Predicting and preparing answers to the most likely interview questions can make you feel more confident and reduce the likelihood of your mind going blank during an interview. This article outlines how you can predict likely interview questions from a job description so you can prepare answers which convey your skills and experience as effectively as possible. Predicting interview questions yourself is more accurate than googling likely questions, as it ensures they are relevant to the role.

What questions am I likely to be asked?

Before you start predicting interview questions, look at the company careers website and see whether it states the interviewing style used, such as behavioural or competency-based interviews. Competency or behavioural interviews usually include one question to assess each essential and desirable skill / area of experience, as well as a range of other interview questions.

Interview questions are based around the essential and desirable skills and experience from the job description, they also assess who will fit best into the company/team culture, and who will perform best in the role.

Technical Skills

Your technical skills include your expertise, skills, qualifications and knowledge. Technical skills are usually acquired over a long period of time.

In order to predict technical interview questions, look closely at the person specification. Some companies divide this into essential and desirable skills/experience. Other companies state “you will have” or “you will ideally have.” If the job description isn’t divided like this, then it can be helpful to divide the role into the main areas of responsibility (usually around five areas).

Prepare an overview of your experience and a specific STAR based example for each essential / desirable criteria (or area of the role). Questions will always be related to the job description, they may assess your knowledge, or ask what you would do if a specific situation occurred in the future.

Competency and/or Behavioural Questions

Competency and behavioural questions look at how you work and interact with others in specific situations. They assess your soft skills e.g. communication skills, organisational skills and teamwork.

Competency-based questions require specific examples from the past, whereas behavioural interviews may ask for specific examples from the past, or what you would do if a situation occurred in the future.

You need to use the STAR format to answer any questions which ask for a specific example from the past, but not for any other types of interview questions. If the recruiter asks what you would do in a future situation, you only need to provide the action – the recruiter provides the situation and there is no result because the situation hasn’t actually happened. Don’t provide an overview of what you typically do (or would do in the future) unless the recruiter specifically asks for this.

You can predict these interview questions by looking closely at the person description, specifically the essential and desirable soft skills, then linking these to the duties in the job description. Typical phrasing of questions includes:

• Tell me about a time when you…
• Give me an example of…
• Describe a situation when you…

For instance, if one of the competencies is communication skills and the role focuses on advising customers – the communication question is likely to be along the lines of “Give me an example of a time when you advised customers.” It may ask about a specific type of advice, or how you explained the advice to a customer who found it difficult to understand. Another role may have a communication skills question about persuading or influencing, negotiating prices, or writing reports, depending on the role duties.

Questions asking what you would do in a hypothetical situation are typically phrased like:

• Tell me how you will…
• How would you deal with…
• What would you do if…
  

You can’t easily prepare answers to these questions, as it’s almost impossible to predict the exact scenario which the interviewer will provide.

Motivational / Cultural fit

Interviews usually include general interview questions which assess how well you will fit within the company culture and the current team. People thrive where their core values and beliefs match the company’s. Motivational questions are fairly common across roles and industries. They include questions like:

• Tell me about yourself
• What interests you about this role?
• Why are you looking for a new role?
• What are your strengths?
• What are your weaknesses?
• What have you been most proud of so far in your career and why?
  

Mock Interviews

I offer mock interviews and interview coaching sessions, where I write interview questions from a job description of your choice, and provide you with honest, constructive feedback and guidance on how to improve your interview skills. You may wish to visit the interview coaching section of my website, where you can find more information and prices. Or you are welcome to contact me, and I’ll be pleased to discuss how I can plan a session to help you.