


So think through all the tasks you’re regularly responsible for at your current or most recent job. The other half is your own typical workday. Knowing what your interviewer is looking for is only half of the equation for answering this question. Lay Out Your Tasks at Your Current or Most Recent Job You’ll also want to try to figure out which qualifications are most important to the job-what tasks are a core element of the position you’re applying to? What requirements or duties are listed first? Is anything mentioned more than once? 2. These are the qualifications your interviewer will likely be listening for in your answer. Start by carefully reading the job description and noting-either highlighting on the job description or writing out separately-any of the job duties, experiences, and skills mentioned, whether it’s as broad working with a team or as specific as using Salesforce to report interactions with a potential client. “Describe a typical workday” is no different. That’s because whenever you’re wondering what a specific interviewer is looking for in response to a particular interview question, a job posting can be useful as a guide. Read the Job DescriptionĪs you prepare for any interview, you should be going back to the job description often. Use these tips to help you prepare and construct your answer to “What does a typical workday look like?” and similar questions. For example, if you’re interviewing for a job at a startup or another fast-moving company, says Muse career coach Barb Girson, “They may want to see how you respond to changing environments and your ability to be agile during those changes.”įinally, one of the goals of any interview is for both sides to have a chance to get to know each other better-and your interviewer might be listening to how you construct your answer so that they can pick up on what parts of your day are most important to you, Girson says. How often do you already do the tasks you’d have to complete in this job? How do you use the skills you’ll need? Interviewers may also ask this question to see what type of work environment you’re used to and compare it to the one that exists at their company, Davis says. Interviewers want “to compare the person’s answer with the job description requirements,” says Muse career coach Steven Davis, owner of Renaissance Solutions Inc. First and foremost, an interviewer is looking to see what responsibilities you currently have (or had at your most recent job) and how you approach that work, says Muse career coach Lynn Berger. When an interviewer asks you to walk them through a typical workday, your answer can tell them a few different things.
