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Interview Question Database

Behavioural and Situational

Regardless of the position and industry, you will be asked situational judgement and behavioural assessment questions. Employers will be looking for concrete examples of how your experiences and skills are applicable to the job and resolving the issue they have described. When answering, it is best to keep your answer concise and specific to what they asked.

Testing and Performance

QUESTION INTENT

During the interview, an employer might ask you to complete a technical test, describe previous situations, or present on a given topic. An interviewer be asking you performance-based questions to determine your:

  • Knowledge and skill level as well as your confidence and competency levels
  • Logic, reasoning processes, and creative thinking skills
  • whether you have the skills necessary to succeed in the job for which you are interviewing
TIPS FOR RESPONDING TO TESTING AND PERFORMANCE Q'S 
  • Share your thought processes with the interviewer.
  • Clearly demonstrate your ability to utilize logic and creativity to reach your conclusions.
  • Draw upon any relevant job-specific knowledge and transferable skills.

You’re by yourself up front when everything starts happening at once; phone rings, old man comes in, shoe fitting ect.…what to do?

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The employer is trying to see how well you work under stress and see if you are capable of multi-tasking.

Answer Tips

Answer Tips

Show the employer how you can multitask and handle difficult situations without losing control. Give an example of a situation you have encountered in the past where you have had to deal with a similar stressful situation. Also, be sure that your answer includes answering the phone

Describe a situation when you run out of your time to finish a project?

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Answer Tips

I am a client with a complaint about a service your company offers. I am frustrated with my experience sharing my complaint with another staff member who didn't resolve the situation. Demonstrate to me what you would say and how you would manage the situation.

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Answer Tips

Describe a situation when you run out of your time to finish a project.

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The interviewer wants to know how you would handle a problem that might actually arise if you're hired for the job.

Answer Tips

Answer Tips

Explain the challenges you faced and what hindered you from completing the project. Try to use more positive language and, in some cases, do not blame anyone else. Describe what you learned from that experience and how you have applied/will apply it to your future responsibilities. 

Give an example of a situation where you used customer service skills to handle a complaint.

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The interviewer is trying to see how you would handle difficult situations while remaining professional.

Answer Tips

Answer Tips

Give a situation about a time when you showed care, empathy and problem solving skills. If you have no experience in customer service, tell the employer what you would do in that situation. For example: "Although I have no customer service experience, I have been the customer."

Situational

QUESTION INTENT

Employers will be asking situational questions to determine how you will actually respond to similar situations if you were hired for the job. They will be looking to see if you are able to bounce back from obstacles and challenges and how well prepared you are to respond to them. 

TIPS FOR RESPONDING TO SITUATIONAL Q'S
  • Utilize the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to answer the questions in a concise and specific manner.
  • It would be helpful to go through your resume or CV and break down each experience using the STAR framework to have examples ready for your interview.
  • Demonstrate your problem-solving process and communication skills while answering these questions
  • Emphasize your experience, skills, and strengths to respond to challenges they have described.

Describe a situation when you realize your team will run out of time to finish a project? What would you do?

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You have been asked to step in to cover some front desk activities as the receptionist went home sick. You answer the phone and there is a question that you have no idea how to answer. What would you do?

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Answer Tips

A client (customer) has been using the products and services of our company (organization) for three years and noticed some changes in the way business is being conducted in our field. The client is making an inquiry about these changes. What would you tell this client?

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You are heading a team of executives who belong to a different culture and have a different belief system. Most of them support a particular line of action that is completely opposite to what you think should be done. How will you handle this situation?

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You are working in a small school in Asia and you notice that a teacher is making inappropriate comments about the female students. How would you react?

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You have been working on a project for over a month and are about to finish writing the report. Suddenly you realize some very important facts that should be included in this project have been overlooked. What would you do in this situation?

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The interviewer would to see how you assess your prioritizes and adaptable your workflow to incorporate spontaneous responsibilities and tasks.

Answer Tips

Answer Tips

The interviewer understands that no one is perfect. It is key you are able to recognize you made a mistake and are able to do accordingly respond to it. Explain and justify what you would prioritize and your goals. Provide examples of how you would take initiative to complete tasks (i.e. taking to a supervisor, etc). 

Describe a time when you received criticism.

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The interviewer would like to see your capability of learning and improving from feedback.

Answer Tips

Answer Tips

While being open to feedback is never easy, describe how you would take in the feedback, analyze it, and potentially make changes based upon the criticism. Of course, you should not take criticism personally. A good answer will show emotional maturity, adaptability, and leadership potential.

Describe a situation where you needed to work with a client or customer who was very different from you.

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The interviewer would like to gauge your emotional intelligence and people skills.

Answer Tips

Answer Tips

The key is to show how adaptable you are when interacting with various personalities. Explain how you may change your style of communication for different people. 

A client has been using the products and services of our company for three years and noticed some changes in the way business is being conducted in our field. The client is making an inquiry about these changes. What would you tell this client?

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The interviewer would like to how you would represent their company in this situation.

Answer Tips

Answer Tips

If ever unsure, it is best to direct or refer them to supervisor or someone that is qualified to speak on the company's behalf. You should be cautious about relaying company or industry sensitive information. 

Behavioural

QUESTION INTENT

Employers might ask you behavioral questions to determine your problem-solving skills and strengths as well as your personality. They will looking to see if your previous experiences are a good indicator if you would be as successful in the future in similar situations.

TIPS FOR RESPONDING TO BEHAVIOURAL Q'S 
  • Have a list of examples of skills and experiences that are relevant to the position ready when preparing for the interview.
  • Emphasize your skills and strengths as an employee by providing specific actions and consequent results to prior challenges you've experienced.

Tell me about a challenging client that you had to handle. What was their concern and how did you address it?

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Answer Tips

Tell me about a time when you demonstrated initiative.

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The interviewer would like to gauge your ability to take initiative but also your willingness to do so.

Answer Tips

Answer Tips

Focus on a time when you had to take independent initiative in your work or projects that resulted in a positive outcome. The best answer would also involve others. 

Tell me about a time when you had to work on a team that did not get along. What happened? What role did you take? What was the result?

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The interviewer is interested to find out how well you manage conflict and your general interpersonal skills

Answer Tips

Answer Tips

You can use the STAR approach to concisely explain the situation. Set the Situation and the context, describe the Task or purpose, explain what your Actions were, share the Result. In this way, your answer will cover all basis of the question

Have you had to convince a team to work on a project they weren't thrilled about? How did you do it?

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The interviewer is trying to gauge your level of leadership and persuasion.

Answer Tips

Answer Tips

Describe what benefit you saw in the project and explain how you justified them to your team. If you considered everyone’s opinions and their concerns, describe that. 

Tell me about a time when you worked with a colleague who was not doing their share of the work. How did you handle it?

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The interviewer would like to see how you will act as a team member and your level of initiative.

Answer Tips

Answer Tips

This is not an opportunity to speak illy about your co-worker. With an example, explain how you communicated with your colleague and addressed the issues. Describe any initiatives you took on and the result of this example. 

What have you found to be the most difficult part of being a member and not the leader of a team? How did you handle this?

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The interviewer would like to see how you will act as a team member and how you will work in a collaborative team environment.

Answer Tips

Answer Tips

You can use this opportunity to demonstrate you have leadership and independence but also understands the value of teamwork and collaborative. You can emphasis the importance of compromise, consideration and constructed criticism.