Favorite interview questions

664 Views 8 Replies 9 Participants Last post by kewb, Apr 11, 2006

Harper

Discussion Starter · Apr 9, 2006

Hi all. I am going to be conducting some second interviews next week. I need some inspired questions. I asked all my questions the first time. The candidates will also have to do a writing test. So what are your questions--that you have asked or been asked? My first round questions are below:

Why do you want to work for this organization? Why did you apply for this job?
What is your favorite thing at your present job? Least favorite?
What do you consider your best asset as an employee? Where can you use the most improvement?
Describe your perfect supervisor?
Tell me about a project you are particularly proud of.
Describe a situation where you made a mistake on a job and how you handled it.

Thanks!

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lauren

· #2 · Apr 9, 2006

How about questions that get into how they get along with others, such as

describe a team project or effort and how it worked out
who was the leader
how did the team handle disagreements on how to proceed

I'll try to think of more and add later. Baby calling!

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JNW

· #3 · Apr 10, 2006

I like scenario questions, where you pose a situation that's likely to come up in their job, and ask them how they'd handle it.

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EVC

· #4 · Apr 10, 2006

Describe a time when you disagreed with a policy/decision/management: how did you handle it/what did you do?

What are you currently doing to improve your professional skills/knowledge?

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Do you work better independently, or as part of a team?

What brings you the most satisfaction from your work?

Have you ever dealt with a disatisfied client? How did you handle it?

What do you think are the keys to sucess in working in a team environment (getting along with colleagues, etc.)?

What do you find to be the best methods of maintaining morale in the office? What roles do manager/staff play?

Well, as you can see I was always more concerned about people skills. I figure technical job skills can always be taught, but it's pretty hard to teach an adult to "play nice with others."

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KalamazooMom

· #5 · Apr 10, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by JNW
I like scenario questions, where you pose a situation that's likely to come up in their job, and ask them how they'd handle it.

Yeah, that's what I was going to say. You can even think of a situation you've dealt with and pose it to them to see if they would do it the same way or if they came up with something better.

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Fiercemama

· #6 · Apr 10, 2006

We have 4 scenario questions that we always use. We let the applicants know that there are no right or wrong answers, and that they are based on actual things that have cropped up in the job. The feedback we get from these answers is invaluable. It also helps to give the applicant some idea of the challenges they will have to deal with. (I know that some employers think this is a bad idea, but as far as I'm concerned the interview is also for the applicant to figure out if they really want this job.)

If someone gets to a 2nd interview, I should already know that they have the skills for the job. For me, the 2nd interview is to try and figure out how they will fit into our team, and is more to figure out what their personality is.

I love the question "what do you do when you're not at work".

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fek&fuzz

· #7 · Apr 10, 2006

how do you deal with stress?

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Cygnet09

· #8 · Apr 10, 2006

How about something along the lines of more ethical questions?

What if you witnessed another employee cheating/lying/stealing?

What if you witnessed someone higher up cheating/lying/stealing?

What if a client/customer complained to you about an employee/someone higher up?

These aren't fun questions, but I think it would be important to know how people handle the whole "chain of command" issue.

The PPs suggestion of "How do you deal with stress" is an excellent one!

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kewb

· #9 · Apr 11, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiercemama

I love the question "what do you do when you're not at work".

I don't think you are legally allowed to ask that.

i always give scenario questions. I find them the best for figuring out how this person will fit on the team.

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