With employees switching jobs every 4 years on average, having the chops to conduct an insightful interview – not to mention
knowing how to be a good interviewee – is a skill worth cultivating. To update our bag of tricks, we polled the whip-smart
99U Twitter followers for their favorite job interview questions and curated the best into this list.
Whether you’re hiring or looking for work, 20 questions you’ll want to have in your arsenal:
1. What is a common misperception about you? (There's often a seed of truth in the answer.)
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@aarondignan
2. What do you do on your days off?
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@nicolemwms
3. Whose website would you want to design or redesign?
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@hugeinc (jessica bauer-greene)
4. What would your previous boss say is your greatest weakness / strength?
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@brannonmc
5. Are there any accounts or types of work you would not want to do?
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@tfollowell
6. What are you reading?
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@kbordwell,
@oktlouisa,
@rumblestrut
7. What are your dislikes/pet peeves/frustrations? (Reveals more than asking about their likes.)
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@reneefishman
8. Who do you follow on Twitter, and why?
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@samwilson1
9. What would you do in a panicky situation (e.g. the printer calls at 5:59pm to say a file is corrupted, and your boss already left)?
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@fitforpaper
10. What's your dream job?
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@toflee
11. How many pianos are there in New York? (A variation on
this classic question.)
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@CalinBalauru
12. If your boss offered your choice of reward for a job well done, what would you pick?
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@spence7zero
13. What sort of education are you looking for in your next job?
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@scottbelsky
14. How does this position relate to what you really want to be doing?
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@POVevolving
15. What was your first ever job, and how did you get it?
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@MShahab
16. Pepsi or Coke? (Shows me how the interviewee responds to the unexpected.)
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@JaseMiller
17. If you weren't getting paid for what you do, would you still be doing it?
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@DeElgena
18. What do you know about us?
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@pylondesigninc
19. Why are manhole covers round? (This comes from an old
Microsoft interview question.)
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@Halaylah,
@johnnyfyve
20. When is it okay to break the rules?
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@coopbranding
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What Do You Ask?
Any great questions we missed? What’s in your job interview arsenal? More about Jocelyn K. Glei
A writer and the founding editor of 99U, Jocelyn K. Glei is obsessed with how to make great creative work in the Age of Distraction. Her latest book is Unsubscribe: How to Kill Email Anxiety, Avoid Distraction, and Get Real Work Done. Her previous works include the 99U’s own bestselling book series: Manage Your Day-to-Day, Maximize Your Potential, and Make Your Mark. Follow her @jkglei.
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