In this guide
instructional guide
Common interview questions and how to answer them
What interviewers are really asking in the most common questions, how to structure honest answers and examples you can adapt to your own experience.
Why the same questions keep coming up
Interviewers ask similar questions so they can compare candidates fairly. Behind almost every question is one of three things they need to know: can you do the job, do you want this job, and how will you work with the people around you.
Knowing which of those a question is testing makes it easier to choose the right example. A question about a weakness is really about self-awareness and learning; a question about conflict is about how you work with others.
“Tell me about yourself”
This is usually the opening question. Give a short professional summary: where you are now, two or three experiences that matter for this role, and why this opportunity is the logical next step. It is not a request for your life story or a recital of your whole resume.
“Why do you want this job?” and “Why this organisation?”
Give specific reasons that connect the work itself to your experience and interests: the problems the role solves, the people it serves, the skills you want to use and develop. Generic praise for the company is weaker than one concrete reason you could not give about any other employer.
If you are changing career, explain the move positively and practically — what draws you to the new field and what you bring from the old one — rather than only what you are leaving behind.
“What are your strengths?”
Choose two or three strengths that the role clearly needs and back each with a short example. “I'm organised” is a claim; “I coordinated rotas for a team of twelve and cut last-minute gaps by planning cover a week ahead” is evidence.
“What is your greatest weakness?”
Pick a real area for development that is not essential to the role, explain how it has affected your work and what you are doing about it. Disguised strengths such as “I'm a perfectionist” are familiar to interviewers and tend to sound evasive.
Illustrative example (a fictional applicant): “I used to find it hard to delegate, so I'd take on too much before deadlines. I now agree who owns each task at the start of a project and check in halfway, which has helped the team and me.”
“Tell me about a time when…”
Behavioural or competency questions ask you to prove a skill with a past example. Use a structure such as STAR — situation, task, action, result — and spend most of the answer on what you personally did.
- Tell me about a time you met a difficult deadline.
- Describe a situation where you disagreed with a colleague.
- Give an example of a mistake you made and how you handled it.
- Tell me about a time you had to learn something quickly.
- Describe a time you improved how something was done.
“Where do you see yourself in five years?”
The interviewer wants to know whether your direction fits the role and whether you are likely to stay engaged. Describe the skills and responsibility you want to grow into, in terms that make sense for this employer. You do not need a fixed job title.
“Why are you leaving?” and questions about gaps
Keep the answer brief, true and forward-looking. Focus on what you want next rather than criticising a current or former employer. For a gap in your history, give a short factual explanation — caring, health, study, redundancy, travel, a search that took time — and, where relevant, what you did or learned in that period. You do not have to share private details.
Salary and your own questions
Questions about salary expectations are easier to handle when you have researched the range beforehand, and almost every interview ends with “Do you have any questions for us?”. Both deserve their own preparation, covered in the related guides below.
Common questions
How many examples should I prepare?
Five to eight well-chosen examples usually cover most questions, because one strong example can be adapted to several themes such as problem-solving, teamwork and handling pressure.
Should I memorise my answers?
Memorise the structure and the key facts of each example, not the exact wording. Scripted answers are harder to adapt when a question is phrased differently.
What if I don't know the answer to a question?
Say so honestly, then explain how you would approach it or find out. For a technical question, talking through your reasoning is often more useful than guessing.
Can I ask the interviewer to repeat or clarify a question?
Yes. Asking for clarification is better than answering a question you were not asked.