Job interviews are critical steps in finding your next job, which make them more nerve-racking. You won’t know how an interview will go until you’ve begun. But you can prepare for an interview ahead of time, which should improve your responses and make you feel more comfortable and confident about success.

It can be challenging to pick the right person for a job. The hiring official may be very good at doing things that have nothing to do with evaluating people’s potential to do a job well. You should be most concerned about those who are very good at interviewing job candidates (they may quickly expose why you’re not a great fit) and those who are very bad at it (they may not realize how good a candidate you are). Most interviewers are somewhere in between.

Here are common questions, things to think about, and how you can approach job interview responses most successfully.

1. “Tell me about yourself.”

This is a typical early interview question. While it can be an icebreaker, it can also set the tone for the rest of the interview. Your answer should give insight into your professional journey, personality, and generally how your experiences align with the opening. You could also talk about why you’re interested in working in that particular industry, and what about your approach to work or personality makes you a good match for the job.

Keep your responses focused on your career. Highlight your key achievements, experiences, and skill sets that make you the best applicant for the role. Tailor your responses to show how your background fits the job you’re interviewing for.

2. “Why are you interested in this position?”

This is an opportunity to show the interviewer that you’ve researched the company and understand the role. What about the job makes it stand out in your mind? How does your education and/or experience set you up well for this role? How does the opening fit into your career plan?

Discuss parts of the job that excite you, like the employer’s growth opportunities, values, or challenges you want to tackle. Show how your skills and passions align with the role’s responsibilities.

3. “Describe when you faced a challenge at prior work and how you handled it.”

People are hired to help employers solve problems, take advantage of opportunities, or both. The employer wants to understand your problem-solving skills, resilience, and approach to difficult situations. Tell the interviewer a true story about a bad work situation that you turned around or how you prevented circumstances from going bad and kept things on track. Choose a situation that’s similar in meaningful ways to the potential job.

Provide clear, structured responses. Employers are looking for people they can trust. Discuss a past incident that shows you can be trusted under pressure.

4. “How do you prioritize tasks when managing multiple deadlines?”

This question concerns your organizational and time management skills, plus your ability to handle stress. The employer wants to know if you can effectively juggle multiple tasks. This can also be an opportunity to discuss your priorities.

• Should operational efficiency take a hit if it means keeping a critical customer happy?
• Did you find ways to make your employer more efficient so that managing multiple deadlines was easier?

You could discuss breaking tasks into smaller steps, setting priorities, and using to-do lists or project management software to stay organized. Talk about when you think you need direction from above to decide what’s the highest priority and best practices to solve it.

5. “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”

These are truly awful questions to answer but be prepared to respond. Make the best of a bad interview situation. Someone posing these questions should couch them in a way to make you understand you need not be perfect to be hired (or they’ll never fill the role). The interviewer may state they’re much better at X than Y and ask about your self-assessment.

An employer may want to know if you are self-aware and capable of acknowledging your strengths and areas for improvement. For strengths, talk about skills that are directly relevant to the job. When discussing weaknesses, choose an area less critical to the job that you’re actively working on improving, and explain what you’re doing to grow.

6. “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

The economy is far more fluid than it was in the past. The days of lifetime employment in a single place are gone. Not only are people switching jobs faster, but they may work as an employee, then as an independent contractor, then back to an employee.

If you’re asked this question, your potential employer wants to assess your career goals and how well they align with the company’s objectives. The employer justifiably wants to know if you’re likely to stick around or if you’re looking for a temporary gig.

Be realistic about your career trajectory while showing enthusiasm for growing within the company. Highlight your desire for professional development and how it aligns with the company’s values and mission. Keep in mind your work history when making this response. If you have a long history of frequent job jumping, claiming you’re looking for a lifelong work home may be seen as less than credible.

7. “Why did you leave your last job?”

This is a straightforward question that can be a bomb waiting to go off, depending on your situation. If you’ve never been fired or had problems with prior employers, highlight these facts. If you’ve been fired, you lie about it, and your next employer learns about your lie, they could fire you, too.

It’s best to do some damage control. Don’t say “fired.” You may want to state something like you were “let go” or “separated” and paint with a broad brush. Talk positively about what you learned from the situation and why you’re in a better position to fill this next role. If you have a severance agreement with a previous employer, what you (and your prior employer) can say about the situation may be spelled out in the contract. If so, stick to it and don’t go off script. Always produce the severance agreement to your next possible employer. Failure to do so may result in a lawsuit against you and your new employer. Not a good way to start with a new employer.

Don’t dump on or blame your prior employer if your job didn’t end well. This is the last thing a potential employer wants to hear.

8. “Do you have any questions for us?”

Interviews are two-way streets. You need to get information and insight from those interviewing you. You also need to respond to their legitimate needs and concerns. You’re not there just to be of assistance to them. If you’re not asked if you have questions, say you have questions to ask and make the most of them.

You not only want to learn about the job and promotional opportunities, but also about the employer in general. If you take the job, how safe is it? Is the employer facing serious challenges? Research the company and carefully ask about any relevant bad news you find.

Be sure to ask if you may speak with your peers in the new organization. Sometimes you will get affirmation of why the prospective employer is a good place to work. Sometimes people will candidly tell you to “RUN!”

Try to get a realistic, not-bright-skies-and-rainbows view of the job. Ask what an average day will be like and the positive and negative parts of the role. Are they hiring because of expansion? Is there high turnover, and you’re expected to plug gaps created by employees headed out the door? The answers could be the difference between having your heart set on getting the job or leaving the interview wanting to wash your hands of the place.

Your goal is not to get a job, but a great job.

When it’s time for the interview, hope for the best, and prepare to respond to questions to increase your chances of success. Best of luck to you!

Kingston Law Group: Get Employment Law Help You Need from Attorneys You Can Trust

The worst interview questions to deal with are the illegal ones. Thanks to this prior blog, you’ll know how to handle them.

If you have any questions about employment law, call the Central New Jersey law offices of Kingston Law Group at 609-683-7400, or contact us online for a near-term reduced-fee initial consultation. We will listen to your facts, explain applicable laws, and advise you on how best to obtain legal, economic, and social justice.