Warm up Questions - return to top of page
Description
What made you apply for this position? How did you hear about this job opening? Briefly, would you summarise your work history & education for me?
Work History - return to top of page
Description
What special aspects of your work experience have prepared you for this job? Can you describe for me one or two of your most important accomplishments? How much supervision have you typically received in your previous job? Describe for me one or two of the biggest disappointments in your work history? Why are you leaving your present job? (or, Why did you leave your last job?) What is important to you in a company? What things do you look for in an organization?
Career Goals - return to top of page
Description
What is your long-term employment or career objective? What kind of job do you see yourself holding five years from now? What do you feel you need to develop in terms of skill & knowledge in order to be ready for that opportunity? Why might you be successful in such a job? How does this job fit in with your overall career goals? Who or what in your life would you say influenced you most with your career objectives? Can you pinpoint any specific things in your past experience that affected your present career objectives? What would you most like to accomplish if you had this job? What might make you leave this job?
Job Performance - return to top of page
Description
Everyone has strengths & weaknesses as workers. What are your strong points for this job? What would you say are areas needing improvement? How did your supervisor on your most recent job evaluate your job performance? What were some of the good points & bad points of that rating? When you have been told , or discovered for yourself , a problem in your job performance, what have you typically done? Can you give me an example? Do you prefer working alone or in groups? What kind of people do you find it most difficult to work with? Why? Starting with your last job, tell me about any of your achievements that were recognised by your superiors. Can you give me an example of your ability to manage or supervise others? What things would you like to avoid in a job? Why? In your previous job what kind of pressures did you encounter? What would you say is the most important thing you are looking for in a job? Name some of the things on your job you feel you have done particularly well or in which you have achieved the greatest success? Why do you feel this way? Identify some of the things about your last job that you found most difficult to do? Describe some of the problems you encounter in doing your job? Which one frustrates you the most? What do you usually do about it? Describe some things you particularly liked about your last job? Do you consider your progress on the job representative of your ability? Why? How do you feel about the way you & others in the department were managed by your supervisor? If I were to ask your present (most recent) employer about your ability as a____________________, what would he/she say?
EDUCATION- return to top of page
Description
What special aspects of your education or training have prepared you for this job? What courses in school have been of most help in doing your job?
SELF ASSESSMENT- return to top of page
Description
What kind of things do you feel most confident in doing? Can you describe for me a difficult obstacle you have had to overcome? How did you handle it? How do you feel this experience affected your personality or ability? How would you describe yourself as a person? What do you think are the most important characteristics & abilities a person must possess to become successful ? How do you rate yourself in these areas? Do you consider yourself a self-starter? If so, explain why ( and give examples) What do you consider to be your greatest achievements to date? Why? What things give you the greatest satisfaction at work? What things frustrate you the most? How do you usually cope with them?
CREATIVITY- return to top of page
Description
In your work experience, what have you done that you consider truly creative? Can you think of a problem you have encountered when the old solutions didn't work & when you came up with new solutions? Of your creative accomplishments big or small , at work or home, what gave you the most satisfaction? What kind of problems have people recently called on you to solve? Tell me what you have devised.
LEADERSHIP- return to top of page
Description
In your present job what approach do you take to get your people together to establish a common approach to a problem? What approach do you take in getting your people to accept your ideas or department goals? What specifically do you do to set an example for your employees? How frequently do you meet with your immediate subordinates as a group? What sort of leader do your people feel you are? Are you satisfied? How do you get people who do not want to work together to establish a common approach to a problem? If you do not have much time & they hold seriously differing views, what would be your approach? How would you describe your basic leadership style? Give specific examples of how you practice this? Do you feel you work more effectively on a one to one basis or in a group situation? Have you ever led a task force or committee or any group who doesn't report to you, but from whom you have to get work? How did you do it? What were the satisfactions & disappointments? How would you handle the job differently?
Range of Interest- return to top of page
Description
What organisations do you belong to? Tell me specifically what you do in the civic activities in which you participate. (Leading questions in selected areas. i.e. sports, economics, current events, finance.) How do you keep up with what's going on in your company / your industry/ your profession? MOTIVATION