UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

Facilities Services

Delivering Results - Interview Questions

  1. Tell us about your background, how you got started and what kinds of work you have done.
  2. Please describe your work in terms of quality and quantity.
  3. Tell us about a position that you held that provided you with the greatest amount of experience in and what it is that you liked about it.
  4. Give a brief overview of your work experience, especially your background in planning, scheduling and monitoring work.
  5. What experience do you have maintaining records and documents?
  6. Tell us about your experience with computerized systems.
  7. Which of your past work experiences were most satisfying to you and why?
  8. What do you think are the differences between working in your trade in an institutional setting and working in private construction jobs or in the private sector?
  9. Tell us what aspects of your education, training and work experience have prepared you for this position.
  10. What technical qualities and expertise would you bring to this position?
  11. What technical skills do you think you have that make you the best person for this job?
  12. As you approach a job task, what things do you consider to prioritize your work?
  13. Describe the steps that you would take to plan a project and the information you need before putting together a schedule or estimate.
  14. When you assess the quality of your completed work and find a mistake, how do you proceed?
  15. How have you dealt with clients who asked you for technical services that were not part of the department to which you were assigned?
  16. Describe any experience or problems you have had completing work within a budget and tell us how you would ensure that jobs assigned to your crew did not go over budget.
  17. How have clients, supervisors and coworkers described the quality of your work?
  18. How do you budget your time so projects are completed within an allotted time frame?
  19. Describe the last time you missed a goal or deadline and what happened.
  20. Describe something you have done or created in a previous position that you are proud of and believe reflects the qualities you would bring to this position.
  21. Have you ever had a job assigned to you that you were unable to finish? Please explain.
  22. How do you budget your time so projects are completed within an allotted time frame?
  23. Tell us about something new you developed on a previous job, like a process or procedure related to your trade that you are particularly proud of and why.
  24. What experience have you had working independently on complex job assignments, which may involve planning the project, ordering parts, troubleshooting, testing and repair?
  25. Describe your experience with personal computers. Be specific.
  26. What computer programs/applications have you worked on and what is your level of proficiency with each?
  27. Please tell us about your computer experience, to include: keyboarding and mouse skills, ability to navigate in a Windows environment, software proficiency, and knowledge of inventory programs.
  28. How have you used computers to benefit you in your work?
  29. Describe any problems you’ve had with using computers at work.
  30. This position requires basic skills working with MS Word, Excel and email applications. What is your experience working with these applications?
  31. Tell us about your experience with spreadsheet applications, including assembling and analyzing data, interpreting, charting, and creating tables and reports.
  32. Describe your written communication skills, including grammar, spelling and punctuation, and the types of documents you have been responsible for.
  33. Tell us about your experience proofreading/editing documents and/or reports written by others.
  34. Tell us about any experience you have had preparing your own or others’ materials for presentations.
  35. What experience have you had in collecting data and writing reports based on that data?
  36. What experience have you had reviewing the written work of others?
  37. What contributions have you made to your current job/employer to improve productivity?

Orientation to Services/Customer Service

  1. Describe an example of a time when you provided excellent customer service by going beyond your primary job responsibilities.
  2. Describe a situation when you encountered an irate customer and how you handled the situation.
  3. What are the elements involved in successfully handling an irate customer?
  4. What do you think good customer service involves?
  5. Give an example of a situation you handled which demonstrates superior customer service.
  6. Please tell us about your experience interacting with clients, and particularly a dissatisfied client.
  7. Give an example of a time when you had to go beyond the call of duty to get a job done and what the outcome was.
  8. What do you think your customers/clients would say about your work?
  9. How would you handle a situation where a customer uses abusive language?
  10. You will be coming into a work environment where there are multiple priorities. Please give some examples of situations in which you have dealt with competing priorities and what the outcomes were.
  11. You are assigned to do work in a very busy lab containing lots of sensitive work. The client is fearful that your work will disrupt lab activities. How will you proceed?
  12. How would you deal with an angry client if the problem was something you did or caused? What would you do if the problem was not caused by you?
  13. What do you consider to be important factors or skills relating to successful client relationships?
  14. How do you handle situations where the customer frequently changes his/her mind regarding what they want done?
  15. When you are dealing with co-workers or customers, what really tries your patience and how do you deal with that?
  16. Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way.
  17. When was the last time a customer upset you? What did you do?
  18. What experience have you had dealing with irate customers or clients?
  19. What do you do to ensure good customer service?
  20. What steps do you take to ensure customer satisfaction?
  21. What do you do to keep the client informed regarding the status of the job?
  22. Do you think it’s important to keep the customer informed regarding the status of the job? Explain your answer.
  23. What do you consider the most important element in dealing with customers and why?
  24. What methods have you found to be most effective in communicating with clients?
  25. How do you know if a client is satisfied with your work?
  26. You are working on a job and find out that there is a delay in getting a part. This will indefinitely delay completion of the job. What needs to be communicated to the client and when?
  27. What are some of the ways to measure customer satisfaction?
  28. How do you effectively communicate with others?
  29. Describe a situation where you demonstrated good communication skills.
  30. Describe a situation where you demonstrated poor communication skills and explain what you could have done differently.
  31. What is your philosophy about customer service? Tell us about a time when you successfully implemented this philosophy.
  32. What motivates you to provide quality customer service?