Usually, the nature of questions being asked by interviewers in a job interview depends on the job requirements a candidate is applying for. For example; The questions for the interview of an HR manager would be different compared to a candidate applying for a Marketing manager. Both have different sets of questions according to the abilities of candidates and the requirements of the job description. Following are the top general questions employers usually ask in Zimbabwe to the candidates who came for job interviews. The wording of these questions varies from person to person but the meaning is all the same.

1. Introduce Yourself

The first and the most basic question asked by the Zimbabwean interviewer or any interviewer in the world is Introduce yourself or tell me about yourself or give your introduction. The answer to this question should be in four simple sentences. In the first sentence, tell the interviewer about the name and basic schooling and recent educational information. In the second line mention the work history with job designation. In the third sentence tell the hiring manager about your experiences learnt in career development. Never share any personal or irrelevant information with the interviewer. 

2.Sell yourself 

The second most common and neglected question is to sell yourself or why you want to work with us or why we should hire you or why this organization. Candidates usually fail to answer this question. To answer this question a candidate should briefly elaborate to the interviewer how he is the most qualified candidate for this position. A candidate should read about the job vacancy properly and elaborate on his skills and education that are relevant to the job requirements

3.Where do you See Yourself in the next 5 years?

This question is mostly asked by recruiters to analyze whether you are opting to do this job out of need or you are planning to excel in this field with their organization. An organization would never like to waste their efforts and resources on a candidate who is planning to leave them after a short period. Hiring procedures take a lot of effort, time and resources. Training and internship resources are invested by the organization to receive benefits in future. A candidate should never respond like he will start his own business or will build a similar organization after taking experience by working in this firm.

4. Strengths and Weaknesses 

Elaborate your strengths as the skills and abilities you possess and perform in real life. They should not be something out of fictional movies. Your actual life abilities and skills are like you are a hard worker, have leading skills, a skilled team player, learn things quickly or maybe have a photographic memory. Strengths are easy to access and to speak about as compared to weaknesses. A candidate should never tell about his actual weaknesses to the recruiting manager until and unless they are relevant. Never brag about your hard work is your weakness or I never rest or I have obsessive-compulsive disorder about certain things or I am a workaholic etc. Recruiting managers are so used to hearing all these stories. A candidate should always discuss things that affected his office work and now he has overcome that issue and it is not a weakness anymore.

5.Salary Expectations 

This question is often asked by the interviewer to judge your mental competency. They want to judge how realistic an approach you have towards working with them. A candidate should always avoid answering this question directly. Never mention any lump sum amount to your interviewer or the candidate will lose the chance to negotiate. 

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Always ask your recruiter to make the first move on this stance and then negotiate on that. While negotiating, consider the market and ongoing job situation in your country or city. Always keep your stance flexible while negotiating, it is always considered a great gesture. Be very sure before giving numbers and never stumble upon your number after receiving silence from the recruiting manager.

6. Experience at Last Workplace 

Does the interviewer usually ask how your experience was at your last workplace? Or why are you leaving your last job? How was your last employer? Certain questions are asked to check the optimistic or pessimistic attitude of the candidate. The candidate should precisely mention they have good experiences in the workplace. Never over-share your experiences and blame your ex-employer or colleagues for anything. Never mention any negative reason for leaving the previous job.

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7. Biggest Risk ever Experienced a Job

An employer is always eager to know about the candidate's capabilities in handling stress at work. So the employer will ask the candidate about the biggest risk ever experienced or faced at his last workplace and what decisions he made to eliminate that risk.