The Most Popular Interview Questions, Ranked
Voting rules: Choose the interview questions you think is the most popular!
Updated on May 1, 2024 06:15
Welcome to StrawPoll, where your opinion truly matters! We are excited to present our latest ranking, "What are the most popular interview questions?" - a collection of the most intriguing, challenging, and thought-provoking questions that have left candidates eager to share their experiences. But we need your input! Cast your vote for your favorite interview question or suggest a missing gem that left you pondering long after the interview. Let's explore the vast landscape of interview questions together and uncover the ones that really make a mark. Don't miss out on this exciting opportunity to contribute to the conversation and gain insights into the minds of interviewers and candidates alike. Dive in and let your voice be heard!
What Are the Most Popular Interview Questions?
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150votesThis is a common question that interviewers ask to get a sense of who you are and what you bring to the table. It's an opportunity to highlight your strengths, experiences, and achievements.The interview question 'Can you tell me about yourself?' is one of the most common and open-ended questions asked in job interviews. It is designed to give the interviewer a chance to assess the candidate's ability to communicate effectively and provide a summary of their relevant professional background.
- Question Type: Open-ended
- Purpose: Assess candidate's communication skills and summarization abilities
- Commonality: Highly common interview question
- Length: Usually answered within 2-3 minutes
- Importance: Critical for creating a good first impression
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220votesThis question is asked to determine your level of interest and knowledge about the company. It's important to do your research beforehand to show that you are passionate about the company's mission and goals.The 'Why do you want to work for our company?' interview question is commonly asked to understand the candidate's motivation and alignment with the company's values and goals.
- Format: Open-ended question
- Purpose: Assess candidate's interest in the company
- Relevance: Aligning candidate values with company culture
- Evaluation criteria: Passion, research, company knowledge
- Expected response length: 1-2 minutes
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314votesThis question allows you to showcase your skills and qualities that make you a good fit for the job. It's important to be specific and provide examples to back up your strengths.The 'What are your strengths?' question is commonly asked in job interviews and serves as an opportunity for candidates to showcase their positive attributes and skills. It allows the interviewer to assess the candidate's self-awareness, confidence, and suitability for the position they are applying for.
- Purpose: To evaluate the candidate's self-awareness, confidence, and compatibility with the job requirements.
- Question type: Open-ended
- Expected response style: Candidates should provide specific examples or anecdotes to support their strengths.
- Assessment criteria: Candidates' ability to relate their strengths to the job requirements, level of self-awareness, and confidence in presenting their strengths.
- Common themes: Leadership abilities, problem-solving skills, adaptability, teamwork, communication skills, analytical thinking, time management, attention to detail, creativity, and organizational skills.
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415votesThis question is asked to determine your self-awareness and willingness to improve. It's important to be honest but also show that you are actively working on improving your weaknesses.The "What are your weaknesses?" interview question is a common question asked by hiring managers to assess a candidate's self-awareness and ability to handle challenges. It is designed to explore an applicant's honesty, accountability, and willingness to improve. By asking about weaknesses, interviewers aim to gauge if the candidate has the ability to recognize areas for growth and if they have taken steps to address them.
- Purpose: Assess self-awareness and ability to handle challenges
- Expected response: Demonstrate self-improvement, learning from mistakes, and taking proactive steps
- Behavioral competency assessed: Accountability, honesty, reflection, growth mindset
- Candidate preparation: Reflect on personal weaknesses, identify steps taken to address them, and frame response in a positive way
- Avoidance of common pitfalls: Avoid mentioning weaknesses crucial to the job, present weaknesses as opportunities for growth
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523votesThis question is asked to determine your ability to handle difficult situations and work under pressure. It's important to provide examples of times when you successfully managed stress and pressure.The question 'How do you handle stress or pressure?' is a popular interview question aimed at evaluating a candidate's ability to manage and cope with stressful situations in the workplace. It gauges their resilience, problem-solving skills, and emotional intelligence.
- Question Type: Behavioral
- Purpose: Assessing stress management and problem-solving abilities
- Commonly asked in: Job interviews
- Expected response: Sharing strategies to cope with stress, such as prioritization, time management, seeking support, or taking breaks
- Desired qualities: Resilience, adaptability, self-awareness, ability to work under pressure
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620votesThis question is asked to determine your leadership abilities and how you handle responsibility. It's important to provide a specific example that showcases your leadership skills.The question 'Can you give an example of a time when you demonstrated leadership skills?' is commonly asked in job interviews to assess the candidate's ability to lead and take charge in various situations. It aims to evaluate their past experiences in a leadership role and their effectiveness in managing and influencing others.
- Question Type: Behavioral
- Purpose: Assess leadership capabilities
- Expected Response: Describing a specific situation, explaining the actions taken, highlighting leadership qualities, and sharing the outcome of their leadership
- Desired Skills: Leadership, decision-making, communication, problem-solving, influence
- Evaluation Criteria: Demonstrated leadership, ability to inspire and motivate others, effective decision-making, handling conflicts, achieving positive outcomes
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712votesThis question is asked to determine your long-term career aspirations and whether they align with the company's goals. It's important to be honest and specific about your career goals.The interview question 'What are your career goals?' is commonly used by employers to assess a candidate's ambition, drive, and alignment with the company's long-term objectives. The question gives the interviewer insight into the candidate's vision for their professional future and their potential fit within the organization.
- Purpose: To evaluate the candidate's career aspirations and determine their compatibility with the company's goals.
- Relevance: This question helps employers understand the candidate's commitment to growth, their ability to set achievable goals, and their alignment with the company's mission.
- Insight: It provides valuable insights into a candidate's ambitions, motivation, and long-term planning.
- Self-reflection: Candidates must reflect on their career path and articulate their aspirations and plans.
- Company fit: It helps employers assess if the candidate's career goals align with the opportunities and growth potential within the company.
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810votesThis question is asked to determine why you are the best fit for the job. It's important to highlight your relevant skills and experiences that make you stand out from other candidates.The 'Why should we hire you?' question is a commonly asked question in job interviews where the interviewer wants to assess why the candidate is the best fit for the role and what unique qualities they bring to the table.
- Purpose: To evaluate the candidate's self-awareness, confidence, and ability to explain how their skills and experiences make them the ideal candidate for the job.
- Assessment: Evaluate the candidate's understanding of the job requirements, industry knowledge, and ability to align their qualifications with the company's needs.
- Expected Response: A well-prepared response that highlights the candidate's relevant skills, experiences, accomplishments, and their alignment with the job description.
- Effective Strategies: Identifying the employer's pain points and addressing how the candidate can solve them, providing specific examples of achievements, and showcasing enthusiasm for the role.
- Key Points: Demonstrate a clear understanding of the company's mission and values, emphasize how the candidate's unique qualities and experiences align with the company culture.
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912votesThis question is asked to determine your ability to receive feedback and make improvements. It's important to show that you are open to feedback and willing to learn from it.The 'How do you handle constructive criticism?' interview question assesses a candidate's ability to receive and respond positively to feedback in a professional setting. It evaluates their willingness to learn from others, adapt to new ideas, and improve their work performance.
- Question Type: Behavioral
- Purpose: Assess candidate's ability to handle feedback
- Skills Assessed: Receptiveness to feedback, adaptability, willingness to learn
- Expected Response: Acknowledgment of the importance of feedback, openness to criticism, ability to provide examples of situations where feedback led to personal/professional growth
- Desired Qualities: Reflectiveness, humility, self-awareness
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106votesThis question is asked to determine your problem-solving skills and how you handle complex situations. It's important to provide a specific example that showcases your problem-solving abilities.The interview question 'Can you give an example of a time when you had to solve a difficult problem?' seeks to assess a candidate's problem-solving skills and their ability to handle challenging situations. The question asks the interviewee to provide a real-life scenario where they encountered a difficult problem and successfully resolved it. It helps the interviewer determine the candidate's problem-solving approach, decision-making abilities, and their ability to handle pressure and adversity.
- Question Type: Behavioral Interview Question
- Purpose: Assess problem-solving skills and ability to handle difficult situations
- Assessed Skills: Problem-solving, decision-making, adaptability, resilience
- Response Format: Narrative explanation or 'STAR' (Situation, Task, Action, Result) response structure
- Preferred Answer: Clear description of the problem, steps taken to solve it, actions and decisions made, and the positive outcome achieved
Missing your favorite interview questions?
Graphs
Discussion
Ranking factors for popular interview questions
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RelevanceThe question should be relevant to the position and industry for which the candidate is being interviewed. It should help assess the candidate's knowledge, experience, and abilities related to the job requirements.
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ClarityThe question should be clear, concise, and easy to understand. Ambiguous or vague questions may lead to confusion and misinterpretation by the candidate.
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Difficulty levelThe question should be of an appropriate difficulty level. It should be challenging enough to provide insight into the candidate's skills and abilities, but not so difficult that it discourages or overwhelms them.
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Assessment of critical skillsThe question should help evaluate essential skills for the job, such as problem-solving, communication, teamwork, leadership, or technical skills.
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Open-endednessOpen-ended questions tend to be more popular as they allow candidates to express their thoughts, ideas, and experiences more freely. They also provide better insights into the candidate's thought processes and problem-solving abilities.
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Predictive validityThe question should have a history of effectively predicting candidate success in the role or similar roles. This involves correlating the interview question's answers with on-the-job performance or other relevant performance indicators.
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Legal complianceThe question should comply with local and federal laws, avoiding topics that could be considered discriminatory or inappropriate.
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Time efficiencyThe question should not take too long to answer, ensuring the interview stays on schedule. It should also provide enough information for the interviewer to make a well-informed decision about the candidate's suitability for the role.
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Diverse perspectivesThe question should allow candidates from various backgrounds and experiences to showcase their skills and competencies effectively.
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EngagingThe question should be engaging and thought-provoking for both the candidate and the interviewer. An engaging question can make the interview more enjoyable and memorable, increasing the likelihood of finding the best candidate for the role.
About this ranking
This is a community-based ranking of the most popular interview questions. We do our best to provide fair voting, but it is not intended to be exhaustive. So if you notice something or interview question is missing, feel free to help improve the ranking!
Statistics
- 2020 views
- 181 votes
- 10 ranked items
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Voting Rules
A participant may cast an up or down vote for each interview question once every 24 hours. The rank of each interview question is then calculated from the weighted sum of all up and down votes.
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More information on most popular interview questions
When it comes to job interviews, there are a few questions that seem to be universally popular. These questions are designed to help employers get a better sense of who you are as a person, as well as your skills and experience. Some of the most common interview questions include "Tell me about yourself," "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" and "Why do you want to work for this company?" Knowing how to answer these questions effectively can help you make a great first impression and increase your chances of landing the job. At StrawPoll, we've gathered data on some of the most popular interview questions to help job seekers prepare for their next big interview.
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