iMentor Skills for Career Advancement (SCA) Workshop Series

SESSION #6: Sample Interview Questions

The following questions are often asked during job interviews. In order to answer them well, be sure to spend some time before the interview thinking about your skills, past and present work experience, education, past accomplishments, why you want the job for which you are applying, and what you would like to accomplish in the job.

GENERAL QUESTIONS (& SUGGESTED RESPONSES)

• Tell me about yourself.
  • Your answer should be brief (less than two minutes) and include your skills, education, past accomplishments, and goals.

• Please walk me through your resume.
  • Talk about the education and work experience that is on your resume in a positive and enthusiastic way.

• What are your long-term career goals?
  • Show that you have direction, knowledge of trends in the industry and career paths, and that you are enthusiastic, confident, and open to various possibilities.

• What are some of your strengths?
  • Take some time to rehearse your answer to this question before your interview. You should identify at least three skills, abilities, or personality traits that relate to the job, and be able to provide examples of each one.

• What are some of your weaknesses?
  • Talk about areas that you have improved or are improving upon, not major character flaws. For example, if you are currently learning the English language, and are not yet fluent, you can explain that you are working very hard to improve your English language and speaking skills. You should also give examples of how you are attempting to achieve this (ESOL classes, interaction and communication with native English speakers).

• Why do you want this position?
  • Share your knowledge of the industry, company and position. Discuss aspects of the position that you like.

• Why should I hire you / What do you bring to this position?
  • Talk about your strengths, abilities, talents, accomplishments, and experience.

QUESTIONS ABOUT CURRENT / PAST JOBS

• Describe your current job. What are your daily responsibilities?
• What motivates you on the job?
• Why did you leave your last job?
• What did you like most / least about your last job?
• Could you get recommendations from previous employers?

 QUESTIONS ABOUT THE JOB YOU ARE INTERVIEWING FOR

• How did you find out about this job?
• What is your understanding about the nature of this job?
• Why do you think you would like this job?
• How does this job fit in with your overall career goals?
• What would you most like to accomplish if you had this job?
• What might make you leave this job?

QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR WORK HISTORY AND EXPERIENCE

• What special aspects of your work experience have prepared you for this job?
• Can you describe for me one or two of your most important accomplishments?
• How much supervision have you typically received in your previous jobs?
• What are some things you particularly liked about your last job?
• Describe for me one or two of the biggest disappointments in your work history.
• Why are you leaving your present job? (or, Why did you leave your last job?)
• What is important to you in a company? What things do you look for in an organization?
• How would you handle a difficult fellow employee?
• Do you prefer working by yourself or with others?
• What have you learned from your mistakes?
• If you could create your ideal job, what job would you create?
• How do you think a friend or past employer would describe you?
• Can you give me an example of your ability to manage or supervise others?

• What kind of people do you find it most difficult to work with? Why?
• What would you say is the most important thing you are looking for in a job?
• What are some things you would like to avoid in a job? Why?

EDUCATION

• What special aspects of your education or training have prepared you for this job?
• What courses in school have been of most help in doing your job?

CAREER GOALS

• What kind of job do you see yourself holding five years from now?
• What do you feel you need to develop in terms of skills and knowledge in order to be ready for that opportunity?
• Why might you be successful in such a job?
• Who or what in your life influenced you most with your career objectives?
• Can you pinpoint any specific things in your past experience that affected your present career objectives?

SELF-ASSESSMENT

• What kind of things do you feel most confident doing?
• Can you describe for me a difficult obstacle you have had to overcome? How did you handle it? How do you feel this experience affected your personality or ability?
• How would you describe yourself as a person?
• What do you think are the most important characteristics and abilities a person must possess to be successful? How do you rate yourself in these areas?
• Do you consider yourself a self-starter? If so, explain why (and give examples).
• What things give you the greatest satisfaction at work?
• What things frustrate you the most? How do you usually cope with them?

CREATIVITY

• In your work experience, what have you done that you consider truly creative?
• Can you think of a problem you have encountered when the old solutions didn't work and when you came up with new solutions?
• Of your creative accomplishments big or small, at work or home, which gave you the most satisfaction?
• What kind of problems have people recently called on you to solve? Tell me what you did to solve these problems.

DECISIVENESS

• What was your most difficult decision in the last six months? What made it difficult?
• The last time you did not know what decision to make, what did you do?
• How do you go about making an important decision affecting your career?

MOTIVATION

• Can you give me examples of experiences on the job that you felt were satisfying?
• Describe how you prioritize specific job responsibilities.

STRESS TOLERANCE

• Describe a high-pressure situation that you have had recently. How did you cope with it?