Fair warning: a 15 minute read on job interview questions and answers as if I were a candidate. It’s an easy way to get to know me, if that’s what you are interested in. If not, click here. This link will take you straight to the blog with the questions only. Good luck in your interview!

There are two factors that play a crucial role during the interview process: what you say and what you don’t say. The latter refers to your appearance. I will publish a separate blog on the topic soon. The former is now in your hands after you read all the commonly and less commonly asked questions in this blog. To be prepared means to expect it to happen.

While the questions on this list have no particular order of importance, I divided them into three groups: work related questions, character related questions, and personal questions. Sometimes some of them fit into two categories. Certain questions are rather similar in context of the verbiage so I put them close together. Nevertheless, they may be asked so you’d better be prepared.

Disclaimer: None of these questions are mine. I compiled a list of them from various posts on social media. Human resources managers were happy – and maybe proud – to share their unique interview questions. I put them together so that you can get ready for the cannonade without feeling ambushed.

1. What’s the hardest thing you have done in your life?
I immigrated to another country across the Atlantic with a toddler and a husband who didn’t speak the language, with limited cash and without knowing a single person there.

2. On a scale from 1-10, how much do you want to work for us?
10 if we find alignment in values.

3. What information should I share to make it a 10?
If all the information you share during this interview are honest and no promise you are making now is empty, I see no problem.

4. When have you felt most like yourself at work and why?
Whenever my boss or a client trusted me enough to let me work independently without breathing down my neck.

5. What do you never want to do again?
Take a job only because the money is great.
Underestimate myself.

6. What is your dream job?
What I do currently – helping people (re)gain confidence to go after their dreams. 

7. Tell me about one of your projects that you are the most passionate about?
In my corporate times – a special event project for about 600 people – in my sole responsibility. I had never done anything even remotely similar before. Nor had I ever been responsible for such a huge budget. It was a gargantuan task. The feedback was amazing. Encouraging but I set myself up. People expected all other events to top the first.
Also, if I had to choose from all the digital products (online courses) for my image business, the Summer School of Style membership program would be the one.

8. How hard have you fallen and how hard have you flown?
Immigration was a hard lesson on humility. Rising from the ashes and rebuilding my professional life allowed me to believe in myself again.

9. Tell me what you know about our company.
You are looking for someone with my qualification, experience, attitude, and work ethic.

10. Tell me about your best boss.
Hannah used to give me a variety of new projects and trusted my instincts as well as my work ethic. The feeling was mutual.

Jackie gave me clear instructions and trusted my judgment. She corrected me when she expected a different result without any derogatory comments. I always felt her support.

11. Tell me about your worst boss.
Jacob was a boring person.

12. You have to pick one:
a) you are making sure the details are correct
b) you are better at understanding the big picture
It’s hard because I’ve always worked on and oversaw projects that required both. Still do. Let’s just say I started with being more A inclined and now leaning more towards B.

13. Can you tell me about a particularly challenging problem you had to solve in your previous role and how you went about solving it?
I don’t intend to contradict you but I don’t see any problems as particularly challenging. I see them as something I am responsible for and have to do. I ask for help or outsource, if needed and possible. Also, I am not afraid to ask clarifying questions.

14. Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond what was required of you.
Once I stayed at work until 3 am. I wanted to complete a task no one else could or would anyway. It was my sole responsibility and it required a great deal of uninterrupted concentration.
I had to move about 600 people from 5 different cities onto 12 buses and transport them 200 kms abroad and back home. I divided them by departments and I had to know the bus number every single person will sit in. I assigned the role of a manager for each bus responsible for the people in his or own bus. They would report to me. It went smoothly.
It was just a small part of a big company event project. I loved every minute of it.

15. Tell me about a time a project went badly.
Never the entire project. Small parts only.

16. Describe the time when you did not perform your abilities.
When I was pregnant. I was asleep about 50% of the time in my first trimester.

17. What do you want to learn next and how can we help you get there?
AI to leverage my time.

18. What’s your superpower?
Zooming in and out. I break complex problems into small doable steps. I communicate each of them clearly and enthusiastically. People involved in the project see and understand both individual steps as well as the big picture and feel motivated to complete the task they are responsible for so they can be proud of their achievements.

19. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Being a successful published author.

20. What is something that you’ve changed your mind about in the last 10 years?
I realized that quality of leadership is crucial for the success of any given group of people.

21. If you could fit a pool with anything what would it be?
Opportunities, kindness, confidence.

22. Tell me about your biggest accomplishment at your current or last job.
In my corporate times, I’d built a reputation of a reliable overdeliverer. I do my best to maintain this status in my business.

23. If you would fix something in your current team what would it be and why?
I’d hire more willing and capable people.

24. What kind of work gets you into flow state?
Creative, meaningful, with positive experiences or life-altering results for people as the outcome.

24. What types of projects or work give you energy?
Exciting independent projects that may or may not involve other team members/subordinates.

25. What are you really good at or most interested in doing professionally?
Seeing clients succeed.

26. What are you not good at or not interested in doing professionally?
Uncreative work of any sort.

27. What kind of work did you hate doing in your last role?
Repetitive technical tasks that I could hire other people for.

28. Tell me your story.
I studied journalism in audio visual media and political science. Worked in TV and PR for multinational corporations in Central Europe. Moved to Canada. Fell on my face, got up, brushed off my wings, worked in high-end jewelry retail as a window display stylist, set up my image consulting business and never looked back.

29. Tell me about a day at work for you, from start to finish.
I can tell you about my week because my days vary and are everything but typical.
Monday, Tuesday – concentrated creative work for 3-4 hours late in the morning or early in the afternoon – digital programs, blogs, social media content. Client work.
Wednesday – client calls. If there is time left, social media content or interactions
Thursday – client work
Friday – analytics, finances, teamwork – accountability, new tasks delegation
Saturday – family life
Sunday evening – simple plan for the upcoming week
2-3 hours a week – creative writing – whenever I have time and feel inspired, which is most of the time.

30. Why are you leaving your current job or left your last job?
I am up for a new challenge to deepen my knowledge and acquire new skills to make progress.

31. What’s the biggest risk you have taken throughout your career?
Starting a business without knowing anything about business.

32. Tell me about your proudest moments.
Collecting testimonials.

33. Pretend I am your manager and fill in the blank in this sentence: As your manager, if I consistently_________, you and I are going to have a very hard time working together.
observe you working independently

34. Can you tell me about a time you faced a challenge and how you overcame it?
When I decided to move my business online, I didn’t know anything about online businesses. I didn’t know what a landing page was or how to write and create one. I had to learn everything. It required endless patience and a lot of inner work to convince myself that I am not a technology-illiterate idiot.

35. What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever worked on?
Building my business from scratch without knowing anything, having no money and no network.

36. What can somebody do to get where you are twice as fast?
Be much better with technology.

37. What project are you most proud of?
All of them. Each taught me something else and make me grow as a person.

38. When we call your references, what will they tell us about you?
What they told me in their testimonials.

39. Why do you want to work here?
Your vision is clear and appealing to me. Your brand is reputable. Your products / services are exciting and change people’s lives. I want to be a part of that.

40. What’s your favourite question to be asked in an interview?
This one.

41. What was the biggest mistake you have made working on a project?
Getting lost in research or details.

42. Looking back, if you had to pick a life experience, project or something that mattered, what would you do differently now and why?
I would keep up with new technology.

43. What’s your biggest weakness and what have you done to address it?
I used to procrastinate with mundane tasks I didn’t like doing that needed to be done. Then I read Seneca’s book How to Die and it changed my perspective on spending my time. I started hiring people who liked doing what I hate doing.

44. What was your biggest setback and what would you have done differently today?
I would believe in myself more. I wouldn’t think that most people are better than me.

45. If you owned a company, what are the three things you would find most important?
a) To create an ambitious vision and communicate it clearly throughout the company so that every employee can become the ambassador of the brand and relate to it to some degree.
b) To surround myself with reliable people who are better than me in their respective fields.
c) To give credit to others when we succeed and take responsibility for mistakes.

46. What problem should we fix that we are not currently addressing as a company?
You should absolutely hire me.

47. If you were the CEO what would you do or change first?
I’d hire me.

48. What would make you leave?
Betrayal.

49. What question didn’t I ask you today but should have to learn why you are fit for this position?
Can you do the job?

50. Can you do the job?
Yes.

51. What would you ask yourself, if you really wanted this job?
Will I be happy going to work at -30 degrees Celsius?

52. When can you start?
I’m ready when you are.

53. What questions were you really prepared for today that we didn’t ask?
You asked all that I wanted to answer.

54. Do you have questions for me?

1. Why is this position open to external candidates?
2. What traits will help me succeed long-term at the company?
3. What’s the hardest thing about the job?

55. Who are you outside of work?
The same person I am at work, just the focus is different.

56. Tell me about a law or a rule you broke recently and why?
I returned a library book 2 weeks past due because I wanted to finish it while knowing that there were people waiting for it.

57. If you and I were to disagree on something how would we go about resolving it?
We would set up a specific time in a neutral place. We would talk about it, calmly, and make our best effort to pinpoint the breaking point. Then we would acknowledge each other’s staying-in-the-box attitudes [as per the Leadership and Self-Deception book definition by The Arbinger Institute] and figure out how we can get out of our respective boxes while maintaining our boundaries so that we can start seeing things from a broader perspective for a common goal.

58. What’s the biggest failure that taught you the most that has made your life better?
After I immigrated to Canada, I thought that some people were much smarter than I was. Soon I realized they were just fluent in English. I failed to acknowledge my potential and put myself out there more at the beginning.

59. What drives you and gets you out of bed on weekends?
Morning walks within 2 hours of sunrise as per Dr. Huberman’s protocol.

60. What do you consider as your top two achievements in life and why?
Having a family.
Building my business.

61. What should have I asked?
If I prefer dogs to cats.

62. If you planted your heart, what would it grow into?
A magnolia tree.

63. If you were a baked good, which one would you be and why?
Sourdough bread.

64. If money wasn’t a constraint in your life, what would you spend your time doing?
I’d visit every single historically significant church, castle, museum, gallery, and mansion in Europe. Then I’d visit all the others.

65. If you had a magic wand what would you change about higher education?
I’d include all practical subjects into the curriculum – money management, communication skills, networking, car repairs, cooking, sewing, husbandry, hunting, survival skills, ethics, philosophy, leadership, colours and style.

66. Would you rather ask for a permission or forgiveness?
Forgiveness.

67. What do you like to do most when you are not working?
Spending time outdoors with my family.

68. What are you passionate about?
Colours.

69. Do you like purple?
Yes, in general. Not on me.

70. Tell me the name of an artist you recently added to your playlist?
Harry Styles

71. How do you utilize your downtime?
By walking, hiking in the mountains, skiing in the winter, biking in the summer, and reading books in between.

72. What kind of personal projects do you work on in your free time?
When I am inspired by a fabric, I sew.

73. What do you want to learn next?
Spanish. Crochet.

74. Is your heart a sponge or a fist?
Sponge.

75. What current book are you reading?
I just finished Clear Thinking by Shane Parrish. I’ve never underlined so many lines on so many pages.

76. What’s your favourite joke?
Any joke my husband tells me that includes an apt movie quote.

77. What’s something about you that I wouldn’t know from looking at you resume?
I’m funny.