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Sample Interview Questions

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  • What do you do when you have downtime at work? Please be specific.
  • How do you determine your priorities?
  • Suppose you are in a situation where deadlines and priorities change frequently. How would you handle it?
  • In your own words describe what inclusion, diversity and equity mean to you and to the workplace. 
  • Tell me about a time you used financial, industry, and economic environment data to support a successful project.
  • Do you feel you are knowledgeable about current industry-related legislation or trends? Why or why not?
  • What type of projects have you managed in the past?
  • Tell me about your experience working on a virtual team.
  • What do you perceive to be the advantages and disadvantages of working in a virtual team?
  • Tell me about a time when big changes took place in your job. What did you do to adjust to the change?
  • Can you tell me of a time when you changed a process or procedure to make your department or organization more inclusive?
  • In your own words describe what inclusion, diversity and equity mean to you and to the workplace. 
  • What have you done in a previous position that made an impact?
  • Give a specific example of a decision you made that was not effective. Why do you think it was not effective, and what did you do when this realization was made?
  • Tell me about a difficult work situation you were involved in. How did you approach the situation and what was the outcome?
  • Explain the phrase “work ethic” and describe yours.
  • How would you describe your skills in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access (relevant software used in the job)? Beginner, intermediate or advanced?
  • Tell me about a time when you knew that your customer might not get what he or she needed on time. How did you handle this?
  • Describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult guest/client-relations problem. What was the outcome? What did you learn?
  • Can you share an example of a time when you developed rapport with a customer? What strategies did you use?
  • What do you like about being in customer service? What do you find is the most difficult part of being in customer service?
  • Describe a time when someone failed to provide satisfactory service to you. How could that person improve his or her performance in that particular situation?
  • Describe a difficult time you have had dealing with a customer. Why was it difficult? How did you handle it? What was the outcome?
  • Give an example of how you considered your audience prior to communicating with them. What factors influenced your communication?
  • In your own words describe what inclusion, diversity and equity mean to you and to the workplace. 
  • Management requires both good writing and verbal skills for effective communication. When it comes to giving information to employees that can be done either way, do you prefer to write an email/memo or talk to the employee? Why?
  • A new policy you do not agree with is to be implemented organization-wide. How do you discuss this policy with your staff?
  • Tell us about your management style—people, teamwork, direction?
  • What is the largest number of employees you have supervised and what were their job functions?
  • What was the most challenging employee performance issue you’ve had to deal with and how did you handle it?
  • Explain, step by step, how you have managed an employee who had performance problems.
  • Have you ever given a presentation to a group? How did you prepare for it? What would you do differently?
  • You’re new to an organization. How do you go about learning how that organization works?
  • When coming into a new organization, how do you learn about the culture, processes, structure, and people?
  • Tell me about a day when everything went wrong. How did you handle it?
  • How do you know when you are stressed? What do you do to de-stress?
  • Give us an example of how you stay organized when juggling multiple tasks.
  • In your own words describe what inclusion, diversity and equity mean to you and to the workplace. 
  • Tell me about a time when you advocated for diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
  • Suppose someone asked you to get information for them that you knew was confidential and they should not have access to. What would you do?
  • Describe a time when you made a mistake at work. How did you deal with this situation and what was the outcome?
  • How do you determine your priorities?
  • Tell us about a time when you struggled to meet a deadline.
  • Can you explain a time when you had to multitask? What made multitasking a requirement in that situation?
  • What coaching or mentoring experience have you had? How did you determine the appropriate way to coach/mentor and what were the results?
  • Tell me about a time when you disagreed with a decision that was made by your team. How did you respond?
  • Describe a time when you included someone in your team or a project because you felt he or she would bring a different perspective.
  • Tell me about a time when you needed to work as part of a team to assist a client or resolve an issue.
  • Tell me about a time when you were a part of a great team. What made the team effective?
  • What personality types do you find it difficult to work with? How can you work to resolve those differences?
  • Tell me about a project that you are proud of, and who would you give credit for the success?
  • Describe a difficult time you have had dealing with an employee or co-worker. Why was it difficult? How did you handle it? What was the outcome?
  • Describe how you like to be managed and the best relationship you’ve had with a previous boss.
  • My management philosophy/style is ______. In what way do you think that your work style would complement mine? What do you foresee to be challenges or adjustments for us in this new role?
  • What kinds of experiences have you had working with others with backgrounds different from your own?
  • Tell me about a time when someone was not listening to your opinion or idea. What did you do to improve communication?
  • What communication techniques do you use when working with others?
  • In your own words describe what inclusion, diversity and equity mean to you and to the workplace. 
  • Tell me about a difficult work situation you were involved in. How did you approach the situation and what was the outcome?
  • Have you had a non-productive team member on your project team? What happened and how did you handle this situation?
  • Have you ever managed a situation where the people or units reporting to you were in different locations? Tell me how this worked.
  • How would you suggest creating team cohesiveness in a virtual setting?
  • Tell me about a time when you had to work with someone who was different from you? What was the outcome? What did you learn from the situation?
  • What steps would you take to eliminate bias in your workplace?
  • Tell me about a time when you had to work with someone who was different from you? What was the outcome? What did you learn from the situation?
  • What is your approach to understanding the perspectives of colleagues from different backgrounds?
  • In your own words describe what inclusion, diversity and equity mean to you and to the workplace. 
  • Tell me about a time when effective listening skills helped you in a problematic situation.
  • What personality types do you find it difficult to work with? How can you work to resolve those differences?
  • Give an example of how you considered your audience prior to communicating with them. What factors influenced your communication?
  • Tell me about a time when you advocated for diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
  • How would you suggest creating team cohesiveness in a virtual setting?
  • Tell me about a time when you were a part of a great team. What made the team effective?
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