Below you’ll find some helpful phrases covering what you’ll typically discuss during a job interview: your strengths, experience, and why you want the job.
Talking about yourself and your skills
I have over (6) years of experience in (the pharmaceutical industry)
I’m managing a team of (10 sales reps)
Previously, I (worked at a product company)
I’ve had experience working with (cutting-edge tools)
My main areas of expertise include…
Some of my major career highlights are.. (contributing to a project where I wrote automation scripts)
I am a (developer) at (Google)
I work as a (Business Analyst) for (a big logistics company)
I am responsible for (creating a product roadmap)
I am in charge of (the HR department)
I perform (various managerial duties)
I make sure that (the team is clear on the task)
As a (developer), I help (maintain the codebase)
A big part of my job is (setting up CI/CD pipelines)
I am also involved in (gathering and clarifying customer requirements)
Explaining why you’re looking for a new job
I seek professional growth
I want to learn more
I don’t feel like my current role in challenging me anymore
I want to create products that make a tangible impact on the world
I am excited by the prospect of working on something that many people use every day
My current role doesn’t provide enough opportunities to (use my communication skills)
I want to be more involved in (communicating with customers)
I’d like to grow my expertise in (the finance area)
I’m looking for an opportunity to (collaborate with like-minded people)
I align with your values
I am passionate about (creating the best experience for the clients)
I believe in (life-long learning)
I think I am a good fit for this job because (I have a lot of experience in finance)
I’m really excited about this opportunity because (I believe I have the right combination of skills to be useful to this project)
STAR (Situation — Task — Action — Result) questions
Once, there was a time when I had to (negotiate with an unhappy customer)
There was one case when (my team was behind schedule)
We faced (a challenging situation)
First, I (analyzed the problem with my manager)
I started by (interviewing stakeholders) to find out (what their expectations were)
Then I (held a brainstorming session with my team)
After that (we decided to modify our strategy)
I managed to (meet the deadline)
Eventually, (I was able to fix the issue)
As a result (we improved our customer satisfaction score by 60%)
(Someone) pointed out to me that (we needed to look into that issue)
I realized that (there was an issue with lead generation)
It was good to learn that (I could handle these issues by myself)
Talking about your achievements and passion
I take pride in (my ability to find elegant business solutions)
Overall, I’m most proud of (the work I did for the ABC consulting company)
I succeeded in (executing that initiative)
I keep (challenging myself)
I like to get out of my comfort zone
The thing I liked the most about working at (my previous company) was (the ability to mentor people)
I really enjoyed (learning from other people)
My job gave me the chance to (develop new skills)
My previous job allowed me to (make independent decisions)
I got to (work with amazing people)
I’d say my best career accomplishment so far is (getting my first job at a big company) because (the interview process was very long and challenging)
Describing an interesting project you’ve worked on
One project that stands out to me is (my experience as an entrepreneur)
My favorite project I’ve ever done is (my first big commercial project) because…
The reason why I loved doing this project was because….
I learned a lot as a result of that project
This experience taught me to (pay closer attention to how I manage my time)
It’s hard to pick one project but I think I’m going to pick (my most recent project because it was the most challenging project I’ve ever done)
Talking about your strengths and weaknesses
I consider my greatest strength to be (my ability to simplify complex issues into manageable tasks)
I’m good at (keeping track of multiple processes)
I have a deep understanding of (modern tools)
My strongest skill is (strategic thinking)
I have a strong business acumen
I’d say my weakest skill is (public speaking)
I wish I was better at (giving constructive feedback)
One thing I could be better at is (time management)
One thing I’m working to improve now is (managing feedback)
I’m trying to improve by (learning from other people’s examples)
Motivation
My biggest source of motivation is (my passion for delivering excellent services)
(Working with goal-oriented people) inspires me the most
I get inspired by (helping other people achieve success)
(Solving problems as part of a team) gives me a sense of accomplishment
I find (positive feedback) very rewarding
(Meditating) allows me to stay focused and motivated
I have a number of career goals I want to achieve and this keeps me motivated
Salary negotiations
I would propose…
I would be willing to consider…
I’m open to your suggestions
It depends on your budget for this position
At my current job I’m making…
Talking about the company
I read on your website that…
I think you have a really great mission
I’ve checked your LinkedIn page and I’ve noticed that…
As far as I understand, you (are branching into a new market)
I’d love to meet the team that I would be working with
Can you tell me more about your company culture?
May I ask why this position is open?
Can you expand a little more on the qualities you’re looking for in an ideal candidate?
Managing issues and wrapping up
I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. Could you say that again?
Come again?
Pardon?
I’m sorry, I’m not sure I got the question
Could you speak a little bit slower? I’m having trouble understanding you
I’m afraid you’re breaking up (the connection is poor). What were you saying before?
I missed your question. Could you repeat it?
Thank you for you time
Thanks for meeting with me
It was great meeting you
Looking forward to our next meeting / call
Take care! Have a great rest of your day
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