Interviewers commonly want to get to know both you as a person and the knowledge and skills you would bring to their organization. To understand who you are and if you are a fit for the role and the team, you might be asked questions such as:

• Tell me about yourself.
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Why are you interested in this organization or position?
• Describe a time when you had a conflict with a co-worker and how you resolved it.

There is no one right answer to questions like these. They are intended to find out characteristics about you as an employee and as a person. Prepare answers ahead of time that are both honest and thoughtful. For instance, negative attributes (“weaknesses”) can be discussed with a positive tone by including what how you have worked to overcome the weakness or work around it.

To gain an understanding of your experience, knowledge, and skills, interviewers might ask questions like:

• Tell me about the most challenging project you’ve worked on and the skills that you used to complete it.
• Describe a time when you improved a process or saved time/money for your employer.
• Explain your experience working with [skill, software application, or method].

Though you can’t know what questions an interviewer will ask, you can prepare by spending time researching the company, the position, and reviewing the skills and experience you have to offer.

Here is a blog post with tips about how to answer some common interview questions. And, for more information see the Interviewing section of the Career Center.