{"id":774685,"date":"2023-01-30T23:13:50","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T23:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/?p=774685"},"modified":"2026-02-18T13:57:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T13:57:31","slug":"interviewing-101-interview-questions-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/blog\/career-and-financial-advice\/interviewing-101-interview-questions-2\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEWING 101: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS"},"content":{"rendered":"\nCongratulations! You\u2019ve made it to the interview stage of the hiring process. Taking some time to think through how you might respond to potential interview questions will help you feel prepared and confident the first time you meet your prospective supervisor and coworkers. While the exact questions you\u2019ll hear depend on both the position and the person doing the interviewing, there are some general topics you can expect to be brought up.\n<ul>\n \t<li><strong>Tell me about yourself.<\/strong>\nMake your answer short and sweet. Stick to experiences and goals that relate to the specific job for which you\u2019re applying. Talk about your skills and achievements that show you can deliver. Emphasize your flexibility and positive attitude.<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Why are you looking for a job?<\/strong>\nKeep it brief. A straightforward answer is best. For example, \u201cMy organization was forced to downsize.\u201d Avoid negative statements about yourself, your work, or your ability to get along with others.\u00a0<em>Never<\/em>\u00a0criticize former employers or coworkers.<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>You haven\u2019t worked for a long time.<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>Why not?<\/strong>\nYou may have gaps in employment for many reasons.\u00a0Be honest.\u00a0Speak confidently about your experiences during the gaps. Some could transfer to on-the-job skills. For instance, if you were a caregiver, you managed complex financial issues. As a volunteer, you might have worked with diverse groups and on flexible schedules.<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>What\u2019s your biggest weakness?<\/strong>\nThis is a reverse invitation to toot your own horn. Do it with an answer that puts you in a good light. For example, \u201cI\u2019m too detail-oriented, but I work hard to control that.\u201d Keep it simple \u2014 and smile.<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>What are your salary requirements?<\/strong>\nTry to postpone this question until a job offer has been made. Prepare by knowing the going rate in your area (sites like\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.salary.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Salary.com<\/a>\u00a0can help). If you don\u2019t know the range and the interviewer persists, reply, \u201cWhat salary range are you working with?\u201d The interviewer may tell you.<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Do you have any questions?<\/strong>\nShow your interest and initiative by asking specific questions about the organization and what you can expect in the job. Use your questions to demonstrate how your skills can contribute to the organization. Answering \u201cno\u201d to this question says you\u2019re not really interested in the job.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Congratulations! You\u2019ve made it to the interview stage of the hiring process. Taking some time to think through how you might respond to potential interview questions will help you feel prepared and confident the first time you meet your prospective supervisor and coworkers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":775004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-774685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-and-financial-advice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=774685"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":775003,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774685\/revisions\/775003"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/775004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=774685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=774685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=774685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}