The 12 Interview Questions You Will Almost Certainly Be Asked
Common interview questions decoded, with a framework for answering each one without sounding rehearsed.
Why the same questions keep coming up
Hiring managers ask predictable questions because they work. Each one is a probe for something specific: motivation, self-awareness, competence, or culture fit. Once you know what's actually being assessed, your answers become easier to prepare.
The 12 questions
1. Tell me about yourself. This is not your life story. Give a 90-second arc: where you are now, how you got there, why you're in the room today.
2. Why do you want this role? Reference two specific things about the company or job that aren't on the careers page. Show you've done the work.
3. Why are you leaving your current job? Stay neutral. Frame it as moving toward something, not running from something.
4. What's your greatest strength? Pick one that's directly relevant to the role, then prove it with a 30-second example.
5. What's your greatest weakness? Choose a real weakness you've actively worked on, and describe the system you built to manage it.
6. Tell me about a time you handled conflict. Use the STAR method: Situation, Task, Action, Result. Keep it under two minutes.
7. Tell me about a failure. Pick something genuine and recent. Spend 20% on what went wrong and 80% on what you learned and changed.
8. Where do you see yourself in five years? Show ambition that fits the company. "I want to be doing more of X and leading on Y" lands better than naming a job title.
9. Why should we hire you? Tie your top three strengths directly to the top three needs in the job description.
10. What's your salary expectation? Give a range based on market data, not a single number. Anchor at the top of what's reasonable.
11. Do you have any questions for us? Always yes. Ask about how success is measured in the first 90 days, what the team's biggest challenge is right now, and why the role is open.
12. Anything else we should know? Use this to land one final point that wasn't covered — usually a recent project or a unique angle you bring.
A 24-hour prep plan
Day before: re-read the job description, write three stories you can adapt to any behavioural question, research the interviewers on LinkedIn. Morning of: walk through your opening 90 seconds out loud, twice. That's enough.