Below is a listing of sample interview questions to use as a
guideline when developing questions you may ask a potential
employee. The trend in developing these interview questions has
been to make them behavioral based, allowing the interviewer to get
the maximum benefit from the interview.
General
- Tell me about your recent work experience(s).
- Why did you leave your previous place of employment?
- Why are there gaps in your employment history?
- What strengths and weaknesses would you bring to this
position?
- What is your understanding of this position and what skills do
you bring to the position?
- What types of job responsibilities do you find to be most
rewarding? Why?
- What types of job responsibilities do you find to be most
frustrating? Why?
- Tell me about your computer skills and what type of software
you are experienced with.
- What type of management style do you prefer (hands-on, frequent
supervision, minimal supervision, etc.) and why?
Behavior Questions
- If you were given a handwritten list of 50 names and addresses,
along with a letter that needed to be sent to each, how would you
complete the task? Explain, in detail, using a mail merge function
in word processing software.
- Describe a situation when you had to take directions from
several people at the same time.
- Describe a time when you had to sacrifice quality for a
deadline or vice versa. How did you react to this?
- Describe a tough problem that you have dealt with. Tell me
how you approached it and the outcome.
- Tell me about a specific occasion when you conformed to a
policy even though you did not agree with it.
- Tell me about a time when your manager was unavailable and you
had to solve an immediate problem. What did you do and what was the
outcome?
- Tell me about a project you have been responsible for and how
you organized the necessary paperwork, tasks, goals, etc.
- Have you ever intervened on behalf of an employee who was not
being treated fairly? Tell me about it.
- Describe for me two improvements you have made in your job in
the past six months.
- When you delegate assignments to others, how do you keep track
of their progress?
- Tell me about a decision you made that your supervisor
disagreed with. How did you handle it?
- What do you feel would be the most common errors made in a
position such as this?
- Tell me about a time when you were late or absent to work.
How did you communicate that to your supervisor?
- How do you deal with difficult or demanding
managers/co-workers/customers? Describe a situation.
- Tell me about a time when a supervisor asked you to complete a
task that you thought was not necessary, or could have been done
another way. What steps did you take to achieve the
task?
- Tell me about a time when you felt you had to break a company
rule in order to get something done.
Customer Service
- How would your supervisor describe your relationship with your
peers?
- Describe a customer compliant that you have resolved.
- Describe a day when you were faced with multiple interruptions
and had to assist in covering an additional position. Tell me how
you managed your day to accomplish your work.
- Tell me about a time when you were given high priority tasks
from multiple supervisors. How did you decide which to
complete first?
- How would the people you supervise describe your management
style?
End of Interview
- What aspect of your past employments did you enjoy the
most?
- Why should I hire you?
- Do you have any questions for me?
Safe Interviewing
Don’t ask questions about or make any references to:
·
Age, religion, racial heritage
·
Languages spoken at home (if part of the job description, you can
ask in what languages the candidate is fluent)
·
Family: spouse's employment, child care, marital status, where
parents were born, where the candidate was born, if family lives
locally, sexual orientation
·
Home ownership, car ownership
·
Arrest record (you may ask if candidate has ever been convicted of
a felony, not if they've ever been arrested)
·
Handicaps
·
Citizenship
If the candidate volunteers information on any of the above
"no-no's," say something like "that isn't information I need for
this interview" and move on to safer territory.
Do keep questions open-ended and job-related and ask all
candidates the same basic questions.
