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Interview Questions & Styles
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PREPARE SEVERAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Your dual role on an interview is to market your skills and interview the company. Timely,
appropriate questions not only provide you with valuable information about the company, but
questions help create a positive conversational atmosphere between yourself and the company
representative.
1. What are the daily responsibilities of this position?
2. Do you have a written job description?
3. How many people would I be working with?
4. To whom will I report?
5. What is the organizational structure of: a) this department? b) the company?
6. Where does this position lead?
7. Why is this position open?
8. How long was the last person in this position? What made this person successful? Are there
additional skills needed in this position now?
9. What would you expect me to achieve during my first six months to a year? What obstacles
do you foresee that I would have to overcome?
10. Why do you enjoy working here?
11. What is you background?
12. Who are your competitors? Where does your company stand in relationship to them?
13. What distinguishes you from you competitors?
14. When will you be making a decision on this position?
15. How do we proceed from here?
THE BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEW
In order to get a job, you will meet with the potential employer to ascertain the appropriateness of your candidacy for the available position. You may interview a number of times with various representatives of the organization. Throughout this process, the employer will have the opportunity to gather information concerning your background and experience and its relevancy to the position. Employers will ask you a series of questions which are work-based and which seek to link your past behavior to behaviors required in the organization conducting the interview. Since the goal is to “predict” success in their environment, based on your actions and reactions in another environment, the common name for this type of interview is the “behavioral” interview. Be prepared to describe prior employment, experiences, class projects, and college activities.
Questions may be similar to the following:
- Describe a time when you were faced with a major problem and how you dealt with it.
- Identify, from your background, a situation where you needed to take control.
- How have you dealt with conflict? What was the result?
- Describe an incident where you have applied a theory in class to an actual project.
- Give an example of when you had to utilize your communication skills.
- There also may be follow-up questions such as:
- Can you give me an example?
- What did you do?
- How did you respond?
- What was your role?
- What did you say?
- How did you feel?
In preparing for the behavioral interview, it is useful to review your entire background as it may
apply to the position for which you are interviewing. If you are interviewing for a position
which will utilize computer skills, be able to respond to inquiries designed to allow you to
demonstrate your expertise in the field. When meeting with an employer for a position where
your creativity is being reviewed, consider from where in your background you can give actual
examples of these skills. If the primary function you will have in the position involves working
and communicating with people, consider how you may best demonstrate your abilities in this
area.
In general, when preparing for interviews:
• Concentrate on incidents in which you had favorable outcomes.
• Prepare a short but complete story with a beginning, middle, and end, which
demonstrates the behavior that is being evaluated.
• Attempt to be specific in responding to the question.
In addition to the behavioral interview, some companies have also started to incorporate the use
of a group/case study into the interview process. Here, the employer is attempting to determine a
number of your qualities. Typically, your leadership potential, ability to work in a group, and
analytical/problem-solving skills are all being evaluated.
As with any interview, remember to research the company prior to the appointment and prepare
several well-thought out questions. Interviewing is a two-way process: both you and the
corporation need to evaluate the appropriateness of your employment with the organization.
Suggestion: Contact the Career Development & Counseling Center to make an appointment
to meet with a career counselor. You may want to schedule a video-taped mock interview to
practice your technique. Call the CD&CC at 860-343-5826 to arrange an appointment.
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