INTERVIEW QUESTIONS by Castleton Career Development Office 2011
INDEX
- General questions – First & Second Interview.
- Illegal Questions and How to Handle Them.
- General Salary Questions.
- Case Interviews.
- Behavior Based Interviewing
- Nursing Questions.
- Theatre Arts Questions.
- Teaching Questions.
- Social Work Questions
- CJ Questions
- IT Technology questions
- Athletic Training Questions
- Questions You Need to Really Ask Yourself!
PRACTICE YOUR INTERVIEWING SKILLS! CALL CAREER DEVELOPMENT TODAY!
468-1339 judith.Carruthers@castleton.edu
YOU ARE HIRED ON YOUR ANSWERS – NOT ON YOUR RESUME.
RESEARCH THE COMPANY: www.google.com type in company name. Where is it located? Size? What are their products/services? Who is their market? How is it structured? What is its history? Have there been any recent changes or new developments? Do you know anyone working there? Can you get a copy of the job description? Do they have brochures?
REMEMBER: It costs money for companies to post on search engines so most of them post job opportunities on their own company website.
REMEMBER: Do not be put off if they say, “apply on line.” Applying on line is now a legal requirement for companies. So just do it!
CHECK CASTLETON SITES:
www.castleton.edu/careers COLLEGE CENTRAL - 1 stop shopping for jobs. They research the big search engines and bring the info back to you. More secure for you too. You can post resumes right there. There are 111 FREE videos on job hunting, etc.
Also check CASTLETON CONNECTIONS. Some jobs posted there as well.
Check CAREER TALK –ipod taped interviews of people explaining how they got their dream jobs.
Contact Judith – she has lots of contacts! www.castleton.edu/careers
twitter… @csc_career_deve
802 468 1339
GENERAL QUESTIONS – see further on for specific questions for Theatre Arts Majors, Nurses, Teachers, CJ, IT Technology, etc.
The First Interview:
General Questions: NO! Don’t worry! They WON”T ask ALL of these!
- Tell me about yourself? (Keep it work oriented.) Use your Summary of Qualifications.
- What can I do for you today? (Keep cool – they know you are there for an interview!)
- What are your strengths? …weaknesses? (Pick one not central to job and how your are overcoming it.)
- Why do you want to work for our company? What research have you done on our company?
- What do you know about us? About our industry/field?
- Which courses did you like best? Why? Which courses did you like least? Why?
- Why do you want to be a______?
- Tell me about your education? (Relate answers to how it can help their company.)
- Give us an actual example of when you showed leadership/initiative?
- How do others describe you?
- How do you think you will fit in with this organization? Why?
- Do you have any questions for us? NEVER ASK WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE LEARNED BY RESEARCHING THEM!
You MUST, MUST, MUST know enough about them to be able to ask them questions!!!! See above for research tips.
- What would you like us to learn from you?
- What problems do you think you will have in this job?
- What do you see yourself doing in 5 years?
- Are you willing to relocate? …work overtime? …travel? …take additional training?
- Many people want their work to be challenging. Can you define what “challenging” means to you? Define cooperation. Define success.
- How to you handle last minute jobs?
- What things annoy you most in your work day?
- How do you handle stress?
- Tell us about a time you had to :
- …deal with a difficult person? Situation?
- …make an unpopular decision?
- …Overcome an obstacle?
- …Persuade others to follow your ideas?
- …Show creativity in problem solving?
- What was the single most important happening in your life so far and why?
- What makes you think you will be successful in this work?
- What other talents and interests do you have that have not been involved in your studies – and are there any ways you might be able to put these to good use in our company in the future?
- Given complete freedom, what would you really like to do?
- Describe a project you undertook and tell me what you learned from it about your own performance?
- Suppose you are in your earliest supervisory assignment, when your bosses are out of town – suddenly your crew mutinies. What do you do?
- What do you do with your spare time?
- How would you react to having to obey instructions to the letter?
- What aspect of your college years has been the most difficult and why?
- Describe your working style.
- Describe to me an occasion when you had a decision to make, and having made it, found out later that it was a bad decision. What did you learn from that experience?
- How do you feel about shift work?
- Do you prefer to work alone or in a group?
- Give an actual example of how you have demonstrated the skills required for this position?
- We are interviewing a number of people. What can you offer us that makes you unique?
- What motivates you?
- What did you learn from your extra curricular activities? From previous jobs?
- What types of jobs have you held? Companies are impressed with people who worked their way through college. Try to mention the relevant skills from these ‘McJobs’….
- Do you prefer any particular geographic area? Why?
- Give us an example of a work situation where you felt you did not succeed. What did you learn?
ILLEGAL QUESTIONS AND HOW TO HANDLE THEM:
Interviewer may not be aware question is illegal. Don’t panic. Don’t be confrontational. You can answer if you wish. That is your choice. Just figure out what they really want to know – what is the intent. Answer the intent.
47. Illegal: Do you have children? Do you plan to have a family? When?
48. Illegal: What is your marital status? Who do you live with?
49. Illegal: What are you child care arrangements?
50. Illegal: Is your spouse subject to transfer?
51. Illegal: What religious holidays will you be unable to work?
52. Legal: The intent is probably to find out if you would be willing to relocate? Travel? Work overtime?
Good answer: “If you are worried about overtime or my availability to travel, my family life has never interfered with my ability to do my job.”
53. Illegal: How old are you?
54. Legal: Are you over the age of 18?
Good Answer: I am legally able to perform this job. Are you concerned I may not be experienced enough for this job?
- Illegal: Were you born in
USA US - Legal: Are your authorized to work in the
US
Good answer: I am authorized to work in this country.
- Illegal: What clubs or social organizations do you belong to?
- Legal: Do you belong to any trade or professional groups or other organizations that would be relevant to your working in this job?
59. Illegal: Do you have any disabilities?
60. Illegal: Please complete this medical history.
61. Illegal: What illnesses or operations have you had?
62. Illegal: What was the date of your last physical?
63. Illegal: How’s your families’ health?
64. Illegal: When did you become disabled?
65. Illegal: Tell me about the health problems you have had in the past.
66. Legal: Are you able to perform the functions of this job with or without reasonable accommodations?
67. Illegal: Have you ever been arrested?
- Legal: Have you ever been convicted of___? Crime needs to be reasonably related to performance of job.
- Illegal: If you were in the military, were you honorably discharged?
- Legal: Which branch of the military were you in? What type of training or education did you receive in the military?
Note: No Photos with applications/resumes
GENERAL SALARY QUESTIONS – check jobweb.com --- see www.castleton.edu/careers for other salary links.
- What kind of salary are you looking for? …benefits?
Good answer: According to the Career Services – or wherever you researched – statistics show that most ____start around $____ per year. I would like to earn close to the top of that range based on my experience in_______________. And, of course, I am interested in what opportunities the position offers for the future.
GENERAL Questions for YOU to ask the prospective employer(s): Theatre Arts Majors, Nurses, Teachers – check out these questions and then see special section for you further on.
72. What are the major responsibilities for this particular position?
73. Are you expecting any changes in the responsibilities of this job?
74. What personal qualities do you look for in a successful candidate?
75. What would be the greatest challenges for the new person in this position?
76. What are the future growth prospects and expansion plans for this company that would effect this position?
77. Why is this position open?
78. Who would my supervisor be?
79. How would my work be evaluated?
80. What are the advancement possibilities within this organization?
81. What type of employee training program do you have?
82. When can I expect to know your decision?
GENERAL Second Interviews
The second interview is more specific. You are expected to be more prepared, bringing ideas for solutions and more of your own questions.
Questions for YOU to ask the prospective employer during the second interview:
83. Could you clarify what the initial assignment might be?
84. What types of performance appraisals do you use?
85. When are salary reviews scheduled and what are they based on?
86. How do you describe the company’s working environment and style?
87. Have you had layoffs or cost-reduction programs recently? Why? Do you help employees locate other jobs?
88. What are the transfer possibilities?
89. Where did you hire your graduates from over the last few years?
90. What are your policies concerning benefits?
91. Do you have a tuition remission plan?
92. Is there a relocation reimbursement plan?
CASE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS - usually seen in general business interviews.
A “Case Interview”question is a word problem based upon a real-life or simulated situation.
Tests your analytical abilities. Types of Questions: Market Sizing, Brain Teasers, Management Questions.
- Market Sizing: How many diapers are sold in the
US - Brain Teasers: Why are manhole covers round?
- Business Operations: How would you market a new natural cereal?
BEHAVIOR BASED INTERVIEWING - look good on paper, but, can you work?
What is BBI? Asserts that how a person behaves is predictable. If you can determine what a person’s recent behaviors are, you’ll be able to predict how they may behave in the future. It assures the best candidate is hired.
Types of Questions:
Credential questions: easily verifiable, job related facts, on resume. “Managed store for 3 years.”
Opinion/Hypothetical: what would you do if? Doesn’t really tell anything about what the candidate is really likely to do in any given situation – but they still ask and then use BBI to base future behavior on ACTUAL past behavior.
Behavioral questions: BBI based on: situation, action, outcome, learning. Open-ended questions about the past. “Tell me about a time when you took a leadership role and what was the result and what did you learn?”
Special Magical questions: Seeking CONTRARY evidence. If the interviewer is seeing only positive, he needs to look for negative, if seeing only negative, the interviewer needs to look for positive. “You have great communications skills. Can you tell me a time when they didn’t work for you and what happened?”
“You seem to have a great deal of leadership experience. Can you tell me about a time when you stepped back from a leadership situation and what happened and what you learned from that?”
YOU NEED TO TAKE THE TIME TO THINK OUT GOOD ANSWERS TO BBI QUESTIONS. TAKE THE TIME. LEAVE THE SILENCES ALONE. DON’T PANIC IN THE SILENCES. A GOOD INTERVIEWER WANTS A GOOD, WELL THOUGHT OUT ANSWER.
Make darned sure you have thought this out so you are ready!!!
They do not want “rehearsed” but they do want “PREPARED.”
They will then ask if you have any questions. AND YOU BETTER HAVE QUESTIONS.
So how will you know what the actual questions will be? Take the same steps in preparing for the interview that the interviewer takes in preparing for you.
