7 Most Common Interview Questions Answers Business English Course Lesson 4
hello everyone and welcome back to
english with lucy today I’m going to be
talking to you about job interview
questions and how to answer them let’s
get started in this lesson we’re going
to discuss seven of the most commonly
used interview questions how to answer
them correctly and how to tailor the
answers to your personal skills and
experience this particular lesson is
going to cover seven of the questions
which are easier to answer absolutely
everyone who is preparing for a job
interview
must have their answers prepared and
perfected in the following lesson part
two we’ll be discussing some of the most
complex questions I highly recommend
that you follow both lessons carefully
it’s tempting to skip to the advanced
lesson but if you don’t know the basics
you’ll fall at the first hurdle please
take the opportunity to write out model
answers in the comments down below and
use each other for inspiration if you
would like to offer someone else the
opportunity to correct your English or
give constructive criticism on your
answers you can start off by saying that
feedback is welcomed the first interview
question is can you tell me about
yourself
this question seems so simple but
frequently candidates fail to prepare
for it you don’t want to say too much
but you don’t want to say too little
either what you should prepare is a
clear and concise answer that builds a
connection between you and the
interviewer and shows why you are the
perfect person for the job
the formula for answering this question
is easy start with the present follow
with the past and finish with the future
the present is where you are right now
for the past touch on where you were
before and the skills and experience you
gained for the future show how excited
and eager you are for this new
opportunity for example I’m currently a
sales intern at the coffee bean Co where
I’m being mentored by the head of sales
before that I was studying for a
business degree at the University of
Chelsea and working at a shoe shop
franchise where I developed my sales
skills I really enjoyed the sales
aspects of the retail position and now I
would love to work in a corporate sales
position and take on more responsibility
which is why I am so excited about this
Sales Manager position you don’t need to
tell them your name or your age or where
you’re from they’ll be able to work that
out from your CV don’t waste time
telling them irrelevant information that
they already know question number two is
how did you hear about this position
when I was first asked this question I
thought it was just used for feedback to
the company they just want to know which
job advertising platform is working best
for them right
well actually this question can offer
you a real foot in the door but if you
mess it up it can seem like you are
mindlessly applying for millions of
positions if you found out about the job
from a professional contact or a friend
in the company you can name drop them
especially if you think that they would
be a good reference for you just don’t
go overboard as it may seem like you are
using them say something like I was
excited to find out about the job from
my friend who works in the accounting
department here if you search for the
company specifically emphasize that it
will show how keen you are to work at
this specific company if you discovered
the company through an event or an
article you can also share that and if
you found the job advert on social media
or in a job board share what caught your
eye about the role and made it stand out
amongst the rest for example I was
browsing the indeed platform and when I
saw the offer from this company I was
really keen to apply the job description
and requirements matched my profile
perfectly
forgetting where you found the job is
the mother of all mistakes you should
keep a document detailing the jobs that
you’ve applied for and where you found
each job question number three is why do
you want to work here this is your
chance to show the interviewer how
passionate you are about the company and
the position you need to show how much
you know about the company so for this
question research is key spend time
searching the company how it started its
morals its clients its projects how it
works
everything for example if you’re
applying at an educational charity you
could say I’ve always been passionate
about education and I’ve seen firsthand
the work that you do I have always
wanted to be a part of it I was
especially impressed when I found out
that your teams are so small I
originally thought that you would have
so many employees due to the sheer
amount of work you do I love working as
part of a small team and seeing my work
make a real impact is so rewarding
you should also align your skills and
experience with the role you should take
key parts of the job description and the
job requirements and add them to your
personal profile for example the part
that really got me excited was the
opportunity to present on a regular
basis I had to present in front of an
audience at my previous role and this
position would give me a chance to
present about something I am incredibly
passionate about
question number four is what are your
strengths with this question it’s easy
to say a load of positive adjectives and
we’ll talk about those later but
interviews will have heard them all
before the big part of this question is
justification you need to justify each
strength you give and apply it to the
job role for example I’m very logical
and in my previous position I managed to
rethink an entire delivery process
reducing each delivery time by four
minutes I communicated it to my boss and
after a successful implementation they
still use my process today
question number five is how would your
boss describe you first of all the most
important thing is be honest if they
really consider you for the job the
hiring manager will be calling your
former bosses and co-workers the easiest
way to answer this question is to
paraphrase a recent positive performance
review you should specifically reference
where you’re getting this information
from this makes it easier to describe
yourself as trustworthy dedicated and
creative without feeling like you’re
boasting you’ll also want to give some
big-picture context about your role and
responsibilities to fill in the gaps
around your answer another way to do
this is to start off with a positive
story about something that you’ve done
and conclude it with how your boss or
coworkers would describe you since this
question is pretty open-ended it’s a
really good opportunity for you to share
something that you really want to
mention in the interview but you haven’t
had a chance to yet if you simply can’t
think of anything here is another
approach you could try think about three
positive traits that you bring to your
workplace then have a short example
after each
for example I’m a good negotiator I
managed to negotiate a better price on
our stationery last year
question number six what is your dream
job career advisors think of good jobs
as an intersection of your skills
interests and values that’s a really
good way for you to approach this
question talking about your skills will
give you an opportunity to sell yourself
which we’ll talk about later your
interests will show your passions and
your investment and your values can help
illustrate your fit within the company
an example would be I’ve mentioned my
experience with programming so my dream
job would definitely have to relate to
that in terms of the industry while I’m
really interested in sports so something
related to that would be good in my
career I really value having a good
relationship with my co-workers that’s
the reason why I’m so excited to be
interviewing for this position the vibe
in the office is amazing
question number seven is where do you
see yourself in five years time this can
feel like a bit of a trick question
because sometimes what you want to say
is not here or in your job or something
like at a bigger better opportunity
realistically those aren’t going to be
good answers think about where this
position could take you and consider how
that aligns with some of your broader
professional goals for example you could
say I’d like to be seen as someone with
expertise in the energy sector which is
something that I know I’ll have an
opportunity to do here I’m also really
excited to take on more managerial
responsibilities in the next few years
and potentially even take the lead on
some projects
right those were seven of the slightly
easier interview questions and how to
answer them
in the next lesson we’ll be discussing
the more complex ones don’t forget to
share your model answers in the comments
down below and give people feedback if
they want it that’s it for this lesson I
hope you enjoyed it and I hope you
learned something don’t forget to
connect with me on all of my social
media I’ve got my facebook my Instagram
and my Twitter and I shall see you soon
for another lesson nuts
[Music]