Career AdviceInterviewingInterview Questions

How would you answer these 20 interview questions about your current job?

The interviewer wants to know what you can do for them, but also, what you’re doing now.

By Monster Staff

There’s an unspoken rule of job interviewing: Do not disparage your current or past employers. No matter how much you may dislike your current job situation, proverbially throwing your current or past companies under the bus in an interview setting is bad job-seeking behavior.

The logic here is that if you do disparage current or former employers, what will your potential hirers assume you’ll say about them down the road? Also, a hiring manager is less likely to bring you on the team if he or she feels as though you’re only leaving a job for the sake of leaving.

But get ready, because you’re going to be asked about your current role and likely all of your prior roles too.

So, how would you tackle these 20 questions about your current or previous job(s) in an interview?

  1. What are your current responsibilities at the job you’re in now?
  2. Why are you leaving your current job?
  3. What is your least favorite part of your current job?
  4. What is your favorite part of your current job?
  5. Why are you looking for new opportunities?
  6. What’s the biggest takeaway from your current or last job that you’ll bring to this job?
  7. Did you feel like you have grown in your current job?
  8. What was your first job ever and what did you learn from it?
  9. Who has inspired you most in your career and why?
  10. What could your current employer do to keep you that they haven’t done?
  11. How would your current or most recent supervisor describe you?
  12. What positive qualities would your most recent supervisor say you possess?
  13. What negative things might your current boss say about you?
  14. What, if anything, will you miss about your current job when you leave?
  15. How do you handle difficult conversations in the workplace, particularly relating to others’ performance?
  16. What was the last project you ran? How did it turn out?
  17. Can you describe a time when your work was criticized? Was the criticism fair or unfair?
  18. Give me an example of a time you made a significant mistake. How did you handle it?
  19. Give me an example of a new strategy you've implemented on the job.
  20. Describe a time when you were significantly overwhelmed at work. How did you handle it?

Eager to get some more practice?