Sample Questions

Behavioral Based Questions: Behavioral questions are focused on your past behavior.
Remember, the belief is that past behavior often predicts future behavior. It is also hard to
deceive interviewers with this type of question because they often will put you on the spot.

Question What the interviewer wants to see

Describe a stressful situation where you The interviewer wants to see how you will successfully handle stress
demonstrated coping skills. in their environment. Everyone has stress at some point, so be
realistic and be specific about your coping skills.

Tell me about a challenge you have faced The interviewer wants to know how you approach problems. You
and how you approached it. want to be able to show a can-do attitude and if it didn’t go well,
how you would change your behavior in the future.

Give me an example of how you have set The interviewer wants to see strong goal setting and action plans
goals and achieved them. to complete the goals. This is a good indicator of future success in
their organization.

Tell me about a time you have disagreed Everyone has disagreements with colleagues but it is how you
with someone and how you have handle them that make you a great fit for an organization. You
handled it. want to be able to show that you may disagree but you are
collegial and at the same time that you are not afraid to bring up
counter viewpoints.

Give me an example of when you have Essentially, if you have taken initiative in a past position, you will do
taken initiative. so in your next position. Interviewers want to see that you can solve
problems on your own.

Describe your best experience working Interviewers want to know that you are going to fit with the team.
on a team. There is no correct answer for this question. You want to be honest
because you also want the correct fit for you. Be sure to clarify each
person’s role and your interactions to give a clear picture of how you
worked with team members.

Describe your worst experience working This is a question that is directly related to fit, as well; however it
with a colleague. is framed in the negative. Again, there is no right answer but you
do want to show how you tried to get along with that colleague or
make the experience better.

Tell me about a time that you persuaded The interviewer wants to see how you motivate people to complete
or motivated someone. their work. It is also a good indicator of how you will fit into the
organization. Remember to be specific in how you accomplished
motivating or persuading the individual.

Course: Acing Your Interview with Valerie Sutton

Situational Based Questions: Situational skills are focused on future behavior and will test your
problem solving skills and fit within the organization. Remember, you want to be succinct but
give them enough information that they can ascertain your problem solving skills and fit in the
organization.

Question What the interviewer wants to see

How do you work best on a team? This is a direct fit question; however, you can build your strengths
into this question to reinforce your case for hiring you. You should
focus on the strengths that you want to use in the position so that it
is the right for both you and the organization.

How would you handle a disagreement Everyone has disagreements with colleagues, but it is how you
with a colleague? handle them that make you a great fit for an organization. You want
to be able to show that you may disagree but you are collegial and
have the ability to bring up counter viewpoints.

What type of supervision do you like? This is a direct fit question relating to your supervisor. You want to
be honest in this question. You want a supervisor that will help you
to grow and develop within the organization.

How would you take initiative at our Interviewers want to see that you can solve problems on your own.
organization? You want to be able to show that you will take a lead within your
specific role.

How do you handle stress? Everyone has stress at some point, so be realistic. They want to see that
you are a real person and can handle situations as they come along.

What will you do if you realize you are The interviewer not only wants to see your problem solving skills
not able to make a deadline? but how well you will fit in the organization. Remember, everyone at
some point will have a problem with a deadline. It is your ability to
solve the problem and work with colleagues effectively to achieve
your goals.

Describe your ideal working environment. This is a direct fit question. You will want to describe using your
strengths to the role, the people, and your alignment with their
product or mission. You want them to be able to see you within their
working environment.

How would you set your priorities at work? The interviewer wants to see your problems solving skills, as it
relates to managing your workload. You want to show the reasoning
behind your prioritization skills to show you are making sound
judgment calls and have the ability to get the job done.

Course: Acing Your Interview with Valerie Sutton

Resume Based Questions: Resume based questions are very straightforward and are directly
related to your experience, as it relates to the role and organization. Remember to know
exactly what is written on the resume that you sent the organization and have a consistent and
concise story for each bullet point.

Question What the interviewer wants to see

Walk me through your resume. The interviewer wants to hear a consistent and concise story of your
qualifications and interest in the position. You should be able to lead
them through your resume culminating in why you are right for the
role and organization.

Tell me about yourself? This is the same question as above, just stated differently. The
interviewer wants to hear a consistent and concise story of your
qualifications and interest in the position. You should be able to lead
them through your resume culminating in why you are right for the
role and organization.

Why are you interested in this position? This is the same question as above, just stated differently. The
interviewer wants to hear a consistent and concise story of your
qualifications and interest in the position. You should be able to lead
them through your resume culminating in why you are right for the
role and organization.

You have quite a few awards on your This is basic fact checking. They want to see what motivated you
resume; tell me about each and how you and what skills you used to obtain the awards.
got them?

You seem to have short tenures at each This may be a concern for some interviewers particularly as you
position on your resume, tell me about enter mid-career. They want to see how long you will be staying
why you left each. with them. Remember, it is expensive to onboard and train new
employees. They don’t want to lose someone too quickly and they
also want to check if there were problems such as fit or conflict
issues. You will want to ease their fears with your answer by stating
your interest and commitment to the organization.

There is a gap between your last two Very similar to the above question. The interviewer is concerned
jobs, why? with your commitment to the organization and is checking to see if
there were any problems during that time that should concern them.
You will want to ease their fears with your answer by stating your
interest and commitment to the organization.

You mention you speak Spanish, why This is basic fact checking. If a skill is required for a position and it is
don’t you walk me through your resume listed on your resume, you should assume you will be tested on it.
in Spanish.

Your grade point average wasn’t that Questions about GPA may be asked with younger candidates in
strong, why? particular. The interviewer wants to see that you have developed
over time in your academics. Focus on your improvement and
setting priorities, particularly if you were also working during school.
Remember, this is only one factor a recruiter might consider.

You mention you held a leadership This is fact checking on the skills and knowledge that you will bring
position in this community organization; to the organization. Many people will list community involvement on
walk me through what you did for them. their resume; however, they have not actively participated. By asking
details, the interviewer can learn a lot about your commitment and
skills beyond just the work environment.

Course: Acing Your Interview with Valerie Sutton