Employer Motivation: To see how well you can communicate and structure your thoughts.

Strategy: Prepare for this question in advance. Pretend that the employer said “Tell me about yourself and why you are interested in this job?” You might answer this question by quickly mentioning your relevant background, experience and skills then explaining why you believe the job would be the next logical step for you.

Employer Motivation: To know what you care about and what motivates you.

Strategy: Choose something about which you are passionate. Unless attending college was highly unlikely for you, or you can attach it to deep personal significance, try not to say, “Getting into UVA” as this is an accomplishment common to everyone attending this University. Try to choose accomplishments to describe what makes you unique. 

Employer Motivation: To find out about your work-related values.

Strategy: Be truthful about what matters to you professionally rather than personally, yet keep your answer relevant to the open position.

Employer Motivation: To see if you have made an effort to research the company, which shows your interest and initiative. 

Strategy: Talk about any research you have done through the company website, news articles, and discussions you’ve had with employees of the company or students who have interned with them already.

Employer Motivation: Similar to the previous question, the employer is checking your knowledge base and interest. 

Strategy: Provide an answer that indicates that you have researched the company before the interview. Example: “I’ve talked with some of your employees and they feel that this is a good company to work for because…” “I have been reading that your company is growing fast, planning two new branches this year. I want to work for your company because the future looks promising.” 

Employer Motivation: To find out if your strengths would be used in the position and to find out if you are aware of the areas where you need improvement. 

Strategy: You can give examples of your strengths if you wish (e.g. “I’m an excellent writer. Most of my teachers have commented on my ability to organize my thoughts and communicate with a variety of audiences.”) With your weaknesses, explain how you work around them or try to strengthen them so that you end on a positive note. Avoid sharing a weakness that directly relates to the job’s requirements. 

Employer Motivation: To see if you would be effective working for the supervisor.

Strategy: It is much easier to answer this questions if you already know the supervisor and their style. If not, you may want to state broad preferences, or consider mentioning how you would be a good supervisee. 

Employer Motivation: To find out your interests and preferences and then see if they fit with the job and the company culture. 

Strategy: If your major is unrelated to the industry, consider what aspects of your interests are most relevant to the job and focus on that side (e.g. your love of independent quantitative analysis vs. your love of team projects.)

Employer Motivation: To assess your teamwork, interpersonal and leadership skills. 

Strategy: Pick a specific example that has a “happy ending” and about which you are proud. Be sure to discuss the role that you played as part of the team. 

Employer Motivation: To assess your knowledge and commitment to diversity and to examine your understanding of effective interpersonal and team dynamics. 

Strategy: Describe your definition of diversity and how it might be a fit for the organizational structure, keeping in mind any organizational research and literature you may have seen on this issue.

Employer Motivation: To see if you can learn from your experiences.

Strategy: Highlight some skills that you have gleaned from each of your major job/internship experiences and perhaps how you have refined those skills in subsequent positions.

Employer Motivation: To see if you have a clear idea of the skills needed for the position advertised.

Strategy: Be sure to have thought about your skills before the interview. A good way to do this is to highlight the skills mentioned in the job description and then think about how you might be able to prove each of those skills. 

Employer Motivation: To gauge how you deal with obstacles and/or conflict and to assess your performance in a work setting.

Strategy: Definitely give this question some thought prior to any interview. Try to balance anything negative with something positive.

Employer Motivation: To see how honest you are about your mistakes.

Strategy: Pick something small to discuss (e.g. one day being late or making an error early in your training). Be sure to explain how you learned from the experience. 

Employer Motivation: To see how you relate to others and perhaps how you can think outside the box. 

Strategy: Draw upon your teamwork experiences, both school- and work-related, to present a thoughtful and logical approach. 

Employer Motivation: To see how you make decisions and how you handle differences of opinion. 

Strategy: Include all aspects of the decision-making process as well as your analysis of the decision after the fact.

Employer Motivation: To see if you can confidently state your strengths. 

Strategy: A popular variation of this question is to state three adjectives that describe you – short but informative.

Employer Motivation: To gauge what your long-term career goals are and how they fit with their particular organization.

Strategy: Provide an outline of what your career goals are at that time, but you don’t necessarily have to have a concrete timeline for the next twenty years in mind. 

Employer Motivation: To see if you can concisely sell your strengths.

Strategy: You may want to say something like “I think there are three main reasons you should hire me. First…” Three main selling points will stick in the interviewer’s mind. Structuring your answer with numbers will keep you focused. This is not the time for many details. This question is best answered with a summary of your major assertions. 

Employer Motivation: To see if your expectations are in line with theirs. 

Strategy: Never state a flat dollar amount unless you know what the job pays. Try a neutral statement: “I would expect to be paid what other persons in this position/area are paid.” You can also answer with a question: “How much does the job pay?” or “How much is a new employee usually paid?”

This is a great open-ended question that will have the interviewer put his or her cards on the table and state exactly what the employer is looking for. If the interviewer mentions something you didn’t cover yet, now is your chance.

This question not only shows that you are immediately thinking about how you can help the team, it also encourages the interviewer to envision you working at the position.

This question is helpful so you know what to focus on if you do get the position. Without a clear expectation, you won’t know what to accomplish or how to make the right impression during your first days on the job.

Asking this can provide clarity about your core responsibilities, and provide information about what your focus should be on day one. 

(Is it a newly created job? Did the previous employee leave? Why?)
This seemingly straightforward question will tell you whether a previous employee was promoted or fired or if he/she quit or retired. That, in turn, will provide a clue to whether: there’s a chance for advancement, employees are unhappy, the place is in turmoil or the employer has workers around your age.

This question allows the interviewer to connect with you on a more personal level, sharing his or her feelings. The answer will also give you unique insight into how satisfied people are with their jobs there. If the interviewer is pained to come up with an answer to your question, it’s a big red flag.

This question will help to get some insight into the culture that is fostered by the employer and how it may effect you working there.

The above two questions show that you are invested in equity and will help you learn about the organization’s level of commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive culture and supporting and advancing all of its employees.

This question will help you understand the potential for future growth and can open up a conversation about professional development.

Notice how the question is phrased; it assumes you will get the job. This question also tells you about the people you will interact with on a daily basis, so listen to the answer closely.

Knowing how the organization measures achievements will help you understand what the expectations will be and whether you have the skill set to meet them, This question shows your interest in being successful there, and the answer will show you both how to get ahead and whether it is a good fit for you. But don’t undermine your past accomplishments just because your route to success doesn’t match up with the one embraced by the company. 

This is a great positioning question, showing that you are interested in expanding your knowledge and ultimately growing with the employer.

This is a great question for gauging the expectations of the employer and positioning yourself as an eager employee who wants to improve.

This question should be customized for your particular needs. Do your homework on the employer’s site beforehand and mention a new product or service it’s launching to demonstrate your research and interest. The answer to the question will give you a good idea of where the employer is headed.

This question demonstrates that equity and inclusion are priorities to you and can help you learn about the culture of the organization and what they value and are working towards.

This can give you clues as to how quickly the organization will move forward, and can be helpful to you as you navigate multiple interviews and multiple offers. 

This is the essential last question and one you should definitely ask. It shows that you’re interested in moving along in the process and invites the interviewer to tell you how many people are in the running for the position.