10 Common Job Interview Questions (With Examples). We can’t know exactly what an employer will ask, here are 10 common job interview questions along with advice on how to answer them.
Interviewing for a new job can be exciting — every conversation is a chance to say exactly what you want in a new role or company and to make the case for why you deserve it.
Are you prepared with what you want to say?
One learns a lot about a company and its culture just by going through the interview process.
15 Questions and Answers for Student Visa Interview
Table of Contents
Tell Us About Yourself
Asking about you is a way to break the ice at an interview and make you feel more comfortable.
Before you go on an interview, consider what you want to say when you’re describing yourself to the potential employer.
Example:
Well, I’m currently a CAE Engineer at Scania, where I handle Research and Product development department. Before that, I worked at a University where I was a Lecturer at Bachelor’s level. And while I really enjoyed the work that I did, I’d love the chance to dig in much deeper with one specific and leading group, which is why I’m so excited about this opportunity with Volvo Group.
Why did you apply for this job?
This question is actually more about gauging how much you know about the company, its mission, and its operations. The interviewer wants to know if you have taken the initiative to learn about the company and to think about what attracts you to working for them.
Example: How a CAE Engineer at Volvo would answer this question?
Answer:
“An automobile is made by and for people. The basic principle for all manufacturing is and must remain safety.” Said Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson, founders of Volvo 1927.
The Volvo Group drives prosperity through transport solutions, offering trucks, buses, cars, construction equipment, power solutions for marine and industrial applications, financing and services that increase our customers’ uptime and productivity. While the Volvo Group is committed to shaping the future landscape of sustainable transport and infrastructure solutions. Countless career opportunities are offered across the group’s leading brands and entities that share a culture of Trust, Passion, High Performance, Change and Customer Success.
I want to take this Core Value into the future together with Volvo. I want to work with a global team at different sites around the globe. Working in this international environment is an exciting challenge with a lot of opportunities in a global company.
As CAE Engineer, I would work in Structural Crashworthiness and Occupant simulations, which focus on guiding and supporting design departments, defining new design criteria, and developing analysis methods. I would take responsibility for the fidelity of the simulations/analyses. I have an M.Sc. in the field of FE-analysis. While, I have several years of experience with FE tools and FE analysis in the automotive area. I enjoy working in a flexible team. I am able to change focus depending on the situation. Furthermore, I take initiative and make decisions based on knowledge and fact.
Before the interview, do some research about a specific company. As you can see in up mentioned example, CAE Engineer has mentioned the statement of the founders and also explained Volvo’s different operations and how can he contribute to Volvo.
How to find work when you’re new to a city?
What are your Strengths and Weaknesses?
This is one of the questions that employers almost always ask. Many job candidates are unsure how to answer this question. When you are asked about your strengths, always discuss the attributes that qualify you for that specific job, and that will set you apart from other candidates. While, when you are asked about your weaknesses, always choose an answer that a hiring manager would not consider being essential qualities or skills for the position as well as qualities that you are actively improving.
What are Your strengths (as CAE Engineer)?
“I’m obsessed with the newest version of Software Fusion 360 at the moment. I started pushing the boundaries of what it could do as soon as it was released. I’m excited about applying my passion and abilities to this position and pushing the envelope of this program for your company.” Meanwhile, I have a great command of many other CAE software that can be really helpful during my stay at Volvo.
When I’m on a project, I keep track of the details. Because I have a comprehensive understanding of the components, I can spot the essentials and rigorously advocate for them to meet deadlines. I regularly see this reflected in my peer and management feedback.
What are Your weaknesses (as CAE Engineer)?
My greatest weakness is that I sometimes have a hard time letting go of a project. I’m the biggest critic of my work. I can always find something that needs to be improved or changed. To help myself improve in this area, I give myself deadlines for revisions. This helps ensure that I’m not making changes at the last minute.
You can always discuss those skills as strengths, which are most relevant to the job you are applying for at the moment. As up mentioned example, CAE Engineer has mentioned the most relevant skills for the job, which are software skills. While the second strength, he mentioned, is persistence. But make sure, don’t prolong the answer, keep it short and relevant.
When you’ve spent a great deal of time and effort on something, it’s easy to feel apprehensive about marking it complete or passing it on to another team. There’s always room for improvement, and some people tend to over-criticize their work or attempt last-minute changes, which can threaten the timeline. That’s CAE Engineer has mentioned as a weakness, which is not harmful to a job interview.
10 Work from Home Jobs for Students
What Are Your Salary Expectations?
Experts say you should go into every first interview with your salary expectations in mind. Employers will always ask this question because every position is budgeted, and they want to ensure your expectations are consistent with that budget before moving forward.
Remember that it’s often better to discuss a salary range rather than a specific number during the interview and leave room for negotiation.
You can answer in a Diplomatic way also, such as:
I’d like to learn more about the position and the duties, and what the team’s like, before discussing money. But may I ask what salary range you’re considering for this position?
How do you deal with Pressure or Stressful Situations?
Your future employer wants to know:
What do you do when work gets stressful? Do you stay calm under pressure? Or do you have a difficult time in stressful situations? If you’re interviewing for a high-pressure position, the interviewer will want to know that you can deal with the stress.
Example:
I realize stressful situations are always going to come up, and I definitely have prepared myself. I think I will get better at it with every new experience. While working on a new product launch, if things are not going according to plan with my team. Instead of pointing fingers, my first reaction would be to take a step back and figure out some strategies around how we could solve the problem at hand. Previously, I may have defaulted to panicking in that situation, so being calm and collected would be definitely a step forward and help me approach the situation with more clarity.
What are Your Goals for the Future?
Interviewers ask this question to determine whether your career goals align with the role and company. When answering a question about future goals, focus your response on the company. In addition to demonstrating your aspirations, managers also get a sense of how you see yourself in their business. Research a company’s values and mission ahead of time to ensure your plans match up with it.
Future Plans as CAE Engineer
A common goal for me as a CAE engineer is learning new skills at constant intervals. I want to work in technology, software or scientific fields with rapid changes and adjust to new processes. I want to know new technologies or discoveries, to acquire relevant skills. Refining my soft skills such as communication, problem-solving and time management can also be beneficial in growing my abilities and improving my work. While I believe learning and improving skills is an attainable goal that strengthens your work and your opportunity to advance in your career.
Every simulation analyst I have met to date finds the CAE domain fascinating. I would like to go ahead in future with non-stop learning.
What can You Bring to the Company?
Interviewers want to see that you understand what problems and challenges they’re facing as a Company, as well as how you’ll fit into the existing organization.
Read the job description closely and do your research on the company, and make sure you pay attention in your early-round interviews to understand any issues you’re being hired to solve.
Example:
As a CAE Engineer, I would perform engineering simulations and high-performance computing to provide benefits across a range of CAD models. Creating time and cost savings in both design and product development, as a CAE, I would look to continue being an important part of manufacturing and process improvement.
With innovative new methods of design and engineering being created, as a CAE, I will work to streamline and improve product development procedures through simulation while ensuring an overall standard of product quality.
How do You Evaluate Success?
Employers ask how you define success because your answer can help them determine what kind of employee you will be. Tailor your response to fit what you expect to achieve if you were to be hired by this employer.
Maybe you define success by meeting team goals and collaborating effectively with teammates, or maybe your core measurement is increasing company revenue. Your answer tells employers how you prioritize.
Example:
I consider reaching both small and large milestones toward a goal as a success. I view success as a process where challenges encourage me to look at things from different perspectives and to find creative solutions to problems. Facing those challenges helps me progress personally at the same time that I hopefully make progress toward company objectives. I can leave work feeling successful as long as I have made some progress toward solving a problem or reaching a goal, even if I have not reached every personal goal at the end of the day.
Do not lose your focus. Success is a vague idea, but you should choose one or two attributes that are relevant. You should avoid talking about how you are completely successful. No matter how capable you are, being able to improve will be appealing to employers.
What Are You Passionate About?
This question may not be the toughest question of your interview, but it is the most important question. How much information should you share? It’s an excellent opportunity to tell the interviewer about your hobbies, enthusiasms, or whatever is important in your life.
Example of an Engineer
I’ve gotten really interested in writing lately, so I started a blog and I’ve been creating weekly posts for it. It’s been fun to use my content and Tech skills on a type of content that’s really different from my day job, and I’ve had a chance to learn a lot more about SEO, too.
Do You have any Questions for Me?
The last question at a job interview is usually one about what you want to know about the job and the company. Be ready with a list of questions to ask. You may seem disinterested if there isn’t anything you want to learn more about.
Questions could include:
Can you share more about the day-to-day responsibilities of this role? How would you describe the pace of a typical day?
If I were hired for this role, what would you want me to achieve in my first two months?
What mechanisms are in place for performance reviews and when would I receive my first formal evaluation?
In your opinion, what is the single most important indicator of success in this role?
Hope It Helps!
So, Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog by entering your email. Because It really motivates us.
