Career Skills
Interview Questions #1

  1. Tell me about yourself
  2. What are your strengths as an employee?
  3. How would your best friend (college roommate, favorite professor, favorite boss, mother, family, etc.) describe you?
  4. What do you want to be doing five years from now?
  5. If you could change one thing about your personality just by snapping your fingers, what would it be and why?
  6. What does “success” mean to you?
  7. What does “failure” mean to you?
  8. What extracurricular activities were/are you involved in?
  9. Why did you choose your major?
  10. Which courses did you like most? Least?
  11. Why are you applying for a job in a field other than your major?
  12. If you were starting college tomorrow, what courses would you take?
  13. What did you learn from the internships on your resume?
  14. In what courses did you get the worst grades? Why? How do you think that will affect your performance on this job?

Career Skills
Interview Questions #2

  1. Tell me about your last three positions. Explain what you did, how you did it, the people you worked for, and the people you worked with.
  2. What was your favorite job? Why?
  3. Tell me about the best/worst boss you ever had.
  4. Looking back now, is there anything you could have done to improve your relationship with that supervisor?
  5. What were the most memorable accomplishments at your last job?
  6. Have you managed people in any of the positions you’ve held?
  7. Tell me about the types of people you have trouble getting along with.
  8. Who do you think are our two major competitors?
  9. Are you an organized person?
  10. Do you manage your time well?
  11. How do you handle change?
  12. How do you go about making important decisions?
  13. Do you work well under pressure?
  14. Do you anticipate problems well or merely react to them?
  15. Are you a risk-taker or do you prefer to play it safe?
  16. Do you prefer to work by yourself or with others?
  17. How do you generally handle conflict?
  18. How do you behave when you have a problem with a co-worker?
  19. How do you motivate people?
  20. You’ve changed jobs quite frequently. How do we know you’ll stick around?
  21. You’ve been with the same organization for _____ years. Won’t you have a tough time getting used to a new culture, company, atmosphere, team, etc?

Career Skills
Interview Questions #3

  1. What skills do you most need to acquire/develop to advance your career?
  2. What do your supervisors tend to criticize most about your performance?
  3. Did you inaugurate any new procedures (systems, policies, etc…) in your previous position? Tell me about them.
  4. Have you ever fired anyone?
  5. Have you ever hired anyone?
  6. Why are you thinking of leaving your current job?
  7. Where does your boss think you are now?
  8. Describe the way your department is organized. Also, what is the title of the person to whom you report?
  9. Tell me about your typical day at your current (last) job. How much time do you spend on the phone? In meetings? In one-on-one chats? Working by yourself? Working with your team?
  10. How long have you been looking for a job?
  11. Why haven’t you received any offers so far?
  12. If you don’t leave your current job, what will happen there? How far do you expect to advance?
  13. If you’re so happy at your current job, why are you leaving? Will they be surprised?
  14. How would your co-workers describe you?
  15. What do you feel an employer owes an employee?
  16. If you were unfairly criticized by your supervisor, what would you do?
  17. Would you like to have your boss’s job? Why or why not?
  18. Your supervisor left an assignment in your in-box, then went on vacation for the week. You can’t reach him, and you don’t fully understand the assignment. What would you do?

Career Skills
Interview Questions #4

  1. What do you know about our company?
  2. Do you have any questions?
  3. What interests you most about this position? Our company?
  4. What have you heard about our company that you don’t like?
  5. This is a much larger (smaller) company than you’ve worked for. How do you feel about that?
  6. What are you looking for in your next job?
  7. What aspect of the job I’ve described appeals to you least?
  8. Based on what you know about our industry, how does your ideal job stack up against the description of the job for which you’re applying?
  9. How would you handle the least interesting or most unpleasant parts of this job?
  10. You’ve had little experience with budgeting (or sales or whatever). How do you intend to learn what you need to know to perform on this job?
  11. How long do you plan to stay with us?
  12. How do you think I‘ve handled this interview?
  13. Do you have any physical problems that may limit your ability to perform this job?
  14. How do you manage to balance career and family?
  15. What do you like to do when you’re not at work?

Career Skills
Interview Questions #5--Identifying Illegal Interview Questions

  1. How are you today?
  2. What’s the last book you read?
  3. What’s the last movie you saw?
  4. How old are you?
  5. Are you single (married, separated, divorced)?
  6. Are you (Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, etc.)?
  7. Do you have any physical problems?
  8. What organizations are you a member of?
  9. Have you ever gone bankrupt?
  10. Have you ever been arrested?
  11. Are you willing to travel?
  12. Are you willing to relocate?
  13. May I contact your current employer?
  14. May I contact your references?
  15. Is there anything else I should know about you?
  16. What sort of salary are you looking for?
  17. The salary you’re asking for is near the top of the range for this job. Why should we pay you this much?
  18. When can you start?
  19. Is there anything that will inhibit you from taking this job if offered?
  20. Are you considering any other offers right now?