Top 50 interview questions

One way to prepare for an interview is to work on potential questions they may ask. Most interviews start with a discussion of your CV, and you need to be able to tell its story, know the dates, and be able to flesh out its content with greater detail about your achievements.

If you're caught out by misleading, or inaccurate information on your CV, it's game over. So know it inside and out.

However, there are more generic questions you will be asked, outside the parameters of your CV. Good answers to these questions will not only help you land the job, but get the pay package and/ore conditions that you are looking for.

Some of these questions are genuinely hard, and do require some soul searching. No matter how painful, it's better to force yourself to do this before you get to the interview, rather than finding yourself unexpectedly revealing fatal flaws during it.

Top Questions

1. Does managing in the Middle East differ from managing elsewhere?

2. In what countries have you worked - what were the differences?

3. Have you managed a multicultural team before?

4. What were the challenges of running a multicultural team?

5. Give me an overview of who you are/your experience?

6. What's your greatest strength?

7. What's your greatest weakness?

8. How have you managed a difficult situation and brought out a positive outcome?

9. When have you failed? What did you learn from it?

10. What is your proudest achievement?

11. Describe your management style?

12. How do you like to be managed?

13. Why should we hire you?

14. What would your employees say about you?

15. Why do you want to work for us?

16. Who else are you talking to?

17. Describe the perfect job?

18. What are you earning now?

19. What salary do you expect?

20. What would you do in the first month of this job?

21. Have you ever fired anyone before? How did it feel?

22. How would you build confidence in your manager?

23. How would you get your team's trust?

24. What's your favourite book/film - why?

25. When were you last seen to fail? How did you handle the criticism?

26. Do you live to work or work to live?

27. Which boss/leader have you/do you most admire - and why?

28. Do you have any questions?

29. When can you start?

30. Why are you leaving your present job?

31. Why did you leave?

32. What did you rate your previous boss?

33. What technical/personal training do you need?

34. Describe the type of people you like to work for?

35. When have you been the happiest?

36. How would you fire someone - describe the meeting?

37. Where do you see yourself in 18 months?

38. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

39. You win the lottery - what do you do?

40. Describe yourself in five words?

41. What do you think you can bring to this job?

42. What questions should I have asked you, but have not?

43. How has this interview been handled?

44. How would you judge my performance in this interview?

45. What do you think of this city?

46. How long have you lived here? How long do you think you will want to live here?

47. Are you willing to relocate?

48. If you were asked by your company to do something that broke the law, would you?

49. What is your greatest fear?

50. Name three positive traits you don't have?