Interview Questions

Candidate: __________________________________

Date: _______________________

Start with description of position and goals of <Company>.

• Why did you choose to interview with <Company>?

 

• What would your co-workers say is your biggest asset to a sales position be? To technical support position?

 

• What have you done in the last 12 months to learn what you want to learn?

 

• How have you invested yourself besides your normal work?

 

• What do you do in your spare time?

 

• Does everything you do have to be for a payback? - please provide examples.

 

• If there were any one thing that you could do-without limitations, what would it be?

 

• Give me an example of why someone would consider you to be an expert in … and what steps did you take to get to be the expert?

 

• What gives you your "drive"?

 

• What would you say is your strongest skill ________________? Can you give a specific example of why you think this is true or can you qualify this statement?

 

Inititive:

• What ideas have you sold to management? What happened?

 

• Give me an example of something you recommended that was not adopted? Why? What could you have done differently?

 

• What ways have you found to make your job easier or more interesting?

 

• Give me an example of a project you were responsible for starting. What did you do? How did it work?

 

• How much information do you need to get startyed on a new project or assignment?

 

Motivation:

• What has made you feel excited about coming to work? When have you felt down or unfulfilled by a job?

 

• In all your jobs, which gave you the most meaningful experiences?

 

• What do you need from an organization to feel motivated?

 

• Why did you choose this profession? What rewards does it give you? Why do you stay?

 

• What do you feel a manager should do to motivate others? Why does it sometimes fail?

 

Goals:

• Please describe how you set and measure your work goals. (measurable and specific)

 

Attendance/Punctuality:

• When do you feel it is necessary to work overtime? Examples from recent jobs

 

• What would your last supervisor or manager say about your attendance or punctuality? How many times would he/she say you were absent or late this year? Would your manager tell me you were dependable?

 

Creativity and innovation:

• Which have you prefered to work with -a set, planned day or a day you create for yourself? Why?

 

• Please tell me a great idea you have seen in your field recentely. Why was it unique?

 

• If you could change one thing that is ineffective at your current job, what would it be? (be energized when describing it-exciting for them)

 

Problem solving:

• How do you go about setting priorities for your time?

 

• What kind of problems do you feel you are uniquely qualified to solve?

 

• What has been a stubborn or recurring problem which you would have liked to solve in your current job but haven't yer? (tenacity or blame)

 

• What process do you follow in solving problems?

 

Career Ambitions:

• What are you looking for in this job that you haven't had before? What would make you want to stay in a job?

 

• Describe the ideal work day for your-how would you spend your time?

 

• In what areas would you like to develop further? How do you see this job allowing you to develop in those ways?

 

Abiltity to learn

• If you could aquire one skill or bit of job knowledge, what would it be? What do you need to acquire it?

 

• What's the fastest you have learned something new for a job? What did you do to learn on company time? On your own?

 

Dependability

• If we hired you, What could we count on you for without fail?

 

• How do you know you're doing a good job?

 

• What is an example of something you've done that showed your most excellent performance?

 

• What were your three most impressibe tangible contributions to your company?

 

Attention to detail

• Would you rather fromulate a plan or carry it out? Why? Give me an example of a plan you have implemented?

 

• In your last job, if something wasn't due for several weeks, when and how did you approach getting it done?

 

• Where do you wast most of your time?

 

• What did you do the day before yesterday?

 

• How do you decide what you should work on next?