Frequently Asked Interview Questions
Frequently Asked Interview Questions
Frequently Asked Interview Questions
questions
2. What specific goals, including those related to your occupation, have you
established for your life?
3. How has your college experience prepared you for a business career?
Sample excellent response (equates ideal job with job he's interviewing for):
My ideal job is one that incorporates both my education and practical work skills
to be the best I can be. Namely combining my education in finance with my
working knowledge of customer service operations, entrepreneurial abilities,
computer skills, and administrative skills. I want to utilize my analytical expertise
to help people meet their financial goals. This is exactly why I am convinced that
I would be a very valuable member of the Merrill Lynch team.
8. What will it take to attain your goals, and what steps have you taken toward
attaining them?
10. How do you determine or evaluate success? Give me an example of one of your
successful accomplishments.
11. Do you have the qualifications and personal characteristics necessary for
success in your chosen career?
13. If you could do so, how would you plan your college career differently?
14. Are you more energized by working with data or by collaborating with other
individuals?
15. How would you describe yourself in terms of your ability to work as a member
of a team?
17. Given the investment our company will make in hiring and training you, can you
give us a reason to hire you?
19. Describe what you've accomplished toward reaching a recent goal for yourself.
20. What short-term goals and objectives have you established for yourself?
Sample excellent response:
My short-term objectives are to graduate from the Professional Development
Program before the standard two years and begin developing a clientele. As an
intern, I prepared ahead of time by studying for the Series 7 and Series 64
exams that constitute a majority of a beginning financial consultant's time. I'd like
to make make the company that hires me wonder what it ever did without me.
24. How would you evaluate your ability to deal with conflict?
25. Have you ever had difficulty with a supervisor or instructor? How did you
resolve the conflict?
26. Tell me about a major problem you recently handled. Were you successful in
resolving it?
27. Would you say that you can easily deal with high-pressure situations?
28. What quality or attribute do you feel will most contribute to your career
success?
Sample excellent response:
My greatest strength is my flexibility. I have learned that work conditions change
from day to day and throughout the day, as well, no matter where I have worked
in the past. I also have realized that certain projects require individual attention
and others involve a teamwork approach. These are just a few examples of the
changes that happen in the financial consulting field, as you are well aware. My
flexibility to adapt to the different demands of the job has allowed me to surpass
my supervisor's expectations.
29. What personal weakness has caused you the greatest difficulty in school or on
the job?
Sample excellent response (shows how he recognized his weakness and worked
to improve):
My greatest weakness had been delegation. I would take it upon myself to do
many small projects throughout my shift as a manager that could have been
done by others in an attempt to improve my workers' efficiency. Once I realized
that I was doing more work than the other assistant managers, and they were
achieving better results, I reevaluated what I was doing. I quickly realized that if I
assigned each person just one small project at the beginning of their shift, clearly
state expectations for the project, and then follow up that everything would get
done, and I could manage much more efficiently and actually accomplish much
more.
30. What were your reasons for selecting your college or university?
Sample excellent response (tells how education specifically will benefit the
employer):
My college has always had a reputation as having an excellent accounting
department, so I knew that if I enrolled there, I would achieve first-class
preparation for my chosen career field. It is also a highly accredited school
known for satisfying employers with the preparation of its graduates -- that's why
companies like yours recruit at my school -- the school produces top graduates.
The school offers an excellent liberal-arts background, which research shows
equips graduates with numerous qualities, such as versatility and strong critical-
thinking skills. Finally, having visited the campus before enrolling, I knew that the
business school emphasized group projects. During my four years in the school, I
participated in more than 35 group projects, which taught me invaluable
teamwork, communication, and interpersonal skills.
31. If you could change or improve anything about your college, what would it be?
32. How will the academic program and coursework you've taken benefit your
career?
33. Which college classes or subjects did you like best? Why?
34. Are you the type of student for whom conducting independent research has
been a positive experience?
35. Describe the type of professor that has created the most beneficial learning
experience for you.
37. What plans do you have for continued study? An advanced degree?
38. Before you can make a productive contribution to the company, what degree of
training do you feel you will require?
44. Why do you think you might like to live in the community in which our company
is located?
46. To what extent would you be willing to travel for the job?
47. Which is more important to you, the job itself or your salary?
50. Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully
convince someone to see things your way?
51. Describe an instance when you had to think on your feet to extricate yourself
from a difficult situation.
52. Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic
in solving a problem.
53. By providing examples, convince me that you can adapt to a wide variety of
people, situations and environments.
54. Describe a time when you were faced with problems or stresses that tested
your coping skills.
55. Give an example of a time in which you had to be relatively quick in coming to a
decision.
56. Describe a time when you had to use your written communication skills to get
an important point across.
57. Give me a specific occasion in which you conformed to a policy with which you
did not agree.
58. Give me an example of an important goal which you had set in the past and tell
me about your success in reaching it.
59. Describe the most significant or creative presentation that you have had to
complete.
60. Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in
order to get a job done.
61. Give me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate
with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you
(or vice versa).
62. Sometimes it's easy to get in "over your head." Describe a situation where you
had to request help or assistance on a project or assignment.
63. Give an example of how you applied knowledge from previous coursework to a
project in another class.
64. Describe a situation where others you were working with on a project disagreed
with your ideas. What did you do?
Sample excellent response:
I was on a project team in a business class in my freshman year in college, The
group brainstormed ideas for the video we were assigned to produce, and
everyone but me was leaning toward an idea that would be easy. I suggested
instead an idea that would be more difficult but would be something different that
no other group would be doing. I used my communications skills to persuade the
rest of the group to use my idea. During the project, we really learned what
teamwork was all about, became a close team, and ended up putting a lot of
hard work into the project. All the team members ended up feeling very proud of
the video, and they thanked me for the idea -- for which we earned an A.
65. Describe a situation in which you found that your results were not up to your
professor's or supervisor's expectations. What happened? What action did you
take?
66. Tell of a time when you worked with a colleague who was not completing his or
her share of the work. Who, if anyone, did you tell or talk to about it? Did the
manager take any steps to correct your colleague? Did you agree or disagree with
the manager's actions?
68. What steps do you follow to study a problem before making a decision.
69. We can sometimes identify a small problem and fix it before it becomes a major
problem. Give an example(s) of how you have done this.
70. In a supervisory or group leader role, have you ever had to discipline or counsel
an employee or group member? What was the nature of the discipline? What steps
did you take? How did that make you feel? How did you prepare yourself?
71. Recall a time from your work experience when your manager or supervisor was
unavailable and a problem arose. What was the nature of the problem? How did
you handle that situation? How did that make you feel?
72. Recall a time when you were assigned what you considered to be a complex
project. Specifically, what steps did you take to prepare for and finish the project?
Were you happy with the outcome? What one step would you have done differently
if given the chance?
73. What was the most complex assignment you have had? What was your role?
Also, remember the S-A-R (situation-action-result) technique and see a sample S-A-
R story.
74. How was your transition from high school to college? Did you face any particular
problems?
Also, remember the S-A-R (situation-action-result) technique and see a sample S-A-
R story.
75. Tell of some situations in which you have had to adjust quickly to changes over
which you had no control. What was the impact of the change on you?
Also, remember the S-A-R (situation-action-result) technique and see a sample S-A-
R story.
76. Compare and contrast the times when you did work which was above the standard
with times your work was below the standard.
Also, remember the S-A-R (situation-action-result) technique and see a sample S-A-
R story.
77. Describe some times when you were not very satisfied or pleased with your
performance. What did you do about it?
Also, remember the S-A-R (situation-action-result) technique and see a sample S-A-
R story.
78. What are your standards of success in school? What have you done to meet these
standards?
Also, remember the S-A-R (situation-action-result) technique and see a sample S-A-
R story.
79. How have you differed from your professors in evaluating your performance? How
did you handle the situation?
Also, remember the S-A-R (situation-action-result) technique and see a sample S-A-
R story.
80. Give examples of your experiences at school or in a job that were satisfying. Give
examples of your experiences that were dissatisfying.
81. What kind of supervisor do you work best for? Provide examples.
82. Describe some projects or ideas (not necessarily your own) that were
implemented, or carried out successfully primarily because of your efforts.
83. Describe a situation that required a number of things to be done at the same
time. How did you handle it? What was the result?
84. Have you found any ways to make school or a job easier or more rewarding or
to make yourself more effective?
Sample excellent response:
I find that taking a proactive mindset to recognizing and solving problems before
they happen make any job more rewarding. It not only saves time and effort but
gives me a sense of accomplishment and ownership in my job. I demonstrated
my proactiveness when I worked with Food Lion. As a bookkeeper, I was
responsible for the offices. The safe was kept outside of the office in front of the
cash registers, where anyone could get inside of it if I or another office associate
had it open to drop a deposit or get money in and out. I realized that the situation
was a security hazard. Although we could not move the safe to the inside of the
office where it was more secure, I ordered a timelock compartment and had it
installed, and the safe could be opened only at a specific time when the store
closed each day. Only money could be dropped through a slot in the
compartment door. We kept large sums of money in that compartment. We kept
operating cash on hand since we needed some excess money to perform daily
functions. One month after I left that store to attend college, I learned that it was
robbed. Because of my efforts and foresight, the robbers only got a small amount
of cash. My previous supervisor thanked me for my efforts, which gave me a
great feeling, and I carried this proactive mindset to my other jobs thereafter.
85. How do you determine priorities in scheduling your time? Give examples.
86. Tell of a time when your active listening skills really paid off for you -- maybe a
time when other people missed the key idea being expressed.
87. What has been your experience in giving presentations? What has been your
most successful experience in speech making?
Sample excellent response:
I have grown to be a confident presenter. My most successful presentation took
place at my university when I was responsible for presenting a leadership-
development program for a class of Resident Assistants. The point of my
program was to teach each RA his/her leadership style, so he/she knew how to
interact on his/her floor as a student leader. The most significant aspect of this
program is that it taught them about their leadership styles without their knowing
it. Each student filled out a general questionnaire that asked about preferences.
Each person according to his/her responses were assigned to a group with a
general name. I then gave each group a book to read. Each group had to read it
aloud. After each group read each book, I then explained how each group
tackled the task. They all had handled the task differently. Each student
successfully understood how they approached tasks and from that how they
would approach their job as a RA. Not only did I engage the audience in what
was being presented, I have since seen the program adapted in other
presentations by RAs in that class. Not only did they enjoy it, they learned
something about themselves that would help them help their residents.
88. Tell of the most difficult customer service experience that you have ever had to
handle -- perhaps an angry or irate customer. Be specific and tell what you did and
what was the outcome.
89. Give an example of when you had to work with someone who was difficult to
get along with. Why was this person difficult? How did you handle that person?
91. Give me a specific example of something you did that helped build enthusiasm
in others.
92. Tell me about a difficult situation when it was desirable for you to keep a
positive attitude. What did you do?
93. Give me an example of a time you had to make an important decision. How did
you make the decision? How does it affect you today?
94. Give me an example of a time you had to persuade other people to take action.
Were you successful?
95. Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult person. How did you
handle the situation?
96. Tell me about a time you had to handle multiple responsibilities. How did you
organize the work you needed to do?
97. Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision, but didn't have all the
information you needed.
99. What is the most significant contribution you made to the company during a
past job or internship?
101. Describe a situation in which you had to use reference materials to write a
research paper. What was the topic? What journals did you read?
103. Give me a specific example of a time when you sold your supervisor or
professor on an idea or concept. How did you proceed? What was the result?
104. Describe the system you use for keeping track of multiple projects. How do
you track your progress so that you can meet deadlines? How do you stay
focused?
105. Tell me about a time when you came up with an innovative solution to a
challenge your company/class/organization was facing. What was the challenge?
What role did others play?
106. Describe a specific problem you solved for your employer or professor. How
did you approach the problem? What role did others play? What was the outcome?
107. Describe a time when you got co-workers or classmates who dislike each
other to work together. How did you accomplish this? What was the outcome?
108. Tell me about a time when you failed to meet a deadline. What things did you
fail to do? What were the repercussions? What did you learn?
109. Describe a time when you put your needs aside to help a co-worker or
classmate understand a task. How did you assist him or her? What was the result?