Wondering what types of questions you can expect from an interview?
Practicing for an interview is a great way to get comfortable with talking about yourself and your experiences. And while each interview is unique in its own way, answering mock questions will help ease your nerves and make the process seem a little less scary!
To help you prep for your next interview, Juno’s Career Success Specialists, Madi and Courtney, put together five common interview questions and along with advice on how to answer them!
Tell me about yourself
When you walk into any interview you know you’re going to get this question. This is a great opportunity for you to introduce yourself and your story right off the bat, and stand out from other applicants.
We recommend taking thirty seconds to a minute, to take the interviewer on a short journey of your relevant educational experience, work experience, and why you’re excited about the position you’re interviewing for. It’s also important to highlight the skills that the position is looking for -- strong communication skills, team experience, and client-facing experience.
For example, if I were interviewing for a Career Specialist role at Juno, I would respond to this question with something like:
Thanks again for taking this opportunity to chat with me! I actually started my career as a political science major at Brock University. During my time at Brock, I was really involved on campus and had a few co-op opportunities, one being running my own company. During the past four and half years, I’ve worked in a variety of positions within the post-secondary sector. In these positions, I was able to build strong skills in mentoring & coaching students, collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders, and creating innovative curriculum and programming. When I saw the posting for this position, I was excited! I think my experience in post-secondary and Ontario’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is a great combination for Juno’s community. I’d be happy to expand on the projects and specific examples from my experiences later on in the interview!
Why do you want to work here?
This is your opportunity to show that you did your homework. Before your interview, dig deep into the company’s website, social media channels, and any recent news on the company! You should be looking for values that the company holds, new initiatives they’re taking on, and things you would like to bring to the table based on their present services, products, or clientele.
Don’t be afraid to get personal. Do you connect with their mission? Have you used one of their products and did it positively impact you? Do you think this specific role would help you take your career to the next level?
If I were interviewing for a Web Developer role, I might answer this question with :
Loblaw Digital’s core values really speak to me. As someone who loves going the extra mile and is data-driven, I believe that Loblaw Digital would be a great place for me to stay true to our shared values and contribute to a fast-moving team. Accessible digital platforms have proven to be so important over the last year and I want to be a part of creating those!
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Your greatest strength should be something relevant to the role you are applying to, whereas your biggest weakness doesn’t need to be specific to the role. Rather it should show that you’re human and can accept your flaws, while working to improve them. Also, make sure to connect your answers to a story or concrete examples.
For example, if I were interviewing for a Software Engineer position, I might answer this question with:
My greatest strength is my resourcefulness. In a recent project I worked on, I was required to incorporate a concept I was unfamiliar with. Instead of getting stuck on the issue, I decided to turn to Wikis, Google, and videos to self-teach myself the concept. After having a firm grasp of what I needed to do, I communicated with my team to make sure I was on the right track. I value taking initiative and learning first, then communicating with my team to see if they can help me further with any unanswered questions.
My greatest weakness is that I can be really hard on myself when it comes to understanding brand new concepts, and wanting to know everything right away. However, I’m working on this by reminding myself that when it comes to technology, there are always new things to learn. Using my strength of resourcefulness and my strong ability to learn leads me away from being so self-critical.
“Tell me about a time that you…”
You can never predict the exact questions that an interviewer will ask you. But you can expect that they’ll want to hear about your skill set along with tangible examples.
Anticipate getting asked questions like:
- Tell me about a time that you worked on a team
- Tell me about a time that had to work on a complex project
- Tell me about a time you had to reach multiple deadlines
Start by looking at the job description and the specific skills the company is looking for. Then connect your tangible experiences to the desired skills, so you can answer these questions confidently.
And similar to resumes, we recommend you use the STAR method. For each experience you mention layout the specific situation, the task and action you took on, and the result of that.
Here’s an example of this question from the perspective of a recent grad:
Tell me about a time that you had to prioritize and meet multiple deadlines? What was your process for staying organized?
As a recent grad, I've had many situations where I had to effectively balance and reach deadlines. During my undergrad, I had a regular course load and I was also completing an internship with a local company. On a weekly basis, I was ensuring that I set goals and planned out to-do's for my course load, internship responsibilities, and additional involvements I had on campus. I was able to reach all deadlines set and also maintain a high quality of work. I continue to utilize tools like Trello and Asana to manage professional and personal topics, and I also find the traditional pen and paper route very helpful as well."
What made you want to make a career change?
Hiring managers want to check that you’re making a career change with intention and are passionate about the industry, while having the transferable skills and knowledge to make the pivot successful.
Below’s an example of an answer from someone who comes from a background in Graphic Design, that is pivoting to Web Development.
As someone with years of experience in Graphic Design, I always loved creating beautiful designs, but found I could never truly engage with the critical issues of the design below the surface. I wanted to be able to cultivate information and build these designs more efficiently. I decided to pursue an education in Web Development where I fell in love with coding, and finally felt like I was learning the part that had been missing in my previous work.
Bonus: Questions to ask your interviewer
This is your time to ask insightful questions that will help you decide if this is the right company and role for you. Ask questions that are thoughtful, and not something that you could find out from a quick Google search or through the company website. Below are some examples!
- What would my direct duties in this position look like? What are the top priorities in the role?
- What are some of the biggest challenges one might face in this role?
- How do you encourage learning and skill-growth? Are there mentorship opportunities?
- How does your company support an equitable and inclusive workplace? What kind of direct support or programs are available to employees from underrepresented groups?
- What does the team and management structure look like?
- How does your company help prevent burnout?
- What are the specific measurables for the first 3 months in this role? How would my performance be measured?
- What are the next steps and when can I expect to hear back from you?
Need to refresh your resume before your job search?
Download our free Resume Checklist created by Juno’s Career Success Specialists! This simple checklist will help get your resume perfected and ready to stand out from the rest!