SUGGESTED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

General Interview Questions:

• 1. Why should we hire you? OR why do you want this job?
• 2. What are your greatest strengths? Your greatest weaknesses?
• 3. What kind of jobs have you enjoyed the most? The least?
• 4. How would your references describe you?
• 5. Describe the responsibilities and duties of your present position.
• 6. What was the biggest challenge of your present job?
• 7. What was it about your last or previous job that interests you?
• 8. What is it about this position that interests you?
• 9. What type of environment do you work best in?
• 10. If you were choosing a person for this position, what would you be looking for? How do you measure up to this?
• 11. What immediate contributions can you make to the position or what are your strengths that you bring to the position? What is your greatest weakness?
• 12. What kind of a supervisor gets you to put forth your best performance?
• 13. What kind of feedback works best for you and why?
• 14. This position frequently requires filling in as a Receptionist for the department. How would you feel about performing this function on top of performing your other duties?
• 15. What are some things that you wish to avoid in your next job?
• 16. What would you expect to get out of this job?
• 17. What do you find most attractive about the job for which you are interviewing? What do you find least attractive?
• 18. Why do you want to work for the university?
• 19. Why are you leaving your present position?
• 20. What do you consider to be your major accomplishments in your current (or previous) job?
• 21. What is your concept of an ideal work environment?
• 22. What inspires or motivates you to do your BEST, to perform optimally?
• 23. What are your long-range (short-range) goals?
• 24. Where do you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years?
• 25. What experience do you have working (or supervising) people of diverse background?
• 26. Is there anything that would inhibit you from performing the essential functions of the job with or without an accommodation? (If the person has a NOTICEABLE disability, you can ask them to demonstrate or tell you how they will perform the essential functions of the job, with or without an accommodation.)
• 27. Are there any absences or vacations you foresee in taking in the immediate future?



For Supervisory/Management Positions:



• 28. How would you describe your management style?
• 29. How many people did/do you supervise in your present/previous position?
• 30. How do you think your subordinates perceive(d) you? How does their perception compare with the way you perceive yourself?
• 31. What would you look for when hiring people?
• 32. What experiences have you had in leadership positions?
• 33. What is your management philosophy?
• 34. How do you motivate your staff?
• 35. How do you set priorities?



Situational Interview Questions:



• 36. Describe a high-pressure situation you had to handle at work. Tell me what happened, who was involved, and what you did in terms of problem solving.
• 37. People differ in their preference for jobs that have well laid out tasks and responsibilities or ones in which work changes frequently. Tell me about a time when you were successful in dealing with an unstructured work environment.
• 38. Many situations at work will require fast thinking and speed in making decisions. Give me an example of a situation in which you were especially skillful in making a decision quickly?
• 39. What types of experience have you had in talking with customers or clients? Specifically, tell me about a time when you had to communicate under difficult circumstances.
• 40. Some situations require us to express ideas/opinions in a very tactful and careful way. Tell me about a time when you were successful with this particular skill.
• 41. The word “communication” means different things to different persons at different times. Tell me what this word means to you by giving me an example of a time when you were able to be warm and amiable as a communicator.
• 42. At times, we are all required to deal with difficult people. An even more demanding factor is to be of service to a difficult person. When have you been successful with this type of situation at work?
• 43. Having a good solution for a problem often entails more than just being intelligent. Often, exercise of good judgment is needed to complement logic in choosing a practical solution. Describe when you used good judgment in solving a problem.
• 44. Tell me about a time when you showed high enthusiasm and energy in order to create positive motivation in others. Give me a specific example.
• 45. Getting the job done may necessitate unusual persistence or dedication to results especially when faced with obstacles or distractions. Tell me about a time in which you were able to be very persistent in order to reach goals. Be specific.