If you’re preparing for a first round interview or recruiter phone screen, here are some of the most standard questions you’ll have to answer.
Here’s how you SHOULD and SHOULDN’T respond…
Tell me about yourself/Walk me through your resume?
🚫 Do not actually start talking about your personal life
🚫 Do not actually spend time going through each job you’ve ever had and essentially reading the bullets of your resume.
✅ Practice a confident response for this that is no more than 2-3 minutes.
(example: “I’m from XX (optional) – I’ve spent X years across XX and XX (industries) with a focus on XX (jobs/competencies). I started my career in XX and over time evolved more in the XX space – doing XX. In my latest role at XX I’m responsible for XX and I’ve had great success with XX(impact). I’m now looking for a role/company where I can expand on XX.)
Why did you/are you looking to leave xx company?
🚫 Don’t say you were “fired” (and obviously don’t elaborate on that with negativity about the employer)
🚫 Don’t tell them that you’re unhappy with your current employer if you’re still unemployed.
✅ Be truthful and succinct. If you were laid off, just note to the recruiter that the organization went through a reduction in force. If you feel inclined or they probe more – talk about what went into those evaluations – often times it’s tenure – which is out of your control, so that’s worth mentioning.
✅ If you were let go for a more controversial reason – make sure you’re prepared with a diplomatic response. Be honest but be VERY sensitive and humble about how you phrase it and generally showcase what you’ve learned from that. Using phrases like “mutual disagreements” or “strategically misaligned” can help. But also, simply stating that you were not the right fit for that organization, etc. If you show tact, it will speak volumes for you.
Why are you interested in working for our company?
🚫 Don’t say anything about remote work
✅ Do reference any recommendations you’ve heard from referrals or your network about the culture or any industry appeal, financial positioning.
✅ Do discuss any leaders of the organization that you look up to.
✅ Do talk about the role description and why it aligns to your background and how you feel like it’s a general fit.
What are your salary expectations?
🚫 Don’t tell them exactly what you’re making now in the hopes that they’ll use that as a baseline.
🚫 Don’t go too deep on this during your first round – just ensure it’s in the ball-park for you.
✅ Do pause and mention that your expectations are flexible based on the scope and scale of the role, as well as other compensation variables. THEN…. Ask them if they have a specific pay range for the position that they’re willing to share.
Hope this helps!
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