Sample Questions

Questions That Could Be Asked of You Simply Because They Have Been Asked of Others

No one can prepare for all of these questions, but you can expect one or more to be asked by a skilled interviewer.

• Why should I hire you?
• What are your strongest abilities?
• How do your skills relate to our needs?
• What are you looking for?
• What would you like to know about our firm?
• Tell me something about yourself.
• What are your greatest strengths/weaknesses?
• Where do you want to be in 5 years?
• Why do you want to work for us?
• What does "success" mean to you? What does "failure" mean to you?
• What are your three major accomplishments?
• What if I told you that you'd work very hard, but recognition of your contributions would be nil?
• What have you disliked in your past jobs?
• What kinds of people do you enjoy working with?
• What kinds of people frustrate you?
• How long before you can make a contribution?
• In the past year, what have you been dissatisfied about in your performance?
• How long a commitment do you plan to give me?
• What is your ideal job?
• What can you tell me about your previous supervisors?
• Which is more important to you: money or the type of job?
• What have you learned from your activities?
• Were your extracurricular activities worth the time you put into them?
• What qualities should a successful manager possess?
• What two attributes are most important in your job?
• Give an example of what you’ve learned from your mistakes.
• What have you done that you consider creative?
• Who do you admire? Why?
• Why are you interested in our company?
• What do you get passionate about?
• What courses are you taking?
• Why did you choose the school from which you were graduated?
• Have you ever managed a conflict? How?
• What are your short and long-range goals and objectives?
• We’re a start-up, how do you feel about working longer hours than you might in an established firm?