If you’re reading this, you’re already pretty committed to the idea that preparation is essential to a successful job interview. You likely know that you should research the company, learn as much as you can about the interviewers, and practice answering job interview questions before you meet with the hiring manager.
But which questions are most important? You’re not a mind reader, and you don’t have infinite hours in which to prepare. How can you know which questions the interviewer is likely to ask — and which are a waste of time?
While there’s no way to know for sure how the conversation will unfold, there are a few ways to determine which questions are most likely to come up.
Ask Your Connections
This one is easy. If you got the interview through a referral from a contact — and that contact has a similar role to the one you’re interviewing for — ask them what you should expect. They may even be on the other side of the interview process and be able to tell you the kinds of questions they ask candidates.
Further, your connection at the organization can give you insight into the company culture. Ask for a heads-up about dress code, management style, and anything else you should know to make a good first impression. (It’s completely OK to put it just that way: “What do I need to know about interviewing at this company?”)
Search on Glassdoor
If the company you’re targeting is big enough to have a profile on Glassdoor, you’re in luck. You’ll be able to read employee reviews, see salary ranges, and even find common interview questions at the organization.
Again, not every hiring manager uses the same script, and every interview is different. But it can help to know the kinds of questions that tend to come up.
Look on Reddit
Want more employee reviews? Search Reddit for keywords like [company name] + [interview questions] and get ready to see what people have to say when they can hide behind a throwaway account. Just keep in mind that any comments are likely to trend toward the negative, since people are more likely to post when they have a complaint.
Use AI
A caveat here: LLMs like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot burn a tremendous amount of energy, and they have a plagiarism problem. We could do several issues on the challenge of balancing the efficiency and ethical considerations of using AI (and we probably will, just not today).
However, AI tools can be useful in organizing research, which is essentially what you’re doing when you’re preparing for a job interview. For instance, we prompted ChatGPT to tell us what kinds of questions we might get during a job interview for a software engineer role at Google.
It responded: “When interviewing for a software engineer role at Google, you can expect questions that assess your technical ability, problem-solving skills, system design knowledge, and behavioral fit.” It then provided categories of questions and examples of each type.
Can’t Get Specifics? Focus on Industry and Job Title
But what if you’re interviewing at a small company that won’t show up on Glassdoor, Reddit, Google, etc.? Your next step is to look for general questions related to the industry (e.g., healthcare, software development, sales) and your role (registered nurse, software engineer, inside sales).
You can also search using the job description in the listing. This will help you identify questions that align with the duties and responsibilities of the job, not just the job title.
Review Standard Job Interview Questions
Regardless of what kind of role you’re interviewing for, it makes sense to prepare for some of the most commonly asked job interview questions. Here’s a roundup of hiring managers’ favorite job interview questions, including tricky ones like “tell me about yourself” and “what’s your greatest weakness?”
After you review those, spend some time thinking about questions you’d like to ask the hiring manager. It’s your interview, too, and it’s in everyone’s best interests for you to learn as much as you can about the company and the role.
Use the STAR Technique
The STAR interview technique can help you prepare for almost any interview question. It’s especially helpful for behavioral questions, which are the kind that begin with, “Tell me about a time when….”
STAR stands for “situation, task, action, and result”:
Situation: Describe a situation, such as working on a group project.
Task: Talk about your responsibility in that situation, for example, hitting a specific goal.
Action: Focus on what you did to achieve the goal.
Result: Explain how your efforts were successful.
Here’s how to prepare to use the STAR technique in a job interview.
New & Noteworthy
There Are Now More Unemployed People Than Open Jobs: For the first time since April 2021, there are fewer job openings than unemployed workers. Yahoo! Finance reports on the latest JOLTS numbers from the Labor Department. JOLTS, which stands for “Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey,” tracks the number of job vacancies, hires, layoffs, and quits.
More Evidence That Job Boards Aren’t Everything: CareerPlug’s 2025 Recruiting Metrics Report shows that job sites are less effective than other recruiting channels, even though they draw the majority of the applicants:
Job boards: 61% of applicants produced 42% of hires
Company career pages: 13% of applicants produced 26% of hires (4x more likely to be hired than applicants from job boards)
Referrals: 2% of applicants produced 11% of hires (10x more likely to be hired than applicants from job boards)
For job seekers and recruiters alike, this means that it makes sense to diversify. (h/t: StaffingHub)
1.2 Million Immigrants Disappeared From the Labor Force: Census data analyzed by Pew Research shows that the U.S. foreign-born population dropped by 1.2 million people from January to June of this year. The data includes both documented and undocumented immigrants, and voluntary migration as well as deportation. This marks the first decline since the 1960s. The AP points out that immigrants make up nearly 20% of the U.S. labor force. Forty-five percent of agricultural workers are immigrants.
Our Favorite Tools & Tips
Find LinkedIn Jobs Posted in the Last Hour: This free LinkedIn job search tool from Jan Tegze lets you quickly find the latest job postings on LinkedIn, whether they went up in the last hour, 3 hours, 6 hours, or 24 hours, so you can be one of the first to apply.
How To Find and Select a Career Coach: Do you need help with your job search? You might consider engaging the services of a career counselor or coach to help you clarify your situation. Here's how a career counselor can help, along with advice on how to choose a coach that's a good fit.
Jobsearchdb: When you're looking for a job in a specific industry or career field, using job sites that focus on the types of jobs you're interested in can be a time-saver. The Job Search Database includes links to hundreds of niche career sites, organized by category. It’s one of the best resources for finding job listings.
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