Years ago I filled out an employment application that had 30 interview type questions on it. When I was handed the application I was told to bring the application back in a week after I had finished it. I worked hard on my answers. I did not get the job but I discovered that I was performing much better in interviews. When I would answer interview questions I found myself drawing from the work that I had done in filling out that application.
In the same way you can prepare more effectively for interviews. From the list below pick what you feel are the 30 most important and most likely questions you could be asked in an interview and write out your answers. You may also want to come up with questions of your own that you think you could be asked in an interview. When appropriate also write out 2 or 3 examples because this adds credibility to your answers. Once you have a finished product, review your work often so that when you are under the pressure of an interview you remember the direction that you will go in when you are asked these questions.
1. What do you know about our company? (Use company research)
2. What qualifications do you have for this job? (Match what you know about the job and company to your experience)
3. What is your greatest strength? (Relate to job description)
4. What is your greatest weakness? (Turn into a positive i.e. perfectionist with high self-expectations.
5. Admit a past problem and what you learned form it.)
6. Tell me about yourself. (Reveal something semi-professional but still professional)
7. Why did you leave your previous job? (Turn into a positive)
8. If you were hired, what ideas/talents could you contribute to the position or our company?
9. What would you do if…? (Imagine situations that test your knowledge of the job.)
10. Could you give me an example of how you have demonstrated ____________________ skill? (Think first, be specific, speak only long enough to answer the question.)
11. Give me an example of how you handled a difficult situation on a previous job.
12. Why are you interested in working for this company? (Relate your skill to what you know about the company)
13. Tell me about your education. (Use examples that relate to the position.)
14. Why have you chosen this particular field?
15. Describe your best/worst boss. (Keep it positive, don’t be critical)
16. In a job, what interests you most/least? (Relate to position)
17. How do others describe you? (Keep it positive)
18. What do you consider the single most important idea you contributed or your most noteworthy accomplishment in your last job?
19. Where do you see yourself in three years? (Demonstrate ambition and flexibility)
20. How does this position fit into your future plans? (Demonstrate potential and ambition)
21. What could have you done better on your last job? (Keep it positive)
22. What have you done recently that shows your initiative and willingness to work?
23. How would you describe yourself to others? (Keep it positive and brief)
24. What kind of work are you looking for?
25. What new goals have you set recently?
26. What do you think of your past supervisor?
27. What did your subordinates think of you?
28. What are your three biggest accomplishments in your career?
29. How long would it take for you to make a contribution to our company?
30. What do you expect as a starting salary? (Answer something like this: What would you pay someone with my experience?
31. It is best in negotiating your salary if the interviewer gives a figure or range first.)
32. I’ve interviewed several people with more experience than you.
33. Why should I hire you instead of them?
34. What kind of boss of supervisor do you prefer?
35. How did your previous employer treat you?How do you spend your spare time?
36. Why are you considering a career in the ______industry?
37. How do you feel your past employment relates to this job?
38. Give an example of how well you “read” people and “read” situation.
39. What is an important goal you set in the past and how did you achieve it?
40. Are you currently in the process of working towards a goal? If so, what?
41. What are the obstacles you’ve encountered and how have you overcome them?
42. What are three of your major accomplishments?
43. What personality traits do you possess that you are least proud of?
44. How would you describe the perfect boss?
45. What do you think you could contribute to our company?
46. What would be a lot of money to you?
47. If you were to earn that amount, what would you spend it on? Why?
48. Of all your jobs, which did you enjoy the most and why?
49. Of all your jobs, which did you enjoy the least and why?
50. What sort of job functions do you enjoy doing?
51. What specific job functions do you dislike doing?
52. How many different jobs have you held?
53. What is the average length of time you have remained on each job?
54. Were the hours of work too long in any of your past jobs/ If yes, describe.
55. Have you ever supervised the work of others?
56. Describe any promotions you have received.Have you ever been bored with your work?
57. If yes, describe.Were you ever fired from a job? If yes, why?
58. How did you leave your last employer?
59. What do you want form a job?
60.What is important to you about a job?
61. What is your greatest weakness in effectively utilizing your time?
62. In prior positions, in what areas would you have personally liked to have received more training?
63. In prior positions, were you made aware of the acceptable standards of performance expected of you?
64. In prior positions, do you feel you were held accountable for your efforts in your work environment?
65. How have you benefited from mistakes you have made in the past?
66. Can you summarize the contribution you would make to our organization?
67. Why are you interested in this job?In what kind of environment are you most comfortable?68. How do you work under pressure?
69. How do you handle conflict?
70. How competitive are you?
71. What the most important rewards you expect in your career?
72. Are you willing to relocate?
73. Tell me about a time you experienced a failure and how you handled it.
74. Tell me about a time you were under pressure to meet a goal.
75. If you could have any job in the world what would it be?
76. What motivates you?
77. Why do you want to work for us and not our competitor?
78. What did you like/dislike about your last job?
79. Why are you leaving your current job?
80. Why should we hire you instead of your competition?
POPULAR BEHAVIOR-BASED QUESTIONS
Look back on your work experiences and pre-pick 5 to 7 challenging work experiences as examples. Those challenges are examples of many things such as those asked in behavior-based questions. If you do this you will be more prepared than most of your competition.
Tell me about a time when you…
1. Worked effectively under pressure
2. Handled a difficult situation with a co-worker
3. Were creative in solving a problemHad to adapt to a difficult situation
4. Were tolerant of an opinion that was different from yours
5. Had to deal with an irate customer
6. Delegated a project effectively
7. Made a bad decision
8. Turned down a good job
9. Had to make an important decision with limited facts.
Another important thing you can do to jump ahead of your competition is to have good questions to ask an employer and have a notepad with you to take notes if you need to. You should ask between 3 to 7 questions of the interviewer.
Choose from the following questions what you want to ask your interviewers:
1. How do you feel about working in this organization?
2. Were there any questions I didn’t provide an adequate answer for?
3. As you think about the position, what aspects of this job could be performed better?
4. What are the key challenges or problems of this position?
5. Where can I go from here, assuming that I meet/exceed the job’s responsibilities?
6. What are the company’s short and long-term objectives?
7. What do you see as my greatest strengths and weaknesses pertaining to this position? (This is your opportunity to clear up any misconceptions and gain information that may help you in future interviews.)
8. What are the opportunities for personal growth?
9. What makes your firm different form its competitors?
10. What do you see as the company’s Strengths and weaknesses?
11. How would you describe your corporation’s personality and management style?
12. What characteristics does a successful person within your company possess? (This is your opportunity to use this answer to further persuade the interviewer that you should be hired for the position.)
13. What would a typical day in this job be like? (An opportunity for you to show how you are the right person for the job.)
14. Could you describe a typical first assignment? (An opportunity for you to show how you are the right person for the job.)
15. Who would I work most closely with on a day to day basis?
16. What are the most challenging aspects of the position? (An opportunity for you to show how you are the right person for the job.)
17. Why is this position open?
18. How many times in the past 5 years has this position been open?
19. How is success in this position measured?
20. How do I receive feedback on my performance?
21. What sorts of tasks would I be expected to accomplish within the first six months on the job?22. How do employees in this organization keep current with developments in the field?
23. How long has this position been open?
24. What are the responsibilities and duties in this position?
25. What qualifications do you prefer for this job?
26. How many people will I be supervising?
27. Do you require travel for this job?
28. Will it be necessary for me to relocate?
29. If hired, would I be filling a newly-created position, or replacing someone?
30. Was my predecessor promoted?
31. Which duties are the most important for this job? Least important?
32. How would I be trained or introduced to the job?
33. How is the job important to the company—how does it contribute?
34. What are the department’s goals for the year?
35. If hired who would I report directly to?
36. What major markets does this company (or parent company) compete in?
37. Are annual sales for the company ahead of last year’s sales?
38. What do you consider to be my weaknesses? Strengths?
39. I want this job! Would you consider hiring me on a thirty-day trial period to prove that I could do the job?
40. How permanent is this position?41. May I have a tour of the worksite?
42. To whom do I report?
43. Is there a chance for overtime?
44. How does one advance in this organization?
Mark K. Rovell Sr.
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