7.6 Interview Questions
Types of Questions
Preparation is essential for a successful interview! You want to ensure that you are able to convey to the employer that you are the most suitable candidate for the position. You are the interviewer’s main source of information concerning your qualifications. Do not assume that the interviewer knows all of your qualifications and accomplishments; you must clearly spell them out as you answer the questions during an interview.
Introductory Questions
Introductory questions give you an opportunity to describe yourself and your accomplishments as they pertain to the job you are applying for. These questions are used to assess your background, your experience, and your organizational fit. Being that they are open-ended questions, they give you an opportunity to sell yourself.
Examples of common introductory questions include:
- Tell me about yourself.
- How has your education prepared you for this role?
- What do you know about our organization?
- Why are you interested in working for our company?
- What experience do you have that relates to this position?
- What are your strengths?
- What are your weaknesses?
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
Behavioural questions
Behavioural questions will ask you to describe a specific situation or experience and require you to provide an example of how you handled it in the past. Behavioural interviews are founded on the idea that the best predictor of future behaviour is based on evaluating past behaviour. The key is not to get the “right” answer but to demonstrate how you came to an appropriate result. To answer these questions well and completely, you need to be prepared with specific examples or experiences.
Examples of common behavioural questions include:
- Give an example of a situation where you had to deal with conflict, either with a customer or coworker. How did you handle it?
- Describe a situation where a coworker or supervisor had expectations that you felt were unrealistic. How did you deal with that?
- Give an example of a goal you reached and tell me how you achieved it.
- Describe a stressful situation at work and how you handled it.
- Tell me about a time when you made a mistake? What did you learn from it?
- Describe a situation in which you had to balance multiple priorities.
- Provide a situation in which you managed a tight deadline?
- Give an example of a time when you collaborated as part of a team.
- Give an example of an occasion when you used logic to solve a problem.
- Share an example of how you were able to motivate employees or coworkers.
- Tell me about a time you have gone above and beyond the call of duty? If so, how?
The Key to Answering Behavioural Questions, S.T.A.R. Technique
When answering behavioural questions, you should use the STAR technique to ensure you’ve included the appropriate amount of information and detail.
- Situation – Briefly describe the event or situation and include information on the who, what, where, and when.
- Task – Give a clear explanation of the task you had to complete and any challenges that accompanied it.
- Action – Speak about the actions you took to complete the task, purposefully mentioning qualities or traits that the interviewer is looking for.
- Result – In summary, emphasize what the result of your efforts was and quantify it when appropriate.
Situational questions
Situational questions are focused on hypothetical scenarios, and they require you to demonstrate sound judgment with a response or solution to a problem that you may not have experienced before. Sometimes these questions require you to think outside the box, and carefully consider what is really being asked.
Examples of situational questions include:
- If you discovered your supervisor was breaking the company’s code of conduct, what would you do?
- As the team leader, you are faced with a situation where two team members are arguing, how would you deal with the situation?
- If you had two important deadlines coming up, how would you prioritize your tasks?
More unconventional questions an employer may ask:
- If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?
- If you had to sell this pen, what would you say?
Job knowledge or technical questions
These questions typically assess the technical or professional skills and knowledge you will need to perform a job. Hands-on tests, simulations, and questions are phrased to find your level of experience with specific equipment, software, processes, procedures, etc.
Your turn! Questions to ask the employer
When an employer asks you at the end of the interview, “Do you have any questions for us?” you want to avoid saying, “no.” Having a lack of questions prepared may suggest to an employer that you’re uninterested in the opportunity. It is your responsibility to come up with some well thought out and engaging questions. The questions that you ask can be about the roles and responsibilities of the job, the organizational structure of the company, general interest, or the next steps in the hiring process. Be conscientious of the interviewer’s time, choose no more than three questions to ask.
Examples of questions you SHOULD ask include:
- What skills make the most successful employees here?
- What is the top priority of someone who accepts this job?
- Can you describe recent projects of someone in this position?
- What does a typical day/week look like in this role?
- How large is the team I would be working with?
- Is there any advice you can provide that would help me prepare for my first three months in this role?
- What is your favourite part about working for this organization?
- What are the next steps in the hiring process?
- When should I expect to hear back?
Examples of questions you SHOULD NOT ask include:
- How much will I get paid? What is the salary? Is this negotiable?
- How many weeks’ vacations will I be entitled too?
- What does the benefits package include?
- How long until I can become a manager?
- Can I apply to other jobs once I’m working here?
Unlawful Questions
The Law in Ontario prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of: age, ancestry, colour, race, citizenship, ethnic origin, place of origin, creed, disability, family status, marital status (including single status), gender identity, gender expression, receipt of public assistance (in housing only), record of offences (in employment only), sex (including pregnancy and breastfeeding), and sexual orientation. The Ontario Human Rights Commission protects job seekers against unlawful questions. For more information, check out: Ontario Humans Right Commission.
Employers’ questions must be related to the job for which you are applying. However, use your discretion when answering, as questions could be asked unintentionally.
Here is how you might respond if asked an inappropriate question:
- Ask the interviewer to clarify the meaning of the question.
- Ask the interviewer in what circumstances does the question apply to the job.
- Politely decline to answer.
After The Interview
You made it through the interview! You’re almost at the finish line, but before you decide to congratulate yourself with a big, delicious meal or night out, follow these three valuable steps to leave a lasting impression.
Evaluate and reflect – After the interview, it is a good idea to reflect on your performance and consider what questions you answered well and what questions could have used more information or preparation. A best practice is also to write down the questions that were asked so that you can prepare better for next time.
Send a thank you letter – After your interview, differentiate yourself by showing your appreciation and reiterate to the employer your interest in the position by sending a thank you letter in an e-mail format to those who took the time to interview you. Your thank you letter should be sent within a 24 hour period of when the interview was held. If you have agreed to provide additional information or samples of your work, be sure to do this as soon after the interview as possible. Remember to always proofread your e-mail to ensure there are no spelling or grammatical errors!
Ask for feedback – If you were not the chosen candidate, don’t sweat it! Look at your experience as a practice round and take the opportunity to ask the employer for feedback on your interview. You may find that not all employers will provide you with this specific information or that the response you receive is vague. However, if you do receive feedback, this information could be very valuable in increasing your chances of successfully passing your next interview.
Thank You Letter Sample
Below you will find an example of a Thank You letter. This example contains all the essentials needed, however when you create your own Thank You letter, you should add a personalized highlight of the interview so the letter doesn’t sound generic or impersonal. For example, after the first paragraph, the candidate could add: “I very much enjoyed hearing about your upcoming Fit-For-Care fundraising campaign happening this November. Your ideas around how you plan to involve both the residents and their caregivers are very exciting.” Alluding to a specific part of the interview conversation adds a small, but important personal touch to the letter.
Letter Example
Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name, (if multiple, list all the interviewers’ names)
Thank you for meeting with me today to discuss the __________________ position with your company. I really appreciate the time you took to get to know me and hear about my skills, experiences, and qualifications.
After speaking with you (or the interview panel), I am confident that I would be an ideal candidate for this role, offering the quick learning and adaptability that is needed to succeed with your diverse clientele. In addition to my enthusiasm and strong work ethic, I would bring the technical and analytical skills necessary to get the job done.
I am very interested in working with your talented team and I look forward to hearing from you once the final decisions are made. Please feel free to contact me at any time. If you require any further information, I can be reached at (519) ***-****.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Working in Play: Planning for a Career in the Recreation and Leisure Industry in Canada (sections 7.8, 7.10) by Linda Whitehead, BA, M Ed, MBA is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
