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 will describe experiences in real work situations and explain his/her 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 ________ 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?