Preparing for a job interview: common questions and a method

You do not prepare for an interview by learning answers by heart, but by choosing a few true stories from your career and being able to tell them in a minute.

Updated on 5 October 2026

What the recruiter is trying to find out

Under every question there are three: can you do the job (skills), do you want to do it here (motivation) and will you fit in (behaviour). Your answers are good when they answer one of the three with a fact rather than an adjective.

Before: three preparations that count

1. Re-read the vacancy and underline its three most important criteria. They are the subjects you will be questioned on.
2. Re-read your CV as the recruiter will. Every line can lead to a question: "Tell me about this project", "How did you get this result?". If you cannot talk about it for a minute, rework it or remove it.
3. Learn about the company: activity, customers, recent news. Two precise facts are enough.

The questions that almost always come up

"Tell me about yourself"

This is not an invitation to tell your life story. Answer in three parts: who you are professionally, one concrete achievement, and why this role. Thirty to forty-five seconds. Spoken, it is the equivalent of your CV summary.

"Why this role, why us?"

A precise link between what the vacancy describes and what you want to do, then a fact about the company. "Your home-delivery service interests me because I managed routes like that for three years" beats "your company is dynamic".

"What are your strengths and weaknesses?"

Pick two strengths you can prove. For a weakness, name a real area for improvement and what you already do to work on it. Avoid "weaknesses that are really strengths": recruiters recognise them.

"Tell me about a difficulty and how you overcame it"

This is the question where they see whether you can tell a fact. Use the method below.

"Why did you leave your last job?"

Stay factual and forward-looking: end of contract, wish to progress, career change. Never criticise a former employer. If your history has a gap, see how to explain it.

"What are your salary expectations?"

Research the ranges for the job and region before the interview. Give a range rather than a single figure, and mention what is negotiable (hours, training, remote work).

The method for answering with facts: STAR

For any question that starts with "tell me about a time", prepare five or six true stories from your career that you can tell in a minute:

• Situation: the context, in one sentence.
• Task or difficulty: what made it hard.
• Action: what you did (not "we").
• Result: what happened next, with a figure if you have a reliable one.

Choose your stories by re-reading your CV: every important experience contains one. They work for almost every behavioural question.

Questions to ask the recruiter

At the end you will often be asked "do you have any questions?". Answering "no" gives the impression of a lack of interest. Prepare three:

• "What does a typical day look like in this role?"
• "What would success look like in the first three months?"
• "What are the next steps in the process, and by when?"

After the interview

Send a short thank-you message within twenty-four hours: one sentence on what interested you, one on your motivation for what comes next. Also note the questions that threw you, to prepare them better next time.

For the letter that often comes before the interview, see the cover letter guide.