The jitters you experience when you get an interview confirmation are coming from not knowing what will happen. You can prepare answers and investigate the company in advance, but there is always a concern about being caught off guard by someone during the interview.
It’s always daunting going into something new, especially when it comes to interviews. However, you can take solace in the fact that others have gone through this before you – and they’ve even documented their experiences on Quora. With helpful advice from recruiters, entrepreneurs, and CEOs answering the question “What one question do you always ask applicants in a job interview?”, we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 questions below.
[Related: Job Interview? 10 Tips To Know Before You Go]
1. What website do you love the most?
“In truth, there are no wrong answers, but people who practice and read how to give the perfect interview are always flabbergasted.” —Alex Williams, VP, Creative Director
2. What projects have you worked on in the past that were particularly exciting for you?
“This gives me insight into several things:
- Communication (can they explain the project to me in simple terms),
- Teamwork (how were they working with or reaching out to others to achieve the goal),
- Motivation (are they enthusiastic about the most exciting project in their life? if not, then they won’t be enthusiastic about any other project),
- Expertise (if I am familiar with the domain I can judge whether the challenges they describe were actually difficult).” —Grzegorz Jakacki, CEO & Founder at Codility
3. What are some hobbies or activities you enjoy outside of work?
“Besides asking questions that reveal who the candidate was in the past, this question can help reveal who the candidate has the potential to be in the future when he/she would be working for your company.” —Yang Hong, Stanford EE Undergrad
4. What risks have you taken in your life, and what did you gain from them?
“I think it gives good insight into a person’s character and willingness to continue learning.” —Tara D. Coomans, serial entrepreneur
5. What is our company’s purpose? How do we make money?
“It’s amazing how many folks have no clue when they get to an interview. Often I follow it up with why are you here?” —Ronald S. Woan, entrepreneur, programmer
6. Could you please tell me about your most relevant project? For example, what goals did you achieve and how did you go about achieving them?
“This question gives a total overview of skills, capabilities and decision making way.” —Javier Sevilla, Jobssy.com founder, and CEO
7. What is the most tedious task in your profession, and why do you detest it?
“It tells what the person is uncomfortable with since there’s something you don’t like about your job and if its a detriment to the position.” —Tracy Tran, recruiter
8. So far, what would you say is your biggest accomplishment in life? Was it easy to achieve or did it take a lot of hard work? How did you go about tackling that goal?
“In answering these questions, you can see what motivates the candidate, to what standard he bases all his other actions on, and what kind of person he is.” —Abigail Kristie Magno, recruiter
9. What is the most difficult problem you have experienced?
“This question provides insight into what the person views as challenging and allows me to explore how they approach very difficult problems.” —Zach Scott, product development
10. If you weren’t getting paid for your current job, what would you do with your time instead?
“That gives me a sense of how passionate/committed the applicant might be about my industry and the position the applicant is applying to.” —Franck Nazikian, entrepreneur
[Related: 6 Surprising Interview Questions—And How To Answer Them]
