General Interview Questions

Interviews can be a strenuous exercise at the best of times, and while it is important that you do not appear rehearsed or wooden when being interviewed it is essential that you sound fluent and authoritative. Thinking about the type of questions that you might encounter prepares you for success. This series covers a range different questions and follows the same structure - providing a commentary to help you think through your answer; some insights into both +ve and -ve indicators that interviewers will be on the look out for and finally some possible question variations

General Background Questions:

Question: Why did you apply for this job?

Answer commentary: this question presents an ideal opportunity to demonstrate that you have done some research into the company. You should try to cover both halves of the question - why the particular job/job category and why their company in particular. Whilst you will be expected to have thought about their company and have something to say about this, if it's the job that has special appeal you will not have to say (unless it is true) that this is the only company for you. If you do say that this is the ‘only company for you' be prepared for the question ‘what will you do if you do not get the job'. Being asked this does not imply anything in terms of whether they will give you the job but it tends to be a natural follow on questions. Think carefully about how you will answer it - you have to balance desperation with looking like your statement was not heartfelt (so avoid the extremes). Something like, hope to get sufficient feedback to enable me to be successful in the future.

Marking:

• +ve good range of reasons combining rational with emotional
• +ve focus on both the job and the company
• +ve displayed evidence of having researched the company
• -ve sounded false
• -ve no mention of the job
• -ve no mention of the company

Variations: Why did you apply to this company? What appealed to you about this job?

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