Answer a few questions about yourself and then choose from a list of different surveys

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How to Describe Yourself in an Interview: 9 Methods with Examples

Are you wondering how to describe yourself in an interview? At most job interviews, you will be asked (in one way or another) to tell the interviewer about yourself. If you find yourself getting nervous when this question pops up, don’t worry. While it’s not an easy question to answer, we have some tips and examples here, so you can start practicing how to respond to this question.

Describing yourself in an interview setting requires showing honesty and humility, while also making yourself look confident in your abilities! Interviewers almost always ask this question because they want to know what you’re like and how you view yourself.

The first step in mastering how to describe yourself in an interview is learning to recognize this question type.

Common Variations of the “Describe Yourself” Question

Here are just a few common variations of this common interview question:

While some of these questions and commands require specifically formatted answers, the majority can be answered in the same way. So, how can you answer these questions? More importantly, what are some positive ways to describe yourself in an interview?

In this post, we will go over some useful positive adjectives to describe yourself, as well as different personality profiles to shape your response to this common interview question.

9 Ways to Describe Yourself in an Interview

While you might have an idea of what traits and characteristics you want to highlight about yourself, you might not be sure how to format your answers. Sometimes, an interviewer wants you to give a detailed description of your character, and other times, they just want you to summarize who you are in as few words as possible. Either way, we’ve got you covered.

In the examples below, we’ve provided some sample interview questions and answers, along with some bonus tips. Feel free to take sentences from different responses to create your own, unique way of describing yourself! While we don’t recommend using these answers word-for-word, they should give you an idea of what good, effective interview answers look like.

Additionally, we highlight different strengths that may fit your personality or goals in the interview room. Every business, interviewer, and position can value different character traits. It’s important to know how to use that to your advantage.

Be sure to read the summary at the end of each tip to understand why and when to use them.

So, let’s look at 9 ways to describe yourself in an interview:

1. Describe Yourself as Flexible and Resourceful

Question: How would you describe yourself?

Sample answers:

I like to think that I’m a very flexible and resourceful person. Even when things change at the last minute, I’m able to adjust accordingly and meet tight deadlines. At my last job, the schedule was constantly changing, so I needed to be highly adaptable. Despite the chaotic environment, I always finished tasks on time.

Summary:

Use this verbiage (style of speaking) when interviewing for a position that requires a lot of changes on the job and strict timelines. This line of speaking is reserved for interviews where you’ve already researched the position and know what you’re getting yourself into. It reinforces to the interviewer that you can handle the pressure that comes with constant change.

2. Give a Short But Meaningful Summary About Yourself

Question Type 1: Describe yourself in 3 words.

Sample answers:

I would say that I’m creative, hard-working, and detail-oriented.

I think that I’m an analytical, dependable, and responsible person.

Summary:

This is one type of short answer question that you’ll hear from a trained interviewer (or one who just read a book or blog about interviewing). It’s often heard at the beginning of the interview as a means of leading into more in-depth questions about your answer or at the end as a means of summary.

Have an answer ready to this question before you go into the interview so you can answer back quickly and confidently. Even if it isn’t asked, you can use those self-descriptive words as a framework for other answers to the interviewer’s questions. Even if you’re not asked the question directly, you will always need to describe yourself in an interview, to one degree or another.

Question Type 2: Describe yourself in one sentence.

Sample answers:

I am a hard-working and driven individual who isn’t afraid to face a challenge.

I’m passionate about my work and I know how to get the job done.

I would describe myself as an open and honest person who doesn’t believe in misleading other people and tries to be fair in everything I do.

Summary:

“Describe yourself in one sentence” is the other way to ask the short answer question. Take note of the summary above and use the three-word description as part of a summary sentence. This way you’ll have an answer to both questions with the same words.

I’m hard-working, driven, and fearless.

I am a hard-working and driven individual who isn’t afraid to face a challenge.

3. Talk About Yourself as a “Team Player”

Question: In your opinion, what are your most important traits?

Sample answers:

I’m very communicative, detail-oriented, and versatile. I like to think of myself as a team player. While I don’t mind taking on solo projects, I prefer to work with others.

I like to think that I’m persistent and persuasive. Working in sales, these traits have served me well. Outside of work, I enjoy taking part in lively debates where I can share my views with others.

Summary:

You did your research on the company and found that the work culture is based on community, group, and teamwork. If that’s the case, make sure the interviewer knows you can function well within that culture, and you enjoy socialization outside of it. Remember, for many employers, it’s just as important to fit into a work culture as it is to be able to do the job well.

4. Highlight Your Experience and Knowledge

Question: Tell me about yourself.

Sample answers:

Well, I’m very knowledgeable in my field. I worked in IT for over 20 years before transitioning into more managerial roles. Thanks to my years of experience, I’m very meticulous in my work. I also like to keep things very professional. I’m very direct in all of my communications, but I’m also careful not to hurt anyone’s feelings.

I’ve worked as a systems analyst since I graduated from college. I am very particular about the details of my work, but I also like to stay open-minded to new ideas. I never want to close myself off to other people’s opinions.

Summary:

For more technical positions, interviewers want to be reassured that you have the knowledge and experience to do the job well. When highlighting your experience and knowledge, be sure to be clear and concise, and know exactly what you want to highlight from your experience. Fumbling words or jumping around on a timeline will confuse the interviewer. Therefore, learning how to describe yourself in an interview also requires you to become comfortable speaking in a high-stakes setting.

5. Describe Yourself as a “Constant Learner”

Question: How would you describe yourself?

Sample answers:

I like to study new things. Being knowledgeable about (your field) or any subject is an ongoing process, and I’m always proactive about seeking new opportunities to develop and grow in my role. Those opportunities could be in the form of training, a conference, listening to a speaker, or taking on a new project, but the motivation is to increase my knowledge of the field.

Summary:

This answer is reserved for interviewing for a position where you may not have enough experience, but you’re willing to learn. Be sure to have examples ready that prove you’ve been proactive about your learning experiences. Thus, knowing how to describe yourself in an interview without making yourself look inadequate is key.

6. Describe Yourself as a “People Person” (For Team-Oriented or Customer-Facing Jobs)

Question: In your opinion, what are your most important traits?

Sample answers:

My most valuable trait is that I’m a people person who enjoys meeting new individuals and learning about their lives. I always find some common ground with everyone even if I have to get creative to do so.

It’s always helpful when you have someone on your team that you can rely on to make your customers feel comfortable and at ease and is emotionally resourceful in repairing or improving relationships within the team. I pride myself on having those traits.

Summary:

The “most important traits” question is typically asked in the middle of the interview. Because of this, you’ll have a chance to gain more insight (from the interviewer’s questions) as to what type of individual they’re looking to hire. If they’re looking for a “people person,” it’s good to have an answer ready to complement that character trait.

7. Present Yourself as Confident (But Not Cocky)

Question: What words come to mind when you think about yourself?

Sample answers:

I’m a mature, candid individual who has and values integrity. My confidence in myself and those traits are the reason people tend to come to me for answers to questions even if I’m not in a leadership position. Even if I don’t know the answer, I know I can point someone in the right direction.

Summary:

When asked this question, follow up with a little background as to why you chose those words. You don’t have to just give descriptive words and stop speaking in this situation. Pause and let the words resonate with the interviewer.

And, to describe yourself as confident in an interview, you must speak with confidence (imagine that!). As you get ready for the interview, you want to both look and feel the part. Interviewers typically are trained or at least work with people, so they’ll be able to sense if you have doubts about what you’re saying.

8. Highlight Your Expertise with Numbers or Results

Question: How would you describe your personality?

Sample answers:

I’m a results-oriented person who is confident in my ability to produce. Granted, I do have a degree of modesty, but I like to consistently set firm goals, and am constantly analyzing to see how far along I am (or the team is) and what I can do to achieve the goal. That pressure is inspiring and a great motivator.

Summary:

Some companies are all about the numbers, and you should know that before you go into the interview. This is another situation where you really want to portray yourself as someone who can do what you say you can do. Be sure to have examples of when you hit your numbers ready for follow-up questions.

9. Present Yourself as a Self-Starter or an Independent Person

Question: Summarize yourself in as few words as possible.

Sample answers:

I’m a positive and resourceful individual who can execute difficult tasks and doesn’t need to be micromanaged.

I’m a resolute and dependable person with unwavering determination to do well at my job and solve problems in the most autonomous manner possible.

Summary:

Based on your career choice and/or a company’s work culture, you might have to prove that you have the ability to work on your own. I know as a freelance writer, this type of answer is my go-to to every potential client to reinforce that I can get the job done on my own and without supervision.

How to Describe Yourself in a Positive Way

Now that we’ve discussed how to describe yourself in an interview, let’s look at some positive words that will send the right message to your interviewers.

Positive Words to Describe Yourself During an Interview

For even more positive ways to describe yourself, check out this ultimate list of positive adjectives.

Final Tips on How to Describe Yourself in an Interview

Now that you know how to describe yourself using positive words, it’s time for some final tips that will help you formulate your own answers!

Here are a few things that you should keep in mind on how to describe yourself in an interview:

Conclusion

After reading this, one interview question may seem a little overwhelming, especially when it’s just one part of an entire interview. If you take anything from these tips, know that it’s just an interview. Most people have many interviews throughout their careers whether it’s a position change or upgrade. And you may not do great in every single one.

But with preparation, positivity, and confidence, you can take these tips into the interview room and really make an impression with your interviewer. After the interview, be sure to write a job interview follow up email and write down some notes for yourself on how the interview went. These notes can help you better prepare for the next round or the next interview.

Like most skills, learning how to describe yourself in an interview is something that comes with a great deal of practice and experience. So be confident, be true to yourself, and good luck with your job search!

Interview Question: «How Would You Describe Yourself?»

Some of the most common job interview questions ask you to describe yourself to the hiring manager. Popular variations on this theme include: «Tell me about yourself,» or «How would you describe yourself?» or “How would others describe you?”

But while these questions are typical, the answers aren’t always as simple as they seem. What’s the best way to describe yourself? What words should you use when you respond?

Answer the right way, and you’ll show the hiring manager not only that you’re competent and aware of your skills, but that you’re a good fit for the team.

Answer the wrong way, and you might come off as unprepared, arrogant, or less than confident.

What the Interviewer Really Wants to Know

Employers ask you to describe yourself for a couple of reasons. First, they want to see whether you will be a good fit for the position and the company culture. Next, they hope that your answers will provide insight into how you perceive yourself, which can be useful in helping them assess your self-awareness, confidence, and demeanor.

How to Answer “How Would You Describe Yourself?”

It’s obviously important to highlight your strengths when answering. However, along with being positive, you should also be honest and straightforward regarding why you’re a good fit for the company. This is an opportunity to sell yourself to the interviewer and show why you’re a strong candidate for the role for which you’re being considered.

To be ready to answer this question, create a list of adjectives and phrases that you think best describe you. (You may even want to ask family and friends for suggestions.) Then, look back at the job description and circle all the adjectives and phrases on your list that best relate to the position.

With a list of terms and examples in mind, you will be ready to answer any form of the question. By matching your qualifications to the job, you’ll be able to show you’ve got the right skills and personality for the position.

For example, we’ve provided a list of adjectives that describe a candidate, a job posting, and a sample response describing how the person is a good match for the job.

Adjective List:

Job Posting: Seeking a tech-savvy, confident self-starter who works well both independently and in teams. Prior sales experience required. Must have a demonstrated ability to achieve sales goals through prospecting and lead generation, a strong work ethic, and excellent communication skills. The ideal candidate will possess a property and casualty license, although for strong candidates, a willingness to obtain a license will be considered.

Sample Answer: I think that my experience in the insurance industry and my ability to meet ever-increasing sales targets make me a good match for this position. In my recent position, I used my strong work ethic and analytical and technical skills to help my team surpass our goals for three quarters running.

Watch Now: Simple Ways to Answer «How Would You Describe Yourself?»

Examples of the Best Answers

When answering this question, be sure your answer fits your own work experience and the job for which you are applying. (In other words, don’t just go with one of our samples as written—customize it to show off your particular qualifications.)

I’m a people person. I really enjoy meeting and working with a lot of different people, and I am known for being a great listener and clear communicator, whether I’m engaging with colleagues or interacting with clients.

Why It Works: In addition to emphasizing qualifications that are essential to the job, this answer shows that the candidate is enjoyable to work with.

I’m the kind of person who knows how to execute difficult tasks with precision. I pay attention to all the details of a project. I make sure that every task is just right and that it is completed in a timely manner.

Why It Works: In a deadline-driven environment, ability to complete things on time is necessary but not sufficient for success. The best candidate will also be able to demonstrate that they can complete the work in a satisfactory manner.

I’m a creative thinker. I like to explore alternative solutions to problems, and I have an open mind about what will work best. My creativity has made me an effective team leader because I can anticipate problems and innovate solutions.

Why It Works: This answer shows that the interviewee understands the importance of creativity in practice, as well as in theory. The speaker is demonstrating that they can use their creativity to produce results.

I’m an extremely organized person who is focused on producing results. While I am always realistic when setting goals, I consistently develop ways to efficiently achieve, and often exceed, those goals.

Why It Works: Good boundaries and self-awareness are key to effective goal-setting, but this candidate also emphasizes that they often exceed their goals – meaning that they aren’t setting the bar low in order to meet it.

I enjoy solving problems, troubleshooting issues, and coming up with solutions in a timely manner. I thrive in team settings, and I think my skill in effectively communicating with others is what drives my ability to solve a variety of problems.

Why It Works: Most workplaces are team environments. This answer reflects an understanding of that and an ability to get stuff done while working well with others.

Tips for Giving the Best Answer

Keep the job description in mind. Match your qualifications to the job listing to show that you’re right for this particular job, not just any similar job in the field.

Tell a story. Pick two or three of the terms that best fit the position and think of specific times when you have demonstrated each of those characteristics.

Focus on the qualities that make you an ideal match for the job and the company. When you respond, keep in mind the type of position you are interviewing for, the company culture, and the work environment. However, it’s not a good idea to simply regurgitate a list of reasons why you are right for the position.

Instead, answer with a few positive adjectives or phrases that describe your personal characteristics or your attitude. (Sometimes employers ask a similar question: “What three adjectives would you use to describe yourself?”)

What Not to Say

Don’t get bogged down in multiple examples right away. You typically do not need to follow up your response with specific examples of times you have displayed each characteristic. Often, an employer wants a relatively concise answer to this question.

However, if you give your answer and the interviewer looks like he or she is waiting for more, you can then follow up with examples from past work experiences. The interviewer may even ask you outright to expand on your answer with examples.

Don’t stretch the truth. While you should shape your answer to fit the particular job, authenticity is still important. Your response should be positive but genuine.

Possible Follow-Up Questions

Key Takeaways

Match your qualifications to the job listing: Sell yourself to the interviewer by emphasizing your skills and abilities that match the job description.

Keep company culture in mind: Work environment, values, even the physical layout of the office space – they’re all part of the culture and they’re all important. Show that you’ll shine in this culture.

Be authentic: Don’t stretch the truth or talk up qualities that aren’t your greatest strengths.

It might seem simple, but the 3 words you choose to describe yourself can reveal a lot to a graduate employer about your personality, working style and priorities; so it is important to prepare your answer beforehand.

Read on to discover the reasons why employers ask this job interview question, and to brush up on your ‘describe yourself in 3 words’ best answers. When you are fully up-to-scratch on how to answer this common graduate interview question, check out our complete guide to Interview Questions — or find out what graduate jobs we have live on our site.

Scroll straight to the bottom of the page to see a quick, summary video of how to answer!

Why do employers ask you to describe yourself in 3 words?

1. To find out how you think

Potential employers will be interested to find out how your mind works, and therefore which 3 words you choose to describe yourself when put on the spot. Unlike the question ‘tell me about yourself’ being asked to describe yourself using a limited number of words will require you to elaborate on your answer much less.

However, the 3 words you choose to describe yourself will help the employer gain a sense of what you think are the most important qualities (i.e. may indicate that you are business-minded, a people person, or a team player).

The 3 words you select to describe yourself will help the employer or hiring manager better understand the way that you think, and gain insight into what you see as the most important qualities in an employee.

2. To see whether you would be a good culture fit

Graduate employers will be keen to find out whether the characteristics you describe align with their team and general company culture.

The adjectives you choose to describe yourself will give them a good insight into your working style; helping them decide whether you would be the right fit for the role and the company.

3. To find out your best qualities

Naturally, the 3 words you choose to describe yourself to a graduate employer will reflect what you believe to be your best attributes or characteristics.

The employer will want you to use this opportunity to show off your leading qualities, and those which will set you apart from other candidates.

When you are deciding how to describe yourself in an interview, the 3 words you choose will also indicate whether you understand the role; and should show that you have researched the employer, the team, the company, and what they are looking for.

Looking for graduate jobs? Search and apply for jobs today, and register to our website to receive job alerts tailored to your search preferences!

Feeling lucky? Enter one of our monthly competitions to win vouchers, cash prizes, and more! From student writing competitions to YouTube vlogging contests.

Describe yourself in three words best answers

When you are preparing for a graduate job interview and deciding how to describe yourself in an interview, try to choose words that are positive, professional, and easy-to-understand.

You will want to select the words that describe your personality, working style and priorities in the very best light; and it can be tempting to choose out-of-the-box adjectives that will make you stand out from other candidates interviewing for the role.

It is usually better, though, to stick to words that are uncomplicated, unpretentious, and that will present you as a well-rounded professional who will add value to their company.

Here are some great examples that will help to boost your employability and improve your chances of job interview success:

List of words to describe yourself in an interview

When planning your answer to describe yourself in 3 words, it is a good idea to choose more than 3 words so that you can ensure you are fully prepared in the interview. Try to choose 5 or 6 possible answers, so that then in the interview you can choose the 3 best answers and most relevant attributes for the job you’re applying for.

Analyst / Tech

— Organised
— Focused
— Analytical
— Problem-solver
— Methodical
— Thorough
— Observant
— Hard-Working
— High-achieving

Client Facing

— Outgoing
— Approachable
— Friendly
— Caring
— Thoughtful
— Sociable
— Down-to-Earth
— Trustworthy
— Positive

Sales / BDE

— Independent
— Ambitious
— Proactive
— Determined
— Committed
— Driven
— Motivated
— Respectful
— Upbeat

Marketing / Creative

— Entrepreneurial
— Inventive
— Creative
— Artistic
— Musical
— Imaginative
— Team player
— Innovative
— Collaborative

PR and Comms

— Open minded
— Laid back
— Reflective
— Enthusiastic
— Reliable
— Attentive
— Loyal
— Compassionate

Corporate

— Professional
— Diplomatic
— Patient
— Mature
— Calm
— Conscientious
— Confident
— Adaptable

— Choosing words that are unprofessional or irrelevant

You may believe that your best quality is your ability to sleep for 12 hours a night, or your singing talents, or your sporting knowledge; but none of these will do much to impress a graduate employer. When deciding how to describe yourself in an interview, stick to words you know are at least somewhat relevant to the role and the company, and as is the case with any interview question, remain professional at all times.

— Picking skills only because you think they are desirable

Equally, it is tempting to choose words like ‘perfectionist’, ‘self-manager’ or ‘relentless’ just because that’s what you believe the employer will want to hear. This isn’t true; if they can’t tell you’re lying in the interview, they certainly will if you do end up getting a job at their company.

— Being too modest

Variations of the interview question ‘describe yourself in three words’

Summary video for «describe yourself in 3 words»

Tip: Change the playback speed in the settings at the bottom right corner, to suit your learning requirements! Please feel free to embed this video on your website (get in touch for more info), or for more great videos for graduates, subscribe to the Give A Grad A Go Recruitment YouTube Channel.

Other common job interview questions:

Read our complete guide to Interview Questions!

Survey questions 101: over 70 survey question examples + types of surveys and FAQs

How well do you understand your prospects and customers? Do you know who they are, what keeps them awake at night, and what brought them to your business in search of a solution?

Last updated

Understanding customers is the key to improving and growing your business—but you won’t be able to understand your customers unless you learn more about them. One way to do this is by asking the right survey questions at the right point in their journey.

This piece will give you a thorough overview of different types of survey questions you can use, how to word them for maximum effect, when and why to use them, and includes over 70 examples of effective survey questions for ecommerce, Software/Software as a Service (SaaS), or publishing companies.

Plus, you’ll get access to our pre-built survey templates.

Before diving into a list of questions (though you can skip right to it if you prefer), let’s cover a few survey question basics:

What is a good survey question?

A good survey question is one that helps you get clear insights and business-critical information about your customers, including:

Who your target market is

How you should price your products

What is stopping people from buying from you

Why visitors leave your website

With this information, you can tailor your website, products, landing pages, and/or messaging to improve the user experience and (ultimately) maximize conversions.

Why is it important to ask good survey questions?

A good survey question is asked in a precise way at the right stage in the buyer’s journey to give you solid data about your customers’ needs and drives. The format you choose for your survey—in-person, email, on-page, etc.—is important, but if the questions themselves are poorly worded you could waste hours trying to fix minimal problems while ignoring major ones a different question could have uncovered. We’ll explore the dos and don’ts of good question writing towards the end of this article.

How to run your surveys

The format you pick for your survey depends on what you want to achieve, and also on how much budget/resources you have. You can:

Use a feedback tool and set up a website survey that pops up whenever people visit a specific page → useful when you want to investigate website- and product-specific topics quickly, relatively inexpensive

Use a survey builder and create a survey that people can access in their own time → useful when you want to reach out to your mailing list and/or a wider audience (you just need to share the URL the survey lives at), has more space for people to elaborate on their answers, relatively inexpensive

Place survey kiosks in a physical location where people can give their feedback by pressing a button → useful for quick feedback on specific aspects of a customer’s experience (there’s usually plenty of these in airports and waiting rooms), relatively expensive to maintain

Run in-person surveys with your existing or prospective customers → in-person questionnaires help you dig deep into your interviewees’ answers, relatively cheap if you do it over the phone but more expensive time-wise if done in a physical location you need to travel to/from, and costly if done in a lab

To run both on-site surveys (that appear on a website page) and online surveys (that exist on a separate URL), you will need dedicated survey-building software like Hotjar. Here is what the dashboard looks like: after choosing the type of survey to run, you will be able to build and include as many questions as you want in the exact order you need them.

Build and send a survey today 🔥

Use Hotjar to build your survey, place it on your website or send it via email, and get the customer insight you need to grow your business.

6 main types of survey questions

Before we dive into our list of 70+ question examples, here is a quick overview of the six different survey question types they belong to, with a few examples for each:

Likert scale questions

Rating scale (or ordinal) questions

‘Yes’ or ‘no’ questions

1. Open-ended survey questions

Open-ended questions give your respondents the freedom to answer in their own words, instead of limiting their response to a set of pre-selected choices (such as multiple-choice answers, yes/no answers, 0-10 ratings, etc.).

Examples of open-ended questions:

What other products would you like to see us offer?

If you could change just one thing about our product, what would it be?

When to use open-ended questions in a survey

The majority of example questions included in this post are open-ended, and there are some good reasons for that:

Open-ended questions help you learn about customer needs you didn’t know existed, and they shine a light on areas for improvement that you may not have considered before. If you limit your respondents’ answers, you can cut yourself off from key insights.

Open-ended questions are very useful when you first begin surveying your customers and collecting their feedback. If you don’t yet have a good amount of insight, answers to open-ended questions will go a long way towards educating you about who your customers are and what they are looking for.

There are, however, a few downsides to open-ended questions:

First, people tend to be less likely to respond to open-ended questions in general because they take comparatively more effort to answer than, say, a yes/no one.

Second, but connected: if you ask multiple open-ended questions in a row during your survey, people will get tired of answering them, and their answers might become less and less helpful the more you ask.

Finally, the data you receive from open-ended questions will take longer to analyze

compared to easy 1-to-5 or Yes/No answers—but don’t let that stop you: there are plenty of shortcuts that make it easier than it looks, and we explain it all in our post about. There’s even a free analysis template you can pick up directly on the page.

2. Closed-ended survey questions

Closed-end questions limit a user’s response options to a set of pre-selected choices. This broad category of questions includes:

Likert scale questions

Rating scale questions

‘Yes’ or ‘no’ questions

I’ll describe each in greater detail below.

When to use closed-ended questions

Closed-ended questions work very well in two scenarios:

To open a survey, because they require little time and effort and therefore are easy for people to answer. This is called the foot-in-the-door principle: once someone commits to answering the first question, they may be more likely to answer the open-ended questions that follow.

When you need to create graphs and trends based on people’s answers. Responses to closed-ended questions are easy to tabulate and use as benchmarks; rating scale questions in particular (e.g. where you get people to rate customer service or on a scale of 1-10—more on this below) allow you to gather customer sentiment and compare your progress over time.

3. Nominal questions

A nominal question is a type of survey question that presents people with multiple answer choices; the answers are non-numerical in nature and don’t overlap (unless you include an ‘all of the above’ option).

Example of nominal question:

What are you using [product name] for?

3. Both business and personal use

When to use nominal questions

Nominal questions work well when there is a limited number of categories for a given question (see the example above). They’re easy for people to answer and for you to create graphs and trends from, but the downside is that you may not be offering enough categories for people to reply.

For example, if you are asking people what type of browser they are using and only give them 3 options to choose from, you may have effectively alienated everybody who uses a fourth type and cannot tell you about it.

🔥 Pro tip: you can add an open-ended component to a nominal question with an expandable ’other’ category, where respondents can add in an answer that isn’t on the list. When you do that, you’re essentially asking an open-ended question, because you aren’t limiting them to the options you’ve picked.

Which browser are you using?

Other (allows open-ended response)

4. Likert scale questions

The Likert scale is typically a 5- or 7- point scale that evaluates a respondent’s level of agreement with a statement or the intensity of their reaction towards something.

The scale develops symmetrically: the median number (e.g., a ‘3’ on a 5-point scale) indicates a point of neutrality, the lowest number (always a ‘1’) indicates an extreme view, and the highest number (e.g., a ’5’ on a 5-point scale) indicates the opposite extreme view.

Examples of Likert-type questions:

How strongly do you agree with the following statement: [company’s] payment process is simple and painless.

How satisfied were you with your customer service experience?

When to use Likert scale questions

Likert-type questions are also known as ordinal questions because the answers are presented in a specific order. Like other multiple-choice questions, Likert scale questions come in handy when you already have some sense of what your customers are thinking. For example, if your open-ended questions uncover a complaint about a recent change to your ordering process, you could use a Likert scale question to determine how the average user felt about the change.

5. Rating scale questions

Rating scale questions are questions where the answers map onto a numeric scale (such as rating customer support on a scale of 1-5, or likelihood to recommend a product from 0 to 10).

Examples of rating questions:

How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague on a scale of 0-10?

How would you rate our customer service on a scale of 1-5?

When to use rating questions

Whenever you want to assign a numerical value to your survey and/or visualize and compare trends, a rating question is the way to go.

A typical rating question is used to determine Net Promoter Score® (NPS): the question asks customers to rate their likelihood of recommending products or services to their friends or colleagues, and allows you to look at the results historically and see if you’re improving or getting worse. Rating questions are also used for customer satisfaction surveys and product reviews (such as Amazon’s five-star product ratings).

Tip: when you use a rating question in a survey, be sure to explain what the scale means (e.g., ‘1’ for ‘Poor’, 5 for ‘Amazing’).

6. ‘Yes’ or ‘no’ questions

These questions are super-straightforward: they require a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ reply.

Examples of Yes/No questions:

Was this article useful? (Yes/No)

Did you find what you were looking for today? (Yes/No)

When to use ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions

‘Yes’ and ‘no’ questions are a good way to quickly segment your respondents. For example, say you are trying to understand what obstacles or objections are stopping people from trying your product. You can place a survey on your pricing page, ask people if something is stopping them, and follow-up with the segment who replied ‘NO’ by asking them to elaborate further.

These questions are also great for getting your foot in the door. When you ask a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question, it requires very little effort to answer. Once a user commits to answering the first question, they tend to become more willing to answer the questions that follow.

“Understand your customers’ pain points and then establish processes to reduce customer effort. The reason I am saying this is that customer pain points differ from one industry to another and even from one company to another. Check the consumer complaints section of your website and identify the most common problems faced by customers. Read customer reviews on your website or on third-party websites to understand what customers say about your brand. Conduct a survey of your customers to identify the key aspects that you can improve to provide a better customer experience.”

70+ survey question examples

Below we collected a list of good survey questions that you can ask, and categorized them across e-commerce, software/Software as a Service (SaaS), and publishing.

You don’t have to use them word-for-word, but hopefully seeing this list will spark some extra good ideas for the surveys you’re going to run right after reading this piece 😉

9 basic demographic survey questions

You ask these questions when you want to get some context about your respondents (and also so you can segment them later). A tip from us: don’t ask these questions for the sake of it—if you’re not going to use some of the data points (e.g. if gender is irrelevant to the result of your survey), move on to the ones that are really useful for you, business-wise.

What is your name?

What is your age?

What is your gender?

What company do you work for?

What vertical/industry best describes your company?

Other (Please specify)

What best describes your role?

Specialist / Team Member

C-Level Executive (CEO, CMO, etc)

Other (Please specify)

In which department do you work?

What is the total number of employees in your company (including all locations where your employer operates)?

What is your company’s annual revenue?

Gather more info about your users with our Product-Market Fit survey template.

20+ effective customer questions

Particularly recommended for ecommerce companies:

Before purchase

What information is missing or would make your decision to buy easier?

What is your biggest fear or concern about purchasing this item?

Were you able to complete the purpose of your visit today?

If you did not make a purchase today, what stopped you?

After purchase

Was there anything about this checkout process we could improve?

What was your biggest fear or concern about purchasing from us?

What persuaded you to complete the purchase of the item(s) in your cart today?

If you could no longer use [product name], what’s the one thing you would miss the most?

What’s the one thing that nearly stopped you from buying from us?

Other useful customer questions

Do you have any questions before you complete your purchase?

What other information would you like to see on this page?

What were the three main things that persuaded you to create an account today?

What nearly stopped you from creating an account today?

Which other options did you consider before choosing [product name]?

What would persuade you to use us more often?

What was your biggest challenge, frustration or problem in finding the right [product type] online?

Please list the top three things that persuaded you to use us rather than a competitor.

What other products would you like to see us offer?

Were you able to find the information you were looking for?

How satisfied are you with our support?

How would you rate our service on a scale of 0-10? (0=terrible, 10=stellar)

How would you rate our support on a scale of 0-10?

How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague? (This is an NPS question)

Is there anything preventing you from purchasing at this point?

Learn how satisfied customers are with this expert-built Customer Satisfaction / NPS survey template.

30+ product survey questions

Particularly recommended for SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) companies:

Questions for new or trial users

What nearly stopped you from signing up today?

What would persuade you to use us more often?

How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague on a scale of 0-10? (NPS question)

Is our pricing clear? If not—what would you change?

Questions for paying customers

What convinced you to pay for this service?

What’s the one thing we are missing in [product type]?

What’s one feature we can add that would make our product indispensable for you?

If you could no longer use [name of product], what’s the one thing you would miss the most?

Are you making the most of your pricing plan? Find out what buyers think with this Pricing Plan Feedback survey template.

Questions for former/churned customers

What is the main reason you’re canceling your account? (please be blunt and direct)

If you could have changed one thing in [product name], what would it have been?

If you had a magic wand and could change anything in [product name], what would it be?

Find out why customers churn with this free-to-use Churn Analysis survey template.

Other useful product questions

What were the three main things that persuaded you to sign up today?

Which other options did you consider before choosing [product name]?

What was your biggest challenge, frustration, or problem in finding the right [product type] online?

Please list the top three things that persuaded you to use us rather than a competitor.

Do you have any questions before starting a free trial?

What persuaded you to start a trial?

Which other options did you consider before choosing [product name]?

What other products would you like to see us offer?

Was this help section useful?

Was this article useful?

How satisfied are you with our support?

How would you rate our service on a scale of 1-10? (0=terrible, 10=stellar)

How would you rate our support on a scale of 1-10?

Is there anything preventing you from upgrading at this point?

Is there anything preventing you from purchasing at this point?

Is there anything on this page that doesn’t work the way you expected it to?

What could we change to make you want to continue using us?

If you did not upgrade today, what stopped you?

What’s the next thing you think we should build? (can be multiple choice)

How would you feel if we discontinued this feature?

What’s the next feature or functionality we should build?

Gather feedback on your product with our free-to-use survey templates.

20 effective questions for publishers and bloggers

Questions to help improve content

If you could change just one thing in [publication name], what would it be?

What other content would you like to see us offer?

Was this article useful? (Yes/No)

How would you rate this article on a scale of 1-10?

If you could change anything on this page, what would you have us do?

If you did not subscribe to [publication name] today, what was it that stopped you?

Does your copy and messaging resonate? Find ways to improve your website content with this survey template.

New subscriptions

What convinced you to subscribe to [publication] today?

What almost stopped you from subscribing?

What were the three main things that persuaded you to join our list today?

Cancellations

What is the main reason you’re unsubscribing? (please be specific)

Other useful content-related questions

What’s the one thing we are missing in [publication name]?

What would persuade you to visit us more often?

How likely are you to recommend us to someone with similar interests? (NPS question)

What’s missing on this page?

What topics would you like to see us write about next?

How useful was this article?

What could we do to make this page more useful?

Is there anything on this site that doesn’t work the way you expected it to?

What’s one thing we can add that would make [publication name] indispensable for you?

If you could no longer read [publication name], what’s the one thing you would miss the most?

🔥 Pro tip: whichever questions you use, the qualitative data you get from a survey will supplement the insight you can capture through other traditional analytics tools (think Google Analytics) and behavior analytics tools (think heatmaps and session recordings, which visualize user behavior on specific pages or across an entire website). While analytics tools will tell you what is happening on a page or website, replies to your survey questions will usually help you understand why it’s happening. Combining the two gives you both the context you need to solve a problem or capitalize on an opportunity and plenty of inspiration about how to do it.

Build and send a survey today 🔥

Use Hotjar to build your survey, place it on your website or send it via email, and get the customer insight you need to grow your business.

How to write good (and effective) survey questions: the DOs and DON’Ts

To help you understand the basics and avoid some rookie mistakes, we asked a few experts to give us their thoughts on what makes a good and effective survey question.

Survey question DOs

DO focus your questions on the customer

It may be tempting to focus on your company or products, but it is usually more effective to put the focus back on the customer. Get to know their needs, drives, pain points, and barriers to purchase by asking about their experience. That’s what you’re after: you want to know what it’s like inside their heads and how they feel when they use your website and products.

“Rather than asking: ‘Why did you buy our product?’ ask ‘What was happening in your life that led you to search for this solution?’ Instead of asking: ‘What’s the one feature you love about [product],’ I ask: ‘If our company were to close tomorrow, what would be the one thing you’d miss the most?’ These types of surveys have helped me double and triple my clients.”

DO be polite and concise (without skimping on micro-copy)

Put time into your micro-copy—those tiny bits of written content that go into surveys. Explain why you’re asking the questions, and when people reach the end of the survey, remember to thank them for their time. After all, they’re giving you free labor!

“You are asking your audience to take time out of their day to do free work for you, so you need to be warm, personable, and even a little charming to get them to want to help you.”

DO consider the foot-in-the-door principle

One way to increase your response rate is to ask an easy question upfront, such as a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question, because once people commit to taking a survey, they’re more likely to finish it.

“The foot-in-the-door principle helps you create a first point of contact with a person, laying the groundwork for the rest of your survey. Start with a small question, and build up from there. But be respectful: don’t use this principle to manipulate your users into doing something they didn’t want to do; and once they commit to helping you, don’t take advantage of their time.”

DO consider asking your questions from the first-person perspective

Okay, so we don’t do this here at Hotjar. You’ll notice all our sample questions are listed in second-person (i.e., ‘you’ format), but it’s worth testing to determine which approach gives you better answers. Some experts prefer the first-person approach (i.e., ‘I’ format) because they believe it encourages users to talk about themselves—but only you can decide which approach works best for your business.

“I strongly recommend that the questions be worded in the first person. This helps create a more visceral reaction from people and encourages them to tell stories from their actual experiences, rather than making up hypothetical scenarios. For example, here’s a similar question, asked two ways: Version 1: ‘What do you think is the hardest thing about creating a UX portfolio?’ Version 2: ‘My biggest problem with creating my UX portfolio is …’ The second version helps get people thinking about their experiences. The best survey responses come from respondents who provide personal accounts of past events that give us specific and real insight into their lives.»

DO alternate your questions often

Shake up the questions you ask on a regular basis. Asking a wide variety of questions will help you and your team get a complete view of what your customers are thinking.

“Having run thousands of user research projects, I have found that the key is to alternate questions often. You want your team to be reading a wide variety of answers so they can truly empathize with their users.”

DO test your surveys before sending them out

Hotjar recently created a survey that we sent to 2,000 CX professionals via email. Before officially sending it out, we wanted to make sure the questions really worked.

We decided to test them out on internal staff and external people by sending out three rounds of test surveys to 100 respondents each time. Their feedback helped us perfect the questions and clear up any confusing language.

Survey question DON’Ts

DON’T ask closed-ended questions if you’ve never done research before

If you’ve just begun asking questions, make them open-ended questions since you have no idea what your customers think about you at this stage. When you limit their answers, you just reinforce your own assumptions.

There are two exceptions to this rule:

1) using a closed-ended question to get your foot in the door at the beginning of a survey, and

2) using rating scale questions to gather customer sentiment (like an NPS survey).

DON’T ask a lot of questions if you’re just getting started

Having to answer too many questions can overwhelm your users. You really have to make peace with the fact you can’t ask as many questions as you’d like, so stick with the most important things and discard the rest.

Try starting off with a single question to see how your audience responds, then move on to two questions once you feel like you know what you’re doing.

How many questions should you ask? There’s really no perfect answer, but we recommend asking as few as you need to ask in order to get the information you want. In the beginning, focus on the big things:

Who are your users?

What do potential customers want?

How are they using your product?

What would win their loyalty?

DON’T just ask a question when you can combine it with other tools

Don’t just use surveys to answer questions that other tools (such as analytics) can also help you answer. If you want to learn about whether people find a new website feature helpful, you can also observe how they’re using it through analytics, session recordings, and other user testing tools for a more complete picture.

“Don’t use surveys to ask people questions that other tools are better equipped to answer. I’m thinking of questions like ‘What do you think of the search feature?’ with pre-set answer options like ‘Very easy to use,’ ‘Easy to use,’ etc. That’s not a good question to ask. Why should you care about what people ‘think’ about the search feature? You should find out whether it helps people find what they need and whether it helps drive conversions for you. Analytics, user session recordings, and user testing can tell you whether it does that or not.»

DON’T ask leading questions

A leading question is one that prompts a specific answer, and you want to avoid those because they’ll give you bad data. For example, asking ‘What makes our product better than our competitors’ products?’ might boost your self-esteem, but it won’t get you good information because you’re planting the idea that your own product is the best on the market.

DON’T ask loaded questions

A loaded question is similar to a leading question, but it does more than just push a bias—it phrases the question such that it’s impossible to answer without confirming an underlying assumption.

A common (and subtle) form of loaded survey question would be, ‘What do you find useful about this article?’ If we haven’t first asked you whether you found the article useful at all, then we’re asking a loaded question.

10 survey use cases: what you can do with good survey questions

Effective survey questions can help improve your business in many different ways. We’ve written in detail about most of these ideas in other blog posts, and I’ve included links for each of them below.

Use case #1: to create user personas

A user persona is a semi-fictional character based on the people who currently use your website or product. A persona combines psychographics and demographics and reflects who they are, what they need, and what may stop them from getting it.

Examples of questions to ask:

Describe yourself in one sentence, e.g. ‘I am a 30-year old marketer based in Dublin who enjoys writing articles about user personas.’

What is your main goal for using this website/product?

What, if anything, is preventing you from doing it?

📚 Read more → our post about creating simple and effective user personas in 4 steps highlights some good survey questions to ask when creating a user persona.

Use case #2: to understand why your product is not selling

Few things are more frightening than stagnant sales. When the pressure is mounting, you’ve got to get to the bottom of it, and good survey questions can help you do just that.

Examples of questions to ask:

What made you buy the product? What challenges are you trying to solve?

What did you like most about the product? What did you dislike the most?

What nearly stopped you from buying?

📚 Read more → here’s a detailed piece about the best survey questions to ask your customers when your product isn’t selling, and why they work so well.

Use case #3: to understand why people leave your website

If you want to figure out why people are leaving your website, you’ll have to ask questions.

A good format for that is an exit-intent pop-up survey, which appears when a user clicks to leave the page.

Another way is to focus on the people who did convert, but just barely—something Hotjar CEO David Darmanin considers essential for taking conversions to the next level. By focusing on customers who bought your product (but almost didn’t), you can learn how to win over another set of users who are similar to them: those who almost bought your products, but backed out in the end.

Example of questions to ask:

Not for you? Tell us why. (exit-intent pop-up—ask when a user leaves without buying)

📚 Read more → HubSpot Academy increased its conversion rate by adding an exit-intent survey that asked one simple question when users left their website: “Not for you? Tell us why.”

“I spent the better half of my career focusing on the 95% who don’t convert, but it’s better to focus on the 5% who do. Get to know them really well, deliver value to them, and really wow them. That’s how you’re going to take that 5% to 10%.”