Standard Interviewing Questions
Below is a listing of sample interview questions to use as a guideline when developing questions you might ask a potential employee. The trend in developing these interview questions has been to make them behavioral based, allowing the interviewer to get the maximum benefit from the interview.
Work History
- Name of company, position title and description, dates of employment.
- What were your expectations for the job and to what extent were they met?
- What were your starting and final levels of compensation?
- What were your responsibilities?
- What major challenges and problems did you face? How did you handle them?
- Which was most / least rewarding?
- What was the biggest accomplishment / failure in this position?
- What was it like working for your supervisor? What were his strengths and shortcomings?
- Why are you leaving your job?
- Why were you fired?
Questions About the Individual
- Describe a typical work week.
- How many hours do you normally work?
- How would you describe the pace at which you work?
- How do you handle stress and pressure?
- What motivates you?
- What are your salary expectations?
- What do you find are the most difficult decisions to make?
- Tell me about yourself.
- If the people who know you were asked why you should be hired, what would they say?
- Do you prefer to work independently or on a team?
- Give some examples of teamwork.
- What type of work environment do you prefer?
- Describe a difficult work situation / project and how you overcame it.
- How do you evaluate success?
Questions About the New Job and Company
- What interests you about this job?
- Why do you want this job?
- What applicable attributes / experience do you have?
- Are you overqualified for this job?
- What can you do for this company?
- Why should we hire you?
- Why are you the best person for the job?
- What do you know about this company?
- Why do you want to work for this organization?
- What challenges are you looking for in a position?
- What can you contribute to this company?
- Are you willing to travel?
- Is there anything I haven’t told you about the job or company that you would like to know?
The Future
- What are you looking for in your next job? What is important to you?
- What are your goals for the next five years / ten years?
- How do you plan to achieve those goals?
- What are your salary requirements – both short term and long term?