(Editor’s note: With so many new ERE members coming on all the time, we thought that each week we’d republish one popular classic post. Here’s one, below.)
You’ll find in the interview questions below some you are asking already, some you haven’t been but would like to, and others that just don’t fit for your company and your jobs.
These interview questions are used by permission from Job Interview Skills 101, the Course You Forgot to Take For New Grads and College Students.
Comment on any, or add your own interview questions to share in the comments section.
- Tell me about a time when you were a member of a great team. What role did you play in making the team great?
- Tell me about a time when you were given a task to accomplish without any direction.
- Tell me about a time when you had to work with someone you did not get along with.
- Tell me about a time when you felt that a decision was unfair. How did you handle it?
- Tell me about a time when someone asked you for assistance outside the parameters of your job. What did you do?
- Tell me about a time you had to multitask.
- Tell me about a time when you were creative in solving a problem.
- Tell me about a time when you were the leader of a team and the team disagreed with your decision. How did you handle it?
- Tell me about a time when you were a team leader and had to mediate with members who disagreed with each other.
- Tell me about a project that did not go well.
- Tell me about a time that you worked hard to accomplish something but didn’t.
- Tell me about a time when you suggested a better way to do something.
- Tell me about a time when you had to handle conflict within your group.
- You are a team member and you disagree with an important decision that you believe will have a negative impact on the project. How will you proceed?
- Tell me about a time when someone told you that you had made an error. Describe how you would react and what you would say in your defense.
- You are a new employee at our firm and I have asked you to speak to a group of 10 employees. What would you talk about and what would you say?
- You are part of a team working on a project with a one-week deadline. The team leader does not seem to be on top of things and you are worried about reaching the deadline. What do you do?
- How do you handle a crisis? Describe one that you handled well.
- Describe one that you didn’t handle well and what you would have done differently.
- It’s five o’clock on Friday and your supervisor gives you an assignment that needs to be finished by 8:00 am Monday morning. You have plans to be away for the weekend. What do you do?
- Describe a situation that was a great learning experience.
- Describe a challenge you faced in school and how you handled it.
- Describe an experience that you felt was rewarding.
- Describe a situation where you were mentored.
- Describe a situation where you were given feedback on your performance that wasn’t what you had hoped for.
- Describe a situation where you resolved a problem.
- What would your last boss/manager say about you?
- How would your co-workers describe you?
- What do you think is the best part of working in teams?
- What do you think is the worst part of working in a team?
- How do you define “work ethic”? How would you describe yours?
- How do you make decisions?
- What type of people do you like to work with?
- What motivates you?
- Give me 10 adjectives to describe yourself.
- How do you like to be managed?
- Tell me about your best manager. Why do you consider them the “best”?
- Tell me about your worst manager. Why do you consider them the “worst”?
- What book are you reading now?
- What books have you read about leadership?
- Describe your ideal job.
- What was the most creative thing you have ever done?
- What are you most proud of?
- How do you handle stress at work?
- What would you liked to have done more of in your last internship?
- What would you like to have done less of in your last internship?
- Why did you choose your last job/internship?
- Why did you choose your school?
- If you could have done anything different during your college career, what would it have been?
- What are your short- and long-term career goals?
- In what areas would you like to develop further?
- What skills did it take to succeed in your internships?
- What do you know about our company?
- What makes you the best candidate?
- Why should we hire you?
- What made you apply for this job?
- Where else are you interviewing?
- How would you describe client satisfaction?
- What do you think is most important in great customer service?
- What will you do if you don’t get this job?