Common Interview Questions and How to Answer Them: 20 Examples

Pick five questions from different groups. Set a timer and answer each one out loud. Then read what the interviewer is checking and ask yourself if your answer gave them that.

Most of these questions come from the U.S. Department of Labor's CareerOneStop list of common interview questions. The sample answers are short on purpose. Swap in your own facts: a real job, a real number, a real result.

New to practice interviews? Start with what a mock interview is and how it works. Or answer one question out loud right now, free:

Question 1: Tell me about yourself.

• What they check: can you sum up your work in about a minute and tie it to this job?
• Sample answer: "I have worked in retail for four years, the last two as a shift lead at a grocery store. I open the store, run a team of six, and handle the customer problems the cashiers cannot. I finished a pharmacy technician course in May, and this job is where I want to use it." More help: how to answer tell me about yourself.

Question 2: Why do you want this job?

• What they check: did you read the posting, and do you want this job in particular?
• Sample answer: "Your posting says the front desk checks in about 40 patients a day and needs someone calm. I did that for three years at a busy dental office. I want to stay in healthcare, and this clinic is ten minutes from my home."

Question 3: Why should we hire you?

• What they check: your two best strengths matched to their two biggest needs.
• Sample answer: "You need someone reliable on weekends and good with upset customers. I did not miss a weekend shift in two years at my last job, and I was the person my manager sent to handle complaints."

Question 4: What are your strengths?

• What they check: a strength that matters in this job, with proof.
• Sample answer: "I stay organized under pressure. On holiday weekends I ran the schedule for 12 people and covered every call-out without closing a register."

Question 5: What is your main weakness?

• What they check: that you know yourself and are working on it.
• Sample answer: "I used to try to fix everything myself instead of asking for help. Now I ask my lead at the start of each shift which tasks come first, and I speak up sooner when I am stuck."

Behavioral questions start with "Tell me about a time." The interviewer wants one real story. Use STAR: the Situation, the Task you had, the Action you took, and the Result. Make the action the longest part. Full guide: the STAR method.

Question 6: Tell me about a difficult customer and how you handled it.

• What they check: do you stay calm and fix the problem?
• Sample answer: "A customer was yelling because his prescription was not ready (situation). I had to calm him down and get it filled (task). I listened without interrupting, told him exactly what was holding it up, and called his doctor's office while he waited (action). He left with it in 20 minutes and thanked me (result)."

Question 7: Tell me about a time you made a mistake.

• What they check: do you own it, fix it, and change something so it does not happen again?
• Sample answer: "I once gave a customer the wrong order. I told my manager right away, remade it, and gave the customer a coupon. After that I started reading each ticket back before I bagged it, and I did not make that mistake again."

Question 8: How did you resolve a conflict with a coworker?

• What they check: can you work it out directly and respectfully?
• Sample answer: "A coworker kept leaving the closing tasks for me. I asked to talk after our shift, said what I saw without blaming her, and asked what was getting in the way. She had to catch a bus. We split the list so her tasks came first, and closing went faster for both of us."

Question 9: Tell me about a goal you set and how you reached it.

• What they check: do you plan and follow through?
• Sample answer: "I wanted my CNA certificate before summer. I took the evening class, studied on my lunch breaks, and practiced the skills with my sister on weekends. I passed the state exam on my first try in May."

Question 10: How do you handle deadlines or high-stress days?

• What they check: do you stay steady and put first things first?
• Sample answer: "On our busiest day, two people called out. I listed what had to happen before opening, gave each person one area, and took the register myself. We opened on time and kept lines under five minutes."

Question 11: What skill have you learned recently, and how?

• What they check: can you learn new things on your own?
• Sample answer: "I learned Excel formulas this spring from free online videos, 20 minutes a night. Now I build the weekly inventory sheet at work, which used to take my manager two hours."

Situational questions ask what you would do. They test judgment. Answer with the steps you would take, in order, and say why.

Question 12: What would you do if a coworker was not doing their share?

• What they check: do you try to solve it yourself before going to the boss?
• Sample answer: "I would talk to them first, privately, and ask if something is going on. If it kept happening and it hurt our work, I would tell my supervisor what I saw and what I had already tried."

Question 13: You have two urgent tasks and time for only one. What do you do?

• What they check: can you set priorities and tell people?
• Sample answer: "I would do the one that affects a customer or patient first, then tell my supervisor right away that the other one will be late so they can move someone to it."

Question 14: A customer asks something you do not know. What do you do?

• What they check: honesty and follow-through.
• Sample answer: "I would say I do not know yet, find someone who does or look it up, and come back with the answer. I would rather take two minutes than guess wrong."

Question 15: You see a safety problem and your supervisor is not around. What do you do?

• What they check: do you follow safety rules and act?
• Sample answer: "I would keep people away from it, fix it if it is safe and part of my job, and report it to the person in charge right away. Then I would tell my supervisor when they got back."

Question 16: Walk me through how you would do the main task of this job.

• What they check: do you know the job, step by step?
• Sample answer (pharmacy technician): "I check the prescription against the patient's profile, count and label it, and set it aside for the pharmacist to verify. If anything looks off, like a dose that seems high, I flag it before I fill it."

Question 17: What experience do you have with a tool or skill from the posting?

• What they check: whether you have it, and how much. Answer honestly and say how you would close any gap.
• Sample answer: "I used Square at my last job every day for two years. I have not used your system, but I learned Square in a week and I would expect the same here."

Question 18: What do you know about our company?

• What they check: did you do your homework?
• Sample answer: "You run three clinics in the county, you added Saturday hours this year, and your reviews mention short wait times. That is the kind of place I want to work."

Role questions change by job. These guides list them for each field: CNA, medical assistant, phlebotomy, pharmacy technician, CDL driver, IT help desk, HVAC and warehouse.

Question 19: Where do you see yourself in three years?

• What they check: will you stay, and do you want to grow here?
• Sample answer: "Doing this job well, and training the new people. Down the road I would like to move up to a lead role here."

Question 20: Do you have any questions for us?

• What they check: real interest. Always have two ready.
• Sample answer: "What does a typical day look like in this job?" and "What do your best people in this role do well?" CareerOneStop also suggests asking about the next step in the hiring process.

Alone:

• Prop your phone at eye level and record yourself.
• Pick five questions from different groups and answer them in a row, without stopping the recording.
• Watch it back. Check that each story had a result, count your "um"s, and notice where you rambled.
• Answer your weakest question again the same day.

With a friend:

• Give them this list and the job posting.
• Ask them to add one follow-up to each answer, like "What happened next?"
• Ask for one thing you did well and one thing to fix. Then switch seats.

With an app: free AI interview practice asks a question for the job you pick, listens to your answer, and scores it on clarity, confidence, pacing, engagement and persuasiveness. Practice on every question type is the Full plan, $30 a month, with 3 days free.

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