IT Job Interview

This list compiles over 100 common questions you will be asked for during a job interview.  These questions cover many aspects including personality, career objectives, skills and experience.  Use this list to prepare your next interview.

PERSONAL AND MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS

1. Please tell me about yourself.
2. How would you handle rejection?
3. Who or what had the greatest influence on your life?
4. How would you describe yourself?
5. What are some of the greatest personal challenges you have faced during your lifetime?
6. What are some of your personal goals, and have you achieved them?

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

1. What skills and abilities do you possess that will help make you successful in today’s job market?
2. Please discuss some of your past leadership roles and your accomplishments in them.
3. Please describe a frustrating experience from school or work, and tell me how you dealt with it.
4. How do you interact with people around you (i.e. leadership, communication, socializing, etc.)?
5. Why should our organization hire you?
6. For you, what are some of the pros and cons of working on a team project?
7. Have you ever supervised someone in a similar position with another organization?
8. How would you describe your supervisory style?
9. Who was the most difficult person you have ever dealt with, and how did you respond?
10. How did you organize your time in school/work/play?
11. What are your major strengths and weaknesses?
12. What personal factors do you consider most important when evaluating yourself?
13. In what organizational structure do you function best?
14. What organizational techniques do you use on a daily basis to accomplish your academic, work, and social goals?
15. Please tell me about your communication skills, your personal skills relevant to work experiences, and your problem-solving abilities.
16. Please describe your leadership style.
17. What skills and/or special qualities do you possess for this job that would make you stand out from other candidates?
18. How well do you work with others?
19. What skills and abilities do you bring to this job?
20. Please list three personal attributes that you would like to improve, and tell me any efforts you’ve made to make improvements in these areas.
21. What do you see as your greatest challenge when starting a new career?
22. How would your friends describe you? What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort?
23. In what areas are you working to improve?
24. Who are two people you admire and respect the most, and why?
25. What aspects of your job at the XYZ organization were most frustrating?
26. If you could create the perfect job for yourself, what would you be doing?
27. What is special about you that you feel would make you an attractive candidate for our organization?
28. How would others describe your weaknesses?
29. How do you organize your time?

CAREER GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

1. What are your long range goals and objectives?
2. How are you preparing to achieve them?
3. What are your goals and aspirations for the next three years? five years? ten years? What are your short and long-term goals?
4. What are your standards of success/goals for a job?
5. Are you goal oriented?
6. Why do you think you would be good at this profession (sales, retailing, marketing, etc.)?
7. Please describe your ideal job.
8. Why are you interested in this industry/ profession/ occupation?
9. What are your career interests?
10. What work would you like to do that really interests you?
11. In what environment do you want to work?
12. What geographical location interests you most when working?
13. Please tell me about your plans for the future.
14. What is your timetable for achievement of your current career goals?
15. Do you prefer theoretical or practical problems?
16. Why do you want to work for XYZ company?
17. In this organization, where do you see yourself in five years?
18. Please tell me five things about yourself that would make you an asset to any organization that hired you.

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AND COLLEGE EXPERIENCES

1. With what extracurricular activities have you been involved?
2. Please tell me about your accomplishments in extracurricular activities.
3. What have been your greatest challenges for improvement of a campus organization?
4. What do you enjoy doing most?
5. Please describe your most rewarding college experiences.
6. Please cite examples of the challenges you experienced during your leadership positions with campus activities.
7. If you could relive your college experiences, what would you do differently?
8. What changes would you make in your overall campus life?
9. During your campus activities, what positions did you hold?
10. What were your major responsibilities in these organizations?
11. What did you like best/least about these positions?
12. Did you have an opportunity to work as a member of a team? If so, please explain.
13. What were some of the problems you encountered?

HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS

1. Are you creative?
2. I am writing a book entitled “101 Everyday uses for the Common Red Brick.” Can you give me five uses for the common red brick?
3. Please look at this photograph of an electronic gadget, because you would be working with others to enhance its capabilities. It operates a helicopter hovering over an ocean platform. What are some concerns that you would place on your checklist to consider before you started this project?
4. What could you see as the major objectives of this job?
5. If you were hired by our organization, how would you identity the major roles and responsibilities of your new position?
6. What roles and responsibilities have you accepted in work, social, and other activities?
7. What is your purpose in life?
8. For what companies have you worked, and were they good or bad, and why?
9. What have you admired in people who have previously supervised your work?
10. What haven’t you admired in these individuals? (In general, questions related to work ethic and value systems might also be posed.)
11. In your opinion, what does it take to be effective in sales or marketing?
12. What are your personal motivational techniques?
13. How would you resolve conflict in a group situation?
14. If you were given this assignment, how would you proceed?

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

1. Why did you choose this major field of study?
2. Why did you choose your particular college or university?
3. What were your favorite college courses, those you liked most? Least? Why?
4. Please tell me about accomplishments in your academic program that are relevant to your future career goals.
5. What is your grade point average (GPA)? How do you feel about this?
6. Should grades be used as an indicator of future career potential when an organization is considering new college graduates?
7. What were your reactions to instructors or college faculty during your academic program?
8. How would you relate your academic accomplishments to future career aspirations? How satisfied are you with your accomplishments in this academic program?
9. What electives did you take outside of your major?
10. Why did you choose these courses?
11. What was the most difficult aspect of obtaining a college degree?
12. What are your academic strengths?
13. What courses gave you the most difficulty? If you could, what changes would you make in your school’s academic program?

WORK EXPERIENCES

1. What prior work experiences have you had?
2. What were your accomplishments in these prior work experiences?
3. What were your most significant achievements?
4. What problems did you experience while on the job?
5. What would your last two employers say about you as an employee, either good or bad?
6. What projects were accomplished during your time on the job?
7. How were these accomplished?
8. What experiences did you have when meeting deadlines for project completion? What can you tell me that you enjoyed most about your previous job experiences? Least?
9. Can you tell me about your toughest job assignment?
10. Please tell me about a conflict situation and how you resolved it.
11. What life experiences have given you the greatest reward?
12. What one experience proved to you that you would be a capable manager?
13. Please elaborate on one of the work experiences listed on your resume.
14. Please tell me about the duties/requirements of your last job.
15. What did you see as your major strengths and/or weaknesses on this job?

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

1. In addition to your educational and professional experiences, what else would you like us to know about you in order to make an appropriate decision?
2. Please tell me about some of the accomplishments you achieved during college and which make you the proudest.
3. How did you finance your education?
4. What are your greatest achievements at this point in your life? Of what accomplishments are you most proud?

RELOCATION/TRAVEL

1. Are you willing to relocate?
2. Do you mind traveling?
3. How do you feel about relocating during a career with XYZ Company?

KNOWLEDGE OF THE ORGANIZATION

1. Why did you select XYZ company?
2. Why do you want our training program over others?
3. What are your expectations of the XYZ company?
4. Why do you want to work in the position you are seeking?
5. What attracts you to this industry? Other industries?
6. Why are you interviewing with XYZ company?
7. What do you know about our company?
8. Who else are you interviewing in your job search?
9. Why did you choose to interview with our company?
10. What personal qualities do you bring to this firm?

SALARY AND BENEFITS

1. What starting salary do you expect as an employee?
2. What company benefits are most important to you?
3. How do you feel about an income made up totally of commissions?
4. When comparing one company offer to another, what factors will be important to you besides starting salary?
5. How important is starting salary to you when considering our company’s job offer?

Source: Scheetz, L. Patrick. 1989. Recruiting Trends 1989-90. East Lansing, MI.: Collegiate Employment Research Institute, Michigan State University, p. 27-30. $25.