Last week I wrote about answering hard interview questions, but I didn’t give many examples. Here are some more examples to practice with. I found a number of books on this topic in our library, but you’ll have to come down and take a look if you want to find out the recommended answers!

I have divided them roughly into sections, but beware! The question like “what role do you usually take in a team” could also be asking about your leadership potential…

Teamwork

• What role do you usually take in a team?
• Do you prefer working with others or alone?
• What would you do if you felt a team member wasn’t pulling their weight?
• If the team made a decision you didn’t like, what would you do?

Leadership

• Do you think your last boss was a good leader?
• Are you a natural leader?
• When leading a team, what do you do to make sure everyone is contributing?
• How would you motivate a team to perform a routine or dull task that just has to be done?
• Give an example of when you took responsibility for a team failure.

Adaptability and managing change

• When was the last time you changed your mind about something?
• When did you last volunteer to do something you weren’t entirely sure you could do?
• Your team is familiar with using a particular procedure. How would you persuade them to adopt an improvement you thought of?

Self-motivation

• Do you need people to tell you when you have done a good job?
• You have a long and complex project to work on, how do you stay motivated?
• What motivates you?
• Will you compete against me for my job?

Decision-making

• Give me an example of when you last made a decision that went wrong, and what you did about it.
• Do you make decisions quickly? What are the risks of your approach?
• Have you ever had to make a decision on someone else’s behalf? How did you manage it?

Problem-solving and creativity

• Do you prefer acting according to set procedures, or do you prefer solving unexpected problems?
• Tell me about something that took longer to complete than you expected. Why did it happen? What did you do to manage the situation?

Communication, interpersonal skills and negotiation

• Describe a time you had to control your emotions at work.
• You are working with someone on a draft report, but they have misunderstood the purpose of one section. How would you give them feedback?

Personality

• If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
• Describe yourself in three words.
• What was the last film you watched? What did you make of it?
• What sort of people do you get on best with?
• What energises you?

About the company and the job

• Why do you want to work for this company?
• Why should we recruit you?
• What do you think lies in the future for this company?
• How does this job compare with others you are applying for?
• How long do you plan to stay with this company?

…other…

• Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10.
• What kinds of things do you worry about?
• Tell me a joke!

Tips

Often there is no right answer, or you are given a false choice when really you should talk about how you can adapt to both options e.g. “working with a team energises me when I am thinking up new ideas, but sometimes I like working alone when I am concentrating on a specific task”.

You might not have a suitable example from your work experience to answer a question. If not, you can either describe an example from your wider life experience (sports teams, university coursework, musical activities…), or you can describe what you would do in that hypothetical situation. You can develop a hypothetical answer by describing a real situation you observed, and saying what you would have done if you were in charge.

And remember, if you don’t understand, or if you have a hundred possible answers to give, don’t be afraid to ask for clarification to make sure you give them what they really want!

Resources

These books will give you more examples of questions and answers, pointing out the pitfalls and traps in some questions, and explaining how to maintain a professional attitude when asked personal questions.

Yate, M. J. Great answers to tough interview questions. 

Eggert, M. Perfect answers to interview questions. 

Gerstmann, P. Tricky job interview questions and answers.