life story.

2. Why do you want this job? Name something specific about the role or organisation, then connect it to what you do well. Avoid answers that would fit any employer.

3. Why are you leaving your current job? Forward-looking and neutral. Growth, scope, a change of sector. Never criticise a manager or employer.

4. Walk me through your CV. Chronological, with the reason for each move. Practise this — it is longer than people expect.

5. What do you know about us? Two or three concrete facts and one thoughtful observation. Thirty minutes of research is visible; zero minutes is obvious.

Strengths, weaknesses and self-awareness

6. What is your greatest strength? Pick the one most relevant to the role and evidence it with a result.

7. What is your greatest weakness? Name a real one, then describe the mechanism you use to manage it. "I under-communicate progress when I am heads-down, so I now send a Friday summary to my manager." Avoid "I'm a perfectionist".

8. Tell me about a mistake you made. Own it fully, show the correction, show the process change. Do not blame a colleague.

9. How do you handle criticism? Give a real example where you received difficult feedback and changed something as a result.

10. What are you working on improving? Name a specific skill and the specific thing you are doing about it.

Competency and behaviour

11. Tell me about a time you worked under pressure. Show prioritisation and communication, not heroics.

12. Describe a conflict with a colleague. Focus on how you resolved it, not on who was right.

13. Give an example of leading without authority. Influence, alignment and follow-through — no title required.

14. Tell me about a time you failed to meet a deadline. Cause, how early you flagged it, what you changed afterwards.

15. How do you prioritise competing demands? Describe your actual method — impact versus effort, deadline mapping, a weekly plan — and one example of using it.

Role-specific and situational

16. What would your first 90 days look like? Learn, then diagnose, then deliver something small and visible. Specific to this role, not generic.

17. How do you handle a task you have never done before? Show a repeatable approach: define the outcome, find a precedent, ask a targeted question, test small.

18. Where do you see yourself in five years? Direction and commitment, not a rigid title. Show that this role fits the direction.

The closing two

19. What are your salary expectations? Give a researched range, anchored to the market, and state that you are flexible on structure. If it is early in the process, it is reasonable to ask what range the role is budgeted at.

20. Do you have any questions for us? Always yes. Three good ones:

• "What does success in this role look like at six months?"
• "What is the biggest challenge the person in this role will inherit?"
• "How does the team make decisions when there is disagreement?"

Do not ask about leave, salary or working hours as your first question.

How to actually prepare

1. Write five achievement stories in STAR form. Most questions can be answered by adapting one of them.
2. Say your answers out loud. Written answers sound rehearsed; spoken practice makes them natural.
3. Time yourself. Ninety seconds is the target; three minutes loses the room.
4. Prepare your numbers. Percentages, budgets, headcounts, timeframes.
5. Prepare your questions in writing and bring them on paper.

Preparation is what converts a nervous conversation into a straightforward one. The questions are known — use that.