Open Ended Questions - A Laundry List!

          We know interviewers love their ambiguous, open-ended questions that make you panic and squirm in your seat. Not anymore! In our previous blog we discussed 3 rules that can help you tackle these curveball questions, skillfully and mindfully. In this blog, you will find a great set of open ended questions that I find candidates commonly face in interviews. While this is not an exhaustive list, it’s a comprehensive set that is a must-read for interviewees. When you read through them, prepare mental notes on how you’d like to tackle them. Practicing these in your mind will help tackle these questions even if you are asked similar versions.

But before you read the list, know this: You can never really complete your preparation for a perfect cookie cutter answer. What you can bet on, is that each question needs a unique flavor, that special twist, a bit of You :)

One more thing before we jump in, come what may, keep your responses positive and definite. That way not only will you avoid the temptation of ranting or rambling at the slightest (given the open-ended opportunity), but you will also successfully avoid any ambiguity leading to follow up queries which are also usually more– you guessed it- open ended questions!

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·       What definite strengths do you bring to the table?

·       What are your biggest weaknesses?

·       How will you contribute to our team/company if we hire you?

·       By when can we see concrete contributions from you?

·       What external factors affect your job performance?

·      Have you had a conflict with a teammate at work? If yes, what resulted in it and how did you handle it?

·       What do you like to do more of in your job?

·    If you could remove one responsibility from the job you have applied for, what would it be?

·       What motivates you to push your limits at your work?

·       Define your dream job.

·   If you decide to switch companies, how long after you start would you feel comfortable making the move?

·      What did you love about your last job?

·      What did you hate about your last job?

·      How do you plan to transition to a new work environment?

·    You performed at a certain level in your last position. Would you say you gave it your best? If yes – what makes you think so? If not, how could you have improved?

·      Why do you want to work with our company?

·   Which of the following is the most/least important and why? job duties, hours, distance to work, pay, work environment.

·      Define success?

·      Define failure?

·      How do you make important decisions?

·      Who are your ideal teammates?

·      If you’re hired for this job, how will you approach the first 30 days?

·      Which tasks in your previous job intellectually challenged you?

·      Which tasks in your previous job creatively challenged you?

·      What do you think about diversity at workplace?

·      How will you ensure that the work you least enjoy is done?

·      Define 'growth'?

·      Define 'challenge'?

·      How do you stay productive when things are slow at work?

·      What were some of your biggest mistakes? What did you learn from them?

·      Have you given your best, yet?

·      If you could start your career over again, what would you do differently?

·   How do you keep yourself informed about your market and industry news and trends?

·      What is one thing you’d change about your previous work place?

·      How can we best motivate you to do a great job at work?

·      Why do you see yourself successful here?

·      What stresses you in a work environment and how do you handle the same?

·      Can you predict a need before it arises? Give us an example or two.

·      Which tasks do you typically have the least amounts of patience with?

·      Tell me about the last time you inherited a problem and if/how you solved it.

·     Describe an instance when your team felt helpless. What led to it and how did you contribute?

·      What are your preferred channels of communication and why?

·      What efforts do you usually take to learn about a new joiner in your team?

·      What do you do to make the people around you feel appreciated, and respected?

·   Do you think there are times where it’s more important to be diplomatic than correct? Elaborate.

·      Which quality of yours is least suitable for a workplace like ours? Why?

·      How do you prioritize your work hours? /How do you handle multiple priorities?

·     Tell us about a difficult peer you have worked with. Why was she/he difficult and how did you deal with the person?

·      Tell us about one good and bad habit you developed in college?

·      Who best criticizes you? How do you handle the same?

·      How do you lead? /What is your leadership style? Give us an example.

·      What kind of decisions take the least effort to make?

·      What kind of decisions take the most effort to make?

·      What makes people successful in their careers?

·      How would you define a productive work environment?

·      What was the least relevant job you have held?

·      If your teammate performs below your expectations - How would you respond?

·      How do you get back on track from breaks in your routine?

·      How do you blow-off steam/de-stress at work?

The list can go on, but you get the gist. These are some of the top questions you can expect to be asked and prepare for, or at the very least get acquainted with so you are not caught off-guard or worse, don’t blank out. Remember, you can borrow the approach but the crux of the answer, that special something that will take you above other candidates, lies with adding a bit of yourself to the answer. Search within yourself and you’ll be able to draw answers from your thoughts and experiences; capture these and communicate your unique value through them.

Did you enjoy this? There’s more where this came from and there’s something for everyone. Are you a fresher with no work experience? Worry not, In our upcoming blog, we will focus on questions geared specifically towards new grads with little to no work experience.

In the meanwhile, let us know in the comments section, which of the above open-ended queries you find most challenging and how you would approach the same?

Freshers, stay tuned!!

Manish Gaba

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