The Ultimate Cheat Sheet to the standard interview questions (All my secrets, revealed!)
Ace the 12 standard interview questions without breaking a sweat.
Start with this article: Creating your Master Interview Script
Now you’re ready to dive in on writing your responses to the 12 standard interview questions. Grab this cheat sheet and a hot tea and let’s do this thing!
Side note: While the tech writer/instructional designer in me desperately wanted to turn the below into a table, I kept it in bullet form so it’s easier to copy and paste into your MIS. You’re welcome. :)
1. Tell me about yourself.
What they are looking for: Career experience overview + Role alignment
How to answer: Keep it short, positive, and compelling. End by making it all about the current opportunity.
Cover these three horizons only:
Most recent: “For the past X years, I’ve been at Y company doing Z. I’m most proud of how my team . . .”
Next most recent (just prior to the above): “Prior to that, I was in the X industry for Y years. During this time, I learned . . .”
What’s next: “Next, I want a challenging opportunity where I can grow in these ways . . . And that’s why I’m so excited about this role and your company’s mission.”
Aim to craft your “Tell me about yourself” intro in a way that provides high-level answers to the next three questions.
*** I’ll cover this in a future article. The elevated / next-level version of this answer is to add in one or more of the following:
Your career signature
What you believe
Your professional passions
Your non-negotiables
2. Why did you leave your last company?
Variation: Why are you currently looking?
What they are looking for: Red flags / commitment
How to answer: Be honest but you don’t have to be fully open/transparent.
In 2023, stating “I was part of an X% layoff” and job-hopping do not have the same stigma as they did pre-pandemic.
Move quickly off of what you’re leaving and pivot to what you’re looking for next.
From my MIS: “I believe it’s best to run toward something instead of away from something. What I’m looking forward to next is . . .”
3. What are you looking for in your next company / role?
Variation: Why are you interested in this company / role? What type of environment or culture do you thrive in?
What they are looking for: Mutual fit / passion
How to answer: I like the “three things” structure here. Document your “three things” with a focus on what you believe (alliteration optional).
From my MIS: My three have always been Purpose, Product, People.
Purpose: A mission I believe in and am authentically passionate about.
Product: A product I believe in and am confident solves a massive market problem.
People: People I want to work with every day to seize the massive market opportunity.
4. What are your long-term career goals?
Variations: What’s your five-year plan? What’s on your career bucket list?
What they are looking for: Career ambition/confidence + alignment with role potential
How to answer: Be crisp and confident in your answer. With this one, you’re going for quick impact, not a lengthy diatribe.
From my MIS:
Interviewer: “Where do you see yourself next? What’s your dream job?”
Me: “Chief Product Officer of a pre-IPO company.”
Answer, pause and smile.
5. What is your greatest strength / weakness?
Variations: What are you best at? Why should I hire you over other candidates? Why should I not hire you?
What they are looking for: Self-awareness
How to answer: Don’t guess on this one.
Take CliftonStrengths 34 Assessment right now if you haven’t already. Dive in and really understand your Top 5-10 strengths and how they work together.
The chart below is interactive on the Gallup site and you can drill in to any one of the 34 themes. For your “lesser themes,” you can learn tactical ways to improve.
Then use your results coupled with the most applicable S.T.A.R.R. story to highlight both of them.
From my MIS:
“Top strength = Strategic. I am constantly playing a game of chess in my head. I always see multiple options to solve problems. Here’s a recent example . . .”
“Bottom strength (weakness) = Deliberative. I can be too decisive and act too quickly and not take risks into account. I mitigate this by hiring people who are careful and methodical. I need people who will slow me down. An example when I acted too hastily . . .”
6. Describe your management style.
What they are looking for: Self-awareness for people leaders
How to answer: Don’t guess on this one either.
Text or LinkedIn message 3-5 of your previous direct reports and ask them to describe your management style.
Better yet, request a LinkedIn Recommendation from your former team members and leverage what they write both for the LI profile section and for your MIS.
Once you have direct feedback, here are sites to help you describe your management style:
Forbes 10 Management Styles
Harvard Business Review Management Style Orientations
Brene Brown Daring Leadership Assessment
From my MIS: When I asked former team members how they would describe my management style, I could easily summarize three themes.
I’m known for being “real” / relatable and transparent
Transformational leader—This aligns with my Insights Assessment as a “Motivating Director.” I believe if I’m not consistently inspiring change, we’re falling behind. I’m never satisfied with the status quo; always learning and improving. I’m obsessed with feedback loops.
Pacesetting—Lead by example, from the front and set the pace for my team. Never ask my team to do something I am not willing to do or have not done myself.
7. Tell me about a recent success.
Variation: Tell me about an accomplishment you’re most proud of.
What they are looking for: Teamwork / celebrating success
How to answer: S.T.A.R.R. story
Make sure the scope is as big as possible and it is relevant to the current opportunity.
I’ve had so many candidates throw this one away on a very minor win. Only to remember later, “Oh, yeah, there was this one time I had a really big win.”
8. Tell me about a recent failure and what you learned.
What they are looking for: Humility / dealing with failure
How to answer: S.T.A.R.R. story
The scope on this one does not need to be big. Don’t highlight your most “impressive” failure.
If all your stories include the “Reflection” at the end, most stories can be used to highlight lessons learned.
9. What would X say about you regarding Y?
Variations: What would your team members say about you as a manager? What would your last boss say about you as an employee?
What they are looking for: Honesty / receiving feedback
How to answer: The best response is to briefly answer and also refer them to your LinkedIn Recommendations section (where you want to have plenty of firsthand “testimonials”).
I understand it can be difficult to get recommendations from former managers who were senior and executive leaders.
At the very least, get them from other senior leaders you worked closely with as peers.
10. Tell me about a time you dealt with conflict.
Variation: Tell me about a time you had to influence others.
What they are looking for: Conflict management / ability to influence
How to answer: S.T.A.R.R. story
11. How do you stay up-to-date in your field?
What they are looking for: Expertise; continuous learning and improvement
How to answer: You can approach this one by giving the laundry list of your education, certifications, coursework, etc. But I say save that for LinkedIn.
Focus on a specific skill you recently learned and how you applied it successfully at work.
May be in the form of a S.T.A.R.R. story or you may keep it really simple.
The best example will be one where you also enabled learning for others. Share how you made continuous improvement a team sport.
12. What are your compensation requirements?
What they are looking for: Budget alignment / how you value yourself / dealbreaker on both sides
How to answer: This is an entire article by itself. The short answer is “It depends” but I would start with the following.
Don’t give the first numbers. Frame it as, “I need more context about the role.”
Ask them point-blank, “What is the compensation range set for this role?” Especially now with remote-first being more common, you need to understand what geo the comp will be based on.
Stay focused on understanding “the whole compensation package, including base plus bonus plus stock options plus benefits.”
Once you get to a point where you’re talking specific numbers, do your homework. Decide your minimum base requirement. Don’t give a range; give a single number that, if offered, you would be thrilled to accept.
This is another one you can “try out” with recruiters of roles you’re not that enthusiastic about. Give them a number that makes you a little uncomfortable and see how they react.
You make your biggest pay jumps when you switch jobs. In general, don’t settle for lateral moves or take a pay cut. There are definitely strategic reasons for doing this, but you will eventually regret that you did. And, in that case, time to refresh your MIS!
