Entry Level Account Manager
We analyzed 446 interview reviews for Entry Level Account Manager from various job sites, social network groups and forums.
Here are the most frequent job interview questions asked by HR managers during initial phone or onsite interviews. This list does not include technical or factual questions.
10 frequent non-technical questions for Entry Level Account Manager:
According to our research, hiring managers looking to fill Entry Level Account Manager role ask soft skills interview questions 2.0x more frequently than for other roles.
1. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? top question
How to answer
This question belongs to a family of behavioral, or even more precisely, reflective questions.
The interviewer wants to learn two things about you by asking this question.
- They want to know what you think about the job you are applying for. Remember, they are interviewing you for the job that's open right now. Are you a good fit and will you do a good job for them?
- Just as important, they want to get an idea of your ambitions and goals for yourself and if your goals align with their needs, especially going into the future.
In this way the employer should see how you see yourself today, and whether you are ambitious and strive to grow as a professional, and whether you like to learn and develop your skills.
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About Yourself
What challenges do you like overcoming? Where are you starting from and where might you be going?
For example, let's say the position you are applying for is junior accountant. It includes a wide range of tasks such as basic bookkeeping, financial analysis, and reporting. If accounting is your chosen field, then you would most likely want to move in the direction of obtaining your CPA so that you might step up to more responsibility as an accounting manager or senior auditor within the next 5 years. Your responses should make sense in how you see yourself growing in your professional career.
However, at this point, if you are happy just where you are and want to further your current skills, that is also fine as long as there is a growth path for you that can be imagined and described.
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About The Company
Research the company to learn what career opportunities may be available in the department you are applying to, and what the trends are in the company in general.
- Is the business expanding, are they opening new locations, or starting new projects?
- Or are they heavily automating and cutting staff?
Let’s say you are applying for a UX designer position for a brand-new product.
In the future, if the product becomes a success - which is what the company hopes for - the company will hire more designers and you may become a lead designer, or you may become a product manager.
On a side note: If you train your mind to be open to opportunities you will be amazed at how much this world has to offer to you!
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About The Fit
And, of course, try to see where the perfect fit lies between your own potential and aspirations, and the company’s trends and hopes.
However, beware of the risk of showing too much excitement for future opportunities compared to your attitude towards the current position.
As we said earlier, you must show interest and enthusiasm for the position you are applying for. If the interviewer senses that you are more enthusiastic about future growth than about the current position, they may conclude that you are not the right person for the job at hand.
Pro Tip
This question gives you a good opportunity to showcase your Key Selling Points (e.g. “As I am very good at delegating tasks, I can easily see myself leading a team of software testers in the future…”), and end your statement by asking about current initiatives and goals at the company.
In thinking about the possibilities that may lie ahead, you also might want to consider taking a personality test (I recommend 16Personalities which is based on the Myers-Briggs test), research the internet on what career paths are possible with your skills and current job.
It is generally NOT a good idea to say something like:
“Oh, I cannot imagine what happens to me tomorrow, let alone in 5 years”.
This will show you as a person who is unimaginative and not forward-thinking enough to grow with and be a good fit for the company.
2. Tell me about yourself
How to answer
Most job candidates expect this to be one of the first interview questions and probably think of it as an “icebreaker” to get the interview started. It is much more than that! It is your opportunity to show the interviewer your relevance for the job. You want the employer to know that you are qualified to do the job, you are interested in doing the job and capable of getting it done.
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About Yourself
What is your current occupation? Define yourself professionally in one statement.
Pick 3 key skills that make you great at your work (your Key Selling Points). How have you applied these skills?
Try to give some numbers to support your statement.
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About The Company
Your first step is to Research the company to find out as much as you can about what they do and their approach to their business and their employees.
Based on what you know about the company and the job description, why are you interested in the position you are applying for?
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About The Fit
Now is the right time to show the fit between your skills and the company's requirements. Your answer works best if you emphasize your relevance. How do you do this? You will have already researched the company, studied the job description to identify their needs and possible pain points and prepared the relevant Star Stories that show how you addressed similar issues in the past. Your next step is to develop your Present-Past-Present approach.
Start with the Present. Focus on the skills and experience from your most recent positions. What has enabled you to get the job done successfully and how this relates to what the employer is looking to accomplish.
Next go back to the Past. Here is where your Star story comes in. Explain how you were able to use your skills and experience to accomplish a task that relates to an area of concern for the employer.
Finally come back to the Present – summarizing the lessons you learned and how they shaped your response and approach today.
Remember, the whole conversation is about the present, not the past. Just one sentence can summarize why your approach works, and its applicability and relevance to this position.
Pro Tip
You can also end with a question like:
“Do you know what the current needs in the company/department are, where my skills and experience can help?”
That can help you learn more about the company and the job, turn the “interrogation” into a conversation and will allow you to relax some tension.
Read our blog post to learn more about how to answer this question.
3. What is your greatest weakness?
How to answer
This question ranks as the most challenging for many people. Fortunately, Mr. Simon is here to help!
Interviewers are not out to trick or trap you! They ask this question to gauge your level of self-awareness, your honesty and openness, and your capability for self-improvement.
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About Yourself
No one is perfect and your interviewer doesn't expect you to be perfect either.
While it is good to be honest and open, it will not help you to put yourself down.
What's important is to find a weakness that you have overcome. How you turned what might be considered a negative into a positive.
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About The Company
Research the company (website, social media, etc) to learn about the company culture.
What personal and professional qualities do they value?
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About The Fit
This is the time to clearly state a true weakness that you have overcome.
Be as specific as possible and stay away from vague cliches like “I work too hard.” It would be difficult for anyone to try and explain how they overcame a weakness like that
Mr. Simon emphasizes the Present-Past-Present method of responding to behavioral questions. When you are asked about your greatest weakness, you should be able to successfully use this approach as well. Here is an example of how someone might answer this question.
Present - "I have always had a fear of public speaking, and believe this may have held me back in my career, especially when having to make presentations to management."
Past - "Last year I learned about Toastmasters International and decided to join this group to help me gain confidence in myself and improve my ability to present to others in just about any situation."
Present - "By overcoming this weakness I believe that it has made me a much stronger candidate for this position, someone you can count on to make presentations to management, conduct training and communicate at a high level."
It's important to show how well you've overcome a weakness by motivating yourself and learning a new skill to grow professionally.
Pro Tip
Use this question to sell yourself!
4. What are your long-term goals?
How to answer
Even in this age of the so-called Gig Economy, employers are always looking for people who can become their strong and loyal “soldiers,” a part of their “army” to help them conquer their market share against their competitors.
So, even if at this moment this job may be a temporary contract, you never know what opportunities may present themselves to you in this company.
Trust me, your hiring manager doesn’t know either!
So, be open to opportunities and use this question to emphasize how your personal goals correspond with those of the company.
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About Yourself
Start with honestly assessing yourself. (At this moment, you are not sharing these thoughts with anyone, so be as open as you can).
Imagine that you have all the resources in the world and that all roads are open for you.
- How would you use them?
- Which road(s) would you choose?
- What do you see on the horizon in that direction?
Be audacious and don’t limit yourself. There is no longer a perspective than “long-term,” so be as futuristic as you possibly can.
List a few “road” options that you would be enthusiastic about going down.
For example, this list may be as broad as the following:
• writer
• choir director
• software engineer and architect
• CEO of a unicorn startup company,
• entrepreneur.As William Shakespeare once said, “We know what we are, but we know not what we may be.”
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About The Company
Now, look at the company.
- What is the industry they operate in?
- What is the position you are applying for, and what are potential career growth possibilities within the department, company, and industry?
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About The Fit
Which of your “road” options correspond best with the opportunities presented by this company?
Highlight this option and focus on it. Imagine, in as much detail as you can, going down this road.
What would be the major milestones for you, in order to move towards your goal?
Describe the chosen option by focusing on the first 1-2 milestones, and by presenting it in light of company goals and current initiatives.
For example, if you are applying for a project manager position in a corporation engaged in the education industry, and your “road” option is “CEO,” your next career step may be a program manager, or an innovations and research manager.
Explain why you are enthusiastic about reaching these goals, and what makes you think you have the necessary traits and skills to reach them.
How can the company benefit from these traits and skills of yours already today, in the current role you are applying for?
Pro Tip
Framing your answer in the same terms used by the company will help ensure the interviewer can easily understand your language and help both of you to be “on the same page.”
The easier you make it for the interviewer, the better are your chances they will “vote” for you over other candidates.
5. Do you have any hobbies/special interests?
How to answer
The question about hobbies or special interests may seem unimportant and unrelated only at first glance.
Why do interviewers ask this question? They want to learn more about the applicant as a person, not just as an employee. They need to get a sense of your ability to balance your work and personal life.
When considering a large number of applicants, how you answer the question about hobbies or special interests may even become a decisive factor in hiring.
The answer to this question may often tell the interviewer how personal qualities can affect employee productivity in the future. Therefore, it is necessary to think it over in advance.
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About Yourself
- What are your interests and what can they say about you?
- What brings you joy and gives you energy?
Surely you have at least one item from a list of common activities such as traveling, volunteering, community service, charity work, sports, hiking or playing chess. Maybe you are good at creative arts like writing, music, painting or crafts. Cooking or gardening can also be mentioned.
Think about the interests you enjoy the most and if they are relevant to the job you are applying for, all the better.
Don’t just list them, talk in more depth about each and the transferrable skills you have gained. Among them may be planning and organization skills, creative thinking and problem solving, adaptability or patience.
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About The Company
Do your research about the company. Read carefully the “About Us” page of their website and job description.
Compare their company culture and values to the ones you embrace in your extracurricular hobbies and interests. Take note especially if they participate in charities.
Even if yours and theirs don’t exactly match, it will still allow you to make clear connections between your interests and those of your interviewer.
If you know exactly who you will be interviewed by - find his/her profile on social networks – it will be a more successful interview if you have some common interests.
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About The Fit
Make your hobby or interest your advantage.
For example, if applying for a position as a translator, mention that in your free time you like to translate new songs and send them to popular websites or, tell about your passion for reading novels or writing your own stories in those languages.
If you are applying for a job in gaming, you might mention your passion for certain video games.
Applying to be an IT project manager? Talk about how you started a book club and regularly feature books related to IT innovation and transformation.
Be ready to discuss the activities that prepare you for training, tasks and other workplace successes.
Pro Tip
Whatever hobby or interest you choose to highlight during your job interview, remember to focus on the positive qualities you possess in order to be successful at it.
Avoid speaking about hobbies that are related to politics or other taboo topics. Stick to mentioning interests that are relatively uncontroversial and keep it professional.
6. What skills are you looking to develop on your next job? Why?
How to answer
When employers ask you about skills you would like to develop, they are looking for honesty in the way you answer.
A common target of the question is to discover how motivated you are to extend yourself. If you are willing to learn, then you are probably more motivated to do the job well.
They might also be trying to determine whether you’ll be a good long-term fit for the company. Are you looking for an opportunity to grow with an organization – or will your plans take you to another employer before long?
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About Yourself
Answering the question, reflect on yourself. Show that you are concerned and active about your own evolution.
You can indicate how development has worked for you in the past, give examples.
- What qualities do you wish to develop in yourself both professionally and personally?
- What kind of culture do you want to work in?
- What motivates you?
- What qualities do you feel make strong, healthy relationships?
- What skills do you admire most in your role models?
And probably the most important is: What will help you to achieve your future goals?
Choose something you’re already pretty good at, but still trying to improve even more. Maybe it is something that you learned a long time ago but haven’t used in recent jobs very often?
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About The Company
Do your research and learn as much as possible about the organization and the career path you might forge there. Read the company’s story on their website, review their LinkedIn page, explore their blog.
What personal and professional qualities do they value and what can you learn if they hire you?
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About The Fit
No matter what skills you say you want to improve, however, make sure that you follow it up with what you’re doing about it.
Focus on a work skill that may not be critical to your industry or job level and demonstrate how you would like to develop this skill further, implying you already have a level of competency. This way you won't be sounding negative about yourself.
You could say something like “Coworkers often come to me for advice on how to write or format a document they are working on. I know that I am good at this (that’s why they come to me in the first place), but I have no formal training on mentoring others. I would like to take a course or two on mentoring others that would help them while also improving my own skills in this area.”
Say you are willing to learn new things and take on new challenges. Show employers that you’re self-motivated and actively looking for ways to improve your skills and value in your career.
Pro Tip
If you choose one of the more common working skills such as networking, presentation, mediation, technical, coaching or mentoring, make sure that they are not anything that’s vital or crucial to the job you’re interviewing for.
For example, if you are applying for a manager position, you don’t want to say that you need to work on developing your supervisory skills.
7. What one skill do you possess that you think will be the most important to a hiring manager?
How to answer
Employers place a lot of emphasis on finding candidates with the right skills and competencies for their organizations.
Depending on the career sector and profession you choose to work in, there are very specific skills, abilities and knowledge needed to do the job well.
The interviewer asks this question to make sure you will be a good fit with your skills and experience and will be a great addition to their team.
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About Yourself
If you’re not sure which skill would be best to share, consider your previous work experiences.
- Where did you excel?
- What would your peers say you’re especially proficient at?
- Have you ever received recognition for meeting a particular objective or excelling in a specific area?If so, your skills likely assisted you in reaching this achievement.
- What personal talents or attributes helped you meet that milestone?
Ask former coworkers or managers to help you to determine your strengths that made you unique. Imagine yourself as a manager who needs an employee to fill the position you are currently applying for.
What would you as the manager expect from a candidate for this job?
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About The Company
Start by reviewing the job description and making note of any required skills or abilities that match your own.
The job posting is a great guide for what employers want to see in candidates. In addition to job requirements, consider the depiction of the company and its culture in the job description.
Be sure to research the company by reviewing its website for additional information to get to know what skill you should mention.
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About The Fit
It’s important to highlight your best hard and soft skills (your Key Selling Points) to position yourself as a well-rounded candidate.
Though you may have several different areas of strength, include only those that are relevant to the job. Adaptability, critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and effective communication – it is the list of most common soft skills that can be helpful in any job, so you can choose the one to share with the hiring manager that best describes you.
But to make your answer stronger, the skill should be specific to the job you are applying for. Be certain to give examples of how this skill helped you in your last job.
Pro Tip
It is important to be able to distinguish your skills from personal qualities. The first are acquired in the process of work and training, and the second characterize you as a person.
8. What are your current professional goals?
How to answer
This question is your chance to show yourself as a focused and results-oriented person (and this is exactly who you are, aren’t you?)
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About Yourself
Define up to 3 goals. Think about each goal:
- Why is it important to you?
- What are you doing to achieve it?
Imagine a company where you would like to work, ideally. How can working in that company help you achieve your goal? And what about the opposite - how can the company benefit from your reaching your goal?
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About The Company
Based on the research you did on the company, what are their current goals and initiatives? How would its goals and initiatives help lead you to achieve your goals?
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About The Fit
From your list of goals choose the one with the most synergy between yourself and the company. Explain how your professional passions will help the company achieve its success.
Craft your story around these 4 points:
- The Why: Why is this goal important to you, what makes it so exciting?
- The What: What steps are you taking to reach your goal?
- What’s in it for you? How can this company and job role help you reach your goal?
- What’s in it for them? How can the company benefit?
Pro Tip
Try to validate your assumptions by asking the interviewer what they think.
For example, you can end your answer with this question: “And do you know what current goals the company/department is trying to achieve?”
It can help you learn more about the company and the job, turn the "interrogation" into a conversation and will allow you to relax some tension.
9. Why did you choose your major?
How to answer
Everyone has his/her reasons to pick a major.
There are hundreds and hundreds of careers to choose from and most people pick a major that will give them a background in the career they want to pursue.
When you come to a job interview you will be definitely asked this question.
The interviewers are seeking to understand your underlying motivations for selecting this career.
It is also a good question for them to learn how much planning and thought actually went into your career selection. It is a window into your personality and interests.
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About Yourself
This is your chance to highlight your strengths and how your major prepared you for your future plans.
Your answer to this question should reflect your passion and interest in the field you chose. Be genuine.
There’s every reason to display your passions and interest in your major. They will give interviewers a sense of who you really are.
Think about who or what influenced your career choice and include the positive influences, not the negative ones.
- How does this tie into your major?
- How will you bring your passion and unique knowledge to the new company?
Emphasize your strong people skills and excellent communication skills, allowing you to connect with others.
Think of the skills and experiences you gained through your major, think back to assignments and projects from your studies, internships and previous jobs. Consider the skills you developed working on those projects.
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About The Company
Write down a list of skills and experiences you gained through your major studies.
Then, look at the job listing itself.
Match up any of your skills and experiences that relate to the requirements of the job. How can you apply them to your new position, as well as the future?
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About The Fit
Use this question as an opportunity to mention a few skills related to your chosen major that would also be relevant in the workplace.
Point to a good culture fit.
Be positive, showing your enthusiasm. Let them know you're excited to be where you are.
Discuss what you enjoy about the industry you’re considering and why you could see yourself working in it. Even if your major is not directly related to the job, you can likely find connections between the two.
This is also a chance to explain other ways you have developed skills that will fulfill the role you're applying for.
For example, perhaps you were a biology major who is applying for a job in computer programming. You might explain that you took a number of online and extracurricular classes on programming to develop the skills needed for the job.
Pro Tip
Let your past decisions and accomplishments shine through. Once you nail your interview, you'll be on your way to a successful career path.
10. How would you describe yourself?
How to answer
This question is like the Tell me about yourself question usually asked at the beginning of an interview, but there are some subtle differences. It belongs to the family of reflective questions where the interviewer is assessing your cognitive abilities, as opposed to the more factual and matter-of-fact “Tell Me About Yourself” question.
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About Yourself
Think of how your bosses and peers would describe you.
Throughout your professional experience, you have probably heard them giving you some labels – try to remember the exact words they used.
If you have received LinkedIn recommendations from someone, read those and think why people wrote them and what work situations prompted those descriptions. Remember the context of those situations and frame them as stories.
Make a list of keywords, or short key phrases, that can describe you. Your Key Selling Points should definitely appear on this list, but try to also use some adjectives here, to add a positive emotional touch.
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About The Company
Research the company's values, standards and policies. Make a list of keywords or short key phrases.
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About The Fit
Which of your keywords correspond best with those of the company? Highlight 3-4 matches. Now try to imagine being a peer or a boss of yours and compile statements about yourself, in the 3rd person, mentioning these keywords. Remember to use adjectives, and don’t be afraid to mention real references from real people.
For example, if you are applying for a position that requires good people skills, and your boss at your previous job called you a “conflict resolution guru,” don’t be shy to mention this reference, and provide a brief context that caused your boss’s praise. Use the STAR method to craft your story.
Don’t limit yourself with just one keyword. If you are concise and don’t ramble with your answer, your interviewer will probably want to hear more than one. Just be observant and watch the interviewer’s reaction. You want to keep them interested.
Pro Tip
If you haven’t yet received any LinkedIn recommendations, try to obtain them. Also, offer to write your own recommendations for them - both received and given recommendations will be visible in your profile and will tell the interviewer exactly what you want to be known about your values, your attitude towards work and relationships.
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This page has been updated on February 23, 2024.
