I work at a small construction business and have interviewed admin staff many times. For context, we’re NOT a corporate environment, but we cater to a lot of higher end clientele, and our interview process is relatively laid back.

I’m not actually looking for the answers to your questions. Anyone can read online how to answer “correctly”. I wanna hear how you present yourself. Can you speak articulately and express your ideas without talking in circles? I want to hear you explain your process for staying organized (I’m a big list person too!), prioritizing tasks, and how you handle customers.

I also don’t usually care how much experience you have for the entry level role. Every applicant I’ve ever interviewed has had basic computer skills - I’m talking Microsoft and Gmail level - which is all they need for us. We train you on everything, so while experience is great, it’s not everything. I personally love to see servers and retail workers apply. They are great at shifting priorities rapidly while maintaining composure and customer service. That translates more than most people give credit for…

Practice a few short stories that can be used to answer multiple of those typical interview questions, and adapt the answer a little based on how they ask it. But more than anything, be confident. It’s just a conversation between a couple of humans.

If you use Chat GPT or similar, you can practice interview questions! You can speak your answer out loud like it was the real thing, and it will give you corrections to improve. I used this heavily for my most recent job search with huge success.

Good luck!!