Interview Questions by Industry

Browse the interview questions by career field below. Pick your field to see examples of behavioral, situational, industry-specific, and general questions you may encounter.

Allied Health #section

Below are some common questions you may encounter in a job interview for an allied health position.

Behavioral Questions

  1. Describe a challenging problem you faced on one of your clinical rotations. How did you solve the problem?
  2. Give me an example of a time you had to work under pressure. What actions did you take and what was the result?
  3. Tell me about a time when you had deal with a difficult patient and/or family. How did you handle that situation?
  4. Tell me about a time when something did not go as planned at work. What happened and what did you learn from the experience? How would you use this experience in a positive way in your new position?
  5. Tell me about a time when you had to handle an irate physician, co-worker, or patient. How did you handle it and what were the results?
  6. Provide an example in which you demonstrated strong communication skills.
  7. What have you done that shows initiative?

Situational Questions

  1. How will you deal with difficult doctors?
  2. How will you handle unexpected circumstances, such as being short staffed and having to perform a treatment you have not done before?
  3. Demonstrate the steps you would take to create a treatment plan for a patient. Provide examples if applicable.
  4. Describe your approach to providing compassionate and respectful patient care.
  5. Explain the importance of maintaining accurate medical records and how you ensure accuracy when entering data
  6. What strategies do you use to stay organized while managing multiple tasks at once?

Industry Knowledge Questions

  1. Tell me how your clinical experience prepared you for this position.
  2. Which clinical specialty area have you enjoyed the most and why?
  3. What type of health care experience do you have?
  4. Where did you get your training and what certifications do you have?
  5. How long has it been since you worked in (ER, OR, ICU, or particular specialty area)?
  6. What specialties are you interested in working in and why?
  7. Why did you choose (ER, OR, ICU, LTC, FNP, or other specialty area of nursing)?
  8. What professional organizations do you belong to?
  9. How do you stay informed with current health care advancements?

General Questions

  1. What made you decide to enter the healthcare field?
  2. What qualities do you possess that will help you get up to speed quickly with the demands of your new unit?
  3. Why do you want to work in our hospital and/or community?
  4. Do you have any related work and/or volunteer experience? If so, please elaborate.
  5. Which part of your coursework have you enjoyed the most and why? Least and why?
  6. What do you believe are essential qualities you must possess to be successful in the healthcare industry?

Business #section

Below are some common questions you may encounter in a job interview for a business position.

Behavioral Questions

  1. Describe a specific problem you solved for an employer or professor. How did you approach the problem? What role did others play? What was the outcome?
  2. Tell me about a time when you were participating in a team project and somebody dropped the ball. What did you do to help the team finish the project on time?
  3. 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?
  4. Give me an example of a situation in which your ethics were challenged. How did you handle it?
  5. Provide an example of how you have demonstrated leadership skills.
  6. Describe a specific instance, in a group situation, where you made your views known about an issue important to yourself. What was the issue, and why was it crucial?
  7. Provide an example of how you have performed well under pressure.
  8. As a manager or supervisor, one of your jobs is to provide direction and leadership. Describe how you have accomplished this in the past.

Situational Questions

  1. How do you decide which tasks take priority when organizing a project?
  2. How do you build rapport with a customer?
  3. How do you handle conflicts between employees?

Industry Knowledge Questions

  1. Which accounting applications are you familiar with? Describe how you can apply your knowledge of these applications to this position.
  2. Tell me about the investment books you have read lately.
  3. Do you have any experience with marketing and advertising campaigns?
  4. Describe your experience of working with the budgeting process.
  5. How do you intend to keep up with the latest accounting rules and techniques?
  6. What do you consider to be the biggest challenge facing the business profession today?
  7. Talk to me about the stock market. What do you think about it?
  8. Describe your experience with change management and leading organizational transformations.
  9. Give me an example of the accounting reports you have prepared.

General Questions

  1. Have you completed an internship or co-op? If so, please describe what you have learned from this experience and how you will use this experience in this position.
  2. If I were to interview your classmates, how would they describe your strengths and weaknesses as a leader?
  3. How would you describe your management style?
  4. What factors are crucial within an organization and must be present for you to work most effectively?
  5. What are your career goals? What are you planning to do with your management degree?
  6. What are three effective leadership qualities you think are important? How have you demonstrated these qualities in your past/current situation?
  7. What skill sets do you think are most important for a supervisor/manager to have and why?
  8. What are the qualifications needed to be a good salesman?

Communication Arts, PR, & Communications #section

Below are some common questions you may encounter in a job interview for a communication arts or PR position. 

Behavioral Questions

  1. Tell me about a time when your ideas did not meet the expectations of your client. What was the situation and how did you handle it?
  2. Tell me about a time you have worked under pressure.
  3. Have you ever removed yourself from a project? What was the situation and what did you learn from it?
  4. Describe a situation where you worked effectively with others as part of a team. What was your role, and what was the outcome?
  5. How do you prepare for a presentation? Can you share a presentation you've delivered that received positive feedback?

Situational Questions

  1. How do you react when your design is not accepted? What are your next steps?
  2. How would you utilize digital platforms to enhance organizational communication?
  3. Imagine a scenario where you must effectively communicate complex information to a non-technical audience. How might you ensure they understand the message?
  4. How do you develop rapport with your clients and maintain a positive working relationship?
  5. How do you ensure that your communication is effective across diverse audiences?
  6. What methods of communication do you utilize to keep in contact with your clients?

Industry Knowledge Questions

  1. How do you stay updated on the latest communication trends and technologies?
  2. Tell me how the use of color affects design and layout?
  3. What types of design software are you familiar with and which ones do use regularly?
  4. Do you have a portfolio of your work?
  5. How can you tell if something is well-designed?
  6. Tell me about your design process. What steps do you take to ensure you are meeting the needs of the client while adding your creativity?
  7. What methods do you use to measure the success of your communication strategies?

General Questions

  1. How would you describe your artistic style?
  2. What inspires you?
  3. What components are crucial for your designs?
  4. What project are you most proud of? Explain

Criminal Justice, Law, & Law School #section

Below are some common questions you may encounter in an interview for a criminal justice or law position, as well as law school admission.

Behavioral Questions

  1. Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.
  2. Provide me with an example of a time when you had to conform to a policy with which you did not agree.
  3. Give me an example of a time you had to make a split-second decision. What was the situation and what was the result?
  4. Tell me about a situation in which you had to deal with a person who was upset. How did you handle it?
  5. Tell me about a time when you successfully handled a stressful situation with multiple factors. What was the situation and what steps did you take?
  6. Explain a situation in which you had a conflict and how you resolved it. What would you do differently? Why?
  7. How do you resolve disagreements with others?
  8. How do you handle stressful situations or high-pressure environments, such as during investigations or court proceedings?
  9. How do you approach working with diverse communities within the criminal justice system, such as minority groups, immigrants, or individuals with different socio-economic backgrounds?

Situational Questions

  1. What actions would you take as a police officer to ensure good relations with the citizens in the area you patrol?
  2. You’re off duty, at a local restaurant, and the owner recognizes you as a police officer that patrols the neighborhood. The owner says, “Good job. Keep my restaurant safe, ok?” and then writes no charge on your bill. What will you do?
  3. What would you do if you were issued a direct order but you knew this order would either place others or yourself in danger?
  4. For the past several months, there have been many assignments that required someone to work late at night. Everyone in your office has done their share of working late hours except for one person. His continual refusal to work after hours is causing a strain on his co-workers. What would you do?
  5. Two co-workers in your office do not like each other and they refuse to work together. Because of this situation, assignment scheduling is a challenge and morale is low. What would you do?
  6. What would you do if you were assigned a partner whom you did not like?

Industry Knowledge Questions

  1. Under what circumstances is deadly force justified?
  2. When is it okay to disobey an order?
  3. What is the most important development in the law field over the past 25 years, and why?
  4. What newspapers or journals do you read regularly?
  5. What do you think you will enjoy about being a correction officer?
  6. What do you think will be the hardest thing about being a correction officer?
  7. What are the negative aspects of law from a professional standpoint?

General Questions

  1. Why did you choose a career in Criminal Justice/Justice Administration?
  2. How well do you follow instructions?
  3. Tell me about your ability to work as a part of a team. In which role on the team do you feel most comfortable?
  4. Is there anything else we should know about your qualifications to be a police officer?
  5. Where do you see yourself in 1 year? 5 years? 10 years?
  6. Are you currently participating in any type of physical fitness program?
  7. Describe your greatest accomplishment.
  8. How will you be able to contribute to this field?
  9. How do you motivate yourself?
  10. Would you prefer to work on one big case for an entire year or multiple cases throughout the year?
  11. Tell us about your qualifications for working as a police officer.

Law School Admission Interview Questions

  1. How has your undergraduate and/or graduate degree(s) prepared you for law school?
  2. What do you know about our program?
  3. Why did you choose to apply to our program?
  4. What other schools are you considering?
  5. What do you believe your greatest challenge will be if you are accepted into this program?
  6. Why should we accept you and not someone else?
  7. What courses have you enjoyed the most?
  8. What courses have been most difficult for you?
  9. How would you rate yourself in the following areas? (a.) Reading and Comprehension (b.) Analytical Skills (c.) Communication – oral and written
  10. What skills or abilities do you hope to strengthen through our program?
  11. Tell me about your volunteer experiences.
  12. Which area of law are you most interested in?
  13. What kind of experience do you have in the law field?
  14. Describe the daily functions of a lawyer and convince me that you have a thorough knowledge of the profession.
  15. What type of lawyer would you like to be? Why?

Culinary Arts #section

Below are some common questions you may encounter in a job interview for a culinary arts position.

Behavioral Questions

  1. Tell me about your leadership skills in the kitchen and how you will maintain an effective workflow.
  2. How do you react when left to work without supervision?
  3. Tell me about a time when you have worked in a high-pressure environment. What were your responsibilities and how did you cope with the pace and demands?
  4. Tell me about a time when you had to work with a difficult person. What was the situation and how did you handle it?
  5. How do you handle working with staff with whom you are not comfortable? What do you do in such situations?
  6. Tell me about a meal you had to prepare for a large group that stretched your attention to detail. What advice would you give somebody who has to do a similar job?
  7. Describe a time when you felt the kitchen was under enormous pressure. What steps did you take?
  8. Describe a time when you had to help another cook who was having difficulty concentrating. What did you do to help them?
  9. Tell me about a time when something you tried to accomplish failed. What did you learn from this?
  10. Describe a situation in which you effectively developed a solution to a problem by combining different perspectives or approaches.
  11. Tell me about a time when you had to learn something new in a short period. How did you proceed?
  12. Describe your ability to receive constructive criticism and improve your skills.

Situational Questions

  1. If you were designing a kitchen within a budget, what 3 components would you not compromise on?
  2. You’re in the middle of a dinner rush and realize that a key ingredient for a popular menu item just ran out. How would you handle the situation?
  3. Imagine a new hire is slowing down the line because they’re overwhelmed. What steps would you take to support them while keeping service flowing smoothly?
  4. You’re asked to create a special dish for a customer with multiple dietary restrictions (e.g., gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free). Walk me through how you would approach this.

Industry Knowledge Questions

  1. Tell me about the steps you take to ensure the food you are preparing is of the best quality.
  2. How often do you think of new menus and new ways to prepare and combine foods and flavors that will improve the quality and profitability of your kitchen? Can you provide an example?
  3. When creating a new dish or menu, what details are the most important?
  4. Can you describe your experience managing food costs and maintaining inventory?
  5. What techniques do you use to ensure food safety and sanitation in the kitchen?
  6. What skills do you feel are necessary for someone working in a high-pressure environment? Provide examples of your skills that are necessary for this environment.

General Questions

  1. How would your current or previous supervisor(s) describe your work ethic?
  2. What do you want to learn from this position?
  3. What types of professional development activities do you participate in to learn new skills or to improve your current skills?
  4. What inspires you?
  5. How would you describe your cooking philosophy?

Education - Teaching #section

Below are some common questions you may encounter in a job interview for a teaching position.

Behavioral Questions

  1. How do you handle discipline in your classroom?
  2. How do you ensure your lessons are taught at the correct level?
  3. How do you meet the range of needs commonly present in a classroom?
  4. Describe your most difficult student discipline situation and how you handled it.
  5. If students are having difficulty learning a skill or concept, what do you do?
  6. What was your biggest problem in student teaching? How did you resolve it?

Situational Questions

  1. How would you incorporate parents into the classroom?
  2. What are some examples of rules you would have in your classroom? How would they be established?
  3. What techniques would you use to keep students actively involved and motivated during a lesson?
  4. How would you assess student learning and progress in your classroom?

Industry Knowledge Questions

  1. Describe your teaching style.
  2. Define the role of the principal.
  3. Describe in detail a lesson you taught.
  4. Tell me about your experience with special education students.
  5. Do you have (i.e. multicultural, urban, learning problems, etc) teaching experience?
  6. When do you use an individual, group, and/or whole-class teaching approach? Why?
  7. If I walked into your classroom, what would I see and hear?
  8. What are some characteristics of a well-managed classroom?
  9. What is your experience with and philosophy concerning the use of computer technology in the classroom?
  10. Do you have experience in writing lesson plans?

General Questions

  1. What is your philosophy of education?
  2. Why do you want to work in our school district?
  3. Why did you enter the teaching field?
  4. What qualities do you have that make you an effective teacher?
  5. What grade levels or subjects do you prefer to teach?
  6. Describe the ideal classroom environment.
  7. What professional development topics most interest you?
  8. What extracurricular activities can you supervise?

Education - Administration #section

Below are some common questions you may encounter in a job interview for an education administration position.

Behavioral Questions

  1. Describe a successful school project and your role in the project.
  2. Tell me about a situation where you were not successful. What would you do differently if given a second chance?
  3. How have you communicated with irate parents? What was the outcome? How do you involve parents in the learning process?
  4. How do you reach out to unengaged parents/family members?
  5. Share some examples of your efforts to advocate for your students (all students).

Situational Questions

  1. If you were hired, how could you help enhance student learning and create a more positive learning climate?
  2. You notice a sudden increase in student conflicts and absenteeism. What steps would you take to diagnose and improve the situation?
  3. How would you handle a situation where a group of teachers voice their concerns about a lack of administrative support?

Industry Knowledge Questions

  1. What is your student management (discipline) philosophy? Give an example from your past that demonstrates this philosophy.
  2. What are the important characteristics of a successful school?
  3. Describe your technology skills. What tech skills should teachers have to be effective in their classrooms?
  4. Tell us about your supervisory experiences. What skills are essential for being an effective supervisor/evaluator of staff? How do you help staff become more effective?
  5. Tell us about your experience with diversity issues; with multicultural and multilingual students/parents.
  6. What is your philosophy on student assessment?

General Questions

  1. What skills do you have that will make you an effective leader?
  2. Define leadership.
  3. How will you measure your success as an administrator in our system?
  4. How do you set a vision for your building? How will you achieve this vision?
  5. Tell us about yourself. How do you deal with stress? Conflict?
  6. What makes you the best candidate for this position?
  7. How do you want students to view you? Why?
  8. How do you model integrity, fairness, and ethical behavior?
  9. In what ways do you use your leadership skills to have a positive effect on the community?
  10. What knowledge, talents, or skills do you possess that you believe would benefit our students in their learning process?
  11. What’s the most important/satisfying thing you’ve done this year?
  12. Why should we hire you? What separates you from others?

Engineering #section

Below are some common questions you may encounter in a job interview for an engineering position.

Behavioral Questions

  1. Tell me about a project you did where you had things go wrong. How did you handle it?
  2. Think about a good decision you made recently and one you wish you had not made. Describe the process you followed in making each decision.
  3. Have you ever had a situation when several people gave you assignments – all due very soon? How did you decide in what order to do them? Was that a successful approach to take?
  4. Describe your method for tracking your progress on work assignments. Has this method ever failed?
  5. What do you consider your biggest disaster and what did you learn from it?
  6. What do you consider your most successful project and why?
  7. Tell me about a unique approach you took to solve a problem. How did you come up with the approach? What other options did you consider?
  8. Give me an example of a technical problem you solved that involved creativity beyond the standard textbook examples.
  9. Describe a situation in which you thought it might be justifiable to bypass a policy or procedure, and why.
  10. How do you deal with clients who have unrealistic expectations?
  11. Getting the job done sometimes requires developing a detailed plan. Give me an example of a time when you developed and implemented such a plan. How did it turn out?

Situational Questions

  1. You discover a critical design flaw two days before a major project deadline. What steps would you take to address the issue and communicate with stakeholders?
  2. A teammate strongly disagrees with your technical recommendation. How would you handle the disagreement and move the project forward?
  3. A non-technical stakeholder asks for an explanation of a complex technical issue. How would you communicate it clearly?

Industry Knowledge Questions

  1. What's a new software or technology you recently worked with, and did you enjoy it? Were there any challenges you encountered?
  2. PC hardware experience: How do you configure this hard drive as a secondary drive in a primary-secondary setup?
  3. PC networking experience: How do you reconfigure this machine to be a member of the <netname> network?
  4. Logic Design experience: Write a pseudocode algorithm for implementing the XOR function.
  5. C++ experience: What is the main difference between C and C++?
  6. VB experience: The following code results in a run-time error. Why?
  7. What’s the best way to enumerate a linked list in reverse order in C?
  8. Implement the following pseudocode in C. Comment your code.

General Questions

  1. What do you know about our company?
  2. At this time in your studies, do you know which area of engineering you would prefer to work in after you graduate?
  3. What areas of mechanical engineering do you prefer to be involved with? What areas do you least like to be involved with?
  4. During your time at Speed School, what single course was the most challenging? What were those challenges? How did you overcome them?
  5. Why did you select engineering as your career field?
  6. How has your school program prepared you for your career?

Human Resources #section

Below are some common questions you may encounter in a job interview for a human resources position.

Behavioral Questions

  1. Tell me about a time when you had to handle an irate or upset employee. What steps did you take, and what was the outcome?
  2. Describe a situation where you had to address or investigate a complaint involving fairness, equity, or discrimination. How did you approach the issue, and what actions did you take?
  3. Give me an example of a time when you had to deliver corrective feedback or initiate a disciplinary discussion with an employee. How did you prepare, and what happened during the meeting?

Situational Questions

  1. As a human resources professional, occasionally you will experience days where everyone has a problem to solve or a question that needs to be answered. If you encounter a day where your schedule is full and someone comes to you with a situation that needs immediate attention, how will you handle it?
  2. How would you design a training program for new employees? What is the significance of the components you choose to use?
  3. What factors would you use in evaluating a trainee?
  4. Tell me what strategies you would employ if managing a work area with staff from a range of different cultural backgrounds.
  5. What process would you use in setting a salary for a new position in your company?
  6. How do you deal with someone who is not satisfied?

Industry Knowledge Questions

  1. What is your experience in benefits management?
  2. What can a supervisor do to enhance employees’ job performance and motivation?
  3. What are four questions you are not permitted to ask of an interviewee in an employment interview?

General Questions

  1. Why have you selected a career in Human Resources?
  2. What do you think the employees’ responsibilities are to the company?
  3. What motivates employees?

IT & CIS #section

Below are some common questions you may encounter in a job interview for an IT or CIS position.

Behavioral Questions

  1. Tell me about a time it was particularly difficult for the caller to explain the problem to you. How did you reach an understanding of the issue?
  2. Give me an example of when you had to simplify complex information to explain it to a caller.
  3. Discuss a situation when the caller had great difficulty understanding what you were explaining. What did you do?
  4. Describe a complicated problem you had to deal with. How did you gain a better understanding of the problem?
  5. Tell me about a problem that tested your analytical abilities. How did you reach a solution?
  6. Tell me about a time you had to adjust your approach to deal effectively with a work demand.
  7. Describe a time when you experienced conflicting work demands. How did you respond?

Situational Questions

  1. Imagine you are a couple of months into a 6-month project and it is overrun on costs. How would you deal with this most effectively, what steps would you take?
  2. Imagine you need to persuade a manager or colleague to adopt your technical recommendation on a project. How would you approach the situation, and what strategies would you use to gain their buy‑in?
  3. Suppose you are working with a customer who is frustrated and becoming increasingly difficult. How would you handle the interaction, and what steps would you take to resolve the issue?

Industry Knowledge Questions

  1. Explain what local area networks and wide area networks are, and how, if at all, they are related.
  2. As a 2nd line support agent, what criteria would you use when deciding to escalate a call to higher-level support?
  3. We are looking for a skilled developer to liaise directly with clients work on new code modules, and system enhancements, and solve functional and performance issues in products. Do you see this as being a challenge for you?
  4. We are looking for a Head of IT who has a strong knowledge of and expertise in the implementation of performance management techniques in a telecoms environment. Tell me more about your experience in this area.
  5. Accessibility standards are a major concern with web development. Tell me some considerations in selecting font size.
  6. What is involved in making a website accessible? What are arguments you use to convince others to invest in making their website accessible?
  7. What's a new software or technology you recently worked with, and did you enjoy it? Were there any challenges you encountered?
  8. Give me examples of how you comply with accessibility standards when developing a website.

General Questions

  1. What major class projects do you feel have been the most beneficial for your career?
  2. Describe your ability to work with a team.
  3. This position requires someone who can effectively communicate with various types of people via telephone and face-to-face to resolve computer issues. Tell me what type of communication skills you will utilize and how you will interact with various people.
  4. How do you keep your knowledge and skills current?
  5. In which areas do you consider yourself to be an expert, and how do you envision being able to utilize this expertise within this organization?

Liberal Arts #section

Below are some common questions you may encounter in a job interview for a liberal arts position.

Behavioral Questions

  1. Give me an example of a time when you were resourceful.
  2. Give me an example of something you did to build enthusiasm in others to act.
  3. Tell me about a time when you contributed to an innovative project. What role did you play, and what was the outcome? 

Situational Questions

  1. Imagine you are working on a collaborative project, and two team members strongly disagree with the direction. How would you approach resolving the conflict?
  2. If you were asked to analyze a complex issue and present findings to a group unfamiliar with the topic, how would you structure your approach?
  3. How would you prioritize your tasks to ensure high-quality work if you were assigned a project with a tight deadline? 

Industry Knowledge Questions

  1. What skills have you learned in college that will help you to succeed in this career field?
  2. How do you stay current in this field?
  3. What do you think are the key factors that influence organizational success, and how does your academic background help you understand them? 

General Questions

  1. Describe a professional skill that you developed in your last job/activity.
  2. What are the most/least rewarding aspects of your current job?
  3. What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort?
  4. What qualifications do you have that make you think that you will be successful in the position?
  5. What two or three things are most important to you in your job?
  6. How do you determine success?
  7. Describe your most rewarding academic experience.
  8. Do you have plans for continued study or an advanced degree?
  9. What do you think it takes to be successful in an organization like ours?
  10. What do you know about our company?
  11. Why do companies with good products/services sometimes fail?
  12. How do you organize and plan for major projects?

Marketing & Advertising #section

Below are some common questions you may encounter in a job interview for a marketing or advertising position.

Behavioral Questions

  1. Describe a time when you used your leadership skills to motivate others.
  2. Give me an example of when one of your ideas was met with resistance. How did you handle the situation and how was it resolved?
  3. Tell me about a time when you adapted to a changing situation.
  4. Provide me with an example of a marketing/advertising strategy you developed for a client. What was the goal of the strategy and was it achieved with the materials created?
  5. Tell me about a marketing/advertising plan that you worked on that was not successful. What happened and what did you learn from this experience?
  6. Tell me about a time when you solve a problem by using unconventional methods. What was the problem and what did you do?

Situational Questions

  1. What types of persuasive techniques would you use to entice a customer to purchase a specific product?
  2. You have been selected to head up a team to develop a marketing/advertising plan for a client’s new product. Tell me how you will assemble your team and what steps you will take to create and implement the plan.
  3. How would you handle a situation where your client is not pleased with your work?
  4. What would you do if your client is dissatisfied and tells you they may leave your company?
  5. How would you sell an idea to a potential client?

Industry Knowledge Questions

  1. Provide me with examples of marketing/advertising materials you have created.
  2. Tell me about your computer skills. What types of software are you familiar with in creating marketing/advertising materials and creating sales reports?
  3. How do you plan on generating new clients for our business?
  4. Describe an advertising campaign that you think is successful or unsuccessful. Why?
  5. Why is it important to use branding techniques?
  6. How do advertising agencies contribute to the success of a brand or how can they make a brand more successful?
  7. How would you describe our advertising agency? What is your perception of our advertising agency within the advertising industry?
  8. Describe to me what you believe is the target population for our product/services. What are the needs of this target population as it relates to our product/services? How would use address these needs in a marketing/advertising campaign?
  9. What is our company’s mission and how would you ensure your marketing/advertising campaigns reflect this mission?
  10. Describe to me the process you use to evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing/advertising.

General Questions

  1. What has led you to a career in marketing/advertising?
  2. What methods do you use to motivate both individuals and teams?
  3. Describe your ability to work as a member of a team. What role are you most comfortable with when working on a team? (i.e. leader, support role, etc)
  4. What do you expect to learn from working in this position?
  5. How well do you handle stress and what methods do you use to stay calm in difficult situations?
  6. Tell me how you plan to energize our company with your skills and experience.
  7. Why do you want to work for our advertising agency?
  8. How do you see yourself fitting in with our agency?
  9. This position requires you to travel frequently and on short notice. Tell me how you will use time management skills to meet these expectations and stay on-task with current projects.
  10. What methods do you use to establish good rapport with clients and your coworkers?

Pharmaceutical Sales #section

Below are some common questions you may encounter in a job interview for a pharmaceutical sales position.

Behavioral Questions

  1. Tell me about a time when you utilized persuasive skills to change others’ perceptions of an idea or product.
  2. Tell me about some of your recent goals and what you did to achieve them.
  3. Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills.
  4. Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.
  5. Tell me about a time when you successfully worked with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you or vice versa.
  6. Give me an example of a time when you showed initiative and took the lead.
  7. Describe a time when you anticipated potential problems and developed preventive measures.
  8. Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond what was asked of you.

Situational Questions

  1. How would you establish rapport with your clients?
  2. Describe to me how you would set up a meeting with a doctor who does not meet with pharmaceutical representatives.
  3. What would you do if you saw a doctor or colleague doing something unethical?

Industry Knowledge Questions

  1. How does your current or previous work experience compare to pharmaceutical sales?
  2. Provide examples of how you have met and/or exceeded sales goals.
  3. What is the best sales advice you've ever received?

General Questions

  1. Why did you decide to become a pharmaceutical salesperson?
  2. What qualities and skills do you possess that will help you succeed in this position?
  3. How would you describe selling?
  4. How long have you been seeking a position in this industry?
  5. How do you feel about working on your own most of the time?
  6. How well do you handle working under pressure?
  7. Where do you see yourself in 1 year? 5 years?
  8. Describe your presentation skills to me. What techniques do you use when trying to provide product information?
  9. How far would you go to make a sale?
  10. Describe your organizational skills and how you will utilize these skills on the job.

Psychology & Social Work #section

Below are some common questions you may encounter in a job interview for a psychology or social work position.

Behavioral Questions

  1. Tell me about a time when you had to juggle your regular responsibilities and deal with a sudden priority?
  2. Tell me about a time when you had a disagreement over a treatment plan. What was the situation and how did you handle it?
  3. Tell me about the methods you have used to build rapport with your past clients?
  4. Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond what was expected of you.
  5. This organization values collaboration with other community agencies to reduce duplication of services. Tell me about your thoughts on the importance of collaboration and how you have partnered with other groups.

Situational Questions

  1. This position requires you to maintain a large caseload. Tell me how you will utilize your organization and time management skills to manage this.
  2. How would you go about locating community resources in a neighborhood in which you have no relationships?
  3. Tell me what your method would be when referring clients to other agencies.
  4. How would you handle shifting priorities and working in a fast-paced, pressured environment?

Industry Knowledge Questions

  1. What skills have you learned in school that has prepared you for this career?
  2. What do you know about our organization? Who are our clientele and what types of services do we provide?
  3. Tell me how your field experience has prepared you for this position.
  4. What techniques do you use in crisis intervention work?
  5. What is your experience with group therapy?
  6. What is the counseling theory or approach that you most closely follow?
  7. What is the most creative and innovative counseling technique you have used?
  8. Describe the process you go through in developing a case plan.

General Questions

  1. Why did you select the Human Services/Psychology/Social Work field as your career path?
  2. What is your philosophy of life?
  3. Tell me what goals you would like to accomplish during your first year in this position?
  4. Why are you interested in the Human Services field?
  5. What types of clients have you worked with previously?
  6. Tell me about your experiences working with different populations. (i.e. women, youth, terminally ill, etc.)
  7. How would you describe your professional boundaries?
  8. What personal qualities are necessary for this position? Provide examples of the qualities you possess.
  9. How does the work in this organization fit your professional mission or experience?
  10. What are your qualifications?
  11. What type of management style do you prefer in a supervisor?
  12. What would you like to learn here?
  13. What are your career goals for the next year? 5 years? 10 years?
  14. How do you keep track of a lot of information at once?
  15. How do you see the word “leader” fitting into your role as a counselor?
  16. What do you think is the most important characteristic of a counselor?

Public Administration & Politics #section

Below are some common questions you may encounter in a job interview for a public administration or politics position.

Behavioral Questions

  1. Tell me about a situation from one of your previous positions that required you to exercise good judgment.
  2. Tell me about a time when your ethics were challenged. How did you handle it?
  3. Tell me about a time when you were a part of a team project where you were not given adequate guidance or information to accomplish the task. How did you proceed?
  4. Describe a situation in which you acted as a leader that was particularly satisfying to you.
  5. Describe an event in your life that has had a major impact on you.

Situational Questions

  1. How would you approach a problem for which there is no definitive answer?
  2. A community group strongly opposes a policy your agency is implementing. How would you engage with them to address their concerns while still meeting agency requirements?
  3. Imagine you’re assigned to lead a project where the departments involved disagree on priorities. How would you handle moving the project forward?

Industry Knowledge Questions

  1. Do you have experience evaluating policy? If so, what?
  2. Think about recent policy issues that we have been dealing with in our state. Pick one of those issues and identify the nature of the problem. What can be done about it? What information would you need to gather to formulate a plan?
  3. Walk me through the steps you would take to conduct a policy analysis from identifying the problem to recommending solutions.
  4. What role do public participation and stakeholder engagement play in effective policy development, and how would you incorporate them into your work?

General Questions

  1. Why are you interested in working for this agency?
  2. What areas of public policy and administration interest you the most? Why?
  3. I see from your resume that you recently completed an internship. Tell me what you learned from that experience and how you will use the experience in this position.
  4. Tell me about your community or volunteer involvement.
  5. What qualities or attributes do you possess that will make you an effective public servant?
  6. When you are in a group setting, how often are you chosen to be a leader? Why? Are there times when you choose not to lead? Explain.
  7. What do you do when you need more help or expertise?
  8. Why do people like working with you? Why might people not like to work with you?
  9. When disappointment or failure occurs in your life, what do you do?
  10. Have you ever undertaken something just to prove to yourself or others that you could do it?

Skilled Trades #section

Below are some common questions you may encounter in a job interview for a skilled trades position.

Behavioral Questions

  1. Describe a recent problem you had with one of your manager’s decisions. How did you handle it?
  2. Describe a time when you did something without being asked. What was the situation and what was the result?
  3. Give me an example of a time when you had little or no direction in solving an issue. What happened and what did you do?
  4. Can you describe a time when you had to work collaboratively with a team to complete a project? What was your role, and how did you contribute to the team's success?

Situational Questions

  1. What action would you take when the deadline is nearing, knowing it can’t be met?
  2. What would you do if you didn’t have all the materials needed to complete a job?
  3. How would you supervise the crew on your first day on the job?

Industry Knowledge Questions

  1. Describe how you compile the materials and hours to charge toward a job.
  2. Why do you think safety is important in our workplace?
  3. Can you share your experience in [specific trade] and any relevant certifications or training you have?

General Questions

  1. At your last job, how did you fill downtime?
  2. Tell me about your last performance review. What was mentioned about how you could improve? Any recurring themes?
  3. What qualities and/or skills do you possess that make you the best candidate for this position?
  4. Priorities often change suddenly throughout the day. If you are asked to quickly do another task, how will that affect your mood? What if it’s the third time before noon?
  5. What would your current or previous supervisor say are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
  6. What outside situations could affect your dependability on the job?
  7. What is on your checklist to ensure you are ready to leave the job daily?
  8. Doing things right the first time is important. What procedures do you take to ensure the quality of your work?
  9. Tell me about a job where you supervised others.

You can find additional interview questions and tips in our CREW Career Center Interview Resource Guide. Also see commonly asked questions.