101 Job Interview Questions

Posted by Sean Harry

Today’s post is a list of 101 interview questions that are typical of any job interview.  I wanted to get this list out today, and plan on developing answers (or a methodology for developing answers) in the months to come.  For now, you should familiarize yourself with these questions as they WILL be asked on your next interview.

101 Job Interview Questions

  1. Why should I hire you?
  2. What makes you the best candidate for this job?
  3. Tell me about yourself.
  4. Why did you leave your last job?
  5. Why do you want to leave your current position?
  6. How did you get along with your previous boss?
  7. How did you get along with your previous co-workers?
  8. What bugged you most about your last boss?
  9. Why do you want to work for this company?
  10. What do you think this position entails?
  11. What are your career goals for the future?
  12. What is your greatest strength?
  13. What is your greatest weakness?
  14. How will you compensate for that weakness in this position?
  15. Do you have any personal blind spots that effect you at work/
  16. If you were hiring for this position, what would you look for in a candidate?
  17. What is your experience in this area?
  18. What kind of experience do you have in this industry?
  19. What makes you qualified to do this job?
  20. What is your educational background as it relates to this position?
  21. Where did you go to school?
  22. What did you study?
  23. How does that fit with the requirements of this job?
  24. What are you previous job experiences as they relate to this position?
  25. What do you expect from us?
  26. What kind of salary are you looking for?
  27. What kind of benefits do you expect?
  28. How do you handle a heavy case load?
  29. What do you do when you disagree with your boss?
  30. How do you handle stress on the job?
  31. Tell me about your organizational skills.
  32. How well do you multi-task?
  33. What is your goal for what you want to get out of this position?
  34. How much do you know about this organization?
  35. How do you keep yourself up on the latest activities in your field?
  36. What makes you feel successful?
  37. Do you consider yourself to be successful?
  38. How much did you make at your last job?
  39. Are you applying for other jobs?
    1. Which ones?
  40. What kind of a team player are you?
  41. Do you know anyone else who works here?
  42. Have you ever been fired?
  43. Have you ever had to fire anyone?
  44. If we hire you how long do you expect to work here?
  45. What are your short-term goals?
  46. What are your long-range goals and objectives?
  47. Where do you see yourself in five years?
  48. What do you hope to be doing in ten years?
  49. Do you have a geographic preference?
  50. Are you able to travel abroad if the position requires it?
  51. What irritates you most about co-workers
  52. What has disappointed you about a job?
  53. What is more important to you, the money or the work?
  54. What motivates you to do your best work?
  55. What is your willingness/ability to work overtime?
    1. Nights?
    2. Weekends?
  56. What is your management style?
  57. How do you handle rejection?
  58. What was the best job you ever had?
    1. Why?
  59. What was the worst job you ever had?
    1. Why?
  60. What questions do you have for me?
  61. What questions do you have about this company?
  62. What questions do you have about this position?
  63. Are you more energized by working with people or by collecting and interpreting data?
  64. How well do you handle monotonous tasks?
  65. How well do you handle creative tasks?

Illegal questions. (If these questions are asked in an interview the interviewer is violating federal employment law!)

  1. How old are you?
  2. What year were you born?
  3. In what year did you graduate from college/high school?
  4. Are you married or do you have a permanent partner?
  5. With whom do you live?
  6. How many children do you have?
  7. Are you pregnant?
  8. Do you expect to become have a family?
  9. How many children do you have?
  10. What are your childcare arrangements?
  11. Where were you/your parents born?
  12. What is your native language?
  13. What is your country of citizenship?
  14. Are you a US citizen?
  15. Have you ever been arrested?
  16. What clubs or social organizations do you belong to?
Do you go to church?
  17. ANY question relating to race, color or religion is illegal.

O.k.  I know there are only 87 questions here.  Why don’t you add your question in the comment section?

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Category : Career Advice / Job Interviews / Interviewing

5 Responses to “101 Job Interview Questions”


Andrew Beach December 27, 2009

These are great practice questions and are as commonly asked because there’s a list of questions for interviewers just as interviewees (same list). There are listed because most interviewers don’t know what to say either. Let the interviewer get the ball rolling (warm up) and eventually it’s probably best to get in the habit of answering the question, and then asking a similar/related one back to the interviewer. This way it becomes a dialog instead of interrogation. For each interview, write 2-3 answers to each question based on your skill set & the requirements you perceive as important to the position. Then write 2-3 questions that are related and lead you closer to understanding the company/persons needs for the ideal candidate. Practice them over and over and over and over. Write them out multiple times. Record them on a digital recorder or in front of a camcorder and review them often before the interview. Great job Sean, keep up the great content.

Andrew Beach
your Realtor @ Prudential NW Properties &
Chief Accountability Officer @ Breakfast Club
503-770-0707
http://www.Listed2Sold.com
Getting home Sellers in Portland Oregon 99.2% of asking price inside 60 days. Who do you know that has to buy or sell real estate in the next 7-10 days

Sean Harry December 27, 2009

Andrew, so true! For most of the people conducting the interview, this is not one of the favorite parts of their job. They are Supervisors, or Project Managers, or Financial Analysts, or something else. But they are not professional interviewers. The more a candidate can engage in a conversation the more the interviewer will appreciate it. People hire people they feel they can work with. Answer this question for yourself, “Would you rather work with someone with whom you can have a pleasant conversation? Or with someone who feels uncomfortable in your presence?” All things being equal, you want to work with the person who engages you in a conversation. Thanks Andrew!

Leigh January 19, 2010

Actually, you only give us 65 questions because the last 17 questions are not really supposed to be asked. I want my money back! :)

Sean Harry January 22, 2010

Too funny, Leigh! Actually, I charge double for questions they AREN’T supposed to ask! ;-)