Competency Based Interviewing

This is worth checking...

http://www.vdbio.ch/downloads/personalfragen/C.%20Bewerbung/competency_based_interviewing.pdf

Recruiters' Twitter Strategy

Just picked some good writing from the WWW

Worth reading..

http://blog.tweetsmarter.com/twitter-tips/should-you-ever-repeat-the-same-tweets/ 

Behavior Event Interviewing (BEI)

This is simple, heard by almost all recruiters, but known to few and rarely practiced.

Let me start with what is Behavior Event Interviewing?

BEI can be one of the most reliable tools in predicting an applicant’s future on-the-job performance.

The theory of behavior event interviewing (BEI) is simple. It considers the best way for an organization to predict an individual's future behavior and performance. It is to have the individual talk about their past competencies, behavior and performance which helps interviewer to predict the future. There are additional benefits to both the organization and the individual.

This interview style is based on the belief that hypothetical responses – which are what most people give and what most interviewers ask for - do not predict how a person will act in a future situation. In fact, most of the time the answers an interviewee provides are what they believe the interviewer wants to hear.

The additional benefits BEIs provide are the opportunities for HR departments and interview panels to use a standardized assessment method to measure the responses and qualifications of their prospects. Employers need to hire the candidate who has the best skills for the job. Being measurable is increasingly important as it provides consistent, quantifiable proof that the best candidate has been chosen and that the final decision is defendable. The root of a BEI is therefore in the development and the delivery of standardized questions which allows each individual being interviewed to be measured based on their own responses.

What are your responsibilities... if you are interviewing or are part of a panel?

Prior to the interview, all the questions should be designed and (if you are part of a small panel), agreed upon. Each question should have a specific purpose to measure a pre-identified, desirable behavior and competency that is in line with the job deliverables. It should go without saying that BEI questions are open-ended questions. BEI questions should be designed in such a way that they evoke responses that are based within the interviewees’ own personal experiences and abilities, and hopefully the interviewee will offer concrete examples of their past achievements .

The interviewers must also review and agree upon the measurement form they will use during the interviews to take notes and measure each interviewee. Once all interviews are conducted, you can predict candidate's performance against job deliverables . You can design a form based on your office's requirement, however, a sample of a very simple form is as follows.

Name of Interviewee _______________________ Position _________________________

Names of Interviewers 1. _______________________ 2. __________________________

Names of Interviewers 3. _______________________ 4. __________________________

Date _________________________________

Question	Response Rating 1 2 3 4 5	Notes (Strengths / Weaknesses)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

During a behavioral interview, and interviewee should be informed their responses should be in relation to their own real life events. I recommend this as much a courtesy as well as a time saver for the interviewers. An interviewer may to need to guide personal responses at first as by nature, many of us commonly downplay our own achievements and offer credit to others or discuss the goals of ‘the team’. I find an interesting thing to watch for when interviewing someone who is new to BEI is to watch how well they implement new instruction.

What are your responsibilities... if you are being interviewed?

In behavior-based interviews, you need to be prepared to give specific examples of when you demonstrated particular behaviors or skills. You should describe in detail a particular event, project, or experience. You should elaborate on how you dealt with the situation, your feelings and observations about your feelings, what the outcome of the project were, and if appropriate what you learned from the experience. If it was a negative experience, describe what you learned from the negative experience. Your responses should also be relevant to your potential employer's industry and market whenever possible.

Focus on actual past behaviors rather than on hypothetical actions or hypothetical behavior. General answers about behavior are not important and will likely detract from your overall BEI measurement score. If you don't have an example, consider the skill they are looking for and suggest a solution, but tie your solution to your behavior in another situation. For example, if you don’t have leadership experiences at work discuss your leadership experience volunteering.

During the interview you want to impress the interviewers by providing brief, to-the-point answers that relate your skills and experience to their needs. Where possible, your answers should blend your knowledge of the organization.

Note that during a BEI interview, candidates that always refer to ‘we’ or ‘they’ or ‘I would’ demonstrate that they either do not listen to instruction, can not adjust to new environments, or even do not have the experience required.

Practice for the interview by addressing several questions most interviewers ask.

As you prepare for your interview, consider situations where you 

• demonstrated leadership
• mentored someone 
• solved a problem 
• increased company profits 
• made a good decision/made a poor decision 
• worked through organizational change 
• received criticism 
• met a deadline/missed a deadline
• worked as part of a team

What do Behavior Event Interview questions look like?

Behavioral questions usually begin with a statement like: 'Tell me about a time when...' or 'Describe a situation where...'

The following are some examples of behavioral questions

• Describe a time when you were faced with problems or stresses that tested your coping skills.
  • What did you do?
• Give an example of a time when you had to be relatively quick in coming to a decision.
• Describe the system you use to keep track of multiple projects.
• Tell me about a time when you came up with an innovative solution to a challenge.
  • What was the challenge?
  • What was the outcome?
  • What role did you play?
  • What role did others play?
• Describe the most creative work-related project you have completed.
• Tell me about a situation where you worked with an upset customer or co-worker.
• Describe a difficult problem that you faced.
• How did you identify the problem?
• How did you go about trying to solve it?

===========another matter on the subject ============

Career Services

Wayne State University

1001 F/AB

Behavioral Interview Techniques – The STAR Approach

Situation or

Task

Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to

accomplish. You must describe a specific event or situation, not a generalized

description of what you have done in the past. Be sure to give enough detail

for the interviewer to understand. This situation can be from a previous job,

from a volunteer experience, or any relevant event.

Action you took

Describe the action you took and be sure to keep the focus on you. Even if

you are discussing a group project or effort, describe what you did -- not the

efforts of the team. Don't tell what you might do, tell what you did.

Results you achieved

What happened? How did the event end? What did you accomplish? What

did you learn?

Use examples from internships, classes and school projects, activities, team participation, community service,

hobbies and work experience -- anything really -- as examples of your past behavior. In addition, you may use

examples of special accomplishments, whether personal or professional, such as scoring the winning

touchdown, being elected president of your Greek organization, winning a prize for your artwork, surfing a big

wave, or raising money for charity. Wherever possible, quantify your results. Numbers always impress

employers.

Remember that many behavioral questions try to get at how you responded to

negative situations; you'll need

to have examples of negative experiences ready, but try to choose negative experiences that you made the

best of or -- better yet, those that had positive outcomes.

Here's a good way to prepare for behavior-based interviews:

•

Identify six to eight examples from your past experience where you demonstrated top behaviors and

skills that employers typically seek. Think in terms of examples that will exploit your top selling points.

•

Half your examples should be totally positive, such as accomplishments or meeting goals.

•

The other half should be situations that started out negatively but either ended positively or you made

the best of the outcome.

•

Vary your examples; don't take them all from just one area of your life.

•

Use fairly recent examples. If you're a college student, examples from high school may be too long ago.

Accenture, in fact, specifies that candidates give examples of behaviors demonstrated within the last

year.

•

Try to describe examples in story form and/or PAR/SAR/STAR.

To cram for a behavioral interview right before you're interviewed, review your resume. Seeing your

achievements in print will jog your memory.

In the interview, listen carefully to each question, and pull an example out of your bag of tricks that provides an

appropriate description of how you demonstrated the desired behavior. With practice, you can learn to tailor a

relatively small set of examples to respond to a number of different behavioral questions.

http://www.quintcareers.com/STAR_interviewing.html

Career Services

Wayne State University

1001 F/AB

How to Behave in a Behavior-Based Interview

Lombardi, who earned a master's degree in industrial organizational psychology from West Chester

University, wrote his thesis on behavior-based interviewing. Now he's a college relations specialist at Kulicke &

Soffa Industries Inc., based in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, and he says his background has helped him

understand an interviewing technique that has become increasingly popular and, according to both his

research and popular opinion, more effective than traditional techniques.

"It seemed like the more structure and the more thought that was put into an interview, the better it

was," he says.

Lombardi says behavior-based questions are generally designed to determine if a candidate possesses

certain "key competencies."

"When I start any behavioral interview, I explain the process," Lombardi says. "I say, 'I'm going to be

asking you for specific examples. I will be asking you for details, including names of people, dates, and

outcomes.' I really like talking to people about lengthy projects they've had to do--how their role evolved, how

they handled time deadlines, pressures, and unexpected situations, and especially how they handled any

adversity...Everyone's got that kind of experience."

Lombardi says that the best way for students and new graduates to prepare for a behavior-based

interview is to dig up old research papers, to think hard about any difficulties encountered in summer and parttime

jobs, and to recount the steps it took to successfully complete school projects and projects that were part

of internships or co-ops.

"What I would recommend is for them to just kind of think through situations that have occurred, projects

they've worked on, specific experiences they've had," he says. "They should be able to talk about that in detail

and be very specific. They should reread that term paper...A lot of it is just common sense."

Following is a list of typical behavior-based questions, courtesy of Lombardi and

The Ultimate Job Search

Kit

by Damir Joseph Stimac. Competencies sought by the interviewer are listed in parentheses:

1. Describe a situation in which you had to use reference materials to write a research paper. What was

the topic? What journals did you read? (research/written communication)

2. Give me a specific example of a time when a co-worker or classmate criticized your work in front of

others. How did you respond? How has that event shaped the way you communicate with others? (oral

communication.

3. Give me a specific example of a time when you sold your supervisor or professor on an idea or

concept. How did you proceed? What was the result? (assertiveness)

4. Describe the system you use for keeping track of multiple projects. How do you track your progress so

that you can meet deadlines? How do you stay focused? (commitment to task)

5. Tell me about a time when you came up with an innovative solution to a challenge your company or

class was facing. What was the challenge? What role did others play? (creativity and imagination)

6. Describe a specific problem you solved for your employer or professor. How did you approach the

problem? What role did others play? What was the outcome? (decision making)

7. Describe a time when you got co-workers or classmates who dislike each other to work together. How

did you accomplish this? What was the outcome? (teamwork)

8. Tell me about a time when you failed to meet a deadline. What things did you fail to do? What were the

repercussions? What did you learn? (time management)

9. Describe a time when you put your needs aside to help a co-worker or classmate understand a task.

How did you assist them? What was the result? (flexibility)

10. Describe two specific goals you set for yourself and how successful you were in meeting them. What

factors led to your success in meeting your goals? (goal setting)

http://www.quintcareers.com/behavioral_interviewing.html

Career Services

Wayne State University

1001 F/AB

How do I prepare for a behavioral interview?

Companies that employ behavioral interviewing have predetermined the skill sets they require

for a particular position. These skill sets could include: decision making and problem solving,

leadership, motivation, communication, interpersonal skills, planning and organization, critical

thinking skills, team building and the ability to influence others. The company determines the

skill sets by doing a detailed analysis of the position they are seeking to fill. Job seekers also

must go through this same process. To conduct a job analysis the job seeker should ask

questions such as:

1. What are the necessary skills to do this job?

2. What makes a successful candidate?

3. What would make an unsuccessful candidate?

4. Why have people left this position previously?

5

. What is the most difficult part of this job?

Once you have landed the interview, keep in mind the following points.

Be detailed and specific. You should have developed three stories that illustrate your past

performance. Remember that the interviewer will be operating under the premise that "past

performance in a similar setting is the best predictor of future performance."

The best way to accomplish this is to use the three-step STAR process or

1. Situation or Task

2. Action

3. Result or outcome

For example, you might recount a time when communication within your work group had broken

down (situation). To resolve the problem, you organized informal lunch meetings for people to

discuss relevant issues (action). Morale then improved, as did the lines of communication

(result). Using this three step STAR process is a powerful way for you to frame your

experiences and accomplishments for the interviewer.

· Limit rambling and tangents. While you can't control what is asked, you can control what you

say.

· Listen carefully to each question. If you are unsure, rephrase the question and ask for

clarification. When you respond, be sure to recall your past accomplishments in detail.

· Practice your behavioral stories using real-life examples. It is very difficult to make up

behavioral stories, which is why behavioral interviewing is becoming more popular. By

practicing, you will be able to recall with confidence your past accomplishments.

Communication

•

Give me a specific example of a time when a co-worker critized your work in front of others. How did

you respond? How has that event shaped the way you communicate with others?

•

How do you ensure that someone understands what you are saying?

•

Tell me about a time when you had to present complex information.

http://www.quintcareers.com/behavioral_interviewing.html

Career Services

Wayne State University

1001 F/AB

•

Tell me about a time in which you had to use your written communication skills in order to get across an

important point.

Decision Making

•

Give me an example of a time you had to make a difficult decision.

•

Describe a specific problem you solved for your employer. How did you approach the problem? What

role did others play? What was the outcome?

•

Give me an example of when taking your time to make a decision paid off.

Initiative

•

What did you do to prepare for this interview?

•

Give me an example of a situation that could not have happened successfully without you being there.

Planning and Organization

•

Describe a situation when you had many projects due at the same time. What steps did you take to get

them all done?

•

How do you determine priorities in scheduling your time? Give me an example.

Flexibility

•

Describe a time where you were faced with problems or stresses that tested your coping skills.

•

Describe a time when you put your needs aside to help a co-worker understand a task. How did you

assist them? What was the result?

Leadership

•

Tell me about a time when you influenced the outcome of a project by taking a leadership role.

•

Give me an example of when you involved others in making a decision.

Time Management

•

Tell me about a time when you failed to meet a deadline. What things did you fail to do? What were the

repercussions? What did you learn?

•

Tell me about a time when you were particularly effective on prioritizing tasks and completing a project

on schedule.

http://www.quintcareers.com/behavioral_interviewing.html

 

================another matter on the subject============

July, 2002

BEHAVIORAL EVENT

INTERVIEW

STUDY GUIDE

Copyright © 2002 by BellSouth

All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

BellSouth will consider requests for testing accommodations from individuals covered by the Americans

with Disabilities Act. Documentation of the need for the accommodation may be required.

BEI 2 July ‘02

BEHAVIORAL EVENT INTERVIEW

What is a Behavioral Interview?

As part of BellSouth’s Consumer Services hiring process, you will participate in what is called a

behavioral interview. A behavioral interview is a structured interview that is used to collect

information about past behavior. Because past performance is a predictor of future behavior, a

behavioral interview attempts to uncover your past performance by asking open-ended questions.

Each question helps the interviewer learn about your past performance in a key skill area that is

critical to success in the position for which you are interviewing. The interview will be conducted

face-to-face whenever possible.

Using the STAR Technique

In a behavioral interview, the interviewer will ask questions about your past experiences. A useful

way to prepare for this style of questioning is to use the STAR technique. The STAR technique is a

way to frame the answers to each question in an organized manner that will give the interviewer the

most information about your past experience. As you prepare to answer each question, consider

organizing your response by answering each of the following components of the STAR technique:

What was the

Situation in which you were involved?

What was the

Task you needed to accomplish?

What

Action(s) did you take?

What

Results did you achieve?

Preparation Tips

What’s the best way to stay relaxed and calm during an interview? Be

prepared. Here are some tips:

•

= Research the business unit or department.



= Become familiar with the products, services, structure, competitors, reputation, and any recent

significant changes.



=Review the job description to understand the skills required.

•

= Do “research” on yourself as well.



=Know why you want the job.



=Review your resume.



= Identify transferable skills, key accomplishments, work style, and personal and professional

strengths. Remind yourself of specific experiences that exemplify these skills and strengths.



= Be able to express the unique marketable skills you have to offer.

•

= Prepare a list of four or five questions about the department or position.

•

= Get a good nights’ rest.

•

= Know the exact place and time of the meeting.

•

= Allow plenty of time to get to the interview and plan to arrive early.

BEI 3 July ‘02

Interview Tips

•

= Listen carefully, and feel free to ask for clarification before answering a question.

•

= Take a moment to formulate your answers before you speak.

•

= Project energy and enthusiasm.

•

= Be honest while focusing on communicating your professional achievements.

•

= Bring extra resumes, a notepad, and a pen.

•

= Be polite to everyone you meet at the interview.

•

= Do not chew gum, swear, or use slang.

•

= Thank the interviewer for their time. Within a day, send a written thank you note via e-mail or

regular mail.

•

= If the interview is face-to-face:



=Look your professional best.



= Be conservative in your use of fragrance, cosmetics, and jewelry.



=Make eye contact with the interviewer.



= Be aware of the interviewer’s body language and other non-verbal cues.

Sample Behavioral Interview Questions

Need more help? Here’s a list of some sample behavioral interview questions*:

•

= Tell me about a time when you were on a team, and one of the members wasn’t doing his or her

share.

•

= Tell me about a time when you felt a need to update your skills or knowledge in order to keep up

with the changes in technology. How did you approach that?

•

= Describe a time when a customer got angry with you. How did you react? How did you resolve the

situation?

•

= Please give me an example of a time when you took the initiative to improve a specific work

process.

•

= Give me an example of a time when you surpassed a customer’s expectations.

•

= Tell me about a time when a customer requested special treatment that was out of the scope of

normal procedures. What was the situation and how did you handle it?

•

= Describe a time when you had to use logic and good judgement to solve a problem.

•

= Tell me about a time when you had to cope with a stressful situation.

•

= Give me an example of a time when you had to make a split second decision.

•

= Give me an example of a time when you used your fact-finding skills to solve a problem.

•

= Describe a time when you put your needs aside to help a co-worker understand a task. How did

you assist them? What was the result?

*Please note that questions included in this interview guide are not used in BellSouth’s interview

process. Doing well on the sample questions does not guarantee successful performance in any

porti

======================================

Also read this from other Internet sources:

http://www.asisvcs.com/bellsouth/pdf/710057.pdf
http://www.parexcellence.org/downloads/Behavioural%20Event%20Interview.pdf
http://www.udel.edu/CSC/pdf/behav_interview.pdf
http://www.qtslp.com/documents/BehavioralEventInterviewQuestions.pdf

BEI Interview questions: http://www.executiveboard.com/exbd-resources/pdf/careers/BehavioralQuestions.pdf

http://tinyurl.com/423oyto

Please note that the content above is combination of my work, books by other authors and Internet sources used while doing research.

Candidate Help

Check some sample cover notes / letter here

http://allcoverletters.com/manager-cover-letter-sample/

Interview Questions

Potential Interview Questions

Collected from Internet sources like Monster.com, About.com and few more

There are various Internet sources giving us list of questions that we recruiters can ask. Here is a list created from few major sites.

Further in the later section of this page, I have collected here potential best 100 questions. Some are real basic questions to an extent that this may bore you but worth a look since this will avoid you from missing any potential good question. I always suggest my recruiters to highlight best questions from this list before they go ahead and interview a potential new hire. 

The 10 Best Interview Questions to Ask

The best interview questions tell you about the person behind the resume, revealing the job candidate’s personality, strengths, weaknesses, knowledge, skills and abilities.
The best interview questions also benefit job seekers by giving them an opportunity to speak to details that don’t fit on a resume.
While a savvy interviewer always includes questions tailored to the position, our list of the 10 best questions works across a variety of industries and job descriptions:

1. From everything you’ve learned about this role, me and our company, tell me how you feel you’d make a contribution.
This interview question sorts people into two categories: contenders and also-rans.
“Those who have really prepared will love this opportunity to shine and stand out, demonstrating that they have done all the homework that can absolutely be done in today’s world of instant information,” says Darrell W. Gurney, career coach and author of Never Apply for a Job Again: Break the Rules, Cut the Line, Beat the Rest.
“Those who haven’t will stumble and try to put some generic response together, which will be obvious.”

2. Why should we hire you?
This is among the best interview questions because it asks job candidates to define what sets them apart from the intense competition in today’s job market, says Doug Schade, principal & supervising executive recruiter, Winter, Wyman & Company -- New York Accounting & Finance.
Faced with a big stack of resumes telling a similar story, this question helps you determine the best candidate. 
An interviewee who does a great job explaining how her unique experience, education, industry credentials, and personal interests will power your business will do the same thing for your company once hired.

3. If you could start your career over again, what would you do differently?
While no one likes to dwell on past regrets, this can be a good question to ask, says Brendan Courtney, president of staffing firms Randstad Finance & Accounting and The Mergis Group, Boston.
Asking a candidate to explain the major decisions he has made, highlighting the positive and negative, reveals the person’s ability to make calculated decisions based on past professional and personal experiences.
It also lets candidates share their vision for the future and their ambitions.

4. When I contact your last supervisor and ask which area of your work needs the most improvement, what will I learn?
“I love this question because it’s the one that actually garners an honest response from the candidate,” says career coach Lauren Milligan of ResuMayday, a Warrenville, Illinois, career-counseling firm.
“No amount of finesse will influence this answer because when the supervisor is brought into the conversation, the candidate knows the truth will come out anyway. Essentially, it’s the same question as ‘what is your biggest weakness,’ phrased in an unexpected way.”

5. Describe the best boss you ever reported to.
This is a great interview question because it tells you about past relationships, says Kathy Downs, recruiting manager, Robert Half Finance & Accounting, Menlo Park, California.
“Because it highlights the personality and work types the applicant meshes with best, the interviewer can gain greater insights into the candidate’s communication skills, work style and potential cultural fit,” she says.
Follow up with questions about what made the relationship click -- was it personality, performance, or perhaps a cheerleader type of boss? Does the candidate prefer autonomy to handholding, or was he inspired by a mutual drive to achieve organizational goals?

6. Tell me about what motivates you. 

7. What frustrates you?
Ask these questions in sequence to better understand the interviewee’s motivations, explains Janette Marx, SVP with Adecco Staffing US, Melville, N.Y.
If what drives the interviewee matches the position and your corporate culture, you have a winner.
When the candidate then talks about past frustrations, he reveals details about his personality, diplomacy skills and ability to work on teams.
Does the candidate answer by discussing minor irritations -- or ways that he successfully resolved serious conflicts over time, budgets, or priorities? The latter are candidates who have positive intelligence.

8. Tell me about the toughest negotiation you’ve ever been in.
Every job involves negotiation, and this question yields insight, not only in their direct negotiation skills, but also how the job seeker navigates difficult situations, Marx says.
The best negotiators answer this question by laying out both sides of the problem and then explaining how they aligned the issues or followed a process to a mutually-agreeable solution. 

9. How do you involve your staff when an important company strategy decision needed to be made? 
The candidate’s answer tells you whether a manager is secure enough to involve others in strategic decision-making, says Jayne Mattson, senior vice president, Keystone Associates, Boston, a career management firm.
How the job seeker involves his staff -- via written communication, one-on-one or in a group setting -- tells you a lot about their management style.

10. Where do you see yourself in five years?
With this question, it's not what the candidate says but how she says it that’s important, says Joey V. Price, CEO of Jumpstart HR, a managed HR services firm in Washington, D.C.
“If you see someone's eyes light up at the thought of the future, then you can tell this is a very ambitious person who knows where they want to go and will do everything in their power to help ensure your organization gets them there.”

Other 100 Best Interview Questions to Ask

• Tell me about yourself starting from your family, education and experience background.
• What are your strengths? OR you can also ask - If I ask your boss to list your strength areas what will he / she answer. 
• What are your weaknesses? Similar to above - If I ask your friend to list your three key strength areas, what will he / she answer. 
• Who was your favorite manager and why?
• What kind of personality do you work best with and why?
• Why do you want this job?
• Where would you like to be in your career five years from now?
• Tell me about your proudest achievement.
• If you were at a business lunch and you ordered a rare steak and they brought it to you well done, what would you do?
• If I were to give you this salary you requested but let you write your job description for the next year, what would it say?
• Why is there fuzz on a tennis ball?
• How would you go about establishing your credibility quickly with the team?
• There's no right or wrong answer, but if you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
• How would you feel about working for someone who knows less than you?
• Was there a person in your career who really made a difference?
• What's your ideal company?
• What attracted you to this company?
• What are you most proud of?
• What are you looking for in terms of career development?
• What do you look for in terms of culture -- structured or entrepreneurial?
• What do you like to do?
• Give examples of ideas you've had or implemented.
• What are your lifelong dreams?
• What do you ultimately want to become?
• How would you describe your work style?
• What kind of car do you drive?
• Tell me about a time where you had to deal with conflict on the job.
• What's the last book you read?
• What magazines do you subscribe to?
• What would be your ideal working situation?
• Why should we hire you?
• What did you like least about your last job?
• What do you think of your previous boss?
• How do you think I rate as an interviewer?
• Do you have any questions for me?
• When were you most satisfied in your job?
• What can you do for us that other candidates can't?
• What are three positive things your last boss would say about you?
• What negative thing would your last boss say about you?
• If you were an animal, which one would you want to be?
• What salary are you seeking?
• What's your salary history?
• Do you have plans to have children in the near future?
• What were the responsibilities of your last position?
• What do you know about this industry?
• What do you know about our company?
• How long will it take for you to make a significant contribution?
• Are you willing to relocate?
• What was the last project you headed up, and what was its outcome?
• What kind of goals would you have in mind if you got this job?
• Give me an example of a time that you felt you went above and beyond the call of duty at work.
• What would you do if you won the lottery?
• Can you describe a time when your work was criticized?
• Have you ever been on a team where someone was not pulling their own weight? How did you handle it?
• What is your personal mission statement?
• Tell me about a time when you had to give someone difficult feedback. How did you handle it?
• What is your greatest failure, and what did you learn from it?
• What irritates you about other people, and how do you deal with it?
• What is your greatest fear?
• Who has impacted you most in your career, and how?
• What do you see yourself doing within the first 30 days of this job?
• What's the most important thing you've learned in school?
• What three character traits would your friends use to describe you?
• What will you miss about your present/last job?
• If you were interviewing someone for this position, what traits would you look for?
• List five words that describe your character.
• What is your greatest achievement outside of work?
• Sell me this pencil.
• If I were your supervisor and asked you to do something that you disagreed with, what would you do?
• Do you think a leader should be feared or liked?
• What's the most difficult decision you've made in the last two years?
• What do you like to do for fun?
• Why are you leaving your present job?
• What do you do in your spare time?
• How do you feel about taking no for an answer?
• What was the most difficult period in your life, and how did you deal with it?
• What is your favorite memory from childhood?
• Give me an example of a time you did something wrong. How did you handle it?
• Tell me one thing about yourself you wouldn't want me to know.
• Tell me the difference between good and exceptional.
• Why did your choose your major?
• What are the qualities of a good leader? A bad leader?
• What is your biggest regret, and why?
• What are three positive character traits you don't have?
• What irritates you about other people, and how do you deal with it?
• If you found out your company was doing something against the law, like fraud, what would you do?
• How many times do a clock's hands overlap in a day?
• How would you weigh a plane without scales?
• What assignment was too difficult for you, and how did you resolve the issue?
• If I were to ask your last supervisor to provide you additional training or exposure, what would she suggest?
• If you could choose one superhero power, what would it be and why?
• What's the best movie you've seen in the last year?
• Describe how you would handle a situation if you were required to finish multiple tasks by the end of the day, and there was no conceivable way that you could finish them.
• What techniques and tools do you use to keep yourself organized?
• If you could get rid of any one of the provinces, which one would you get rid of, and why?
• With your eyes closed, tell me step-by-step how to tie my shoes.
• If you had to choose one, would you consider yourself a big-picture person or a detail-oriented person?
• If selected for this position, can you describe your strategy for the first 90 days?
• Who are your heroes?
• Tell me 10 ways to use a pencil other than writing.