Renaissance Interview Guide

3 Fundamentals of Interviewing

Ask the questions and be sure the candidate talks far more than you do
Do not tell about the job nor what you are looking for early in the interview process
Explore background, skills, likes and dislikes

Behavioral Based Questions

Try to use questions through which the candidate you are interviewing will describe real work situations he/she has experienced and explain his problem solving and communication skills.

Examples

Describe a project or idea that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role? What was the outcome?
Give an example of an important goal that you set in the past. Tell about your success in reaching it.
Tell us how you keep your job knowledge current.
What impact did you have in your last job?
What was the best idea you have come up with in your career? Where did you apply it?
When you have a lot of work to do, how do you get it done? Please give an example.
Tell me about a time when great precision and attention to detail was required to get a task done. How did you handle the situation?
Give a specific example of a time when you had to address an angry customer. What was the problem and what was the outcome? How would you asses your role in diffusing the situation?
We all strive to build good relationships at work but sometimes it is not always possible. Tell me about a time when you were not able to build a successful relationship with a difficult person.
Tell me about a time when you built rapport quickly with someone under difficult circumstances.
Describe how your position contributed to your organization’s goals. What were the goals or missions of your business unit?
Have you worked in a situation when the guidelines and rules were not clear? How did you feel about this?
Describe a situation in which you were able to strengthen a relationship through effective communication. What made your communication effective in that situation?
Have you ever had to communicate a difficult or unpleasant message to a superior?
How do you keep your manager/subordinates informed about what is being done in your area of responsibility?
Tell me about a time when you had to present complex information. How did you ensure that the other party understood?
What challenges have you encountered in coordinating work with other departments?
How quickly do you make decisions? Give an example? Give an example of a time you had to make a quick decision/a time when you did not have ample information to reach a decision.
What kinds of challenges have you had coordinating technical projects? How did you solve them?
What was the biggest mistake you made in delegating work?
Do you prefer working with ‘the big picture’ or the details? Tell us about a difficult time you experienced when working with details.
Have you worked with employees/supervised employees whose performance was consistently marginal. What did you do?
What do you do when you are faced with an obstacle to an important project? Give an example.
What do you do when you find it difficult to persuade someone to your point of view? Give an example.
Tell me about a situation in which you discovered a better way to do something.
Describe a time when you were asked to keep information confidential.
Have you met with resistance when introducing a new policy or concept in the work place? How did you deal with it?
Tell me about a time you solved a problem in an unusual way. What was the outcome?
Have you ever been confronted with behavior you felt was unethical? How did you handle this?
Describe a situation in which you were able to positively influence others.
How do you feel about team projects? Give an example of a group or team project you participated in.
How do you prepare for a presentation? Give an example of an effective presentation you made.
Tell me about a situation in which you had to separate the person from the issue when working to resolve a problem.
Tell me how your XXX skills have improved in the last three years.
Can you recall a time when you were not pleased with your own performance. What did you do?
Which of your jobs had the most rapid change? How did you feel about it?
Describe a situation in which you were required to do a lot of things at once. How did you handle this? What was the result?
Tell me about a setback you faced. How did you react?
What is the difficult part about being a member of a team and not the leader? What role do you generally play on the team? Give an example.
Tell me about a time when you experienced stress in your job. What did you do?