Interview questions

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cupcakecarnivore
cupcakecarnivore Posts: 267
in Chit-Chat
Im starting interviews tomorrow for a position at our office and can't find the usual list of interview questions!! Anyone have any good ones they can think of?

**edited to add: Im the one giving the interviews, not applying for jobs:) Usually one of the surgeons do it, but somehow it got put on me to do it this time lol

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  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
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    If you were stuck in a Home Depot with a Velociraptor and you could use anything in the store to save your life, what would you use! :noway:
  • cbaines74
    cbaines74 Posts: 77
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    A machine to get the heck outta there!!LMBO!:laugh:
  • thefreemans28
    thefreemans28 Posts: 267 Member
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    Well, I have only been intereviewed twice, but here are some of the questions I remember them asking...

    What would your dream job be?
    What is your ultimate goal for your carreer?
    What is it you love about your current job?
    What is it you hate about your current job?


    I do remember after I was intereviewed for my current job, my boss told me that I was the best person he has ever interviewed. When I asked him why, he told me that it was because he could tell I was telling the truth on every answer I gave. i didn't just say what he wanted to hear. Good luck!!
  • ShoeDeahva
    ShoeDeahva Posts: 82 Member
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    http://www.career.vt.edu/Interviewing/TypicalQuestions.html
  • shelleyisworking2befit
    shelleyisworking2befit Posts: 5
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    I think being prepared with some of the tougher questions is a big help.

    List 3 of your strengths and 3 weaknesses--this one is challenging!

    What would you like to be doing (career wise) 5 years from now?
  • sunshine__angel
    sunshine__angel Posts: 366 Member
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    I always get the same types of questions:

    Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
    How would you improve our company/why would you be an asset to the company?
    What was your last job like? Why did you leave?
    How would you describe your last manager?
    Describe yourself in 3 words. (I hate this one!!!)
    What made you want to work here?
    Do you know anything about our company? (I hate this one too! lol)

    That's all I can think of right now.
  • Lauriee2014
    Lauriee2014 Posts: 183 Member
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    strenghts/weaknesses

    and your 5 year plan are big ones

    there's always the "Why should we hire you?"

    - Give an example of a difficult situation you were responsible to handle.. and you you dealt with it. Were you successful? Why or why not?

    I agree with another poster... honesty is key. Make good eye contact. Smile. Lean forward a bit. Listen well. These things really do add up. I, too, have been complimented for interviews I've done recently, and I believe it had to do with giving thoughful, honest answers. Being genuine. It's rare these days.

    Best of luck! :flowerforyou:
  • skittybang
    skittybang Posts: 1,525 Member
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    Some I've had and friends of mine have heard:

    Why are you leaving your current position?
    Why is there fuzz on a tennis ball?
    How many gum balls would you say are in this jar?
    How would your past coworkers describe you?
    Do you have any questions for me? THIS is important. Make sure you've done some homework on the company. Ask about the work environment, does everyone get along, when's your busiest time, why is the position open... etc :)
  • alyciaengel
    alyciaengel Posts: 24 Member
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    Here are some good ones:

    http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewquestionsanswers/a/interviewquest.htm

    ...with "Best Answers" that describe why you would be asking the question.
  • raychybabe
    raychybabe Posts: 121 Member
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    I have an interview tomorrow too! I have to do a 15 minute case study,a 45 minute intrview, and run a 15 minute group session on a topic of my choice!

    I'm not going to sweat about the questions, as it doesn tmatter how much you prepare, you can never know what they're going to ask, and I think it throws you more if you've memorised answers to X amount of set questions, only for none of them to get asked!

    I practiced my group session to my bedroom yesterday! Felt very silly, but it helped me to see how it might work! Good luck with it!

    ps: remember to go in with questions of your own!
  • thumper44
    thumper44 Posts: 1,464 Member
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    What would you like to be doing (career wise) 5 years from now?

    When I was younger, this question always screwed me up.
  • TDGee
    TDGee Posts: 2,209 Member
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    What are you going to bring to our team that none of the other candidates has?
    You are working with a teammate who is not pulling their weight., How do you deal with this?
    Describe Teamwork. - This was one of my favorites to ask. My favorite answer is If one person is working, we are ALL working.
    We would also do interviews with several staff members to ask their own questions of the candidate, as well as answer any questions the candidate may have about the specific job. That way, staff was involved in hiring new team members and they didn't have management to blame when the new hire didn't work out. It actually worked very well for us.
    Good luck, take some Tylenol!!
  • Fat_Bottomed_Girl
    Fat_Bottomed_Girl Posts: 354 Member
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    I always ask problem solving questions. I work in development, so I ask "How many windows do you think there are in downtown Seattle?" Obviously it's more about just seeing how they process information than anything else. I have also asked "If you could be an animal, what kind would you be, and why?" I can't stand someone without a sense of humor and it usually gets them to smile. No one ever forgets my interviews and we always have a good laugh about it later, assuming they get hired, or course. ;)
  • moose_15
    moose_15 Posts: 29 Member
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    I regularly hold interviews for an office position and some of our questions are:-

    What do you know about the company?
    What's your understanding of the position?
    Why are you leaving your current role?
    What did you like most/least about your current role?
    What interests you in the position we have available?

    We then ask about their experience in relation to the job i.e. keyboard skills, phone experience, organisational skills.

    Then we ask things like:-

    What do you think makes a successful team?
    Have you ever had an idea that improved the way you or others work?
    How would your friends describe you?
    What are your strengths?
    Do you have any weaknesses?
    What are your long term aspirations?


    Hope that helps :)
  • veganhoneys
    veganhoneys Posts: 34
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    Why do you think people climb mountains?
  • Talako
    Talako Posts: 79 Member
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    As you can see from the questions generated here, there are many standard and non-standard questions. The only advice I have is to take the non-standard questions in stride.

    I have used non-standard questions to gauge flexibility, thinking ability, and humor. A former junior high math teacher applied for a position as my assistant. As I greeted her and got her settled in the conference room, I jokingly asked her, "what is the square root of negative one?" Her answer was basically: "Why do you need to know that, and why is that important?" She acted annoyed and didn't answer the question. I had made mind up in those few seconds. She had no sense of humor or flexibility.


    Btw, the answer is i
  • get_fit2009
    get_fit2009 Posts: 827 Member
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    When I was head secretary at an elementary school, we had a list of questions for interviews. I remember one was "How do you handle stress when you leave the workplace?" I think it was designed to see if people deal with it in a healthy or unhealthy way.

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