Common interview questions

1. Why did you choose to study your degree subject?

2. What did you most/least enjoy about your time at university?

3. What skills did you develop at university?

4. What was the most challenging aspect of your degree course?

5. How will your degree help you in this position?

6. Tell us something about yourself.

7. What do you like doing in your spare time?

8. Why do you want this job?

9. Why should we hire you?

10. What can you bring to this position?

11. What do you consider to be the key skills necessary for this position?

12. What will you do if you don’t get this job?

13. What are your strengths/weaknesses?

14. What is your biggest achievement?

15. What do you know about our company?

16. What attracted you to our company?

17. What do you think of our website?

18. Who would you consider to be our main competitors?

19. What trends are likely to affect our industry over the next few years?

20. How do you typically approach new projects?

21. What sorts of things do you like to delegate?

22. What qualities do you look for in a software engineer?

23. How do you handle stress?

24. Tell me about your ability to work under pressure.

25. In what environment do you work best?

26. What motivates you in terms of work?

27. What interests you most/least in your current work?

28. What would you change about your current job if you could?

29. Why are you considering leaving your current job?

30. Why did you leave your last job?

31. What are you looking for in a job?

32. Tell us about a time when you have been innovative at work?

33. Tell us about a time when you had to make a difficult decision?

34. Describe a situation in which you were successful.

35. How do you work in a team?

36. How would your colleagues describe you?

37. You seem not to have too much experience in X. Do you think this would be a problem?

38. How have you changed over the last five years?

39. Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

40. How do you hope to develop your career further?

41. Do you have any questions you would like to ask us?

42. How would you describe your ideal job?

43. Is it possible for you to work overtime?

44. Do you handle conflict well?

45. How long have you been learning English?

EVALUATION SHEET

Position …………………………………………………………

Name of candidate……………………………………………..

Score……………………………………………………………..

BACKGROUND

Education:

Languages:

Experience:

BEHAVIOUR AND COMMUNICATIVE ABILITY

Physical Presentation:

Communication skills (opening conversation gambits, answering questions, asking questions, giving opinion, agreeing and disagreeing, finishing the conversation, grammar, vocabulary, discourse management,):

Interactive communication (ability to listen and give suitable answers):

Humour:

Culture:

Maturity:

Manners:

PERSONAL QUALITIES

Dynamism:

Ambition:

Organizational skills:

Leadership:

Team Spirit:

Involvement:

CONCLUSION

Suitability of the candidate:……………………………………………

Action to be taken:…………………………………………………..

Would you employ him or her? Why? / Why not? Discuss your reasons with your partner.

Students B, C. You have been invited to attend an interview for a vacancy in CSP. You will be interviewed by Tony Clark (played by Student A), Personnel Officer for CSP. Be ready to introduce yourself and answer the questions about your background, behavior, communicative ability and personal qualities. Don’t forget to bring your CVs and cover letters. There are some statements that can help you to answer effectively and produce a positive impression.

Small talk