Questions You Could Be Asked During An Interview

There is no limit to the range of questions you may be asked and the variation between them. However, there are many questions which come up time and time again. You should have thought of the answer to these questions for your own peace of mind. The questions given below are typical of the kind of questions you may be asked. The list is not exhaustive, but gives general guidelines.

Qualifications

Why did you study X at school/college?
What are your educational qualifications?
How important do you think qualifications are?
What were your best subjects at school or college?
What training have you had since leaving full-time education?
Have you been in any courses whilst in your present employment?
Are you willing to undertake training even if this takes place in your spare time?

Work experience

What does your present job involve?
What do you enjoy most/least about it?
What did you find easiest/most difficult in your last job?
What are your greatest achievements/failures at work?
Why did you choose this career?
Why did you leave your previous job?
Why are you seeking a new job?
What kind of work are you looking for?
Have you ever done this kind of work before?
Why were you out of work for so long?
Why were you made redundant?
Isn’t this job a step down for you?
Give evidence of a time when you demonstrated initiative in your job?
Have you any experience of managing staff?

Working style

Do you prefer to work alone or as part of a team?
What are your working relationships like?
How do you get on with your boss?
How would you change things if you came to work here? Can you work under pressure?
Give evidence to show that you are used to meeting deadlines.

How do you motivate others?

Ambition and personal motivation

Where do you want to be in five years’ time?
What sort of work would you most like to do, given the choice?
What would you do if you inherited/ won a large sum of money?
Which is more important to you, money or power?
What sort of people do you get on with best?
What sort of people do you find it difficult to get on with?
Are you a competitive person?
How would you describe your management style?
How long do you think you will stay in this job?
How much do you know about this organization?
Do you know the name of the chairman of this company?

Interests

What are your leisure interests/activities?
Which newspaper do you read?
What television programmes do you watch?

Personality

Tell me about yourself?
What is your greatest weakness?
What do your consider to be your strengths?
Are you political/ religious?

Health

How often did you have time off in your last job?
How many days sick leave did you take in the last year?
Have you had any serious illnesses?
How do you cope with stress/pressure?

Background

Where were you brought up?
Which school did you attend?
Tell me about your family.