Want a job at some of the top companies? Start studying these questions.Sarah Jacobs
Job interviews are tricky, so it helps to know what you're up against.
Researching the company extensively beforehand certainly helps. So does compiling some quality questions to ask.
You can also scour job sites like Glassdoor to try to compile and prepare for commonly asked questions.
Fortunately, some CEOs, recruiters, and HR representatives at top companies are quite open about the questions they like to put to candidates.
Here are some questions you might get during interviews at tech companies like Facebook, LinkedIn, and PayPal, according to the people asking them:
'What are you doing on your best day?' â Facebook
This question is all about tapping into a candidate's motivations and drive. And there's no right answer.
"Whether it's meeting with clients, coding, or calculating a spreadsheet, it's going to be different for everyone," Facebook global head of recruiting Miranda Kalinowski previously told Business Insider. "That's the beauty of bringing all these people together."
'What are you most passionate about?' â LinkedIn
Not only will you be asked about your passions at LinkedIn â you'll be asked to sketch them out on a whiteboard.
LinkedIn's head of recruiting Brendan Browne previously told Business Insider's Rich Feloni the goal is to get candidates to be "really spontaneous" in order to see how well they communicate and how they deal with ambiguity.
'Tell me whether it is better to submit a project that's perfect and late, or one that's good and on time.' â IBM
Obed Louissant, the VP of HR for IBM Watson, prefers this tricky question.
"It's interesting when you get peoples' response to that," he previously told Business Insider. "I don't have a right answer for it. I'm not looking for a right answer. I am more looking at the way in which the person explains and reasons why they answered the way they did."
'Why not Intuit?' â Intuit
Intuit CEO Brad Smith likes to conclude his interviews with this doozy of a question, Business Insider reported.
"That's intended to see if they have the courage to tell me the things they're wrestling with in the decision, which gives me a chance to try to overcome that objection in real time," he told Business Insider.
'What did you learn this week?' â PayPal
PayPal chief learning officer Derek Hann said he asks this question, even if it's only Tuesday. He said one of his company's core values is lifelong learning.
"You should be learning with that level of frequency," he told Business Insider.
'What would someone who doesn't like you tell us about you?' â Duolingo
You need to feel comfortable discussing your flaws as well as your strengths. Duolingo CEO and founder Luis Von Ahn's favorite question requires an honest response.
"I think the responses that are concerning are like, 'People who don't like me just don't understand me, and they're usually just wrong,'" he told Business Insider. "They're not taking responsibility for anything."
'How do you make [an unreleased Youtube product] better?' â Youtube
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki told the audience at a New York Times-hosted talk she likes to ask candidates how to improve Youtube products before they even come out.
Business Insider's Nathan McAlone reported, "If you can't think of a single way to improve a product you use a lot, you are in trouble."
