Job interviews can feel like a game of strategy – one where understanding the rules and preparing the right responses can make all the difference.
To help you navigate this process, we’ve crowdsourced some of the most commonly asked interview questions from the Elpha community and tapped into insights from experienced hiring managers.
In this guide, we’ll cover:
Insights into what the hiring manager is really assessing when they ask these questions—whether it's problem-solving abilities, cultural fit, or leadership potential.
A practical approach to structuring your response, with tips on what to highlight (and what to avoid).
Concise, realistic examples that demonstrate how to put theory into practice.
Whether you're preparing for your first interview or your hundredth, these insights will help you answer in your next job interview with confidence and clarity.
👇 Scroll down to check out their answers to these questions:
Tell me about yourself.
Why are you looking for a new job?
Why are you interested in our company? And why this role?
How are you looking to grow in your next role?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
What motivates you?
What are your salary expectations?
When it comes to your work, what is something you’re proud of?
Tell me about your weaknesses.
How do you handle different priorities?
What do you like to do outside of work?
Tell me about a time when you had to [insert crisis scenario].
What's a project that hasn't gone well and what are your learnings?
What’s a piece of constructive feedback you’ve received about your work and why?
Tell me about a time you had a conflict of ideas with a coworker.
Are we your first choice?
1. Tell me about yourself.
Answered by Michelle Yu , CEO and Principal at Aspire Talent. She specializes in leadership coaching, mindset, emotional regulation and strategic HR operations.
Hiring Manager's Perspective: The hiring manager is looking for a highlight reel/snippets of the candidate's background and experience; they want to know whether the candidate has the ability to be concise, direct, and clear in their response. Having a fairly short and concise answer should open up the door for more questions, discovery, and conversation. When candidates get far into the weeds and ramble too much, they quickly lose the attention of the hiring manager.
Tactical Approach: Provide a high-level overview of your background, sharing information including the type of roles you've held, the size and type of companies/industries you've worked in, and any key highlights/takeaways/accomplishments they should be aware of.
Example Answer: “I have 15 years of experience in Human Resources, started off in recruiting and growing into a Head of People role over the years. In my most recent role, I helped scale the organization from 50 to 500 employees internationally, overseeing a team of 10 people. I primarily worked in the tech industry, and excel at mid-stage, series B and beyond growth environments where I have the ability to be hands-on and strategic.”
2. Why are you looking for a new job?
Answered by Andrea Macek , a former HR business partner/hiring manager, now a full-time career change and development coach for high-performing women and rising female leaders.
Hiring Manager's Perspective: Pro tip: All interview questions aim to find the right hire. Remember, an interview is a conversation. Communicate who you are while focusing on their goals and need for solutions. Balance expressing interest and competency with maintaining your sense of self to connect the dots between you and the job.
This question is your chance to share your career motivations, skills, and potential fit - i.e. solutions and results you offer. They want to understand how your goals align with theirs and their company culture.
Tactical Approach: Respond in three key areas ⭐️
Your past experiences
Your present experiences
Your future goals, i.e. working with them.
To prep: Note examples of projects, stats, skills, and results that tell how you'll succeed in this new role.
Example Answer: “I'm glad you asked. In my current role, I've maintained a 95% client satisfaction rate for 5 years, creating repeat business. My empathetic leadership has helped clients secure raises and promotions with less burnout, improving their work performance and company ROI. With your initiative to enhance client results through coaching, I'm excited to contribute to your team and lead you to the next level of results you're aiming for."
If you’ve experienced a layoff, you can adjust your answer:
"I'm glad you asked. In my previous role at [XYZ Company], I maintained a 95% client satisfaction rate for 5 years, creating substantial repeat business. My empathetic leadership helped clients secure raises and promotions with less burnout, improving their work performance and company ROI. Unfortunately, due to a company-wide restructuring, my position was eliminated along with 20% of the workforce.
Since then, I’ve enhanced my skills by completing/enrolling for [ABC courses] and volunteering with rising leaders, giving me fresh insights into emerging workplace challenges. With your initiative to enhance client results through coaching, my proven track record, combined with my newly acquired skills and perspectives, can help lead you to the next level of results you're aiming for.”
3. Why are you interested in our company? And why this role?
Answered by Stephanie Ciccone-Nascimento , Career Coach at Coconut Coaching. She’s helped over 200 job seekers land jobs at top tech companies.
Hiring Manager's Perspective: They are assessing your specific interest in their company and role, while also gauging if you can articulate what you want next.
Tactical Approach: Structure your response by listing 2-3 high-level things you are looking for in any new role/company. These should be things that are true for you and what you are using to qualify your next company (i.e. strong leadership, growth opportunity, DEI values, etc). Additionally, mention something specific that excites you about the company that you discovered while doing your research. Make sure it's more specific than "I like your mission or product."
Example Answer: "On a high level, there are 3 things I'm looking for in my next opportunity - strong engineering leadership I can learn from, a growth opportunity where I can contribute for the long term, and it's important to me that the company has DEI values that align with mine. It seems like from my research on X company and talking with the recruiter, this role fits these categories well so far. Additionally, I watched your founder's speech at the Anita B conference on YouTube and was inspired by the way she talked about wanting to build a company that has a social impact while advancing AI. My mission is to build a career that is focused on making sure AI is inclusive and working for everyone, so I loved hearing that and am excited to learn more about what you all are building."
4. How are you looking to grow in your next role?
Answered by Aarti Sharma , Leadership and Presence Coach and seasoned Chief People Officer, empowering individuals to thrive through renewed confidence and purpose.
Hiring Manager's Perspective: Hiring managers want to know if you’re in it for the long haul and whether your personal goals align with the company’s objectives. They’re looking for clarity in your career path, ambition, and whether this role helps you move forward. Essentially, they want to ensure you’ll be engaged, growing, and contributing—not just seeing this as a temporary job. Consider how common it is today for candidates to apply to numerous roles simultaneously.
Tactical Approach: To craft your answer effectively, focus on these elements 👇
Acknowledge your career goals: Be clear about what you want to achieve.
Connect with the role: Mention specific skills or experiences you’re looking to gain.
Align with company values: Show that your growth plan fits with the culture and mission.
Demonstrate impact: Explain how you’ll contribute to the company’s success while growing.
Example Answer: “In the next few years, I aim to grow my expertise in managing end-to-end sales cycles and driving revenue. This role will help me deepen my knowledge of sales operations, particularly in optimizing each stage of the funnel. I’m excited by the company’s value of Developing and Nurturing Talent, as I may be engaged to contribute to strategic projects while enhancing my skills. By managing CRM updates, I’ll gain insights into the challenges sellers face, positioning me to support the team more effectively while expanding my own capabilities.”
5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Answered by Daria Rudnik , Team Architect at Daria Rudnik Coaching & Consulting. An ex-Deloitte consultant and a former Chief People Officer, Daria has 15 years of experience working in people and organizational development.
Hiring Manager’s Perspective: First, I want to ensure that the role the candidate is applying for is a conscious choice and aligns with their long-term plans. I don’t want to hire someone who will work for a few months before finding something that better suits their career goals.
Second, I want to hire someone who is goal-oriented and can think strategically. Long-term planning is part of strategic thinking, and understanding a candidate's career goals can indicate whether they possess this skill.
Tactical Approach: It’s perfectly normal to go through periods of uncertainty about your next steps. However, you still need to be prepared with a thoughtful answer to this question. Share your thought process and mention some of the options you’re considering while ensuring that your response aligns with the role you’re applying for and the hiring manager’s expectations.
Example Answer: "That’s a great question. Right now, I’m focused on growing as a [job you are applying for], and in five years, I want to be doing more strategic work, engaging with clients, and ensuring they receive the best service from the company."
6. What motivates you?
Answered by Kim Wilkes , Head of Talent Attraction at Zapier . Kim has 10+ years of experience leading full-lifecycle recruiting and global sourcing organizations, as well as employer brand.
Hiring Manager’s Perspective: When I ask what motivates a candidate, I’m trying to figure out what really drives them—what gets them excited to succeed. I’m also looking to see if their values line up with ours and whether they’re motivated by internal or external factors. It’s a great way to understand cultural fit and what will keep them engaged and energized in the role and at the company.
Tactical Approach:
Think about what really drives you—not just what excites you in your day-to-day work, but what keeps you pushing forward long-term.
Is it financial rewards, tackling new challenges, or seeing the impact of your work?
Then, tie that back to the role or company you’re interviewing for, and give a concrete example of how that motivation has helped you overcome obstacles or achieve success in the past.
The key is to show what keeps you motivated over time, not just what gets you started.
This will ensure you and the hiring manager are aligned and that the opportunity being presented to you is one that will keep you motivated.
Example Answer: “What keeps me motivated is solving problems and knowing my work is making an impact. I’m driven by the challenge of tackling something complex and finding creative solutions that really make a difference for the team or our customers. For example, in a previous role, I streamlined a process that cut down project turnaround times significantly. Seeing how that boosted our team’s productivity was incredibly rewarding and reminded me why I love doing this work. It’s that balance of overcoming challenges and seeing real results that keeps me going.”
👉 Check out Zapier’s job postings – they’re currently hiring on Elpha.
7. What are your salary expectations?
Answered by Lindsey Lathrop-Ryan , Certified Coach, Resume Writer, and LinkedIn Strategist.
Hiring Manager’s Perspective: They want to assess your alignment with their budget, your market awareness, and negotiation skills.
Tactical Approach: Do your research 🔎
Investigate salary ranges for similar roles in your industry and location. Use tools like Glassdoor, Payscale, and LinkedIn. The Elpha community and Elpha Salary Database are also valuable.
Identify your walk-away number—the lowest salary you can accept—and your target salary—the desired figure at the bottom of your range.
Example Answer: When responding, you might say: "Based on the role’s responsibilities, my market research, and the skills I’d be bringing, I believe a salary between $90,000 and $105,000 is appropriate." (Then be quiet.)
Giving a range shows flexibility and invites negotiation.
After Your Response:
If they ask for flexibility, you could say: “I’m open to discussing salary but would like to review the complete package first.” Continue your negotiations by phone or IRL, not over email. It’s more collaborative, and you can get your questions answered in real-time.
Ask for the full compensation package in writing before accepting. Consider bonuses, healthcare, PTO, etc.
If early in the interview process, defer politely: "Since we're in the early stages, I'd like to discuss salary once we've explored whether this role aligns with both of our needs."
8. When it comes to your work, what is something you’re proud of?
Answered by Madelon Deming , Personal Development Coach at New Leaf Coaching with over 14 years of experience in hiring for global engineering and product teams.
Hiring Manager's Perspective: They’re evaluating your self-awareness, problem-solving skills, and how well your strengths align with the company’s values and culture. It’s an opportunity to demonstrate that you understand what matters to the organization and how your accomplishments can contribute to its success.
Tactical Approach: To craft a strong answer, focus on a challenge or project that relates to the role you're applying for. Provide context, describe the action you took, and emphasize the outcome—if possible, include a measurable result to strengthen your response. This is where you can highlight skills that are particularly relevant to the job. Use the job description as a guide to ensure you're selecting the most appropriate examples. For an added impact, tie your example back to the company’s mission, values, or goals to show alignment and cultural fit.
Example Answer: “I’m proud of leading the redesign of our team’s internal dashboard to improve performance monitoring. The old system struggled with real-time data tracking, so I researched new technologies and collaborated with engineers to implement a new solution. This reduced response times by 25% and cut downtime significantly. The project enhanced my technical and teamwork skills, aligning with your company’s focus on innovation and efficiency. I’m excited to bring that experience to [company name / role].”
9. Tell me about your weaknesses.
Answered by Daria Rudnik , Team Architect at Daria Rudnik Coaching & Consulting. An ex-Deloitte consultant and a former Chief People Officer, Daria has 15 years of experience working in people and organizational development.
Hiring Manager’s Perspective: First, I want to hire someone who is self-aware of their strengths and weaknesses. Second, I need to determine whether the candidate’s weaknesses are ones I can manage and accept. For example, I wouldn’t want an entire team lacking attention to detail, but it’s acceptable for some team members to have this weakness as long as others have different challenges.
Tactical Approach: When discussing your weaknesses, show confidence—everyone has areas for development, and that’s perfectly normal. Explain what your weakness is, why it’s a challenge, and how you’re managing it, either by working on it or leveraging your strengths. Avoid positives disguised as weaknesses. eg. "I care too much about my work" as they don't add much to the conversation and can make a candidate come across as egocentric.
Example Answer: "In the past, I received feedback that I wasn’t attentive enough to details. I recognize this as an area for development and remember missing some important information. Since then, I always double-check the important things I’m working on. I also try to automate tasks where possible, so I don’t overlook anything. At my previous workplace, I didn’t receive that feedback again, but I know it’s still an area I need to keep focusing on."
10. How do you handle different priorities?
Answered by Adrienne Hatter , Head of Recruiting at Volley (YCW18, Series C), who is passionate about DEIB, Fair Chances, and helping good people find good people.
Hiring Manager’s Perspective: We assess a few different key attributes when asking this question, such as Communication, Cross-functional Collaboration, Problem-Solving, and Organization, though this varies by role. Why we ask: In startups, priorities often compete. This question helps us see how you tactically manage priorities by engaging stakeholders (collaboration), communicating your capacity (communication), and managing workloads effectively (problem-solving/organization).
Tactical Approach: You should pull an example that demonstrates how you played an active role in aligning priorities or managing conflicts. You should communicate key stakeholders you brought in, how you navigated the situation, and what the outcome was. You can also speak to a high-level framework you use for managing priorities, including tools you use to manage projects/tasks. We want to see an understanding of how to communicate realistic timelines and a recognition that active communication / ongoing alignment are key.
Example Answer: “At [XYZ startup], I was managing four critical tasks from different stakeholders. Each thought their task was urgent, so I consulted my manager, who helped prioritize based on our agreed roadmap. I communicated the new alignment and realistic timelines to stakeholders. I learned that being able to point to my department’s goals helped me better communicate with cross-functional stakeholders, and I made it a point to ask my manager about team priorities monthly.”
👉 Check out Volley’s latest job postings – they’re currently hiring on Elpha.
11. What do you like to do outside of work?
Answered by Madelon Deming , Personal Development Coach at New Leaf Coaching with over 14 years of experience in hiring for global engineering and product teams.
Hiring Manager's Perspective: They are assessing your interests, personality, and potential cultural fit within the team. They’re also curious to see if your hobbies reflect transferable skills like creativity, discipline, or teamwork. It’s a way to gauge work-life balance and understand if you’ll bring positive energy into the workplace.
Tactical Approach: When answering, be authentic and highlight hobbies that demonstrate your skills or values that closely align with the role or company. Avoid overly personal or controversial topics. If possible, choose activities that reflect qualities like collaboration, problem-solving, or dedication, or link your interests to the company’s values or mission.
Example Answer: “Outside work, I enjoy solving puzzles and playing strategy board games with friends. It keeps my mind sharp and helps me think critically under pressure, which mirrors how I approach problem-solving at work. I also love contributing to open-source projects in my free time. It's rewarding to collaborate with a global community of developers, and it helps me stay updated on the latest tools and frameworks. These activities fuel my curiosity and commitment to learning while also reinforcing teamwork and communication skills—qualities I believe align with your company’s emphasis on innovation and collaboration.”
12. Tell me about a time when you had to [insert crisis scenario e.g. like a customer trying to churn].
Answered by Tiffany Dao , Chief of Staff at Just Appraised .
Hiring Manager's Perspective: I'm assessing how well the candidate can communicate the relevant details of a situation, summarize succinctly, recall important details, speak with specificity and not just generalizations, and be mindful of the time that they are taking to speak. That's what I'd want to see on my team.
Tactical Approach: Tell a story, but start with the ending first ('the butler did it...'), i.e. share the main problem and resolution, and then go into detail. Be sure to include what you did versus what your responsibilities were. Finish with the impact that you had.
Example Answer: “One example of how I prevented a customer from churning is when I had to step into the role of Customer Success Manager after an unexpected departure on the team, and through my quick action to establish rapport, I was able to turn the relationship's trajectory around to prevent churn. The customer was rightly concerned about the amount of turnover and what that meant about the stability of the company. On that same call, I validated their concerns, laid out a plan and prioritized next steps around how I will rebuild that trust, which included timely status updates of technical issue resolution. By delivering on my word to resolve their issues on time, I was able to build that trust, and now we are discussing additional services and expansions with them!” Then allow the interview to ask deeper questions.
👉 Check out Just Appraised’s latest postings – they’re currently hiring on Elpha.
13. What's a project that hasn't gone well and what are your learnings?
Answered by Sammyra Scribner , Coach and Technical Talent Recruiter with over 10 years of experience hiring and developing technical talent.
Hiring Manager's Perspective: You are being assessed for how you relate your past experience to the job you’re applying for by evaluating how you handle difficult situations, failure, problem-solving, critical thinking/logic, communication, and follow-through. They want to understand your resilience, resourcefulness, growth mindset, and self-awareness.
Tactical Approach: Use STAR method for your response. Use an example relevant to the team/role you’re applying for. Explain the positive part(s) you played in the project, and what went wrong, be honest but not disparaging. Try to describe the outcome and learning together using positive language that shows you can apply this learning in a future project/situation.
Example Answer: “Last year I led the roll out of a new customer engagement strategy. The project team had loose goals/deliverables and this led to issues later on when our leadership team was dissatisfied with the outcomes. I worked with the team to design, build, and deploy the plan using [tool A, tool B, etc]. We were able to go live ahead of schedule and started to receive positive feedback from users within 3 months. Unfortunately, we ended up shutting down the project after 1 year because it was not achieving the results leadership hoped it would. In our review, we determined the lack of clarity around specific KPIs led to the project’s downfall, and, as a result, I took the initiative to update our project kick-off process to include additional rounds of questions to address this issue going forward. We were able to use this experience to drive project success in the future. Now there is a specific, measurable, repeatable project kick-off process that outlines how we determine success and when we evaluate progress to make changes to prevent situations like this one from happening again and, as a result, driving operational effectiveness.”
14. What’s a piece of constructive feedback you’ve received about your work and why?
Answered by Kim Wilkes , Head of Talent Attraction at Zapier . Kim has 10+ years of experience leading full-lifecycle recruiting and global sourcing organizations, as well as employer brand.
Hiring Manager's Perspective: When I ask about constructive feedback, I’m really looking to see how a candidate reflects on their growth, how they take feedback, and their willingness to keep improving. It also gives me insight into how they respond to challenges and how coachable they are. Essentially, it helps me gauge if they’ll thrive in a team environment where growth and adaptability are important.
Tactical Approach:
Start by sharing the feedback you received and why it was significant.
Talk about how it impacted your work and why it mattered.
Then, walk through the specific steps you took to act on it.
Finally, wrap up by explaining how that feedback helped you improve or grow in your role. Keep it honest and show how it shaped you.
If you can’t think of any feedback you’ve received, consider sharing feedback you’ve given yourself that’s helped you grow and improve. Self-reflection is just as valuable and shows your ability to learn and push yourself forward.
Example Answer: “One piece of feedback I received early on was that I needed to improve my time management, especially when balancing multiple projects. At first, it was tough to hear because I thought I was handling it well. But after reflecting on it, I realized I wasn’t prioritizing as well as I could have. I started using a project management tool and broke down tasks into smaller milestones. I also aligned with my manager on my key priorities each week. As a result, I became much more efficient, and my ability to meet deadlines improved significantly.”
👉 Check out Zapier’s latest job postings – they’re currently hiring on Elpha.
15. Tell me about a time you had a conflict of ideas with a coworker.
Answered by Adrienne Hatter , Head of Recruiting at Volley (YCW18, Series C), who is passionate about DEIB, Fair Chances, and helping good people find good people.
Hiring Manager's Perspective: This question assesses Conflict Management, Empathy/Humility, and Communication Skills. We want to see how you manage conflict, recognize when you're wrong (humility), or how you can defend your ideas professionally and appropriately (humility/communication).
Tactical Approach: Share an example of a disagreement with a coworker, highlighting your role in managing the conflict and/or the challenges you faced. Even without a positive outcome, you can focus on the lessons learned. Avoid criticizing others or claiming superiority without valid reasoning. In a senior role, we expect you to have a strong voice and fully-formed opinions. However, you should have reasoning and evidence to support those opinions, and a true senior/leader can guide others there effectively.
Example Answer: “At [XYZ startup], Product wanted us to launch a feature by [X date] —an unrealistic timeline. A senior team member suggested a solution that would meet the timeline, but create tech debt. Based on my experience, I knew we wouldn’t be able to revisit or resolve the tech debt, and it would degrade user experience significantly over time. After consulting with my manager, I put together a presentation that explained why the current approach would cause more problems down the road, and provided an alternative solution that would only delay the launch by a week but avoid future problems. Ultimately, I was able to get the team member on board.”
👉 Check out Volley’s latest job postings – they’re currently hiring on Elpha.
16. Are we your first choice?
Answered by Rachel Denyer , co-founder at PeopleStorming, who has been helping teams thrive for over 20 years with her expertise in organizational improvisation, contemporary L&D and product-focused People Ops.
Hiring Manager's Perspective: When a hiring manager asks this question, it can seem as if somehow the implication is “if we’re not your first choice, then we’re not interested” (pouty face). We’ll set aside companies that actually feel this way (i.e. places you likely don’t want to work). The real intention is to check that you’re thinking carefully about your choices.
Tactical Approach: As a candidate, you need to have a well-articulated rubric for choosing companies you might want to work for. This is your opportunity to express that rubric and to demonstrate how well this particular company scores. After all, if they weren’t scoring well against your criteria, why would you have agreed to an interview?
Example Answer: “I haven’t come to a final decision yet about where I’m most excited to work. As I’ve learned more about this company, I’ve become convinced that it’s somewhere I’d enjoy working and be able to have a real, positive impact. For example, the way you prioritize design thinking in product work makes me feel like I’d be surrounded by people who want to build thoughtful things to put out into the world. So while I don’t know “who’s in first place” given my options, this company is a really strong contender.”
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