Interview questions at ING

We analyzed 654 interview reviews for ING 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.

12 frequent non-technical questions at ING:

According to our research, hiring managers at ING ask soft skills interview questions 5% less than at other companies.

ING interview question statistics

1. What are your top 3 skills? top question

How to answer

This is one of the best questions you can expect!

If you are prepared for it, this question allows you to take full control of the conversation by communicating exactly what you want the interviewer to know about you. This is your time to showcase the best of you!

  1. About Yourself

    First, come up with a list of skills that you know you are good at – as many as you can think of. If you find this exercise difficult, use the helpful questions below:

    • What skills are you better at than your peer X? Your peer Y? Your boss Z?
    • What positive feedback could your manager, colleagues, clients, or even friends give about working with you?
    • What positive points were made about you in your last review(s) that involve the skills you demonstrated?
    • In which areas do you have professional knowledge and/or experience?
    • What records of achievement do you have?
    • What was the most impressive recent achievement you can think of? Which skills of yours made this success possible?
  2. About The Company

    Research the company to help identify the kinds of skills needed.

    Carefully review the job description, this should detail the types of skills required for the job.

  3. About The Fit

    Highlight the skills from your list that match the list from the job description.

    Pick 3 top skills. These are your Key Selling Points, and be sure to communicate them to your interviewer when asked this question.

    To bring these skills home to the interviewer you should use the Present-Past-Present method to tell your interviewer how any one of your 3 top skills will benefit their company.

    Let's say that working well in teams is one of the 3 skills you spoke about. As an example of how this works, starting with the Present, you might say "Although I can take on many projects on my own, I have always loved working as part of a team, collaborating with others, and learning from them to reach a positive outcome for the company."

    Then go back to the Past to relate a specific Star story, for instance: "At my last job, my team was asked to help an important customer set up and install the latest update to its inventory management system. Due to a tight timeline, we had to put in a lot of extra hours to meet the client's deadline. The team pulled it off within the timeframe and under budget. I was particularly proud of my role in this effort, which was noted by both the customer and my manager."

    Then come back to the Present to say, "In reviewing the company's website I noticed the importance that it places on teamwork and based on my skills and experience in working in teams, I am certain that I would be a great fit going forward."

Pro Tip

Optionally, you can end with a question like “And do you know what are the current challenges where my skills can be helpful for the company?", or “I see from the job description that you are looking for someone with the skills X and Y. Could you elaborate on this a little further?”.

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.

Statistics

This question is asked 33.5x more frequently at ING than at other companies.

2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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!

  3. 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.

Statistics

This question is asked 28% more frequently at ING than at other companies.

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.

  1. 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.

  2. About The Company

    Research the company (website, social media, etc) to learn about the company culture.

    What personal and professional qualities do they value?

  3. 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!

Statistics

This question is asked 1% less frequently at ING than at other companies.

4. 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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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?

  3. 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.

Statistics

This question is asked 51% less frequently at ING than at other companies.

5. Walk me through your resume

How to answer

This question is often asked at the beginning of the interview.

The interviewer wants to hear a brief overview, a summary of your professional experience, in order to have a starting point from which they can dig deeper.

Structuring your answer wisely gives you a good chance to emphasize your Key Selling Points and to channel the conversation in the direction you want.

  1. About Yourself

    Print out your resume. For each of your recent job experiences (at this point do not go back more than 5 years), write down 3-5 key points at which you feel you are strong.

    For example, for your current (or previous) job, you may want to list skills like “Excellent presentation skills,” “Employee Engagement guru,” “Analytical skills,” “Attention to detail” (they don’t have to be all soft skills, but being aware of at least a few of your strong soft skills is important). Make sure you have examples for each of your statements.

    If you have difficulties to think of these points, search online for job descriptions for similar job roles, and figure out which of those keywords appeal to you. Look for people on LinkedIn that have jobs similar to the one you are applying for. Their profiles often contain many keywords that you can use in response to this question.

    Now that you’ve gone through all your recent experiences, are there any points that repeat more often than others, or are especially important to you? These are candidates to be your Key Selling Points -highlight 3-5 of them.

  2. About The Company

    Research the company and the role for which you're being interviewed. When researching the company, find out what skills and qualities they value the most. Carefully consider the job requirements. What is it that you will be responsible for?

    Now, write down 3-5 keywords from the job description that you find of utmost importance for this job role.

  3. About The Fit

    Try to establish the match between your own highlighted keywords, and those of the job description. These are your Key Selling Points! You should normally limit yourself by 3-5 such keywords or phrases.

    Now, craft a story based on your career history. You don’t have to go in chronological order - you can start with your current or last job experience, and then go back to your previous ones, or focus on just the experiences that are relevant to your story, and only briefly mention the less relevant ones and only if needed.

    Select one point to highlight for each phase of your career. Make sure you ingrain your Key Selling Points in the interviewer’s memory - after the interview is over, you want them to remember you as someone who is strong at XYZ, or experienced in A, B and C.

    It's okay to focus more on stellar achievements and brag a little bit about them.

Pro Tip

Don't bore the interviewer by going through your resume line-by-line.

Instead, WOW them by succinctly (keep it within 2 minutes) telling a story of how your career path has brought you to this point and how you are the best candidate for this role.

Super tip: The more you practice with Mr. Simon, the better you'll be at telling WOW-worthy succinct stories!

Statistics

This question is asked 2.6x more frequently at ING than at other companies.

6. Tell me about your greatest professional accomplishment

How to answer

Of all your accomplishments (and I am sure you’ve had a great many of them!), you should choose the one most relevant to this job position.

  1. About Yourself

    In preparation for answering this question, list the top 3 professional accomplishments that you are most proud of. No need for lengthy descriptions, just a sentence or two for each one to help you recall each situation.

    Write down your Key Selling Points - your top 3-5 skills that make you a strong professional.

    Make sure you have developed the story behind each accomplishment and have a strong command of the details of what happened so that you can tell the story clearly and distinctly.

    Along with each accomplishment, mark which of your Key Selling Points they showcase. How exactly?

  2. About The Company

    Based on your research of the company, what are their current needs?

    • What are the major projects going on?
    • What are the expectations for the position you are applying for?
    • Think about which of your accomplishment stories best fit their needs and expectations?
  3. About The Fit

    Once you have decided on the appropriate accomplishment story, think how you will relate it in an interview and how you will make it relevant to the the job you are seeking. One approach is to use the Present-Past-Present technique.

    Let's say that the accomplishment was leading your team in installing a new billing system and bringing it in on time and under budget.

    You might start off in the Present by talking about the importance of having good leadership skills.

    Then move to the Past to relate your story about how you successfully lead your team in accomplishing the objective.

    Finally, come back to the Present to address how you will be able to help them reach their goals (the ones you learned about when researching the company) going forward.

    Be sure to keep practicing your accomplishment story until it flows naturally and convincingly.

Pro Tip

Most enterprises are now going through major transformations, often called Digital Transformation.

Do your research on what it means and what is often involved, to get a better idea of the current goals and environments in companies. But one thing that definitely characterizes this transformation is striving for agility.

Whether the prospective employer is a long-established company or a startup, they are looking for people who demonstrate qualities like agility and adaptability, which are generally considered to be both helpful and quite a safe choice in most circumstances today.

Statistics

This question is asked 66% more frequently at ING than at other companies.

7. 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.

  1. 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.

  2. About The Company

    Research the company's values, standards and policies. Make a list of keywords or short key phrases.

  3. 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.

Statistics

This question is asked 91% more frequently at ING than at other companies.

8. 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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

Statistics

This question is asked 5.4x more frequently at ING than at other companies.

9. Why did you leave your last job?

How to answer

This question may be a little touchy for some people, but it's a question asked by interviewers, to find out why you left, in order to better understand how you may or may not make a good fit with their company.

Remember, never speak ill of your old company (this will not go over well).

  1. About Yourself

    There are a number of reasons why people leave or plan to leave their jobs. One very important recent factor has been the impact on jobs and job security due to Covid-19 and all of the issues raised by remote vs. on-site work.

    Regardless of the causes, there are three possible reasons that you left your last job or are planning to leave your current job:

    • You are looking for a career change
    • You are unhappy with your current employment
    • You were let go.

    Whatever the reason, it's best to always speak in a positive light.

  2. About The Company

    Based on your research about the company and the position you are interviewing for, what do you like most about the company? What excites you about the work as it is outlined in the job description?

  3. About The Fit

    Let's take a closer look at how you might respond to each of the three reasons for leaving your last job.

    1. You were let go

    You should simply state the facts (e.g. the company was downsizing, your position was eliminated, your department was offshored, etc.). Focus on the positive. You might want to share your accomplishments at your previous employment by relating a pertinent STAR story if you feel that would be relevant.

    2. You are looking for career advancement or a career change

    In your response you should be upfront, honest and as enthusiastic as you can be about the position. Consider using the Present-Past-Present method when giving this answer. Start with the Present by describing a career goal that is important to you. For instance you are a data analyst applying for a data management position and you are ready for this move. Then go back to the Past to indicate that at your previous job, there were little or no promotional opportunities in your field. Then come back to the Present and say that you are ready to take on the manager role and know that you will do an outstanding job for the company.

    3. You are unhappy with your current employment

    Sometimes a job just isn't going to take you to the next step in your career.

    Keep two things in mind when answering this question, 1) never "bad mouth" your current employer and 2) focus on the postive when speaking about the job and your reason for wanting to leave.

    The following is an example of how this question might be answered. This individual was looking to move up to a project manager position and did not feel that her current employer was the right place to achieve her goal. You might find her answer helpful in crafting your own response.

    "I really like my job as assistant project manager and love working with all of my coworkers on the team. However, the way the department is set up there is no real path to promotion. There are currently 3 project managers and they are all relatively new in their jobs. As far as I can see, they are all doing a good job and opportunties for promotion may not be opening up in the foreseeable future."

    Her comments were positive and her reasoning was clear and consise. Always try to keep your reasons positive and try not to create an impression that you were unhappy with the way you were treated.

Pro Tip

Whatever the reason you are looking for a new opportunity, make sure you are able to show how you are the perfect fit for the job for which you are interviewing!

Statistics

This question is asked 17% less frequently at ING than at other companies.

10. 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?

  1. 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?

  2. 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?

  3. 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.

Statistics

This question is asked 3.6x more frequently at ING than at other companies.

11. What experience do you have in this field?

How to answer

This question may help you convince the interviewer how smoothly you would fit into the position to which you are applying. It's your chance to WOW them! Be sure to focus on the experience that is relevant to the company and position.

  1. About Yourself

    Start with defining your Key Selling Points you want to emphasize for this position.

    • What job experiences brought you to those points?
    • What were the job titles and the most relevant responsibilities?
  2. About The Company

    Do your research of the company and the requirements for the position.

    • What is the company looking for in terms of experiences and qualifications?
    • What problems are they trying to solve with this position?

    Most importantly, make sure you are able to highlight and speak about at least 3-5 of your key experiences that match up with the requirements listed in the job description.

  3. About The Fit

    Using the Present-Past-Present method is a perfect way to answer this question.

    Starting with the Present, speak about your experience as it relates to one of the key requirements in the job description. You might say "I noted that the job description requires experience in employee training and this is an area in which I have a great deal of knowledge and skill."

    Then go back to the Past to describe how you improved overall training of staff from 82% to over 97% within your first year on the job. Senior leadership took note of this accomplishment for which you received a company commendation.

    Finally, come back to the Present to describe how you will help ensure that the company maintains the highest possible compliance with all employee training requirements.

    Nowadays, every hiring manager wants results, so think in terms of specific achievements and try to structure your example accordingly.

Pro Tip

When telling your story, remember to talk about your STARs!
S - What was the Situation?
T - What was your Task?
A - What Action did you take?
R - Talk about the Results.

Statistics

This question is asked 11% more frequently at ING than at other companies.

12. 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.

  1. 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.”

  2. 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?
  3. 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.

Statistics

This question is asked 39% more frequently at ING than at other companies.

simon

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This page has been updated on February 23, 2024.

You can practice answering this question, as well as over 160 other common job interview questions from ING by engaging in a mock interview with Mr. Simon. As an artificial being, his undeniable benefits include:

24/7 availability 24/7 availability
He will never make you feel intimidated He will never make you feel intimidated
The current version is free The current version is free
A starry night sky.
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