Attention to detail

Describe a project you worked on that required very close attention to detail.

Look for hard evidence of the candidate’s ability to keep track of details. A good response will detail the different information that the candidate was required to stay on top of and will show how he or she managed to keep track of it all.

How do you stay organized?

Someone who pays attention to details generally has an established way of keeping track of things. A good response will show that the candidate has a system for staying on top of things and makes staying organized a major part of his or her work.

Can you provide some examples of instances when you’ve discovered errors in your work or someone else’s?

Look for concrete examples of the candidate noticing things that slipped by others. A good response will show that the candidate has a tendency to check and double-check things.

How do you know if a project you are working on is going well?

A good response will show that the candidate does not rely just on his or her own gut feeling of how things are going. Rather, the applicant will have specific, measurable milestones that allow him or her to track his or her own progress and that of the entire project.

Customer-service orientation

Tell me about the last time you received really great customer service.

This question will help you learn what the candidate deems to be great customer service. A good response will show that the good customer experience left the candidate with a very good feeling about the company he or she was dealing with. Press the candidate to identify specific details about what made the experience so great. Follow up by asking how that experience influenced his or her own approach to customer service.

What was the most difficult customer service situation you ever had to deal with? How did you handle the situation?

This question will help you assess the candidate’s ability to handle stressful customer-service situations. A good response will show the candidate was considerate and willing to try different approaches. Find out how the situation the candidate describes was resolved. Did he or she bring in a supervisor to deal with the customer? If so, at what point? Follow up by asking what the candidate learned from the experience.

Why did you choose to go into customer service?

This question will help you assess the candidate’s enthusiasm for working in customer service. Is the candidate naturally a good fit with customer service, or is he or she just looking for a steady job? A good response will show that the candidate enjoys dealing with customers and helping solve their problems.

Describe a time when the customer was wrong. How did you handle it?

This type of customer is perhaps the most difficult to deal with. Assess how the candidate went about explaining the situation to the customer. A good response will show that the candidate never lost his or her cool and remained courteous throughout the experience. Ask the candidate what he or she learned from the experience, and if he or she would do anything differently today.

Flexibility

How would you describe the amount of structure and feedback that you need to be successful?

Most candidates will respond to this question by saying they would like an equal mix of direction and independence. Force the issue by describing two opposing working situations—one in which the candidate is left alone to fulfill his or her responsibilities, and another in which he or she is closely managed. Ask the candidate which one he or she prefers. A candidate’s preference should be in line with your company’s culture.

Do you prefer stability and continuity or frequent change in your daily work environment?

Use this question to learn what the candidate is used to in terms of a daily routine, and to find out if he or she likes to have projects clearly laid out or likes to be challenged to define projects himself or herself. Follow up by asking what the candidate would do if given incomplete instructions for a project.

How do you determine priorities in scheduling your time? Can you give examples of times when you were assigned a number of tasks and had to prioritize what needed to be done?

Assess the candidate’s ability to multitask and handle a heavy workload. Good responses will detail the method they use to figure out how to prioritize tasks. You should press the candidate on how comfortable he or she is working on multiple assignments at once.

Have you ever had to reinvent your job to meet your company’s changing needs?

Use this question to find out how open the candidate is to taking on tasks that are not part of his or her job description. Is he or she uncomfortable venturing outside of his or her area of expertise? If the candidate has difficulty responding, ask him or her to explain how a previous job evolved over time.

Initiative

Can you describe any projects or tasks that were primarily undertaken because of your efforts? How successful were they?

A good response will detail a project that the candidate owned from its inception all the way to its completion. Press the candidate to reveal any difficulties or obstacles that he or she faced during the project. Ask how the candidate went about explaining the project to others, and how he or she went about getting others involved.

Have you ever come up with ways to make a job you were doing or a project you were working on easier or more enjoyable?

Use this question to judge the candidate’s ability to innovate and come up with creative solutions to difficult problems. Good candidates will be able to single out concrete examples of instances when their work made a difference through creating revenue, saving money, or saving time.

What type of balance do you strive for between your work and your life?

Use this question to see if your time expectations for the position match the candidate’s. If you need an employee to work extreme hours in the position you’re looking to fill, you will want someone who is willing to make some sacrifices for the job. If you question the candidate’s commitment, ask for examples of times he or she did more than required on the job in the past. To learn more about a candidate’s willingness to work hard, ask what motivated him or her to do more than was required.

What skills would you like to learn or improve on in the next year?

Use this question to gauge candidates’ ambition and interests. Top-performing candidates will have a general idea of what their short-term goals are. These might include learning specific technical skills or gaining exposure to a specific aspect of your business. The candidate’s response can give you an idea of his or her possible long-term impact on your company, and whether your company will hold his or her interest.

Oral/written communication skills

What is your experience in terms of presenting to large or small groups? Can you describe a time when you were particularly successful making a speech or presentation?

Look for evidence that the candidate is comfortable and skilled at presenting arguments to others. Follow up by asking about his or her preparation before presentations and the general response that those presentations received. Ask what the candidate has learned from past presentations and if there are any aspects of presenting that he or she thinks need improvement. A good candidate will always be striving to improve his or her communication skills.

What different approaches do you take in talking to different people?

This question gets at how observant and flexible the person is about communicating with different types of people. Ask the candidate to explain how he or she might approach people differently depending on different people’s personalities.

What kinds of writing have you done? Can you give examples?

This question allows you to assess how important written communication has been in the candidate’s previous jobs. Ask the applicant for details about the amount of time he or she spent writing as part of his or her daily tasks. If necessary, ask for writing samples.

What are some of the most difficult writing assignments you have been given
or have taken on yourself?

Use this question to discover the types of writing the candidate has had difficulty with in the past. A good response should detail how the candidate worked through difficult assignments and what he or she learned from the experience. Ask if the candidate was satisfied with the end results.

Problem-solving ability

Describe some recent decisions you’ve made which carried more than the usual element of risk.

Different candidates will be comfortable with different levels of risk. Use this question to understand how averse to risk the candidate is. Follow up by proposing a risky business decision and ask the candidate what would be his or her approach to solving the problem. A good response will show that the candidate would take the time to consider carefully all possible actions before making a decision.

Tell me about a time when a problem was not solved the way you would have liked.

This question can help you gauge the candidate’s ability to deal with problems. Probe the candidate about the method in which the problem was solved and why he or she was dissatisfied with the result. Ask him or her what lessons were learned from the experience. A good response will show that the candidate learned from the experience and will apply what he or she learned to problems encountered in the future.

Give me three examples of the types of problems you like to solve.

Compare the candidate’s answers to the type of problems he or she will face in the position for which he or she is applying. Then present a sample problem that the candidate likely would face on the job. Ask how he or she would approach it, and gauge whether the candidate’s approach would make sense in the position for which he or she is applying.

How do you approach solving a problem?

Use this question to get an understanding of the candidate’s thought processes. How does he or she like to attack problems? Take note of the resources and time involved in the candidate’s approach. Does his or her problem-solving method make a good fit with your company’s culture and resources?

Results orientation

Do you set performance standards for yourself, and, if so, how?

This question will help you assess the candidate’s personal standards. Good responses will detail how the candidate measures success for himself or herself. Ask for an instance when the candidate put a lot of effort into completing a project that he or she was satisfied with. Listen to gauge the candidate’s sense of ownership and pride in his or her work.

What have you done in your current or past position to improve your organization’s key metrics?

This question is designed to identify candidates who take strong ownership of their work. Good answers will detail concrete examples of how the candidate has had a direct impact on his or her company’s bottom line. Compare the candidate’s response with what you expect from the position for which he or she is applying. The candidate’s response should be confirmed through reference checks.

Tell me about a time when you weren’t pleased with your performance. What did you do about it?

This question helps you assess how well the candidate deals with failure or disappointment, and how he or she measures workplace success. Press the candidate to learn about lessons he or she has learned from times when the candidate feels he or she didn’t perform well, and about any changes the candidate has made in the way he or she does things to make sure the candidate doesn’t make the same mistakes moving forward.

Describe a new skill you learned recently.

Top performers will take the initiative to learn new skills on an ongoing basis. Have the candidate explain the circumstances under which he or she learned a new skill. A good response will detail the skill learned and how it impacted his or her job performance. This question can also give insight into how quickly the candidate learns and under what circumstances he or she learns best.

Teamwork/interpersonal skills

Describe a time when you had to arrive at a compromise or had to help others arrive at a compromise.

This question allows you to assess how the candidate views his or her role within a team. Does the candidate view himself or herself as a consensus builder? How would his or her teamwork skills work in the department for which he or she is interviewing?

Give an example of an instance when you worked with someone you found it difficult to get along with. How did you handle the situation?

This question will help you assess how the candidate has handled difficult interpersonal relationships in the past. Good responses will show that the candidate has had experience dealing with various personality types and is comfortable with his or her ability to handle such situations. Pay close attention to the candidate’s attitudes toward dealing with difficult people. Is he or she open and understanding, or easily annoyed? Looking back, how does the candidate feel today about “difficult” people from his or her past?

Tell about a time when you worked with a colleague who was not completing his or her share of work. What did you do?

Use this question to find out how the candidate deals with an under-performing coworker. Press the candidate to name specific actions he or she took to try to improve an employee’s performance. How successful were those actions? The candidate’s response should be confirmed through reference checks.

Describe a favorite work experience and tell me why it was satisfying.

Compare the experience the candidate describes to your company’s own working environment. Pay close attention to how the candidate interacted with his or her coworkers in the example provided. Would the candidate have similar interactions within your company?


What were your three most significant achievements in your previous/current job?
In what type of work environment are you the most comfortable?
What do you enjoy most about your current position?
What do you think are among the most pressing issues facing our industry?
Imagine this situation. Your boss asks you to do something which you believe will cause a great loss to the company. You make the boss aware of the problem but he still insists that he is correct and asks you to just do it.
What do you do?
What motivates you and why?
What would you bring to this organisation if you got the job?
Describe a time where you recently had to bend the rules to achieve one of your goals.
OR
Can you give me an example of a time when you had to make a decision on your own, without consulting your supervisor.
Tell me about your senior project/thesis/other major project.
If I called up one of your friends now and asked them to use three words to describe you, what would he or she say?
or
How would your current boss describe you?
Why are you looking to leave your current position?
What style of management gets the best from you?
Change is a constant in this organisation. How do you respond to change in your environment?
Describe a major goal you have recently set for yourself.
Where do you see yourself in five years time?
What are your weaknesses?
Tell me about a time when you had to rely on a team to get things done.