How to Answer Basic Interview Questions
By: Sydney Shaffer
It is sometimes difficult for students to learn how to answer basic interview question because it is not always taught in classes or student organizations. This is a basic overview of how to answer five very common interview questions as well as examples of answers. This does not and should not be taken verbatim, but it is to provide students a basic understanding of what might be asked, what is expected from their answer and how to answer them.
1. Tell me about yourself.
What they are looking for in your answer:
They want to hear a basic overview of who you are including major, minor and academic year as well as an overview of your professional involvements including student organization, involvements, past internships/jobs positions and leadership position(s).
It is important to keep this short and to the point. Have a clear direction to your answer. Don’t go into too much depth about your achievements because you will go into more depth in later questions.
An example of how to answer it:
“Well first, I would just like to say it is great talking with you today. My name is ______ and I will be graduating this May with a major in ____ and a minor in _____. Just to outline a few accomplishments on my resume, I currently am the _____ leadership position within my student organization, ____. I have been with them for ____ years, and before this role, I was the ____ position for them. Additionally, I am also a part of ______, ______, and ____ student organizations. Lastly, my internship experience includes being the _____ intern for _____ and the _____ intern for _____. My internship position(s) have focused primarily with _____, _____, and _____. Again, I am very excited to be here today to answer all of your questions, but first, I’d love to hear about your experiences and career path so far as well.”
2. Why did you choose to attend The Ohio State University?
What they are looking for:
They want to see that you have a thought process as to why you chose this university over others so that they can see you have a rational thought process for decision making. Make sure to have personal touches in your answer.
An example of how to answer it:
“Well, I am from Dublin, Ohio and my dad is a huge Ohio State fan, so growing up close to campus, I was raised as a Buckeye as well and we used to go to games every season. It was a very easy decision to attend Ohio State because I was a Buckeye fan, I wanted to pursue a degree in Marketing and the Fisher College of Business is nationally ranked and lastly, I saw many opportunities to have experiences bigger than myself. Throughout my four memorable years at Ohio State, I have loved everything it has given me including numerous leadership positions within my student organizations, two on campus internships, and being a part of multiple Dance Marathons for BuckeyeThon that donates to Nationwide Children’s Hospital. I am so thankful for the decision I made, and I am happy to be graduating with such a large Buckeye family this coming May.”
3. What is your biggest strength and weakness?
What they are looking for:
You have done research on the job to know what is needed to be successful in this position. Identify one key strength you have and provide an example or situations where you utilize this strength. With the weaknesses, do not be too harsh on yourself and identify a very bad trait that would limit you from being successful with this job. Identify something small or in some ways may be a strength that can be interpreted differently.
An example of how to answer it:
“I think a key strength I have is how passionate I am for everything I do. No matter if the task is large or small, significant or insignificant, I put my best effort into whatever I am doing. I bring this skill to my class work, group projects, leadership positions, internships, and so on in order to be a successful individual and team member. I think a weakness I have is that because of this strength I have, it’s hard to adjust when others may not be this way about the task at hand. I have had to adjust my leadership skills to adhere to others needs and help them identify their strengths in order to task them with what they will help add to the team.”
4. What attracted you to this company? / What do you know about this company?
What they are looking for:
This is a very common interview question because they want to see that you have done research on the company prior to this interview. Additionally, they want to see that you have a true interest in working for their company and you are not just looking for a short-term job. Lastly, find a way or multiple ways that your experiences or passions connect to the company.
An example of how to answer it:
“I think my first interaction with ____ company was that representatives from the company always present to my ____ organization. There have been many people within my organization that have worked for your company and have loved it so much. I can hear directly from people that I trust that the company offers great opportunities. Additionally, after presenting at ___ meetings as well as doing more research, I can see there is a large growth potential within the company which is important to me because I am looking for a company I can stay with in the long term. Lastly, after my research, I can see that your company donates to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. This is so great to hear because I am very passionate about BuckeyeThon here at Ohio State which donates to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, a part of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. I want to still be involved after graduation, so your company would be a great opportunity to do so.”
5. Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond on an assignment.
What they are looking for:
This type of question where they ask you something like “tell me about a time when…” is known as a behavioral interview question. These types of questions are very common and may have multiple of them throughout the interview. They want to see that you have a general progression throughout the problem or situation.
How to answer behavioral interview questions:
The STAR method will be needed in order to answer this question thoroughly. It stands for Situation, Task, Action and Result, but can sometimes be the START method with Takeaway at the very end. Let’s break all of the parts down:
Situation: First, start by identifying the general situation or environment that you were in for the example you have chosen to answer this question. Give details on the environment such as you were in ___ internship, ___ group project, ___ leadership position, etc.
Task: Identify the problem at hand and what you were initially assigned to do.
Action: Identify the actions you were taking in order to reach your goal. Identify the part of where you went above and beyond and why you did this.
Result: Identify if the situation was resolved, if it was successful or unsuccessful, etc.
Takeaway: Identify what you learned from this experience and how you used this situation for the future.