Behavioral Interview Questions

 Describe what you would say if asked to talk about yourself in a group of 15
people?
 Describe how you have reacted and what you have said in your own defense
after making an error?
 If someone asks you for assistance with a matter that is outside the parameters
of your job description, what have you done?
 You disagree with a point or decision. How have you responded?
 Describe a time when you experienced a “crisis”.
 You are angry about an unfair decision. How did you react?
 Have you ever been in a situation where deadlines and priorities change
frequently and rapidly? How do you handle it?
 How do you know when you are stressed? What do you do to de-stress?
 Tell me about a time when you were a part of a great team. What was your part
in making the team effective?
 Give me an example of a time when you had to deal with a difficult co-worker.
How did you handle the situation?
 How do you think your co-workers would respond if you were absent from
work?
 Can you tell me about a time during your previous employment when you
suggested a better way to perform a process?
 Tell me about a personal or career goal that you have accomplished and why it
was important to you.
 Give an example of a time when you were trying to meet a deadline, you were
interrupted, and did not make the deadline. How did you respond?
 What strengths did you rely on in your last position to make you successful in
your work?
 What do you do when you know you are right and your boss disagrees with you?
Give me an example of when this has happened in your career.
 Tell me about a situation you wish that you had handled differently based on the
outcome. What was the situation? What would you change when faced with a
similar situation?
 Describe a time when you performed a task outside your perceived
responsibilities. What was the task? Why did you perceive it to be outside your
responsibilities? What was the outcome?
 It’s 4:30 on a Friday afternoon. Your supervisor gives you an assignment that
needs to be finished by 8:00 Monday morning. You have already made plans to
be away the entire weekend. What would you do?
 If you observed a co-worker who made inappropriate sexual or racial remarks to
another employee, and it was obvious to you that the situation was creating an
uncomfortable environment, what would you do?

Interpersonal
 What are your strengths?
 What would your last boss say about you?
 Describe how you like to be managed, and the best relationship you’ve had with
a previous boss.
 If I asked your previous/current co-workers about you what would they say?
 Explain the phrase “work ethic” and describe yours.
 What kind of people do you find it most difficult to work with? For example,
assume you are in a situation where you have to deal with a person very
different from yourself and you are finding it difficult. What would you do?
 What methods do you use to make decisions? When do you find it most difficult
to make a decision?
 Describe a difficult time you have had dealing with an employee, customer, or
co-worker. Why was it difficult? How did you handle it? What was the outcome?
 How would your co-workers describe your work style/habits?
 What do you do when others resist or reject your ideas or actions?
 What do you think are the best and worst parts of working in a team
environment? How do you handle it?
 Under what kinds of conditions do you learn best?
 How would your past employers describe your response to hectic or stressful
situations?
 If I asked several of your co-workers about your greatest strength as a team
member, what would they tell me?
 To you, which is more desirable: A business that is run in an efficient business-
like manner OR a business that is run in a personal and friendly way?

General
 Could you share with us a recent accomplishment of which you are most proud?
 What would you have liked to do more of in your last position? What held you
back?
 Tell us a bit about your work background, and then give us a description of how
you think it relates to our current opening.
 What are your qualifications in your area of expertise, i.e., what skills do you
have that make you the best candidate for this position? Include any special
training you have had (on-the-job, college, continuing education, seminars,
reading, etc.) and related work experience.
 Why have you applied for this position?
 What skill set do you think you would bring to this position?
 Tell me about your present or last job. Why did you choose it? Why did you/do
you want to leave?
 What was your primary contribution/achievement? Biggest challenge?
 What are your short-term and long-term goals?
 In what areas would you like to develop further? What are your plans to do that?
 What are some positive aspects of your last employment/employer? What are
some negative aspects?
  What are your career path interests?
 If the position required it, would you be willing to travel?
 If the position required it, would you be willing to relocate?
 If you were offered this position, when would you be available to start?
 After learning about this opportunity, what made you take the next step and
apply for the job?
 Now that you have learned about our company and the position you are
applying for, what hesitation or reluctance would you have in accepting this job
if we offer it to you?
 Tell me anything else you would like us to know about you that will aid us in
making our decision.
 What questions would you like to ask me?

Managerial
 Define professional behavior and/or conduct appropriate in the workplace.
 Why do you think a team of people – sports team, work team, may not work well
together?
 Tell us about your management style - people, teamwork, direction?
 Describe an ideal supervisor.
 What is your own philosophy of management?
 How have you participated in planning processes?
 Is it more important to be a detail oriented person, or a big picture person?
Explain.
 What was the most challenging personnel issue you’ve had to deal with and how
did you handle it?
 Describe for me a time when you have come across questionable business
practices; how did you handle the situation?
 A new policy is to be implemented organization-wide. You do not agree with this
new policy. How do you discuss this policy with your staff?
 Describe for me a decision you made which would normally have been made by
your supervisor? What was the outcome?
 Discuss and differentiate between remediation, corrective action, and discipline.
 Explain, step by step, how you have handled an employee who had performance
problems.
 Why should employees seek to improve their knowledge and skill base?
 How would you motivate them to do so?
 What coaching or mentoring experience have you had? With groups or one-on-
one? How did you determine the appropriate way to coach/mentor and what
were the results?
 Management requires both good writing and verbal skills for good
communication. When it comes to giving information to employees that can be
done either way, do you prefer to write a memo OR talk to the employee?
 When making a decision to fire an employee, do you find it easy because of the
company’s needs OR difficult because of the employee’s needs?
  Managing requires motivating employees as well as accomplishing tasks. Do you
find it more natural to point out what’s wrong so employees can accomplish
tasks competently OR to praise employees for their work and then point out
what may need correcting?
 Managers need good information and managers need to make good decisions.
Do you tend to gather information up to a deadline in order to make a better-
informed decision OR gather just enough information to make a good decision
quickly?
 What is the largest number of employees you have supervised and what were
their job functions?

Customer Service #1
 What do you like about being in Customer Service? What do you find is the most
difficult part of being in Customer Service?
 Tell me about a time when you went out of your way to give great service to a
customer.
 Describe a process or system that you improved so customers would be better
served.
 Tell me about a time when you asked for feedback on your customer service
skills from your manager or co-worker and then used that response to improve
your work.
 Tell me about a time when you knew that your customer might not get what he
or she needed on time. How did you handle this?
 Tell me about a time when you had to say “No” to a customer because it was
against company policy.
 Tell me about a time when you had trouble working with a difficult or
demanding customer. How did you handle this?
 Tell me about a situation in which you “lost it” or did not do your best with a
customer. What did you do about this?

Customer Service #2
 How do you go about establishing rapport with a customer? Give an example.
 Describe a time when you exceeded a customer’s expectations?
 Describe a time when you lost a customer. What would you do differently?
 When are policy exceptions to customers warranted? Not warranted?
 How do you go about deciding what strategy to employ when dealing with a
difficult customer?
 We all have customers or clients – who are your clients and how do you identify
them?
 What have you done to improve relations with your customers?