[This list of questions is also featured on WorkBloom: Interview Questions and Answers.]

The underlying purpose of all questions is to probe or explore your personality, attitude, or behaviour characteristics to gauge if you will be a good fit.  Before going to interviews, always take the time to think of questions that you may be asked and compile a list of responses.  Remember that most interviewers will be looking for three things when you answer questions:

• your answer;

• how well you can organize your thinking; and

• how well you express yourself.

“Breaking the Ice” Interview Questions

• Painting (or whatever you wrote in your resume) has always intrigued me.  How did you become interested in it?

• The campus looks very busy.  How is your semester going?

• I see you are involved in sports.  How is your season going?

• I have an extra hour and it's my first visit to the area.  What should I see?

Work History Interview Questions

• What were your responsibilities?  Which was most / least rewarding?

• What were your expectations for the job and to what extent were they met?

• What were your starting and final levels of compensation?

• What major challenges and problems did you face?  What was your toughest job assignment? 

• How would you evaluate your present firm?

• What were your biggest accomplishment / failure in this position?

• What was it like working for your supervisor?  What were his strengths and shortcomings?

• What did you like the most and least about your previous job?

• What mistakes have you made in your career?  How did you fix them?

• Would you describe a few situations in which your work was criticized?

• Why are you leaving your job?  Why are you looking for a new career?  Why did your business fail?

• Why were you fired?  Why have you not obtained a job so far?

• Why are you not earning more by now?

• Have you helped increase sales?  Profits?  Reduce costs?

• Where do you relate best - up one level, down one level, or with your peers?

• What do your subordinates think of you?

• How do you evaluate your subordinates?

• Describe a situation in which you and a co-worker have disagreed.  How did you work it out?

• Have you ever taken charge as a leader in a work situation without being formally assigned to that role by your boss?

• Have you ever gone beyond the call of duty in helping a client?

• How many hours do you normally work?

• How would you describe the pace at which you work?

• What were you doing during the period of time not covered in your resume?

• Have you kept up in your field with additional training?

Personal and Motivational Interview Questions

• Tell me about yourself.  How would you describe your own personality?

• Can you describe yourself using one-word adjectives?

• How do you handle rejection?

• Who or what had the greatest influence on your life?

• What are some of the greatest personal challenges you have faced during your lifetime?

• What are some of your personal goals and have you achieved them?

• What satisfies you, bothers you, or motivates you?

• List three personal attributes that you would like to improve?  Have you made any efforts to improve in these areas?

• How would others describe your weaknesses?

• What are your greatest achievements at this point in your life?

• What accomplishments are you most proud of?

• What are your strong points?  What are your weak points?

Work-Related Interview Questions

• Have you worked under deadline pressures?  Provide examples.

• How do you handle stress and pressure?

• Can you discuss a time when you had to perform multiple tasks on very strict time lines?  How did you ensure everything was completed on time?

• Can you describe a typical work week?

• What have you done that shows initiative and willingness to work?

• What are the most important rewards you expect in your career?

• What do you look for in a job?

• What do you find are the most difficult decisions to make?

• If you could start again, what would you do differently?

• If the people who know you were asked why you should be hired, what would they say?  How would your colleagues describe you?  How would your boss describe you?  How would you describe yourself?

• Do you prefer to work independently or on a team?  Give some examples of team work.

• How do you build a team under you?

• What type of work environment do you prefer?

• Can you describe a difficult work situation / project and how you overcame it?

• How do you evaluate success?

• Can you describe your ideal work environment?  What kind of people do you enjoy working with?

• How would you handle an upset customer / client?

• What is the difference between a good position and an excellent one?

• What is your philosophy of management?

• How has your early career or background influenced your progression and current management style?

• How has your management style changed in the last ten years?

• Can you discuss some of your past leadership roles?

• How do you rate yourself as a professional?  As an executive?

• Can you discuss the importance of your job as it relates to your family?

• What was the most difficult ethical decision you have had to make?  What was the result?

• How do you show your anger or frustration?

• What is the worst situation you have faced in your professional life?  How did you deal with it?  What happened?

• Are you a leader?  A good manager?  Analytical?  Give an example we can verify.

• Have you fired people?  When and why?

• Will you be out to take your boss’s job?

• Can you tell me about someone who has influenced you personally or professionally?

• Have you ever stolen anything from a company?

• Can you tell me about the last time you broke the rules?

• What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you?

• What was the worst career mistake you have ever made and what have you learned from it?

Position-Specific Interview Questions

• What interests you about this job?  What prompted you to apply with our company?

• What do you know about this company? 

• Why do you want to work for this organization?

• Why are you the best person for the job?

• What can you do for us that someone else cannot do?

• In what ways do you think you can make a contribution to our firm?

• How long would it take you to make a contribution to our firm?

• What qualifications do you have that makes you think you will be successful in this business?  Why should we hire you?  Why should we hire you instead of any of the other well-qualified candidates?

• Do you prefer large or small organizations?  Why?

• What interests you most about the position we have?  The least?

• What challenges are you looking for in a position?

• Is there anything I haven't told you about the job or company that you would like to know?

• What business, credit, or character references can you give us?

• How long do you expect to work here?  When will you know when it is time to leave?

• Would you object to working for a woman?

• Do you generally speak to people before they speak to you?

• Do you not feel you might be better off with a different size firm than ours?

• What do you think it takes to be successful in an organization such as ours?

• In what ways do you think you can make a contribution to our organization?

• Have you ever been a member of a union?  Worked with union members?

• Are you willing to work overtime?

• What type of work environment are you most comfortable with?

• Why do you think you might like to live in the community in which our organization is located?

• Can you list five things about yourself that would make you an asset to any organization that hired you?

• In addition to your educational and professional experiences, what else would you like us to know about you in order to make an appropriate decision?

• What kind of hours are you used to working or would like to work?

Interview Questions Related to Remuneration and Benefits

• What kind of salary are you worth and why?  What are your salary requirements?

• What starting salary do you expect as an employee?

• What company benefits are most important to you?

• How do you feel about an income made up totally of commissions?

• When comparing one company offer to another, what factors will be important to you besides starting salary?

• How important is starting salary to you when considering our company's job offer?

• Can you explain your salary history?

Relocation & Travelling Interview Questions

• Are you willing to travel?

• Are you willing to go where the organization sends you?  Are you willing to relocate?

• Do you mind traveling?

• How do you feel about relocating during a career with our company?

Future Career Goals Interview Questions

• 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?

• How much money do you hope to earn five years from now?

• What new goals or objectives have you established recently?  Why?

• What do you know about opportunities in your field?

• What are the most important rewards you expect from your career?

• What would you be giving up in your present job to take our position?

• What position have you held that has been most meaningful to you and why?

• What improvements would you have made in you last job?

• What kind of challenge are you looking for?

• What do you think determines a person's progress in a good company?

• How do you determine or evaluate success?

• What personal characteristics are necessary for success in your field?

Interview Questions Related to Education

• How does your education and experience relate to this position?

• Why did you not do better in college?

• Can you summarize your educational background for me?

• Why did you major in _____________?

• What courses did you like the most?  The least?  Why?

• Do you feel you have done the best scholastic work for which you are capable?

• Can you describe your most rewarding accomplishment since you've started college?

• Can you describe your study habits?

• How did you finance your education?

• Do you feel you received a good general education?

• Why did you drop out of school?

• How do you spend college vacations?

• What extra-curricular activities are you involved in?  What have you gained from these experiences?

• Do you have plans for furthering your education?

• If you could start college over, what would you do differently?

• Why did you choose to major in this field of study?  Why did you choose your particular college or university?

• What were your favorite college courses, those you liked most?  Least?  Why?  Please tell me about accomplishments in your academic program that are relevant to your future career goals.

• What is your grade point average (GPA)?  How do you feel about this?  Should grades be used as an indicator of future career potential when an organization is considering new college graduates?

• What were your reactions to instructors or college faculty during your academic program?  How would you relate your academic accomplishments to future career aspirations?  How satisfied are you with your accomplishments in this academic program?

• What was the most difficult aspect of obtaining a college degree?  What are your academic strengths?  What courses gave you the most difficulty?

• If you could, what changes would you make in your school's academic program?

Interview Questions Related to Extracurricular Activities and College Experiences

• How do you spend your spare time?  What are your hobbies?  What was the last book you read?  Movie you saw?  Sporting event you attended?

• How do you spend your free time?  What would you do if you had more of it?

• What extracurricular activities have you been involved in?

• Can you tell me about your accomplishments in extracurricular activities?

• What have been your greatest challenges for improvement of a campus organization?  What do you enjoy doing most?

• Can you describe your most rewarding college experiences?

• Can you give examples of the challenges you experienced during your leadership positions with campus activities?

• If you could relive your college experiences, what would you do differently?

• What changes would you make in your overall campus life?

• During your campus activities, what positions did you hold?

Hypothetical Interview Questions

• What could you see as the major objectives of this job?

• If you were hired by our organization, how would you identity the major roles and responsibilities of your new position?

• What is your purpose in life?

• How would you resolve conflict in a group situation?

• If you were given this assignment, how would you proceed?

Closing Interview Questions

• What are your salary expectations?

• When can you start work?

• If we invite you to our facility in [city], would you be able to come?

• Is there anything else I should know about you?

• Do you have any other questions?