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Sample Interview Questions

The following are often-asked questions to practice for your interview, strategize positive answers and rehearse your responses.

  1. What is your greatest strength and weakness and how will these affect your performance?
  2. Have you ever been put on the spot by a professor or supervisor when you have felt unsure of yourself? How did you respond?
  3. Have you ever received a grade lower than you expected? If so, what did you do about it?
  4. For a job advancement, would you consider pursuing an advanced degree?
  5. What competitive activities have you participated in? 
  6. How do you go about influencing someone to accept your ideas?
  7. What experience have you had in making oral presentations? How do you rate your skills in this area?
  8. How would you compare your verbal skills to your writing skills?
  9. How would a close friend describe you?
  10. How do you get along with co-workers?
  11. What do you consider to be your most significant accomplishment and why?
  12. Under what conditions have you been most successful in any undertaking?
  13. Has competition had any positive or negative impact on your accomplishments?
  14. What do you consider your earning potential to be five years from now?
  15. What are the most important characteristics you are looking for in a job and why?
  16. How do you think our company/organization determines success?
  17. Tell me about a difficult professional situation you had to manage.
  18. What is the most intellectually challenging thing you have ever done?
  19. How did you determine your career choice?
  20. Why did you choose to attend Appalachian State University?
  21. What are some of the most creative things you have done?
  22. Do you agree that grade point average is an indication of how successful you would be in this company/organization?
  23. If you could construct your own job within our organization, what factors would you include?
  24. In what ways have you been a leader?
  25. In your adult life, what accomplishment has given you the most satisfaction?
  26. What would you do differently if you were to start college all over again?
  27. What have been your greatest disappointments and how have you responded?
  28. What are the most important rewards you expect from a job?
  29. Under what circumstances have your co-workers relied on you?
  30. What do you think it takes to be a professional?
  31. How did you prepare for this interview?
  32. Recall a time when your education and experience did not prepare you for a task.
  33. What is your personal and professional five year goal?
  34. How would you go about creating a plan for your unit or department if you were in charge?
  35. When you think of companies who serve their customers well, who do you think of and why?
  36. If you were selling a product and you had a customer who was complaining about poor service, what would you do?
  37. What types of situations really get you down?
  38. What do you do when you know you're right and others disagree with you?
  39. Do you feel qualified to be successful in your position? And if you don't, what will you do to compensate for your deficiencies?
  40. Finish this sentence: Successful "managers" should...
  41. How well do you work under pressure?
  42. What have you learned from your mistakes?
  43. Often it is difficult to get class work done. What are some shortcuts you've used to complete your coursework?
  44. Walk me through a situation in which you had to do research and analyze the results for one of your classes.
  45. Tell me about one of the riskiest decisions you made in college. Why was it risky?
  46. We can't pay you what you are worth right away. How do you feel about working your way up?
  47. What motivates you to strive for excellence?
  48. Why should I consider hiring a _______ major?
  49. What image do you want to project in your first professional position?
  50. Describe how you take constructive criticism.
  51. Tell me about a time when you tried very hard and failed.
  52. Under what style of supervision do you excel?