Sample Questions Employers Ask

Tell me about yourself.

 How did you become interested in _______________ ?
(industry/field)
 Why our company and not some other in the same field?
Tell me about any leadership responsibilities you’ve had.
 How do you organize yourself to complete a job?
 How do you work within a group? Give me an example.
Tell me about a job you didn’t like.
Our program lasts for two years-after that, then what?
Describe a pressure situation and how you handled it.
Describe your greatest accomplishment.
Describe your greatest failure.
Name two management skills you think you have and how you developed them.
 What have you learned from your mistakes?
 What would your best friend tell me about you?
What do you know about our company?
 What are your team player qualities. Give examples.
Describe a time when you had to sell your ideas to others with a different point of view and the
outcome. To convince some one
 What motivates you?
 How do you define success?
How has your college experience prepared you for business?
Tell me about a time when you juggled at least three things.
What are the characteristics of a good manager?
Can a person be a leader and a team player at the same time?
What is your philosophy of education? (for teachers)
What is your philosophy of advertising?
(for advertising)
Does a good manager manage by reason or intuition? ??????
Give me an example of the most creative project you have worked on.
Sample Questions to Ask Employers
What would it take to exceed your expectations for this position?
I understand that your company has been hiring people in this position for a number of years.
Looking
back at the people you hired three to five years ago, where are they now?
Does the company promote from within or do you typically look externally?
Your web site discusses a six week training program. Who conducts the training, inside
managers or outside consultants?
At what level are decisions about sales objective made, local or corporate?
I wonder to what extent senior managers invite ideas and feedback from middle managers or
entry-level
employees.
Are employees encouraged to be active in professional associations?
I have read that the company has a formal mentoring system. How was your mentor chosen
and how have
you benefited from your mentor so far.
I read in your recruiting brochure that the company’s customer base is entirely domestic. Are
there plans to try foreign markets?
Can you tell me how different departments at the company work together?
In what ways does this position fit into the broader plans at the company?
What is the supervisory style of the manager who oversees this position?
Do you find the marketing people in the corporate office are usually helpful to your sales force?
How are performance reviews conducted?
Do you think employees are generally optimistic about the company’s future and their future
with the
company?
What have been some of the interesting challenges and opportunities your organization has
recently
faced?
What kind of opportunities might exist for me to improve my professional skills within the
organization?
Can you tell me the next step in the selection process?
When would be a good time to follow up with you in regards to my candidacy?
PERSONAL ASSESSMENT - SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Below is a list of sample questions relating to personal assessment:
 Tell me about yourself?
 What are your strengths (major strength)?
 What are your weaknesses (major weakness)? How do you compensate?
 What are your own special abilities?
 You have ten (or five) minutes. Sell yourself to me.
 How would you describe yourself?
 How do you feel about your career to date?
 What qualifications do you have that make you feel that will succeed in accomplishing
your objectives?
 Some people like things to be explicit; others like to do things on their own.
 How would you describe yourself?
 What is the biggest mistake you can recall?
 What types of people seem to irritate you?
 How would your boss (subordinates, best friend, classmates) describe you?
 Who are the most important people to you? Why?
 What makes you a good investment for an employer?
 What constructive criticism have you had from others?
 What have been the principle influences on your life?
 How do you relieve everyday tensions?
 What sets you apart from your peers?
 Are you a leader, an entrepreneur, creative, a team player? Why?
 How important is money to you?
 Think of someone you like (or dislike) and tell me why?
 Are you tough? Are you aggressive? Be prepared to back up answer.
 How competitive are you?
 Describe your most embarrassing moment.

EDUCATION & TRAINING - SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Below is a list of sample interview questions relating to your education and training:
 Which of your college years has been the most difficult? Why?
 Which courses did you like best? Least? Why?
 If you were starting graduate school all over again, what would you do differently?
 How do you rank scholastically in your class?
  How did you rank in your undergraduate class?
 Do you think employers should consider grades? Why?
 Which have been your best subjects?
 Exactly what did you study in your class?
 How have you financed your education?
 What are your special achievements?
 What have been your toughest problems?
 How well has your schooling prepared you for your career?
 Describe your study habits.
 Do you feel that your grades reflect the kind of work you are capable of doing?
 What prompted you to get an MBA?
WORK EXPERIENCE - SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Below is a list of sample interview questions relating to your work experience:
 What jobs have you held?
 How were they obtained?
 Why did you leave?
 What did you like most in your jobs? Least?
 What were your primary accomplishments and successes?
 Did you prefer working with others or by yourself? Team or alone
 What was the most difficult problem you faced? How was it resolved? What did you
learn?
 What have you found that you do best?
 How did you relate with others at work?
 Why did you choose your particular jobs?
 What have you done that shows initiative? Give examples?
 Did you ever work overtime? How did you feel about it?
 How do you feel about routine work?
 What has been your greatest frustration or disappointment in your previous job?
 Considering your accomplishments, what are some of the reasons for your success?
 What have been some of your disappointments? What things have you hoped to
accomplish which have not been done? What prevented you?
 Describe your relationships with your last two supervisors. What has been your
experience in organizing a work unit?
ACTIVITIES & INTERESTS - SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Below are sample interview questions relating to your activities and interests:
 What volunteer organizations have you been actively involved in? What did you do?
 In what school activities have you participated? Why?
  What do you enjoy doing off the job? In your spare time?
 What extracurricular offices have you held?
 How did you become interested in _____________ (from your resume)?
 How do your social interests relate to the job?
 What requires most of your energies?
 What do you read?
 How do you keep abreast of current events?
GOALS & EXPECTATIONS - SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Below are sample interview questions relating to your overall career goals and employment
expectations:
 Where would you like to be in five years? 10?
 In what type of position are you most interested?
 Why do you think you would like to work for us?
 What job in our company do you want to work toward?
 What is your idea of how our industry operates?
 What do you think determines a person' s professional progress?
 Why do you think people succeed? Fail?
 How long do you think it will take you to get where you want to go?
 How have your aspirations changed in the last few years?
 Are there any conditions that limit your flexibility in taking on a new assignment?
 If you could write your ideal job description, what would it be?
 What are the most important things to you in a job?
 You have five minutes to describe the most relevant and specific items in your
background that show that you are uniquely qualified for this job.
JOBS/COMPANY/INDUSTRY - SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Below are sample interview questions relating to a particular job, company, and/or industry:
 Why are you interested in this industry? This company?
 Tell me why you think the lifestyle of this job is right for you?
 Make a comparison between our firm (industry) and the others to whom you are talking.
 Are you interviewing with the company you worked for this summer?
 What other companies are you interviewing with?
 What do you think you will be doing in this job for which you are applying?
 What do think the duties of a ___________ are?
 Given your background in (a different field), why do you want to become a banker
(marketing manager, etc.)?
 From your past work experience, what do you think is going to happen in ____________
industry?
  How do you evaluate a business?
 How do you judge a company when you are looking for a job?
 Do you think your former employer is a well-managed organization?
 What have you read about our company and/or products lately outside of the information
in the regular recruiting material?
 You seem to have the analytical (financial, technical, etc.) skills. What makes you think
you could handle the selling (line management, leadership, etc.) requirements of the
job?
 In your research on our company, do you see any specific problems that we have?
 Which division of our organization are you are most interested in?
 Give me a good example of a ________ (good ad campaign, control program, mergers
and acquisitions, etc.) Tell me why it's good.
 What are the differences between an account manager’s job and a product manager’s
job? A commercial lender and an investment banker? A financial analyst and a securities
analyst? A career in consulting and a career in a corporation?
 Based on this interview, what questions do you have about the company?
 What do you think is a fair salary?
LOCATION / GEOGRAPHY - SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Below are sample interview questions relating to location / geography:
 Why do you want to stay in the _________ area? Are you free to relocate?
 What constraints do you have?
 How do you feel about traveling? How does your family feel?
 What size city do you prefer?
 In this position, you may have to relocate every few years. Is this a problem?

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