1op S0 Interv|ew uest|ons and the|r answers for Ireshers ( 1 to 10)1 1e|| me about yourse|f

1he mosL ofLen asked quesLlon ln lnLervlews ?ou need Lo have a shorL sLaLemenL prepared ln
your mlnd 8e careful LhaL lL does noL sound rehearsed LlmlL lL Lo workrelaLed lLems
unless lnsLrucLedoLherwlse 1alk abouL Lhlngs you have done and [obs you have held LhaL relaLe Lo Lhe
poslLlon youare lnLervlewlng for SLarL wlLh Lhe lLem farLhesL back and work up Lo Lhe presenL
2 Why d|d you |eave your |ast [ob?
SLay poslLlve regardless of Lhe clrcumsLances never refer Lo a ma[or problem wlLh managemenLand
never speak lll of supervlsors coworkers or Lhe organlzaLlon l f you do you wlll be Lhe onelooklng bad
keep smlllng and Lalk abouL leavlng for a poslLlve reason such as an opporLunlLy achance Lo
do someLhlng speclal or oLher forwardlooklng reasons
3 What exper|ence do you have |n th|s f|e|d?
Speak abouL speclflcs LhaL relaLe Lo Lhe poslLlon you are applylng for lf you do noL have
speclflcexperlence geL as close as you can
4 Do you cons|der yourse|f successfu|?
?ou should always answer yes and brlefly explaln why A good explanaLlon ls LhaL you have seLgoals and
you have meL some and are on Lrack Lo achleve Lhe oLhers
S What do coworkers say about you?
8e prepared wlLh a quoLe or Lwo from coworkers LlLher a speclflc sLaLemenL or a paraphrase wlllwork
!lll Clark a coworker aL SmlLh Company always sald l was Lhe hardesL workers she had ever known lL ls
as powerful as !lll havlng sald lL aL Lhe lnLervlew herself
6 What do you know about th|s organ|zat|on?
1hls quesLlon ls one reason Lo do some research on Lhe organlzaLlon before Lhe lnLervlew llnd
ouLwhere Lhey have been and where Lhey are golng WhaL are Lhe currenL lssues and who are Lhema[or
players?
7 What have you done to |mprove your know|edge |n the |ast year?

1ry Lo lnclude lmprovemenL acLlvlLles LhaL relaLe Lo Lhe [ob A wlde varleLy of acLlvlLles can bemenLloned
as poslLlve selflmprovemenL Pave some good ones handy Lo menLlon
8 Are you app|y|ng for other [obs?
8e honesL buL do noL spend a loL of Llme ln Lhls area keep Lhe focus on Lhls [ob and whaL you cando for
Lhls organlzaLlon AnyLhlng else ls a dlsLracLlon
Why do you want to work for th|s organ|zat|on?
1hls may Lake some LhoughL and cerLalnly should be based on Lhe research you have done on
LheorganlzaLlon SlncerlLy ls exLremely lmporLanL here and wlll easlly be used 8elaLe lL Lo your long
Lerm career goals
10 Do you know anyone who works for us?
8e aware of Lhe pollcy on relaLlves worklng for Lhe organlzaLlon 1hls can affecL your answer evenLhough
Lhey asked abouL frlends noL relaLlves 8e careful Lo menLlon a frlend only lf Lhey are wellLhoughL of

11 What k|nd of sa|ary do you need?
A loaded quesLlon A nasLy llLLle game LhaL you wlll probably lose lf you answer flrsL So do noLanswer lL
lnsLead say someLhlng llke LhaLs a Lough quesLlon Can you Lell me Lhe range for LhlsposlLlon? ln mosL
cases Lhe lnLervlewer Laken off guard wlll Lell you lf noL say LhaL lL can dependon Lhe deLalls of Lhe
[ob 1hen glve a wlde range
12 Are you a team p|ayer?
?ou are of course a Leam player 8e sure Lo have examples ready Speclflcs LhaL show you ofLenperform
for Lhe good of Lhe Leam raLher Lhan for yourself ls good evldence of your Leam aLLlLude uonoL brag
[usL say lL ln a maLLeroffacL Lone? 1hls ls a key polnL
13 now |ong wou|d you expect to work for us |f h|red?
Speclflcs here are noL good SomeLhlng llke Lhls should work ld llke lL Lo be a long Llme Cr As longas we
boLh feel lm dolng a good [ob
14 nave you ever had to f|re anyone? now d|d you fee| about that?
1hls ls serlous uo noL make llghL of lL or ln any way seem llke you llke Lo flre people AL Lhe sameLlme
you wlll do lL when lL ls Lhe rlghL Lhlng Lo do When lL comes Lo Lhe organlzaLlon versus Lhelndlvldual
who has creaLed a harmful slLuaLlon you wlll proLecL Lhe organlzaLlon 8emember flrlng lsnoL Lhe same
as layoff or reducLlon ln force
1S What |s your ph||osophy towards work?
1he lnLervlewer ls noL looklng for a long or flowery dlsserLaLlon here uo you have sLrong feellngsLhaL
Lhe [ob geLs done? ?es 1haLs Lhe Lype of answer were LhaL works besL here ShorL andposlLlve showlng
a beneflL Lo Lhe organlzaLlon
16 If you had enough money to ret|re r|ght now wou|d you?

Answer yes lf you would 8uL slnce you need Lo work Lhls ls Lhe Lype of work you prefer uo noL sayyes lf
you do noL mean lL
17 nave you ever been asked to |eave a pos|t|on?
lf you have noL say no lf you have be honesL brlef and avold saylng negaLlve Lhlngs abouL Lhepeople
or organlzaLlon lnvolved
18 Lxp|a|n how you wou|d be an asset to th|s organ|zat|on?
?ou should be anxlous for Lhls quesLlon lL glves you a chance Lo hlghllghL your besL polnLs as LheyrelaLe
Lo Lhe poslLlon belng dlscussed Clve a llLLle advance LhoughL Lo Lhls relaLlonshlp
1 Why shou|d we h|re you?
olnL ouL how your asseLs meeL whaL Lhe organlzaLlon needs uo noL menLlon any oLher candldaLesLo
make a comparlson
20 1e|| me about a suggest|on you have made?
Pave a good one ready 8e sure and use a suggesLlon LhaL was accepLed and was Lhen
conslderedsuccessful Cne relaLed Lo Lhe Lype of work applled for ls a real plus
21 What |rr|tates you about coworkers?
1hls ls a Lrap quesLlon 1hlnk real hard buL fall Lo come up wlLh anyLhlng LhaL lrrlLaLes you A
shorLsLaLemenL LhaL you seem Lo geL along wlLh folks ls greaL
22 What |s your greatest strength?
numerous answers are good [usL sLay poslLlve A few good examples ?our ablllLy Lo prlorlLlze
?our problemsolvlng skllls ?our ablllLy Lo work under pressure ?our ablllLy Lo focus on
pro[ecLs ?our professlonal experLlse ?our leadershlp skllls ?our poslLlve aLLlLude
23 1e|| me about your dream [ob
SLay away from a speclflc [ob ?ou cannoL wln lf you say Lhe [ob you are conLendlng for ls lL yousLraln
credlblllLy lf you say anoLher [ob ls lL you planL Lhe susplclon LhaL you wlll be dlssaLlsfled wlLhLhls
poslLlon lf hlred 1he besL ls Lo sLay geneLlc and say someLhlng llke A [ob where l love Lhe workllke Lhe
people can conLrlbuLe and canL walL Lo geL Lo work
24 Why do you th|nk you wou|d do we|| at th|s [ob?
Clve several reasons and lnclude skllls experlence and lnLeresL
2S What are you |ook|ng for |n a [ob?
SLay away from a speclflc [ob ?ou cannoL wln lf you say Lhe [ob you are conLendlng for ls lL yousLraln
credlblllLy lf you say anoLher [ob ls lL you planL Lhe susplclon LhaL you wlll be dlssaLlsfled wlLhLhls
poslLlon lf hlred 1he besL ls Lo sLay geneLlc and say someLhlng llke A [ob where l love Lhe workllke Lhe
people can conLrlbuLe and canL walL Lo geL Lo work
26 What k|nd of person wou|d you refuse to work w|th?
uo noL be Lrlvlal lL would Lake dlsloyalLy Lo Lhe organlzaLlon vlolence or lawbreaklng Lo geL you
Loob[ecL Mlnor ob[ecLlons wlll label you as a whlner
27 What |s more |mportant to you the money or the work?
Money ls always lmporLanL buL Lhe work ls Lhe mosL lmporLanL 1here ls no beLLer answer
28 What wou|d your prev|ous superv|sor say your strongest po|nt |s?
1here are numerous good poss|b|||t|es Loya|ty Lnergy os|t|ve att|tude Leadersh|p 1eam
p|ayerLxpert|se In|t|at|ve at|ence nard work Creat|v|ty rob|em so|ver
2 1e|| me about a prob|em you had w|th a superv|sor?
8|ggest trap of a|| 1h|s |s a test to see |f you w||| speak ||| of your boss If you fa|| for |t and te|| abouta
prob|em w|th a former boss you may we|| be|ow the |nterv|ew r|ght there Stay pos|t|ve anddeve|op a
poor memory about any troub|e w|th a superv|sor
30 What has d|sappo|nted you about a [ob?
Dont get tr|v|a| or negat|ve Safe areas are few but can |nc|ude Not enough of a cha||enge ouwere
|a|d off |n a reduct|on Company d|d not w|n a contract wh|ch wou|d have g|ven you
morerespons|b|||ty
31 1e|| me about your ab|||ty to work under pressure?
ou may say that you thr|ve under certa|n types of pressure G|ve an examp|e that re|ates to thetype
of pos|t|on app||ed for
32 Do your sk|||s match th|s [ob or another [ob more c|ose|y?
robab|y th|s one Do not g|ve fue| to the susp|c|on that you may want another [ob more than th|sone
33 What mot|vates you to do your best on the [ob?
1h|s |s a persona| tra|t that on|y you can say but good examp|es are Cha||enge Ach|evement
andkecogn|t|on
34 Are you w||||ng to work overt|me? N|ghts? Weekends?
1h|s |s up to you 8e tota||y honest
3S now wou|d you know you were successfu| on th|s [ob?
Severa| ways are good measures ou set h|gh standards for yourse|f and meet them our outcomes
are a success our boss te||s you that you are successfu|
36 Wou|d you be w||||ng to re|ocate |f requ|red?
ou shou|d be c|ear on th|s w|th your fam||y pr|or to the |nterv|ew |f you th|nk there |s a chance |tmay
come up Do not say yes [ust to get the [ob |f the rea| answer |s no 1h|s can create a |ot of prob|ems
|ater on |n your career 8e honest at th|s po|nt and save yourse|f future gr|ef

37 Are you w||||ng to put the |nterests of the organ|zat|on ahead of your own?
1h|s |s a stra|ght |oya|ty and ded|cat|on quest|on Do not worry about the deep eth|ca|
andph||osoph|ca| |mp||cat|ons Iust say yes
38 Descr|be your management sty|e
1ry to avo|d |abe|s Some of the more common |abe|s ||ke progress|ve sa|esman or consensuscan
have severa| mean|ngs or descr|pt|ons depend|ng on wh|ch management expert you ||sten to1he
s|tuat|ona| sty|e |s safe because |t says you w||| manage accord|ng to the s|tuat|on |nstead of one s|ze
f|ts a||
3 What have you |earned from m|stakes on the [ob?
nere you have to come up w|th someth|ng or you stra|n cred|b|||ty Make |t sma|| we||
|ntent|onedm|stake w|th a pos|t|ve |esson |earned An examp|e wou|d be work|ng too far ahead of
co||eagueson a pro[ect and thus throw|ng coord|nat|on off
40 Do you have any b||nd spots?
1r|ck quest|on If you know about b||nd spots they are no |onger b||nd spots Do not revea|
anypersona| areas of concern here Let them do the|r own d|scovery on your bad po|nts Do not hand
|tto them

41 If you were h|r|ng a person for th|s [ob what wou|d you |ook for?
8e carefu| to ment|on tra|ts that are needed and that you have
42 Do you th|nk you are overqua||f|ed for th|s pos|t|on?
kegard|ess of your qua||f|cat|ons state that you are very we|| qua||f|ed for the pos|t|on
43 now do you propose to compensate for your |ack of exper|ence?
I|rst |f you have exper|ence that the |nterv|ewer does not know about br|ng that up 1hen po|nt
out(|f true) that you are a hard work|ng qu|ck |earner
44 What qua||t|es do you |ook for |n a boss?
8e gener|c and pos|t|ve Safe qua||t|es are know|edgeab|e a sense of humor fa|r |oya| tosubord|nates
and ho|der of h|gh standards A|| bosses th|nk they have these tra|ts
4S 1e|| me about a t|me when you he|ped reso|ve a d|spute between others?
|ck a spec|f|c |nc|dent Concentrate on your prob|em so|v|ng techn|que and not the d|spute
yousett|ed
46 What pos|t|on do you prefer on a team work|ng on a pro[ect?
8e honest If you are comfortab|e |n d|fferent ro|es po|nt that out

47 Descr|be your work eth|c
Lmphaslze beneflLs Lo Lhe organlzaLlon 1hlngs llke deLermlnaLlon Lo geL Lhe [ob done and workhard buL
en[oy your work are good
48 What has been your b|ggest profess|ona| d|sappo|ntment?
8e sure LhaL you refer Lo someLhlng LhaL was beyond your conLrol Show accepLance and nonegaLlve
feellngs
4 1e|| me about the most fun you have had on the [ob
1alk abouL havlng fun by accompllshlng someLhlng for Lhe organlzaLlon
S0 Do you have any quest|ons for me?
Always have some quesLlons prepared CuesLlons prepared where you wlll be an asseL Lo
LheorganlzaLlon are good Pow soon wlll l be able Lo be producLlve? And whaL Lype of pro[ecLs wlll
l beable Lo asslsL on? are examples