Top Interview
Questions and Answers

Prepare for the top interview questions you can expect in your job interview. Be ready for:

• motivational job interview questions
• questions that explore your ability to interact effectively with your co-workers

How would your co-workers describe you?

The interviewer wants to find out if you have a good understanding of how you are perceived and how your behavior impacts on others.

Your self-insight and your relationship with your co-workers are both being evaluated with this interview question.

Your interview answer should demonstrate an objective view of your strengths and areas for improvement in terms of:

• teamwork
• communication
• your interpersonal skills

In your job interview answer describe the good points and perceptions but also discuss one or two areas that you are aware need attention.

• Emphasize what you have done to improve on these areas. This makes your answer both real and insightful.
• When you refer to the positive characteristics, support your answer with a quote or paraphrase from one or two of your colleagues.

For example:

"I know they consider me to be hard working. In fact, the other team members often thanked me for the extra hours I put in."

Then move on to the areas for improvement.

"I know that I was initially considered intolerant if I felt they were not putting in the same amount of effort as I was. I realized it was better to encourage them to meet our deadlines by offering help where needed. This has worked much better for all of us."

Use work-relevant competencies like:

• good communicator
• reliable
• decisive
• resilient
• energetic
• team member

when answering top interview questions like this.

List of Work-Related Strengths

List of Work-Related Weaknesses

What motivates you in your job?

Answering motivation job interview questions can be tricky.

• Motivation is a personal trait, there is no right or wrong answer.
• However, you need to prepare for this job interview question and note down some specific examples.
• It is often difficult to verbalize your motivation properly in the stressful context of a job interview.

Other interview questions will determine whether you have the skills for the job to answer the question Can you do the job? With this question the interviewer is exploring whether you will be a good motivational fit with the job opportunity to find out Will you want to do this job?

What does motivate you will depend on your background and work experiences, but try to make your motivation relevant to what this job can provide. For example if the job is a fairly isolated one do not give "working with other people" as a motivation.

You can actually use this preparation as an opportunity to think about whether this position is really suitable for you in terms of motivational fit.

Here are some good sample interview answers to top interview questions about your motivation. Use them as a guide to help you prepare your own answers:

"I am motivated by the challenge of difficult tasks and projects. My previous manager gave me more and more responsibility as I proved myself, I found this very motivating."

"It is important for me to meet the customers needs. I give them the best service and when I exceed their expectations or get positive feedback it motivates me."

"I like to know that I am growing as an employee. Learning and using new skills is a big motivator for me."

Review the job tasks and skill requirements to determine the motivators that will be present in the job you are interviewing for. Make your answer relevant to the job opportunity and the company.

All Job Descriptions

Good general interview answer to "What motivates you?"

Find more excellent sample interview answers to What Motivates You at Work

Other motivational interview questions and answers include:

Why do you want to work here?

What is your ideal job?

What interests you most in the job?

Quick Links to Top Interview Questions and Answers

Top 10 Interview Questions

Behavioral interview questions and answers

Good questions to ask the interviewer

Have some smart questions ready to ask in your job interview. This sample list of questions will help you. Questions to Ask the Interviewer

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