Interview Sample Questions

Here is a list of interview questions. Rehearse answering them prior to your interview. At least with this preparation you won't be taken aback with some of the questions that might be posed. Think long and hard about what you want to get across to the interviewer. The ultimate goal is to be able to convince the interviewer, or panel of interviewers that you are not only suited for that particular position but that you would be an asset to the company.

Education

1. Why did you choose your University?

2. What are the main things you learned from your studies?

3. Why did you select your particular major?

4. How do your studies relate to your career goals?

5. How did you finance your studies?

6. Which subjects did you enjoy the most/the least?

7. What have you learned in your degree program that has been most useful to you?

8. Are your grades a good indication of your academic achievement?

9. Describe your most rewarding university experience.

10. Has your coursework helped you in any way for this type of position and how so?

11. Tell us about your study and work skills.

12. Have you been involved in any extracurricular or volunteer activities while at university?

13. How would you describe your contribution to those activities? Did you run into any difficulties?

14. Do you find that any of the skills gained in these activities could be transferable to your professional life?

15. Have you had any experiences in university that have changed you as a person?

Previous Jobs

1. What type of jobs have you had?

2. How did you get your previous jobs?

3. What were your main responsibilities? Achievements?

4. What skills did you acquire through your previous jobs?

5. How good were your relationships with your supervisors?

6. How would your supervisors describe you?

7. Would you consider returning to your former employer? If not, why?

8. How was your performance evaluated?

9. What did you like most/like least about your previous jobs?

10. What was the most difficult project you worked on? How did you go about accomplishing it?

11. Did you run into any problems with your co-workers? If so, what did you do to remedy the situation?

Company/Job

1. Why do you want this job?

2. What skills/qualifications do you have that relate to the demands of the job?

3. Do you feel you could perform this job at a superior level? If yes, why?

4. Why are you interested in our company?

5. What do you know about our company?

6. What do you know about our industry/competitors?

7. Would you prepare to make a long term commitment to our company?

8. What are your expectations regarding career progress and promotion?

9. Are you willing to work flexible or long hours?

10. When would you be available to start?

11. What other jobs/companies are you considering?

12. Are you seeking employment in a company of a certain size? Why?

13. What criteria are you using to evaluate the company for which you hope to work?

14. In what kind of work environment are you most comfortable?

15. What qualities should a successful manager have?

16. What do you think it takes to be successful in a company like ours?

17. In what ways do you think you can make a contribution to our company?

18. What do you think is going to happen in X industry? What action would you recommend to industry leaders?

19. If you were hiring for this position, what qualities would you look for?

20. Why should I hire you?

21. Do you have a geographical preference? Why?

22. Will you relocate? Does relocation bother you?

23. Are you willing to travel?

24. Are you willing to spend at least six months as a trainee?

25. Why do you think you might like to live in the community in which our company is located?

26. Even industry specific questions may be asked. For example: Would you be able to explain the similarities and differences between an investment bank and a merchant bank or between an advertising firm or a media buying company?

Questions determining your Competence

1. What skills do you think you have gained from your schooling and past work experience?

2. What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Tip: although you might want to list off some weaknesses, frame it so they only make up a minute part of your answer and possibly arrange it so as to say it would not affect your work in this particular position or that you were able to turn into strength.

3. How do you interact with people?

4. Have you ever had to work with someone that did not share your same work style or work ethic? How did you get around that?

5. Have you ever had difficulty finishing a task or a project? Why? What did you do to handle the situation?

6. Describe your contribution to a group effort that you may have participated in.

7. Describe your leadership skills.

8. Where in our company do you feel your skills could be best used?

Questions on Remuneration

1. What salary do you expect from this position?

2. What factors besides salary are important in making up your mind on a position within different companies?

Personal Characteristics

1. What do you see as being your most major accomplishment?

2. How do you adapt to new situations?

3. What do you expect from your boss?

4. If you worked for a boss you had difficulty getting along with, how would you handle the situation?

5. Describe a situation in which you demonstrated leadership qualities.

6. Describe a situation in which you encountered interpersonal problems with people you worked with. How did you handle it?

7. Describe a situation in which you demonstrated creativity.

8. Describe a situation in which you overcame a difficult problem. How did you do it?

9. Describe a situation in which you failed at something. How did you handle the failure and what did you learn from it?

10. In your opinion, what is the best way to lead and motivate subordinates?

11. Tell me the names of three famous people you admire. What do you admire about them?

12. Give me the name of a book you have read that had a powerful influence on you.

13. What qualities do you respect and value in people you work with? Why are these qualities important to you?

14. What qualities don't you like to see in people you work with?

15. In your opinion, what is the best way to handle a crisis situation in business?

16. What is the most stressful situation you have ever had to deal with, how did you handle it?

17. Under what circumstances do you think it is appropriate to fire someone? How would you fire the person?

18. If you were in a job you hated, what would you do?

19. What makes you different from other candidates we are interviewing?

20. What are your long-term and short-term objectives? When and why did you establish these objectives?

21. What do you see yourself doing five years from now?

22. What do you really want to do in life?

23. How would you describe yourself?

24. What do you think you do best?

25. How do you think a friend and professor who knows you well would describe you? List adjectives they would use to describe you.

26. What motivates you to put forth your best effort?

27. How do you determine success?

28. What qualifications do you have that makes you believe you will be successful in business?

29. How do you work under pressure? Give me an example.

30. What decision have you most regretted?

31. Do you prefer working with people or alone?

Questions You Can Ask

1. What will my typical day be like?

2. What is the number one priority of the person who accepts this job?

3. What do you consider the five most important day-to-day responsibilities of this job?

4. What are some examples of the best results produced by people in this position?

5. What happened to the last person who had this job?

6. What might I expect to be doing over the next three to five years?

7. Are lateral or rotational job moves available to provide broader experience?

8. Are they considered valuable?

9. How are employees able to stay current on changes and trends in their field?

10. How often are performance reviews given and how are they conducted?

11. How would you characterize the management philosophy of your organization?

12. What do you see as the strengths of the department?

13. What does the department hope to achieve in the next two to three years?

14. How will that help the organization?

15. What is the biggest single problem facing the organization now?

16. What characteristics do the successful employees at your organization have in common?

17. What are the company's values?

18. What's the best thing about working here? the worst thing?

19. What is unique about the way this company operates?

20. Why did you come to work here?

21. What keeps you here?

22. What skills have helped you the most?

23. What kind of people are most successful here?

Unit Five