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Introductory Questions

  • What five adjectives best describe you?
  • How would you describe your character?
  • Why should I consider you for this position?
  • What can you do for us that someone else cannot?
  • What qualities do you think are necessary to make a success of this job?
  • How would you describe your ideal job?

General Past Job Performance

  • Tell me about the last time you made a mistake.
  • Tell me about the last time you made a good decision.
  • Did you implement new procedures in your previous positions? Tell me about them.
  • If you do not leave your current job, what will happen there? How far can you advance?
  • Of all the work you have done, where have you been most successful?
  • Give me an example of when you demonstrated your customer service skills.

Technical Questions

  • Tell me about the types of word processing you did in your last job.
  • What software program do you use most often in your current position?
  • What was more important in your job, written or oral communication?
  • How do you merge a file in Microsoft Word? (or ask a question specific to a computer program the position will be required to know)

Goals

  • What do you want to be doing in five years from now?
  • What was your favorite job? Why?
  • You have stayed with the same organization for several years. Why have you now decided to leave?
  • What do you do when you are having trouble with your job?
  • What interests you most about this position?
  • What would you change about your current job?
  • What motivates you?
  • Give me an example of an important goal you set and tell me about your progress in reaching that goal.

Supervisory

  • How do you motivate people?
  • Have you ever hired anyone? Why did you choose that person?
  • Have you ever fired anyone? Why?
  • What do you do when you are having trouble with your employees?
  • Have you ever had to make unpopular decisions? How did you communicate it to your workers?

Performance

  • What were your most memorable accomplishments at your last job?
  • What is the biggest failure you have had in your career?
  • How do you go about making important decisions?
  • Give me an example of a time you found a unique solution to a problem.
  • What aspects of your job do you like best?
  • What aspects of your job do you like least?

Flexibility

  • Tell me about the last change that occurred in your office. How did you handle it?
  • Tell me about a time when an emergency caused you to reschedule your work/projects.
  • When did you go above and beyond the call of duty to get your job done?
  • Tell me about a specific occasion when you conformed to a policy even though you did not agree with it.

Stress

  • Tell me about a deadline you had to meet. How did you plan for it?
  • How do you generally handle conflict?
  • What do you do when you’re burned out?
  • You have worked in a fast-paced environment. How do you handle the stress?
  • You work in a customer is always right environment, how do you handle the stress?
  • What kinds of decisions are most difficult for you?
  • What is the most difficult work situation you have faced? What stress did you feel?
  • What do you do when you have a great deal of work to accomplish in a short period of time?
  • What is the most frustrating thing about your current position?
  • Describe a time when you were faced with problems or stresses at work that tested your coping skills. What did you do?

Organization/Time Management

  • Describe the top of your desk.
  • What do you do when you are having trouble solving a problem?
  • What do you do when things are slow?
  • What do you do when things are hectic?
  • What do you do when you have multiple priorities?
  • Tell me about your typical work day.
  • How much time do you spend on the phone? In meetings?
  • Your supervisor left you an assignment, then left for a week. You cannot reach them and you do not fully understand the assignment. What would you do?
  • How do you organize and plan for major projects?
  • How many projects do you like handling at one time?
  • Describe a project that required a high amount of energy over an extended period of time.
  • How do you organize yourself for day-to-day activities?
  • Tell me about a task you started but just could not seem to get finished.
  • Give me an example of a time when you had to be relatively quick in coming to a decision.

Cooperation with Coworkers

  • What types of people have trouble getting along with you?
  • Do you prefer to work by yourself or with others?
  • How would your coworkers describe you?
  • What kind of person do you get along with best?
  • Define cooperation.
  • Tell me about an occasion when, in difficult circumstances, you pulled a team together.
  • What do you find most challenging in working with coworkers?

Manageability

  • What do supervisors tend to criticize most about your performance?
  • If your boss knew you were interviewing, what would he or she say?
  • Your supervisor tells you to do something in a way you know is dead wrong. What do you do?
  • Tell me about a time when our manager was in a rush and didn’t give you enough attention.
  • What are some of the things about which you and your boss disagreed?
  • What are some of the things your boss did that you dislike?
  • How does a boss get the best of you?