In job interviews, potential employers ask about more than your education and experience. They also want to know more about you—your work style, your motivations, and your personality—in order to see if you’ll be a good fit at their company. These can be tricky. What’s the best way to answer interview questions about your personality? Here are some sample questions and answers. Click the links to see complete answers.
Describe yourself in one word.
As in all job interview answers, it’s important to be strategic with this one. Don’t give a word that describes you as a whole person. Give a word that describes you in relation to this job. After all, that’s what matters here. Personally, I would choose ‘dynamic.’ Other good words might be strategic, creative, steady, valuable, or steady. Find more good answers here.
Do you prefer working in a team or alone?
The standard answer most people give is, ‘Both! I’m equally comfortable working alone or as part of a team.’ Don’t settle for standard. Think about this job you’re interviewing for and how much time you’ll realistically spend either on a team or working alone. Then answer accordingly. For examples, read more here.
How do you handle stress and pressure?
We all get stressed on the job. Your potential new boss naturally wants to know how you’ll react. Ideally, either stress motivates you or doesn’t affect you at all. Realistically, neither of those are true. What can you say to be authentic and positive at the same time? Read more here.
If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why?
You may be tempted to roll your eyes at oddball questions like these, but instead, use this opportunity to show off your thought process. What are the qualities you need to do this job well? Think about those and then choose an animal that exemplifies those qualities. See good animals to choose and some to stay away from.
If you could re-live the last 10 years of your life, what would you do differently?
This question is an ideal time to address any problems in your resume or work history before they find out about it and ask you directly. There’s nothing wrong with using this chance to frame a past problem in a more positive light. However, you don’t have to reveal some deep, dark secret. See a good answer here.
If you were a tree, what kind of a tree would you be?
Just like with the animal question, your best move here is to think about qualities that would be assets for this job and then choose a tree that also has those qualities. (Or a tree that you can attribute those qualities to anyway.) For example, fruit trees are productive, and oak trees are strong. Read more here.
An airplane landed in the parking lot. What would you do?
Anytime you’re presented with a situation-based question in the interview, consider it a chance to show off your problem-solving skills. Talk through how you’d approach a problem like this so they can see your thought process. See an example here.
Tell me about yourself.
This is one of the most important questions in the entire interview. With this answer, you can influence how they think of you for the rest of your conversation. Read more for how to structure this answer to wow them in the interview.
What are your hobbies?
Be careful when answering this question. A hobby isn’t just a hobby. It’s a window into what you value and a summary of your personality. They will read these things in your answer. See ‘good’ hobbies and ‘bad’ hobbies to mention here.
What are your pet peeves?
This is actually a good question to ask to get an idea if you’ll fit into the company culture. Your answer will tell them a lot about you (in addition to what your pet peeve is). You have to tell them something that irritates you, but it matters a lot how you talk about it. See sample answers here.
What makes you unique?
The hiring manager doesn’t want to know what makes you unique on a personal level. Your answer here should relate as much as possible to the job you’re interviewing for. There’s something in your individual blend of education, experiences, and skill sets that make you different than the next person they’ll see, and valuable to the company. See how to phrase your answer and set yourself as a solution to their problems.
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Check out our complete series on How to Answer Interview Questions – 101 Tough Questions and Answers.