84 Typical Interview Questions

My name is Dorothy and I have helped literally hundreds of people get the job they want. If you need help with your resume, cover letter or interview skills go to my services page!

Not every interviewer will ask you all of these questions but it helps to be prepared for anything. If they ask you a simple question don’t just give a simple “yes” or “no” response. Make sure you can explain and back up your answers.

If you are ready to answer these questions, you will be better prepared for your job interview.

When you need more personalized help I can coach you through your
interview. Visit my services page for more information.

Thanks,
Dorothy Rawlinson

Interview Questions: Work History
1. Tell us about your work history. Name of company, position title and description, dates of employment.
2. What were your responsibilities?
3. What major challenges and problems did you face? How did you handle them?
4. Which was most / least rewarding?
5. What was the biggest accomplishment / failure in this position?
6. What was it like working for your supervisor? What were his strengths and shortcomings?
7. Why are you leaving your job?

Interview Questions: About You
8. Describe a typical work week.
9. How would you describe the pace at which you work?
10. How do you handle stress and pressure?
11. What motivates you?
12. What are your salary expectations?
13. Describe a difficult work situation / project and how you overcame it.
14. If the people who know you were asked why you should be hired, what would they say?
15. Do you prefer to work independently or on a team?
16. Give some examples of teamwork
17. What type of work environment do you prefer?
18. How do you evaluate success?

Interview Questions: About the New Job and Company
19. What interests you about this job?
20. Why do you want this job?
21. What applicable attributes / experience do you have?
22. Are you overqualified for this job?
23. Why are you the best person for the job?
24. Why should we hire you?
25. What do you know about this company?
26. Why do you want to work for this organization?
27. What challenges are you looking for in a position?
28. What can you contribute to this company?
29. Is there anything I haven’t told you about the job or company that you would like to know?

Interview Questions: The Future
30. What are you looking for in your next job? What is important to you?
31. What are your goals for the next five years / ten years?
32. How do you plan to achieve those goals?
33. What are your salary requirements – both short-term and long-term?
34. It is your first week on the job as ## and you need to make the transition to your new role. How are you going to accomplish this?

Situational Questions
35. Describe your management style. In what type of environment do you feel it works best? Specifically, what type of latitude do you give your staff in making decisions and why?
36. Tell me about a work situation where you lost your cool? What happened? How did you feel at the time? In hindsight…. how do you view that now?
37. Provide me with an example of when you had to deal with a performance issue with a direct report. What was the issue? How did you deal with it? What was the outcome? Describe your experience managing the performance of a volunteers. Would to take a different management approach then with a paid
employee?
38. Give me an example of a project/work assignment that didn’t go well. What was the situation? What happened? If you had to do it again, what would you do differently?
39. Tell me about the best team you ever worked with. What did it look like? What made it a good team?
40. Tell me about a particularly difficult decision or recommendation you had to make. What were the risks in the situation? Why did you decide to pursue the route that you did?
41. Give me an example of a work related stressful situation you went through recently. How did you deal with it? How do you usually deal with stress?
42. Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision that had a high risk factor. What was the situation? What decision did you make? What was the outcome? In hindsight, how would you handle this next time?
43. What experience and skills have you gained in previous roles that will serve you well in this position? Why?
44. How would you motivate your team to ensure their experience was positive and worthwhile and reduce or eliminate staff turn-over?

Criteria: Looking for someone who is a team player, has shown leadership skills and is computer savvy
45. How well do you work with people? Do you prefer working alone or in teams?
46. How would you evaluate your ability to deal with conflict?
47. What computer programs are you familiar with? List programs and
competency i.e. basic or advance
48. What motivates you to go the extra mile on a project or job?
49. How do you determine when to take initiative to try to resolve a problem yourself versus seeking guidance from your supervisor or others?

Interview Questions: Just graduated
50. What are your long-range goals and objectives?
51. What are your short-range goals and objectives?
52. How do you plan to achieve your career goals?
53. What are the most important rewards you expect in your career?
54. Why did you choose the career for which you are preparing?
55. What are your strengths, weaknesses, and interests?
56. How do you think a friend or professor who knows you well would describe you?
57. Describe a situation in which you had to work with a difficult person (another student, co-worker, customer, supervisor, etc.). How did you handle the situation? Is there anything you would have done differently in hindsight?
58. What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort? Describe a situation in which you did so.
59. In what ways have your college experiences prepared you for a career?
60. How do you determine or evaluate success?
61. In what ways do you think you can make a contribution to our organization?
62. What qualities should a successful manager possess?
63. Was there an occasion when you disagreed with a supervisor’s decision or company policy? Describe how you handled the situation.
64. What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction? Why?
65. Describe your most rewarding college experience.
66. What interests you about our product or service?
67. Why did you select your college or university?
68. What led you to choose your major or field of study?
69. What college subjects did you like best? Why?
70. What college subjects did you like least? Why?
71. If you could do so, how would you plan your academic studies differently?
72. Do you think your grades are a good indication of your academic
achievement?
73. What have you learned from participation in extracurricular activities?
74. In what kind of work environment are you most comfortable?
75. How do you work under pressure?
76. Describe a situation in which you worked as part of a team. What role did you take on? What went well and what didn’t?
77. In what part-time, co-op, or summer jobs have you been most interested? Why?
78. How would you describe the ideal job for you following graduation?
79. Why did you decide to seek a position with this organization?
80. What two or three things would be most important to you in your job?
81. What criteria are you using to evaluate the organization for which you hope to work?
82. Will you relocate? Does relocation bother you?
83. Are you willing to travel?
84. Are you willing to spend at least six months as a trainee?

As previously mentioned, if you need more personalized help, I can coach you through your interview or just touch up your resume. Visit my services page for more information.

Thanks,
Dorothy Rawlinson

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