While each job interview will be different, certain questions come up time and time again.
"Why do you want to work here?" and "Tell me about yourself?" are the two most commonly reported interview questions, according to an analysis by Final Round AI of nearly 200,000 interview reviews on Glassdoor at 179 American companies with more than 10,000 employees.
Preparing answers to common questions can help set the tone for the conversation, make a positive impression and boost your confidence during the interview.
Here are the three most reported interview questions according to Final Round AI and how to answer them according to experts:
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1. Why do you want to work here?
Having a thorough and thoughtful answer to why you want to work at a company can help a recruiter assess how good of a fit you are for the role and differentiate you from someone who just wants any job on a list of jobs they're applying to.
"Go the extra mile" and research the company beyond its homepage by exploring its mission, recent news, and employee reviews to uncover specific details that resonate with you, career coach Emily Liou told CNBC Make It in 2022.
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Then consider finding a personal connection, such as sharing values with the company's mission, to show you've thought deeply about the role, and finish by focusing on the impact you hope to make, illustrating how your skills can help solve a problem or contribute to a key initiative, Liou said.
2. Tell me about yourself
"Tell me about yourself" is a common icebreaker in interviews, but it can be particularly challenging.
"If you have a long-winded, boring answer, it can bring a quick end to the interview," Jeff Hyman, an executive recruiter told CNBC in August. "You don't want to launch into a long summary of your life story and resume."
Instead, Hyman said, focus on delivering a concise elevator pitch that highlights your strengths, relevant experience and enthusiasm for the role. You should tailor your response to the job you're interviewing for, emphasizing the skills and experience most relevant to the position, William Vanderbloemen, the CEO of executive search firm Vanderbloemen Search Group, said in 2023.
Tell your hiring manager something they won't know from your application, and provide specific examples of projects or accomplishments that had a measurable impact. Avoid overusing "we" and focus on your personal contributions to showcase your individual strengths, executive coach Vivian Garcia-Tunon said in 2019.
3. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
A good grasp of your strengths and weaknesses will help hiring managers gauge your self-awareness and ability to recognize areas for improvement, career coach J.T. O'Donnell said in 2020.
To start, O'Donnell said, seek feedback from former colleagues and managers about your strengths and areas for improvement, and then assess which traits are consistently mentioned.
When discussing strengths in an interview, back them up with specific examples of past successes, O'Donnell said. When discussing weaknesses, consider mentioning a weakness that won't hinder your ability to perform the job — focusing 10% of your response on explaining the weakness and 90% on describing the steps you're taking to improve it, career advice content creator Erin McGoff said in CNBC Make It's How to Ace Your Job Interview course.
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