Briefly, would you summarize your work history & education for me?
Work History
Can you describe for me one or two of your most important accomplishments and 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?
Job Performance
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?
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 recognized by your superiors.
What are some things you would 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?
What are some of the problems you encounter in doing your job? Which one frustrates you the most? What do you usually do about it?
What are some things you particularly liked about your last job?
If I were to ask your present (most recent) employer about your ability as a ________________ , what would he/she say?
Education
What courses in school have been of most help in doing your job?
Career- Goals
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?
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?
What would you most like to accomplish if you had this job?
What might make you leave this job?
Self-Assessment
What kind of things do you feel most confident in doing?
How would you describe yourself as a person?
What do you think are the most important characteristics & abilities a person must possess to become a 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
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?
What kind of problems have people recently called on you to solve? Tell me what you have devised.
Decisiveness
What was your most difficult decision in the last six months? What made it difficult?
The last time you did not know what decision to make, what did you do?
How do you go about making an important decision affecting your career?
What was the last major problem that you were confronted with? What action did you take on it?
Range of Interests
What organizations do you belong to?
How do you keep up with what’s going on in your company / your industry/ your profession?
Motivation
What is your professional goal?
Describe how you determine what constitutes top priorities in the performance of your job.
Work Standards
What are your standards of success in your job?
When judging the performance of your subordinate, what factors or characteristics are most important to you?
Leadership
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 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?
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?
Oral Presentation Skills
Have you made any individual presentations recently? How did you prepare?
Written Communication Skills
Would you rather write a report or give a verbal report? Why?
What is the extent of your participation in major reports that have to be written?
Flexibility
What was the most important idea or suggestion you received recently from your employees? What happened as a result?
What do you think about the continuous changes in company operating policies & procedures?
How effective has your company been in adapting its policies to fit a changing environment?
What was the most significant change made in your company in the last six months which directly affected you, & how successfully do you think you implemented this change?
Stress Tolerance
Do you feel pressure in your job? Tell me about it.
What has been the highest pressure situation you have been under in recent years? How did you cope with it?
Stability & Maturity
Describe your most significant success & failure in the last two years.
What do you like to do best?
What do you like to do least?
What in your last review did your supervisor suggest needed improvement?
What have you done about it?
Interest in Self Development
What has been the most important person or event in your own self development?
How much of your education did you earn?
What kind of books & other publications do you read?
How are you helping your subordinates develop themselves?
