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