Complete List of Behavioral Interview Questions PART - I
Adaptability
Describe a major change that occurred in a job that you held. How did you adapt to this change?
Tell us about a situation in which you had to adjust to changes over which you had no control. How did you handle it?
What do you do when priorities change quickly? Give one example of when this happened.
Ambition
Describe a project or idea that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role? What was the outcome?
Describe a time when you made a suggestion to improve the work in your organization.
Give an example of an important goal that you set in the past. Tell about your success in reaching it.
Give two examples of things you’ve done in previous jobs t hat demonstrate your willingness to work hard.
How many hours a day do you put into your work? What were your study patterns at school?
Tell us about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.
Tell us about a time when a job had to be completed and you were able to focus your attention and efforts to get it done.
Tell us about a time when you were particularly effective on prioritizing tasks and completing a project on schedule.
Tell us about the last time that you undertook a project that demanded a lot of initiative.
Tell us how you keep your job knowledge current with the on going changes in the industry.
What impact did you have in your last job?
What is the most competitive work situation you have experienced? How did you handle it? What was the result?
What is the riskiest decision you have made? What was the situation?
What happened?
What kinds of challenges did you face on your last job? Give an example of how you handled them.
What projects have you started on your own recently? What prompted you to get started?
What sorts of things have you done to become better qualified for your career?
What was the best idea that you came up with in your career? How did you apply it?
When you disagree with your manager, what do you do? Give an example.
When you have a lot of work to do, how do you get it all done? Give an example?
Analytical Thinking
Describe the project or situation which best demonstrates your analytical abilities. What was your role?
Developing and using a detailed procedure is often very important in a job.
Tell about a time when you needed to develop and use a detailed procedure to successfully complete a project.
Give a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and login in solving a problem.
Give me an example of when you took a risk to achieve a goal. What was the outcome?
How did you go about making the changes (step by step)? Answer in depth or detail such as “What were you thinking at that point?” or “Tell me more about meeting with that person”, or “Lead me through your decision process”.
Relate a specific instance when you found it necessary to be precise in your in order to complete the job.
Tell us about a job or setting where great precision to detail was required to complete a task. How did you handle that situation?
Tell us about a time when you had to analyze information and make a recommendation. What kind of thought process did you go through? What was your reasoning behind your decision?
Tell us about your experience in past jobs that required you to be especially alert to details while doing the task involved.
Building Relationships
Give a specific example of a time when you had to address an angry customer. What was the problem and what was the outcome? How would you asses your role in diffusing the situation?
It is very important to build good relationships at work but sometimes it doesn’t always work. If you can, tell about a time when you were not able to build a successful relationship with a difficult person.
Tell us about a time when you built rapport quickly with someone under difficult conditions.
What, in your opinion, are the key ingredients in guiding and maintaining successful business relationships? Give examples of how you made these work for you.
Business Systems Thinking
Describe how your position contributes to your organization’s/unit’s goals. What are the unit’s goals/mission?
Tell us about a politically complex work situation in which you worked.
Caution
Have you ever worked in a situation where the rules and guidelines were not clear? Tell me about it. How did you feel about it? How did you react?
Some people consider themselves to be “big picture people” and others are “detail oriented”. Which are you? Give an example of a time when you displayed this.
Tell us me about a situation when it was important for you to pay attention to details. How did you handle it?
Tell us me about a time when you demonstrated too much initiative?
Communication
Describe a situation in which you were able to effectively “read” another person and guide your actions by your understanding of their individual needs or values.
Describe a situation where you felt you had not communicated well. How did you correct the situation?
Describe a time when you were able to effectively communicate a difficult or unpleasant idea to a superior.
Describe the most significant written document, report or presentation which you had to complete.
Give me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate with another person, even when that individual may not have personally liked you , or vice versa.
Have you ever had to “sell” an idea to your co-workers or group? How did you do it? Did they “buy” it?
How do you keep subordinates informed about information that affects their jobs?
How do you keep your manager informed about what is being done in your work area?
How do you go about explaining a complex technical problem to a person who does not understand technical jargon?What approach do you take in communicating with people?
What kinds of communication situations cause you difficulty? Give an example.
Tell us about a recent successful experience in making a speech or presentation. How did you prepare? What obstacles did you face? How did you handle them?
Tell us about a time when you and your current/previous supervisor disagreed but you still found a way to get your point across.
Tell us about a time when you had to use your verbal communication skills in order to get a point across that was important to you.
Tell us about a time when you were particularly effective in a talk you gave or a seminar you taught.
Tell us about an experience in which you had to speak up in order to be sure that other people knew what you thought or felt.
Tell us me about a situation when you had to speak up (be assertive) in order to get a point across that was important to you.
Tell us me about a time in which you had to use your written communication skills in order to get an important point across.
What challenges have occurred while you were coordinating work with other units, departments, and/or divisions?
What have you done to improve your verbal communication skills?
How have you persuaded people through a document you prepared?
What are the most challenging documents you have done? What kinds of proposals have your written?
What kinds of writing have you done? How do you prepare written communications?
Conflict Resolution
Describe a time when you took personal accountability for a conflict and initiated contact with the individual(s) involved to explain your actions.
Customer Orientation
How do you handle problems with customers? Give an example.
How do you go about establishing rapport with a customer? What have you done to gain their confidence? Give an example.
What have you done to improve relations with your customers?
Decision Making
Discuss an important decision you have made regarding a task or project at work. What factors influenced your decision?
Everyone has made some poor decisions or has done something that just did not turn out right. Has this happened to you? What happened?
Give an example of a time in which you had to keep from speaking or not finish a task because you did not have enough information to come to a good decision.
Give an example of a time when there was a decision to be made and procedures were not in place?
Give an example of a time when you had to be relatively quick in coming to a decision.
Give me an example of a time when you had to keep from speaking or making a decision because you did not have enough information.
How did you go about deciding what strategy to employ when dealing with a difficult customer?
How do you go about developing I information to make a decision? Give an example.
How do you involve your manager and/or others when you make a decision?
How have you gone about making important decisions?
How quickly do you make decisions? Give an example.
In a current job task, what steps do you go through to ensure your decisions are correct/effective?
Tell us about a time when you had to defend a decision you made even though other important people were opposed to your decision.
What kind of decisions do you make rapidly? What kind takes more time? Give examples.
What kinds of problems have you had coordinating technical projects? How did you solve them?
What was your most difficult decision in the last 6 months? What made it difficult?
When you have to make a highly technical decision, how do you go about doing it?
Delegation
Do you consider yourself a macro or micro manager? How do you delegate?
How do you make the decision to delegate work?
Tell us how you go about delegating work?
What was the biggest mistake you have had when delegating work? The biggest success?
Detail-Oriented
Describe a situation where you had the option to leave the details to others or you could take care of them yourself.
Do prefer to work with the “big picture” or the “details” of a situation?
Give me an example of an experience that illustrates your preference.
Have the jobs you held in the past required little attention, moderate attention, or a great deal of attention to detail? Give me an example of a situation that illustrates this requirement.
Tell us about a difficult experience you had in working with details.
Tell us about a situation where attention to detail was either important or unimportant in accomplishing an assigned task.
Employee Development
Tell us about a training program that you have developed or enhanced.
Evaluating Alternatives
Have you ever had a situation where you had a number of alternatives to choose from? How did you go about choosing one?
How did you assemble the information?
How did you review the information? What process did you follow to reach a conclusion?
What alternatives did you develop?
What are some of the major decisions you have made over the past (6, 12, 18) months?
What kinds of decisions are most difficult for you? Describe one?
Who made the decision?
Flexibility
Have you ever had a subordinate whose performance was consistently marginal? What did you do?
How have you adjusted your style when it was not meeting the objectives and/or people were not responding correctly?
What do you do when you are faced with an obstacle to an important project? Give an example.
When you have difficulty persuading someone to your point of view, what do you do? Give an example.
Follow-up and Control
How did you keep track of delegated assignments?
How do you evaluate the productivity/effectiveness of your subordinates?
How do you get data for performance reviews?
How do you keep track of what your subordinates are doing?
What administrative paperwork do you have? Is it useful? Why/why not?
Initiative
Give me an example of when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.
Give me examples of projects/tasks you started on your own.
Give some instances in which you anticipated problems and were able to influence a new direction.
How did you get work assignments at your most recent employer?
What changes did you develop at your most recent employer?
What kinds of things really get your excited?
What sorts of projects did you generate that required you to go beyond
your job description?
What sorts of things did you do at school that were beyond expectations?
Interpersonal Skills
Describe a recent unpopular decision you made and what the result was.
Describe a situation in which you were able to effectively “read” another person and guide your actions by your understanding of their needs and values.
Tell us about the most difficult or frustrating individual that you’ve ever had to work with, and how you managed to work with them.
What have you done in past situations to contribute toward a teamwork environment?
What have you done in the past to contribute toward a teamwork environment?
Innovation
Can you think of a situation where innovation was required at work? What did you do in this situation?
Describe a situation when you demonstrated initiative and took action without waiting for direction. What was the outcome?
Describe a time when you came up with a creative solution/idea/project/report to a problem in your past work.
Describe something that you have implemented at work. What were the steps used to implement this?
Describe the most creative work-related project which you have carried out.
Give me an example of when you took a risk to achieve a goal. What was the outcome?
Sometimes it is essential that we break out of the routine, standardized way of doing things in order to complete the task. Give an example of
when you were able to successfully develop such a new approach.
Tell us about a problem that you solved in a unique or unusual way. What was the outcome? Were you satisfied with it?
Tell us about a suggestion you made to improve the way job processes/operations worked. What was the result?
There are many jobs in which well-established methods are typically followed. Give a specific example of a time when you tried some other method to do the job.
There are many jobs that require creative or innovative thinking. Give an example of when you had such a job and how you handled it.
What have been some of your most creative ideas?
What innovative procedures have you developed? How did you develop them? Who was involved? Where did the ideas come from?
What new or unusual ideas have you developed on your job? How did you develop them? What was the result? Did you implement them?
When was the last time that you thought “outside of the box” and how did you do it?
Integrity
Describe a time when you were asked to keep information confidential.
Give examples of how you have acted with integrity in your job/work relationship.
If you can, tell about a time when your trustworthiness was challenged.
How did you react/respond?
On occasion we are confronted by dishonesty in the workplace. Tell about such an occurrence and how you handled it.
Tell us about a specific time when you had to handle a tough problem which challenged fairness or ethnical issues.
Trust requires personal accountability. Can you tell about a time when you chose to trust someone? What was the outcome?
Introducing Change
Have you ever had to introduce a policy change to your work group? How did you do it?
Have you ever met resistance when implementing a new idea or policy to a work group? How did you deal with it? What happened?
When is the last time you had to introduce a new idea or procedure to people on this job? How did you do it?
Leadership
Give an example of a time in which you felt you were able to build motivation in your co-workers or subordinates at work.
Give an example of your ability to build motivation in your co-workers, classmates, and even if on a volunteer committee.
Have you ever had difficulty getting others to accept your ideas? What was your approach? Did it work?
Have you ever been a member of a group where two of the members did not work well together? What did you do to get them to do so?
What is the toughest group that you have had to get cooperation from? Describe how you handled it. What was the outcome?
Listening
Give an example of a time when you made a mistake because you did not listen well to what someone had to say.
How often do you have to rely on information you have gathered from others when talking to them? What kinds of problems have you had? What happened?
What do you do to show people that you are listing to them?
When is listening important on your job? When is listening difficult?
Motivating Others
Have you ever had a subordinate whose work was always marginal? How did you deal with that person? What happened?
How do you deal with people whose work exceeds your expectations?
How do you get subordinates to work at their peak potential? Give an example.
How do you manage cross-functional teams?
Motivation
Describe a situation when you were able to have a positive influence on the actions of others.
Give an example of a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty.
How would you define “success” for someone in your chosen career?
Tell us me about an important goal that you set in the past. Were you successful? Why?
Negotiating
Describe the most challenging negotiation in which you were involved.
What did you do? What were the results for you? What were the results for the other party?
Have you ever been in a situation where you had to bargain with someone? How did you feel about this? What did you do? Give an example.
How did you prepare for it?
How did you present your position?
How did you resolve it?
Tell us about the last time you had to negotiate with someone.
What was the most difficult part?
Organizational
Describe a time when you had to make a difficult choice between your personal and professional life.
Give me an example of a project that best describes your organizational skills.
How do you decide what gets top priority when scheduling your time?
What do you do when your schedule is suddenly interrupted? Give an example.
Performance Management
Give an example of a time when you helped a staff member accept change and make the necessary adjustments to move forward. What were the change/transition skills that you used.
Give an example of how you have been successful at empowering either a person or a group of people into accomplishing a task.
How do you handle a subordinate whose work is not up to expectations?
How do you coach a subordinate to develop a new skill?
How do you handle performance reviews? Tell me about a difficult one.
How often do you discuss a subordinate’s performance with him/her? Give an example.
Tell us about a specific development plan that you created and carried out with one or more of your employees. What was the specific situation?
What were the components of the development plan? What was the outcome?
Tell us about a time when you had to take disciplinary action with someone you supervised.
Tell us about a time when you had to tell a staff member that you were dissatisfied with his or her work.
Tell us about a time when you had to use your authority to get something done. Where there any negative consequences?
There are times when people need extra help. Give an example of when you were able to provide that support to a person with whom you worked.
What have you done to develop the skills of your staff?
When do you give positive feedback to people? Tell me about the last time you did. Give an example of how you handle the need for constructive criticism with a subordinate or peer.
Personal Effectiveness
Give an example of a situation where others were intense but you were able to maintain your composure.
It is important to maintain a positive attitude at work when you have other things on your mind. Give a specific example of when you were able to do that.
Keeping others informed of your progress/actions helps them fell comfortable. Tell your methods for keeping your supervisor advised of the status on projects.
Tell us about a recent job or experience that you would describe as a real learning experience? What did you learn from the job or experience?
Tell us about a time when you took responsibility for an error and were held personally accountable.
Tell us about a time when your supervisor criticized your work. How did you respond?
Tell us about some demanding situations in which you managed to remain calm and composed.
There are times when we are placed under extreme pressure on the job.
Tell about a time when you were under such pressure and how you handled it.
What have you done to further your own professional development in the past 5 years.
When you have been made aware of, or have discovered for yourself, a problem in your work performance, what was your course of action? Can you give an example?
Persuasion
Describe a situation in which you were able to positively influence the actions of others in a desired direction.
Describe a situation where you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way.
Describe a time when you were able to convince a skeptical or resistant customer to purchase a project or utilize your services.
Have you ever had to persuade a group to accept a proposal or idea? How did you go about doing it? What was the result?
Have you ever had to persuade a peer or manager to accept an idea that you knew they would not like? Describe the resistance you met and how you overcame it.
How do you get a peer or colleague to accept one of your ideas?
In selling an idea, it is sometimes useful to use metaphors, analogies, or stories to make your point. Give a recent example of when you were able to successfully do that.
Tell us about a time when you had to convince someone in authority about your ideas. How did it work out?
Tell us about a time when you used facts and reason to persuade someone to accept your recommendation.
Tell us about a time when you used your leadership ability to gain support for what initially had strong opposition.
Tell us about a time when you were able to successfully influence another person.
Planning and Organization
Describe how you develop a project team’s goals and project plan?
How do you schedule your time? Set priorities? How do you handle doing twenty things at once?
What do you do when your time schedule or project plan is upset by unforeseen circumstances? Give an example.
What have you done in order to be effective with your organization and planning?
Presentation
How do you prepare for a presentation to a group of technical experts in your field?
How would you describe your presentation style?
Tell us about the most effective presentation you have made. What was the topic? What made it difficult? How did you handle it?
What kinds of oral presentations have you made? How did you prepare for them? What challenges did you have?
Problem Solving
Describe the most difficult working relationship you’ve had with an individual. What specific actions did you take to improve the relationship?
What was the outcome?
Give me an example of a situation where you had difficulties with a team member. What, if anything, did you do to resolve the difficulties?
Have you ever been caught unaware by a problem or obstacles that you had not foreseen? What happened?
Tell us about a time when you did something completely different from the plan and/or assignment. Why? What happened?
What are some of the problems you have faced; such as between business development and project leaders, between one department and another, between you and your peers? How did you recognize that they were there?
When was the last time something came up in a meeting that was not covered in the plan? What did you do? What were the results of your judgment?
to be continued........
regards - r o u l e t t e
From India, Mumbai
79Adaptability
Describe a major change that occurred in a job that you held. How did you adapt to this change?
Tell us about a situation in which you had to adjust to changes over which you had no control. How did you handle it?
What do you do when priorities change quickly? Give one example of when this happened.
Ambition
Describe a project or idea that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role? What was the outcome?
Describe a time when you made a suggestion to improve the work in your organization.
Give an example of an important goal that you set in the past. Tell about your success in reaching it.
Give two examples of things you’ve done in previous jobs t hat demonstrate your willingness to work hard.
How many hours a day do you put into your work? What were your study patterns at school?
Tell us about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.
Tell us about a time when a job had to be completed and you were able to focus your attention and efforts to get it done.
Tell us about a time when you were particularly effective on prioritizing tasks and completing a project on schedule.
Tell us about the last time that you undertook a project that demanded a lot of initiative.
Tell us how you keep your job knowledge current with the on going changes in the industry.
What impact did you have in your last job?
What is the most competitive work situation you have experienced? How did you handle it? What was the result?
What is the riskiest decision you have made? What was the situation?
What happened?
What kinds of challenges did you face on your last job? Give an example of how you handled them.
What projects have you started on your own recently? What prompted you to get started?
What sorts of things have you done to become better qualified for your career?
What was the best idea that you came up with in your career? How did you apply it?
When you disagree with your manager, what do you do? Give an example.
When you have a lot of work to do, how do you get it all done? Give an example?
Analytical Thinking
Describe the project or situation which best demonstrates your analytical abilities. What was your role?
Developing and using a detailed procedure is often very important in a job.
Tell about a time when you needed to develop and use a detailed procedure to successfully complete a project.
Give a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and login in solving a problem.
Give me an example of when you took a risk to achieve a goal. What was the outcome?
How did you go about making the changes (step by step)? Answer in depth or detail such as “What were you thinking at that point?” or “Tell me more about meeting with that person”, or “Lead me through your decision process”.
Relate a specific instance when you found it necessary to be precise in your in order to complete the job.
Tell us about a job or setting where great precision to detail was required to complete a task. How did you handle that situation?
Tell us about a time when you had to analyze information and make a recommendation. What kind of thought process did you go through? What was your reasoning behind your decision?
Tell us about your experience in past jobs that required you to be especially alert to details while doing the task involved.
Building Relationships
Give a specific example of a time when you had to address an angry customer. What was the problem and what was the outcome? How would you asses your role in diffusing the situation?
It is very important to build good relationships at work but sometimes it doesn’t always work. If you can, tell about a time when you were not able to build a successful relationship with a difficult person.
Tell us about a time when you built rapport quickly with someone under difficult conditions.
What, in your opinion, are the key ingredients in guiding and maintaining successful business relationships? Give examples of how you made these work for you.
Business Systems Thinking
Describe how your position contributes to your organization’s/unit’s goals. What are the unit’s goals/mission?
Tell us about a politically complex work situation in which you worked.
Caution
Have you ever worked in a situation where the rules and guidelines were not clear? Tell me about it. How did you feel about it? How did you react?
Some people consider themselves to be “big picture people” and others are “detail oriented”. Which are you? Give an example of a time when you displayed this.
Tell us me about a situation when it was important for you to pay attention to details. How did you handle it?
Tell us me about a time when you demonstrated too much initiative?
Communication
Describe a situation in which you were able to effectively “read” another person and guide your actions by your understanding of their individual needs or values.
Describe a situation where you felt you had not communicated well. How did you correct the situation?
Describe a time when you were able to effectively communicate a difficult or unpleasant idea to a superior.
Describe the most significant written document, report or presentation which you had to complete.
Give me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate with another person, even when that individual may not have personally liked you , or vice versa.
Have you ever had to “sell” an idea to your co-workers or group? How did you do it? Did they “buy” it?
How do you keep subordinates informed about information that affects their jobs?
How do you keep your manager informed about what is being done in your work area?
How do you go about explaining a complex technical problem to a person who does not understand technical jargon?What approach do you take in communicating with people?
What kinds of communication situations cause you difficulty? Give an example.
Tell us about a recent successful experience in making a speech or presentation. How did you prepare? What obstacles did you face? How did you handle them?
Tell us about a time when you and your current/previous supervisor disagreed but you still found a way to get your point across.
Tell us about a time when you had to use your verbal communication skills in order to get a point across that was important to you.
Tell us about a time when you were particularly effective in a talk you gave or a seminar you taught.
Tell us about an experience in which you had to speak up in order to be sure that other people knew what you thought or felt.
Tell us me about a situation when you had to speak up (be assertive) in order to get a point across that was important to you.
Tell us me about a time in which you had to use your written communication skills in order to get an important point across.
What challenges have occurred while you were coordinating work with other units, departments, and/or divisions?
What have you done to improve your verbal communication skills?
How have you persuaded people through a document you prepared?
What are the most challenging documents you have done? What kinds of proposals have your written?
What kinds of writing have you done? How do you prepare written communications?
Conflict Resolution
Describe a time when you took personal accountability for a conflict and initiated contact with the individual(s) involved to explain your actions.
Customer Orientation
How do you handle problems with customers? Give an example.
How do you go about establishing rapport with a customer? What have you done to gain their confidence? Give an example.
What have you done to improve relations with your customers?
Decision Making
Discuss an important decision you have made regarding a task or project at work. What factors influenced your decision?
Everyone has made some poor decisions or has done something that just did not turn out right. Has this happened to you? What happened?
Give an example of a time in which you had to keep from speaking or not finish a task because you did not have enough information to come to a good decision.
Give an example of a time when there was a decision to be made and procedures were not in place?
Give an example of a time when you had to be relatively quick in coming to a decision.
Give me an example of a time when you had to keep from speaking or making a decision because you did not have enough information.
How did you go about deciding what strategy to employ when dealing with a difficult customer?
How do you go about developing I information to make a decision? Give an example.
How do you involve your manager and/or others when you make a decision?
How have you gone about making important decisions?
How quickly do you make decisions? Give an example.
In a current job task, what steps do you go through to ensure your decisions are correct/effective?
Tell us about a time when you had to defend a decision you made even though other important people were opposed to your decision.
What kind of decisions do you make rapidly? What kind takes more time? Give examples.
What kinds of problems have you had coordinating technical projects? How did you solve them?
What was your most difficult decision in the last 6 months? What made it difficult?
When you have to make a highly technical decision, how do you go about doing it?
Delegation
Do you consider yourself a macro or micro manager? How do you delegate?
How do you make the decision to delegate work?
Tell us how you go about delegating work?
What was the biggest mistake you have had when delegating work? The biggest success?
Detail-Oriented
Describe a situation where you had the option to leave the details to others or you could take care of them yourself.
Do prefer to work with the “big picture” or the “details” of a situation?
Give me an example of an experience that illustrates your preference.
Have the jobs you held in the past required little attention, moderate attention, or a great deal of attention to detail? Give me an example of a situation that illustrates this requirement.
Tell us about a difficult experience you had in working with details.
Tell us about a situation where attention to detail was either important or unimportant in accomplishing an assigned task.
Employee Development
Tell us about a training program that you have developed or enhanced.
Evaluating Alternatives
Have you ever had a situation where you had a number of alternatives to choose from? How did you go about choosing one?
How did you assemble the information?
How did you review the information? What process did you follow to reach a conclusion?
What alternatives did you develop?
What are some of the major decisions you have made over the past (6, 12, 18) months?
What kinds of decisions are most difficult for you? Describe one?
Who made the decision?
Flexibility
Have you ever had a subordinate whose performance was consistently marginal? What did you do?
How have you adjusted your style when it was not meeting the objectives and/or people were not responding correctly?
What do you do when you are faced with an obstacle to an important project? Give an example.
When you have difficulty persuading someone to your point of view, what do you do? Give an example.
Follow-up and Control
How did you keep track of delegated assignments?
How do you evaluate the productivity/effectiveness of your subordinates?
How do you get data for performance reviews?
How do you keep track of what your subordinates are doing?
What administrative paperwork do you have? Is it useful? Why/why not?
Initiative
Give me an example of when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.
Give me examples of projects/tasks you started on your own.
Give some instances in which you anticipated problems and were able to influence a new direction.
How did you get work assignments at your most recent employer?
What changes did you develop at your most recent employer?
What kinds of things really get your excited?
What sorts of projects did you generate that required you to go beyond
your job description?
What sorts of things did you do at school that were beyond expectations?
Interpersonal Skills
Describe a recent unpopular decision you made and what the result was.
Describe a situation in which you were able to effectively “read” another person and guide your actions by your understanding of their needs and values.
Tell us about the most difficult or frustrating individual that you’ve ever had to work with, and how you managed to work with them.
What have you done in past situations to contribute toward a teamwork environment?
What have you done in the past to contribute toward a teamwork environment?
Innovation
Can you think of a situation where innovation was required at work? What did you do in this situation?
Describe a situation when you demonstrated initiative and took action without waiting for direction. What was the outcome?
Describe a time when you came up with a creative solution/idea/project/report to a problem in your past work.
Describe something that you have implemented at work. What were the steps used to implement this?
Describe the most creative work-related project which you have carried out.
Give me an example of when you took a risk to achieve a goal. What was the outcome?
Sometimes it is essential that we break out of the routine, standardized way of doing things in order to complete the task. Give an example of
when you were able to successfully develop such a new approach.
Tell us about a problem that you solved in a unique or unusual way. What was the outcome? Were you satisfied with it?
Tell us about a suggestion you made to improve the way job processes/operations worked. What was the result?
There are many jobs in which well-established methods are typically followed. Give a specific example of a time when you tried some other method to do the job.
There are many jobs that require creative or innovative thinking. Give an example of when you had such a job and how you handled it.
What have been some of your most creative ideas?
What innovative procedures have you developed? How did you develop them? Who was involved? Where did the ideas come from?
What new or unusual ideas have you developed on your job? How did you develop them? What was the result? Did you implement them?
When was the last time that you thought “outside of the box” and how did you do it?
Integrity
Describe a time when you were asked to keep information confidential.
Give examples of how you have acted with integrity in your job/work relationship.
If you can, tell about a time when your trustworthiness was challenged.
How did you react/respond?
On occasion we are confronted by dishonesty in the workplace. Tell about such an occurrence and how you handled it.
Tell us about a specific time when you had to handle a tough problem which challenged fairness or ethnical issues.
Trust requires personal accountability. Can you tell about a time when you chose to trust someone? What was the outcome?
Introducing Change
Have you ever had to introduce a policy change to your work group? How did you do it?
Have you ever met resistance when implementing a new idea or policy to a work group? How did you deal with it? What happened?
When is the last time you had to introduce a new idea or procedure to people on this job? How did you do it?
Leadership
Give an example of a time in which you felt you were able to build motivation in your co-workers or subordinates at work.
Give an example of your ability to build motivation in your co-workers, classmates, and even if on a volunteer committee.
Have you ever had difficulty getting others to accept your ideas? What was your approach? Did it work?
Have you ever been a member of a group where two of the members did not work well together? What did you do to get them to do so?
What is the toughest group that you have had to get cooperation from? Describe how you handled it. What was the outcome?
Listening
Give an example of a time when you made a mistake because you did not listen well to what someone had to say.
How often do you have to rely on information you have gathered from others when talking to them? What kinds of problems have you had? What happened?
What do you do to show people that you are listing to them?
When is listening important on your job? When is listening difficult?
Motivating Others
Have you ever had a subordinate whose work was always marginal? How did you deal with that person? What happened?
How do you deal with people whose work exceeds your expectations?
How do you get subordinates to work at their peak potential? Give an example.
How do you manage cross-functional teams?
Motivation
Describe a situation when you were able to have a positive influence on the actions of others.
Give an example of a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty.
How would you define “success” for someone in your chosen career?
Tell us me about an important goal that you set in the past. Were you successful? Why?
Negotiating
Describe the most challenging negotiation in which you were involved.
What did you do? What were the results for you? What were the results for the other party?
Have you ever been in a situation where you had to bargain with someone? How did you feel about this? What did you do? Give an example.
How did you prepare for it?
How did you present your position?
How did you resolve it?
Tell us about the last time you had to negotiate with someone.
What was the most difficult part?
Organizational
Describe a time when you had to make a difficult choice between your personal and professional life.
Give me an example of a project that best describes your organizational skills.
How do you decide what gets top priority when scheduling your time?
What do you do when your schedule is suddenly interrupted? Give an example.
Performance Management
Give an example of a time when you helped a staff member accept change and make the necessary adjustments to move forward. What were the change/transition skills that you used.
Give an example of how you have been successful at empowering either a person or a group of people into accomplishing a task.
How do you handle a subordinate whose work is not up to expectations?
How do you coach a subordinate to develop a new skill?
How do you handle performance reviews? Tell me about a difficult one.
How often do you discuss a subordinate’s performance with him/her? Give an example.
Tell us about a specific development plan that you created and carried out with one or more of your employees. What was the specific situation?
What were the components of the development plan? What was the outcome?
Tell us about a time when you had to take disciplinary action with someone you supervised.
Tell us about a time when you had to tell a staff member that you were dissatisfied with his or her work.
Tell us about a time when you had to use your authority to get something done. Where there any negative consequences?
There are times when people need extra help. Give an example of when you were able to provide that support to a person with whom you worked.
What have you done to develop the skills of your staff?
When do you give positive feedback to people? Tell me about the last time you did. Give an example of how you handle the need for constructive criticism with a subordinate or peer.
Personal Effectiveness
Give an example of a situation where others were intense but you were able to maintain your composure.
It is important to maintain a positive attitude at work when you have other things on your mind. Give a specific example of when you were able to do that.
Keeping others informed of your progress/actions helps them fell comfortable. Tell your methods for keeping your supervisor advised of the status on projects.
Tell us about a recent job or experience that you would describe as a real learning experience? What did you learn from the job or experience?
Tell us about a time when you took responsibility for an error and were held personally accountable.
Tell us about a time when your supervisor criticized your work. How did you respond?
Tell us about some demanding situations in which you managed to remain calm and composed.
There are times when we are placed under extreme pressure on the job.
Tell about a time when you were under such pressure and how you handled it.
What have you done to further your own professional development in the past 5 years.
When you have been made aware of, or have discovered for yourself, a problem in your work performance, what was your course of action? Can you give an example?
Persuasion
Describe a situation in which you were able to positively influence the actions of others in a desired direction.
Describe a situation where you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way.
Describe a time when you were able to convince a skeptical or resistant customer to purchase a project or utilize your services.
Have you ever had to persuade a group to accept a proposal or idea? How did you go about doing it? What was the result?
Have you ever had to persuade a peer or manager to accept an idea that you knew they would not like? Describe the resistance you met and how you overcame it.
How do you get a peer or colleague to accept one of your ideas?
In selling an idea, it is sometimes useful to use metaphors, analogies, or stories to make your point. Give a recent example of when you were able to successfully do that.
Tell us about a time when you had to convince someone in authority about your ideas. How did it work out?
Tell us about a time when you used facts and reason to persuade someone to accept your recommendation.
Tell us about a time when you used your leadership ability to gain support for what initially had strong opposition.
Tell us about a time when you were able to successfully influence another person.
Planning and Organization
Describe how you develop a project team’s goals and project plan?
How do you schedule your time? Set priorities? How do you handle doing twenty things at once?
What do you do when your time schedule or project plan is upset by unforeseen circumstances? Give an example.
What have you done in order to be effective with your organization and planning?
Presentation
How do you prepare for a presentation to a group of technical experts in your field?
How would you describe your presentation style?
Tell us about the most effective presentation you have made. What was the topic? What made it difficult? How did you handle it?
What kinds of oral presentations have you made? How did you prepare for them? What challenges did you have?
Problem Solving
Describe the most difficult working relationship you’ve had with an individual. What specific actions did you take to improve the relationship?
What was the outcome?
Give me an example of a situation where you had difficulties with a team member. What, if anything, did you do to resolve the difficulties?
Have you ever been caught unaware by a problem or obstacles that you had not foreseen? What happened?
Tell us about a time when you did something completely different from the plan and/or assignment. Why? What happened?
What are some of the problems you have faced; such as between business development and project leaders, between one department and another, between you and your peers? How did you recognize that they were there?
When was the last time something came up in a meeting that was not covered in the plan? What did you do? What were the results of your judgment?
to be continued........
regards - r o u l e t t e
From India, Mumbai
Thank you very much that is very interesting.
I have one request
All these are direct questions. Could you please share indirect questions that will direct us to their behaviour and their views without them knowing that they are giving us some valuable information about them?
From India, Kochi
I have one request
All these are direct questions. Could you please share indirect questions that will direct us to their behaviour and their views without them knowing that they are giving us some valuable information about them?
From India, Kochi
thanks a lot.. i needed it urgently as we have walk ins next week. this will help me to understand the candidates better. thank u so much... Regards, Suhrita
From India, Pune
From India, Pune
Find attached few more...
Team Skills
1) Who is the most difficult person you have worked with and how did you handle him?
2) What kind of people do you enjoy working with? Why?
3) Tell me an instance where your team members agreed upon your views?
4) Describe any situation where you had a disagreement with someone in your team?
5) Describe any situation where you were successful in getting people to work together?
6) Describe any situation where you resolved conflicts between your team members?
7) Describe any situation where you encouraged non performing team member and facilitated a better outcome.
8) What qualities do you admire most in your team members?
9) What kind of people frustrates you? Why?
10) Have you ever been a member of a team that broke up because it was impossible to work with each other? What did you do?
11) Can you recall a situation when you completely disagreed with the way your team was working? What did you do?
12) Tell me about a time when you worked successfully as a member of a time.
13) What was your toughest challenge in working with others.
Communication Skills
1) Tell me an instance where you were successful in getting crucial information from another person
2) What do you rate yourself from 1 to 5 in communication if one being the least and five being the highest. Why?
3) Tell me an instance when someone misunderstood what you were attempting to communicate to them
4) Tell me about a time when you worked with people from a culture unlike your own and how did you handle it. Did you find difficulty in expressing your views / thoughts?
5) Describe a situation where you were not able to put forth on writing (e.g. Mail) whatever you wanted to communicate?
6) What did you do to overcome any perceived barriers?
Problem Solving
1) Tell me about a difficult decision that you have made
2) Tell me about an unpopular decision you have made
3) What significant problems have you faced in the last year?
4) Tell me an instance when you had to make a quick decision and what did you do?
5) Tell me about a situation where you achieved a satisfactory outcome to a problem that others thought couldn't be solved. What did you do and what was the outcome?
6) Tell me about a time when you had conflicting priorities and what you did to resolve them.
7) What kind of problems do you handle best?
8) Have you ever anticipated a difficult situation before it arose? Describe the situation, the action you took and the outcome.
9) Describe a situation where people came to you for a solution to a problem they are facing with.
10) Tell me an instance where your solutions brought appreciation from your superiors?
11) Describe a time when things dint turn out the way you have planned and what did you do to analyze the situation.
12) Tell me about a recent problem in which old solutions wouldn’t work. How did you solve the problem?
13) Can you describe me a problem that you were unable to solve?
14) Describe a time when you had to analyze a problem and generate a solution
Leadership Skills
1) How do you resolve conflict in the groups or teams that you have been heading?
2) Describe a situation where you motivated an employee who was performing poorly?
3) Is there any situation you were successful being a Team Leader.
4) What sort of team members you would like to have? Why?
5) How do you handle conflicts if it arises in your team?
6) Any situation where you found difficulty in handling a team?
7) Tell me an instance where you felt you were being partial towards a particular team member?
8) Describe how you maintain the performance of your team?
9) Tell me a situation where you had a fight with your team members?
10) Any particular achievement to be mentioned being a team leader.
11) Describe the relationship that should exist between a supervisor and those reporting to him or her.
12) Describe the situations where you tend to loose your temper?
13) Can you accept criticism? Why?
14) Describe a situation where you inspired others to meet their goal
15) Tell me an instance where you felt you are successful being a team leader.
16) Give me an example when you recognized that a member of your team had a performance difficulty and what did you do?
17) Have you ever had to arbitrate between two team members who were unable to work together? How did you get them to cooperate?
18) How often to you hold meetings with your team members? How did you prepare for the last meeting?
19) Has it ever happened that targets were not met while you were in charge? What did you do then?
Multitasking
1) Describe a situation where you faced problems handling more than one job at a time?
2) Is there any instance where you asked to do more than one job at a time? If so, explain what it was and how you able to do it.
3) Is there any instance you forgot to do something which was assigned to you because of your other priorities?
4) What sort of mistakes you tend to do if multiple jobs are assigned to you?
Time Management
1) Explain a situation where you procrastinated the tasks in hand
2) What sort of troubles you get making plans well in advance. Provide an example.
3) Explain a situation where do assisted others in scheduling their tasks?
4) Tell me about an instance where you did a proper scheduling and completed the assigned task before the stipulated time.
5) How do you prioritize or plan your day well before?
6) Explain me an aspect of your time management you most wanted to improve?
7) Tell me an instance when you had to readjust the Schedule due to unforeseen circumstances?
Information Management
1) What are the different ways you have tried to gather some information from a particular source
2) Is there any instance where you introduced a report and was being used in the organization and even got you appreciations from the management?
3) How fast you are at learning things. Is there any instance where you have learnt anything new and implemented the same?
Motivational Skills
1) Tell me an instance where you motivated others to perform better
2) Tell me an instance where you felt motivated
3) According to you explain me what do you thing the best method that keeps others motivated
4) Is there any instance where you motivated others and yielded good results out of that?
5) How often do you think you motivate others?
6) What do you think would motivate you? Explain the situation where you used the same to motivate others
7) Have you tried anything different to motivate others? If so, what was that way?
8) Explain a situation where you recognized your team member for significant accomplishments at work and awarded him/her?
Creativity
1) What motivates you to be creative?
2) Have you ever experienced a moment of inspiration or insight as part of a creative process? If yes, please describe such an experience.
3) At what environment do you think you can be more creative? Tell me a situation where it was fruitful?
4) Explain me with a situation where you were successful in imagining things which you have never scene e.g. walk of a dinosaur?
5) Why do you enjoy being creative artist
6) How would you rate yourself for creativity from 1 to 5 where one being the lowest and five being the highest? Give me an instance supporting your answer.
7) Is there anytime when you got appreciation from your superiors for creativity and when?
Negotiation
1) Please describe a contract you have negotiated in which the parties had a difficult time coming to agreement. How you have helped the parties work through the problem.
2) Describe a situation where you convinced the party with out much effort.
3) Describe a situation where you failed to negotiate with the customer / party.
From India, New Delhi
COMPETENCY BASED QUESTIONNAIRE
Team Skills
1) Who is the most difficult person you have worked with and how did you handle him?
2) What kind of people do you enjoy working with? Why?
3) Tell me an instance where your team members agreed upon your views?
4) Describe any situation where you had a disagreement with someone in your team?
5) Describe any situation where you were successful in getting people to work together?
6) Describe any situation where you resolved conflicts between your team members?
7) Describe any situation where you encouraged non performing team member and facilitated a better outcome.
8) What qualities do you admire most in your team members?
9) What kind of people frustrates you? Why?
10) Have you ever been a member of a team that broke up because it was impossible to work with each other? What did you do?
11) Can you recall a situation when you completely disagreed with the way your team was working? What did you do?
12) Tell me about a time when you worked successfully as a member of a time.
13) What was your toughest challenge in working with others.
Communication Skills
1) Tell me an instance where you were successful in getting crucial information from another person
2) What do you rate yourself from 1 to 5 in communication if one being the least and five being the highest. Why?
3) Tell me an instance when someone misunderstood what you were attempting to communicate to them
4) Tell me about a time when you worked with people from a culture unlike your own and how did you handle it. Did you find difficulty in expressing your views / thoughts?
5) Describe a situation where you were not able to put forth on writing (e.g. Mail) whatever you wanted to communicate?
6) What did you do to overcome any perceived barriers?
Problem Solving
1) Tell me about a difficult decision that you have made
2) Tell me about an unpopular decision you have made
3) What significant problems have you faced in the last year?
4) Tell me an instance when you had to make a quick decision and what did you do?
5) Tell me about a situation where you achieved a satisfactory outcome to a problem that others thought couldn't be solved. What did you do and what was the outcome?
6) Tell me about a time when you had conflicting priorities and what you did to resolve them.
7) What kind of problems do you handle best?
8) Have you ever anticipated a difficult situation before it arose? Describe the situation, the action you took and the outcome.
9) Describe a situation where people came to you for a solution to a problem they are facing with.
10) Tell me an instance where your solutions brought appreciation from your superiors?
11) Describe a time when things dint turn out the way you have planned and what did you do to analyze the situation.
12) Tell me about a recent problem in which old solutions wouldn’t work. How did you solve the problem?
13) Can you describe me a problem that you were unable to solve?
14) Describe a time when you had to analyze a problem and generate a solution
Leadership Skills
1) How do you resolve conflict in the groups or teams that you have been heading?
2) Describe a situation where you motivated an employee who was performing poorly?
3) Is there any situation you were successful being a Team Leader.
4) What sort of team members you would like to have? Why?
5) How do you handle conflicts if it arises in your team?
6) Any situation where you found difficulty in handling a team?
7) Tell me an instance where you felt you were being partial towards a particular team member?
8) Describe how you maintain the performance of your team?
9) Tell me a situation where you had a fight with your team members?
10) Any particular achievement to be mentioned being a team leader.
11) Describe the relationship that should exist between a supervisor and those reporting to him or her.
12) Describe the situations where you tend to loose your temper?
13) Can you accept criticism? Why?
14) Describe a situation where you inspired others to meet their goal
15) Tell me an instance where you felt you are successful being a team leader.
16) Give me an example when you recognized that a member of your team had a performance difficulty and what did you do?
17) Have you ever had to arbitrate between two team members who were unable to work together? How did you get them to cooperate?
18) How often to you hold meetings with your team members? How did you prepare for the last meeting?
19) Has it ever happened that targets were not met while you were in charge? What did you do then?
Multitasking
1) Describe a situation where you faced problems handling more than one job at a time?
2) Is there any instance where you asked to do more than one job at a time? If so, explain what it was and how you able to do it.
3) Is there any instance you forgot to do something which was assigned to you because of your other priorities?
4) What sort of mistakes you tend to do if multiple jobs are assigned to you?
Time Management
1) Explain a situation where you procrastinated the tasks in hand
2) What sort of troubles you get making plans well in advance. Provide an example.
3) Explain a situation where do assisted others in scheduling their tasks?
4) Tell me about an instance where you did a proper scheduling and completed the assigned task before the stipulated time.
5) How do you prioritize or plan your day well before?
6) Explain me an aspect of your time management you most wanted to improve?
7) Tell me an instance when you had to readjust the Schedule due to unforeseen circumstances?
Information Management
1) What are the different ways you have tried to gather some information from a particular source
2) Is there any instance where you introduced a report and was being used in the organization and even got you appreciations from the management?
3) How fast you are at learning things. Is there any instance where you have learnt anything new and implemented the same?
Motivational Skills
1) Tell me an instance where you motivated others to perform better
2) Tell me an instance where you felt motivated
3) According to you explain me what do you thing the best method that keeps others motivated
4) Is there any instance where you motivated others and yielded good results out of that?
5) How often do you think you motivate others?
6) What do you think would motivate you? Explain the situation where you used the same to motivate others
7) Have you tried anything different to motivate others? If so, what was that way?
8) Explain a situation where you recognized your team member for significant accomplishments at work and awarded him/her?
Creativity
1) What motivates you to be creative?
2) Have you ever experienced a moment of inspiration or insight as part of a creative process? If yes, please describe such an experience.
3) At what environment do you think you can be more creative? Tell me a situation where it was fruitful?
4) Explain me with a situation where you were successful in imagining things which you have never scene e.g. walk of a dinosaur?
5) Why do you enjoy being creative artist
6) How would you rate yourself for creativity from 1 to 5 where one being the lowest and five being the highest? Give me an instance supporting your answer.
7) Is there anytime when you got appreciation from your superiors for creativity and when?
Negotiation
1) Please describe a contract you have negotiated in which the parties had a difficult time coming to agreement. How you have helped the parties work through the problem.
2) Describe a situation where you convinced the party with out much effort.
3) Describe a situation where you failed to negotiate with the customer / party.
From India, New Delhi
Hi, Thanks for a good document .It is Useful for all Professionals. Can you post direct / indirect qoustions on Project managment / Customer Focus Skills.RegdsPradeep
From United States
From United States
Hi
I found that a member asked same question in this forum 4 month ago.
Pls use search box to find this questions.
Apart from that, you also can refer more resoueces at:Difficult interview questions
Rgs
From Vietnam, Hanoi
I found that a member asked same question in this forum 4 month ago.
Pls use search box to find this questions.
Apart from that, you also can refer more resoueces at:Difficult interview questions
Rgs
From Vietnam, Hanoi
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