Applying for job openings is just the second step to getting a job. What comes next is your job interview. You’ll need to know how to answer job interview questions in or you might face difficult questions from interviewers during your interview.
Are you ready for your interview?
Everyone’s biggest worry is getting challenging job interview questions they can’t answer. Yours probably is too. It gets even worse once you get nervous.
But, it doesn’t have to be that way. You can prepare by researching about the company you applied to before your interview. That way, the job interview questions you get become easy to answer.
If you don’t know which questions your interviewer might ask, this is the guide for you.
We’ll cover a list of 13 common job interview questions in Singapore. We’ll also show you how you can answer them.
It’s a pretty detailed guide so click on the question you need help with the most below to jump there!
Common job interview questions in Singapore
- Can you tell me a little about yourself?
- What do you know about us?
- Why do you want this job?
- What is your greatest strength?
- What is your greatest weakness?
- Why should we hire you?
- Share a challenge or conflict you faced at work and how you dealt with it
- How do you deal with pressure or stressful situations?
- What type of work environment do you prefer?
- Have you exercised leadership or initiative at work?
- What are you passionate about outside of work?
- What do you think we could do better or different?
- Do you have any questions for us?
While these job interview questions might sound silly, there are reasons why they’re so commonly asked by interviewers.
Let’s start with the most common one!
1. Can you tell me a little about yourself?
Why is this job interview question asked
Interviewers love to ask this job interview question as an opener.
Your interviewers want to gauge whether you have the right personality for the job. But, did you know they’re also wondering if you have the relevant skills for the job?
Let’s explain how you can answer this question.
Share why you’re perfect for the role
Prepare a story beforehand about yourself.
In your story, tell your interviewers why you applied for the job and how you’re a perfect fit. Be sure to include relevant examples.
Let’s imagine that you’re applying for a retail job at ZARA.
Do you think your interviewer wants to hear a story about how you like memes or how you’re passionate about fashion? Definitely about fashion.
Tell them how you spend your free time reading up on fashion magazines to keep in trend.
Stay focused on the role you’re applying for because you’re competing with other candidates who want the job too. You need to convince your interviewers that you’re the perfect candidate.
2. What do you know about us?
Why is this job interview question asked
The bottom line is, your interviewer wants to know if you’re serious about the job. They do not want to waste their time on interviewees who don’t bother learning about their company.
If you can’t answer, they know that you know nothing about what their business does.
Never miss out on researching the company you applied to before going for your interview. Such candidates have zero passion. You’re not one of them!
Draw a connection between the company and yourself
First, do your research.
You need to find out what the company does. Here are a few things you can find out:
- The company’s mission and vision
- The company’s culture
- How the company operates and who or what they deal with
Show your interviewer you know exactly what their business does. But, you shouldn’t stop there.
Imagine you’re an organic food advocate and you applied to a company that believes in organic food. You must show them you know everything about it and how you believe in it too.
Pro tip: Take this chance to show them that you share the same goals and you’re moving towards the same direction.
3. Why do you want this job?
Why is this job interview question asked
Your interviewer has one primary intention when they ask this question. They want to know if you want this job for the right reasons.
Let’s say you’re applying to work at Nando’s. Here’s a quick trivia for you.
Which of the answers below appeals more to an interviewer:
- “I love Nando’s; I want this job because of free food. Who doesn’t like chicken?”
- “I want to work at Nando’s because I want to pick up new skills in the kitchen. Plus, I want to develop my customer service and communication skills.”
Did you pick the second answer to the trivia? If you did, bingo!
You get it. Your interviewers want meaningful answers. They want to know you’re ambitious for the proper reasons.
Show that you have the right motivations
The key to answering this question is to:
- Express your passion for the job or sector
- Explain how the job is a good fit for you
- Tell them how you want to develop your skills and contribute to the company’s objectives
Cover these three areas. You’ll nail this common job interview question if you do.
4. What is your greatest strength?
Why is this job interview question asked
Tell me you can’t see this question coming from a mile away? I’m sure everyone answered it more than once in their lifetime.
Your interviewers ask this question to gauge how self-aware you are of your abilities. To tell you the truth, they want to know how useful your strength is for their company.
How do you approach this question?
Make them want to hire you on the spot
Whatever you do, please don’t tell them you’re the karaoke champion among your friends. Well, unless you want to be a performing artist.
You need to think about how your strength sets you apart from other candidates.
Show the interviewers how valuable you are.
Imagine you’re applying for a position in the airport. Everyone’s going to claim these strengths:
- “I have excellent communication skills.”
- “I know how to handle a conflict.”
- “I have good people skills.”
These reasons are valuable. But, if you don’t back it up with real examples, it means nothing to them.
Let’s say you’re so amazing that you can speak four different languages. Use it as your greatest strength.
Don’t you think it’s highly valuable especially since the airport deals with people from all over?
5. What is your greatest weakness?
Why is this job interview question asked
This question is similar to “What is your greatest strength?” Your interviewers want to find out if you are aware of your weakness.
The main point of asking this question is to know if you’re striving to improve and work on your weakness.
Your answer will show that you’re committed to upgrade yourself and tackle challenges.
Show that you are working on your improving yourself
Before I touch on how you can answer this question, there is one thing you must avoid. Never reveal a weakness that the company cannot accept.
Let’s imagine that you applied for a retailer role.
This role needs you to be good with calculation and numbers. Instead, you told them that you’re weak with numbers.
How do you think that’s going to sound? No points for guessing, you’ll never get that job.
Let’s look into the right way you can answer this question.
You can follow these steps:
- Choose a weakness that is acceptable for the job you’re applying for
- Explain how you’re working on improving yourself
- Tell them what you’re going to do to overcome your weakness
It is vital to give specific examples of the steps you’re taking to overcome your weakness.
Let’s say your weakness is multitasking.
Share how you always keep a pen and notebook with you to jot down your tasks. Tell them how it helps you keep track of your day-to-day tasks and objectives.
You can also share how you make it a point to check and update your notebook at the end of every day as a reminder.
6. Why should we hire you?
Why is this job interview question asked
The purpose of this question is the same as, “What is your greatest strength?” It’s another way of asking it.
Your interviewer wants to see if you can offer something different.
They also want to know how committed you can be and if you can value-add to their company’s portfolio.
Share exactly why you suit the position
Find out these details first:
- The relevant skills that the role requires
- The company’s mission and vision
Tell them that you have the relevant skills they want. If you can show it to them, that’s better.
You should emphasise how you’re committed to contributing to the company’s mission.
If you’re in it for the long run, tell them. Interviewers appreciate applicants who have a strong desire to grow and contribute.
Pro tip: Never give vague or short answers. Always elaborate and explain why you’re the perfect candidate for the job.
7. Share a challenge or conflict you faced at work and how you dealt with it
Why is this job interview question asked
Interviewers ask this question to find out how you respond to conflict.
They want to determine if you are calm and composed during times of stress.
The last thing they want to do is hire a person who has nervous breakdowns or anger management problems.
Share how you handle a tough situation to reach a happy resolution
It’s your perfect chance to impress the interviewer.
Instead of sharing a previous experience, here’s a little trick I use… Ask your interviewer to throw you a situation where there is conflict involved.
Let’s say; they told you that a customer was angry that his food was taking too long to arrive.
Tell them that you approach conflicts by using this method called STAR. It stands for:
- Situation
- Task
- Action
- Result
Here’s an example of how you can answer how you handle conflicts based on the situation above:
Situation: A customer got angry that his food took too long to arrive.
Task: As the service assistant, your job was to calm him down. You also needed to deliver his food as soon as possible.
Action: You maintained your composure and politely apologised for the delay. You explained why it’s taking so long by telling the customer that the chef takes pride in his work to ensure the best quality.
You compensated his long wait with a free drink so he could enjoy it while he waited for his food to arrive.
Resolution: The customer calmed down. He thanked you for your understanding and explanation. He was happy to wait for his food to come and he enjoyed the meal.
There you go, that’s a comprehensive answer that will impress your interviewer.
It shows them that you can think fast and manage stressful situations well.
8. How do you deal with pressure or stressful situations?
Why is this job interview question asked
This question is almost the same as question 7.
Your interviewers want to know if you know how to manage your mental well-being.
It’s simple. Interviewers want to avoid hiring people who get nervous breakdowns on a daily basis. It creates unnecessary trouble.
Share your stress-reduction techniques
A good way you can answer this question is to share how you manage stress.
First, find a stress reduction technique that works for you.
Here’s a list of relaxation techniques from WebMD you can refer.
It’s important to find which method works for you so you can manage your well-being.
During your interview, tell them which technique you use and how it helps you manage stress. It reassures the interviewers that you can handle yourself.
You can also bring up a previous experience to explain how this technique helped you calm down.
9. What type of work environment do you prefer?
Why is this job interview question asked
Interviewers want to find out if you’re a good fit for the job.
They want to avoid hiring people who do not feel comfortable with their work culture.
A good job-environment fit is also a good indicator that you can be staying with the company for a long time.
Tell the interviewers you like a work environment like the one you’re applying to
You should start by finding out about the work culture of the company.
You have two options:
- Do a simple Google search for the company’s website and visit their “About Us” page
- Ask a friend who’s working in the company you applied to
It’s as simple as that.
Let’s imagine you applied for an events job. It’s going to be busy, and you’re going to have to work long hours.
You’ll be moving around and interacting with people.
When your interviewer asks you this question, tell them that you love to interact with people. Tell them how you appreciate a job environment that allows you to be at your best.
10. Have you exercised leadership or initiative at work?
Why is this job interview question asked
Your interviewer wants to know if:
- You can manage a team
- You have excellent problem-solving skills
- You have effective communication skills
The traits mentioned above are all characteristics of a good leader.
It’s almost the same question as “Tell me about a time where you solved a challenge at work”.
They want to know if you can progress further.
Think of the characteristics your interviewer will value more
Before you answer, you have to judge which traits matter more to your interviewer.
You can apply the same STAR method discussed before:
- Situation
- Task
- Action
- Resolution
Let’s say you’re applying to be a chef. At your previous job, you faced a situation where you had many wrong orders during dinner service.
You had to solve it.
You can tell them that you handled the ticket orders that came yourself. You can explain how you rallied and organised your team to cook up the correct orders.
Finally, you can emphasise how it all led to a great end to your dinner service.
Get creative, think of a similar situation and share it with your interviewer. Be confident.
11. What are you passionate about outside of work?
Why is this interview question asked
Job interview questions like these are personal. The interviewers want to know more about what you do during your free time.
It might tempt you to answer this question without much thought.
But, be careful. The interviewers want to know if you spend your time wisely.
Share something personal, but keep it semi-professional
Compare your hobbies. Based on your judgement, choose the one that can resonate with the interviewer or the company.
Share meaningful hobbies like volunteering at animal shelters or helping the elderly community.
If you don’t do any of these things, it’s not game over for you.
You can share things like how you love photography and what it means to you. You can share how active you are in sports.
Tell them why it’s your hobby. A good explanation or story makes a big difference.
Pro tip: Avoid sharing hobbies like drinking or going to the clubs, they have no value.
12. What do you think we could do better or different?
Why is this interview question asked
Job interview questions like these are tricky. The interviewers are trying to determine a few things:
- Do you know what the company does?
- Are you able to find creative solutions to current problems?
- Do you give constructive feedback with actionable takeaways?
They want to know if you can find out what works, what doesn’t and how to improve.
Give truthful and constructive feedback
Be reasonable.
Avoid giving answers or feedback without suggesting a solution. That’s precisely the kind of things that the interviewer hates.
Ever faced a situation when your teacher tells you that your essay isn’t great? But, he or she didn’t say how you could improve. Drove you crazy huh?
I’ll give you an example of how you can answer this question. Let’s imagine you applied to a pizza restaurant.
Step 1: Doing your research
You found out that majority of their customers are families with young kids.
But, you noticed that the restaurant lacks features that are friendly to children. They do not:
- Make any attempts to engage their young consumers
- Have a kids menu
- A section where kids can play
Step 2: Providing constructive feedback
Highlight the problem to the interviewer in a polite manner. Tell them how addressing it will work in their favour.
Then, end it by giving your suggestions and explaining why it solves the problem.
You can suggest:
- Developing a kids menu
- Update the interior to have child-friendly features
- Dedicate a section where kids can get creative with colouring books
Emphasise how these suggestions can bring more value to the company.
13. Do you have any questions for us?
Why is this interview question asked
I’m going to break a common misconception.
A job interview isn’t only about answering the interviewer’s questions. It’s not one way.
You have the opportunity to ask them your own set of questions. Should you? Definitely.
They ask this question to learn a few things:
- To find out more about you
- To know if you have an interest in learning more about the company
Grab this chance.
Find out if the company is a good fit for you
Now, it’s time for you to get smart. Ask the interviewers the right questions.
A job interview is where you find out if the job is the right one for you.
You can ask questions like:
- Can you tell me more about your company culture?
- What is your favourite thing about working in your firm?
- Does the company provide room to learn and grow?
Be sure to clarify any doubts you have too.
Do not regret missing out on important questions like your pay and length of the contract.
Remember that this question is the last question the interviewer will ask. You need to leave a good lasting impression.
Work your magic. You can do it.
Useful Articles for You:
Part-Time F&B Interview: 6 Important Questions People Regret Not Asking
Part-Time Retail Job Interview: 7 Questions People Regret Not Asking
Part-Time Events Job Interview: 7 Questions People Regret Not Asking
Answering Job Interview Questions in Singapore
Thank you for reading this long guide! I hope you can answer all the common job interview questions in Singapore after reading this. Now, it’s over to you.
Remember, it’s not hard to answer job interview questions. Preparation is key to landing that dream job of yours! No more nervous breakdowns, no more stammering.
Do you have friends who are nervous about their upcoming interviews too? Share this article with them to help them prepare for their job interview questions too!
Good luck with your interview, you can do it!
