This is a compilation of some of the most common interview questions our clients have used over the last several years. Good for role playing prior to an interview.

1. 100 Interview Questions
1. How do you show your associates (manager, customers, staff
members) that you are listening to them?
2. How good are your listening skills? How do you know?
3. Have you ever done any public or group speaking? Examples?
- How did you prepare?
- What kind of feedback did you receive?
- What about when a presentation did not go well? What happened?
4. How many presentations do you make a year? Who is your
audience?
5. What kinds of writing have you done? Can you give me some
examples?
- Tell me about its content and the reactions you got.
6. What are some of the most important reports you have
written?
- What reactions did they get?
- How hard were they to write? Why?
7. What do (did) you like best about your job as a ___________?
8. What do (did) you like least about your job as a ___________?
9. What were/are your reasons for leaving __________?
10. Why did you choose this (career, type of work)?

2. 11. In your position, how do you define a good job?
12. Are you doing a good job? How do you know?
13. When judging the performance of your staff members, what factors
are most important to you? Give examples.
14. How do you judge the performance of your employees?
- What distinguishes a good employee from an average employee?
15. How do you actively control your department’s expense budget?
- What action do you take when expenses exceed it?
- Can you give me some examples?
16. Are you satisfied with your department’s performance?
- Why or why not?
17. How did you get your job at ___________?
18. Have you found any ways to make your job easier or more
rewarding? Give examples.
19. Give me some examples of your doing more than required in your
job at ____________.
20. Tell me about a time where a teammate dropped that ball on a
project and you had to provide the fix yourself.
- What did you do to handle the situation?
- How did you address the situation with your teammate
21. What level of security are you looking for in your next position?
22. Under what conditions do you work best?
23. What kinds of pressures do you feel in your job?
- Tell me about them.
- How do you deal with them?
24. How often do you find it necessary to take work home? Why?
25. How long were you at _____ before you felt at ease with their
product and services?
26. What did you have to learn to be effective at ________?
- How long did that take you?
- Which areas were your hardest?

3. 27. What technical courses have you taken?
- What did you learn?
- How hard were they?
28. What was the most difficult/easiest task you had to learn on your
job at ________? Why?
29. How frequently do you meet with your immediate subordinates as a
group?
- Why?
- What do you do in preparation?
- What do you do at the meeting?
- What do you do after the meeting?
30. What recent problems have you had in which you included your
subordinates in arriving at solutions or approaches?
- What approach did you take to get them to accomplish the task?
31. How did you go about setting objectives for your unit last year?
- (Look for involvement of subordinates)
32. Which managers have you worked most effectively for?
- Why?
33. Which bosses have been the hardest to work for? Why?
34. What kinds of problems did you run into switching from
_______department to ________department?
35. Your new assignment is certainly a great deal different from what you
were doing before.
- How do you like it?
- How long did it take you to learn it?
- How long did it take you to feel comfortable doing the new work?
- How did you go about orienting yourself to the new work?
36. Going from the ________ position to the _________ position must
have been difficult. What problems arose and how did you take care
of them?
37. What are the biggest decisions you have made in the last year?
- Tell me how you went about making them.
- What alternatives did you consider?
38. What were the toughest decisions you had to make while at _______?
Tell me about them.
- What alternatives did you consider?

4. 39. Describe an occasion when you included subordinates in your decision
making.
- To what extent did you incorporate their input?
40. Describe a typical day…a typical week. (Listen for planning)
41. Do you have a backlog in your unit?
- Why or why not?
42. Do you have long and short-term plans for your department?
- Are they in writing?
- How do you use them?
43. How do you plan your day?
44. Do you assign work to other people
- What kinds of work do you assign?
45. Explain the biggest mistake you made in not delegating?
46. How do you decide what to delegate and to whom to delegate it?
47. If you are promoted tomorrow, do you have a replacement?
- What did you do to develop this person?
48. What is the mission of your current/previous employer?
- Where did your group fit into that picture?
49. Give me an example of when you provided exceptional service to a
customer.
- How different is that from the service you provide day-to-day?
50. What do you feel are the essential components in day-to-day customer
service?
51. Have you ever dealt with an irate customer?
- Tell me about one of your experiences.
- How did you handle it?
- What was the outcome?
52. How do you ensure that your subordinates provide quality
customer service?
53. Have you ever had to sell anything?
54. How do you prepare for a sales call?

5. 55. What have you done in the past (six months/year) to improve your
selling skills?
56. Are you a good manager?
- How do you know?
57. What comparison can you make between the management goals you
had coming into this job and what you’ve actually been able to achieve
since that time?
58. If I were to ask your last supervisor to evaluate your performance on
the managerial part of the job what do you think would be the
answer?
- Why?
59. What would you do if you had several assignments given to you by
different people and you could not have all of them completed on
time?
60. Suppose you were working on a rush project for your boss and his
boss came to you wanting another project done immediately,
one that would take all afternoon. What would you do?
61. What are some of the most exciting “breakthroughs” recently achieved
by the work group you manage(d)?
62. In what ways do you coach staff members?
63. In what ways do you reward staff members for outstanding
performance?
64. How are/were goals set for the work group you manage(d)?
65. How have you helped your employees become committed to a job or
to the organizational/project?
66. How have you dealt with an “attitude” problem? Please give me a
specific example.
67. Give me an example of an employee who you had to discipline. What
was your strategy? How successful were you? (Look for comfort
level in setting boundaries. Does the candidate understand that
employees must choose to change and be given realistic
choices?)
68. How do you develop trust and loyalty in your employees? Example.

6. - How would you go about doing that with our employees?
69. Give me an example of a time when your plans didn’t work out.
- What did you do to recover?
70. Describe a time when “politics” at work affected your job.
- How did you deal with it?
71. How do you get your employees (or others) to follow you?
72. What type of employee do you find hardest to manage? Why?
73. Describe a time when you had problems getting people to work
together in solving a problem or completing an assignment?
74. Give me an example of a change you saw coming or something you
thought was necessary to change.
- How did you go about planning for it?
75. What are some of the “unwritten rules” for behavior or politics in your
current/recent past company?
- Are some more bothersome than others?
76. Give me an example of a time when you felt it was necessary to be
assertive to get what you felt you deserved or needed from your
manager.
77. Give me an example of a recent situation when you disagreed with
someone on the job. What were your options for settling it?
- Why did you choose the option you did?
- Was it successful?
78. Have you worked in an organization which changed its policies or
procedures frequently?
- How did you deal with it?
79. What are the three or four bottom line (most critical) ways you
measure success in your job?
- What would you list for this job?
80. What areas have been within your sphere of responsibility?
- How do you make sure you know what is happening?
81. How do you make sure that your employees are accountable?
82. Do you feel that the chain of command is important? Why?
- When do you feel it might inhibit organizational effectiveness?

7. 82. What recent decision have you made that had an impact on finances?
- How did you assess its impact?
83. Give me an example of how you delegated responsibility for a recent
assignment; for instance, whom you chose, what and how you
delegated the assignment, and what you did to monitor it.
85. How would your direct reports describe your management
style?
- What would they say caused them the most frustration in
dealing with you?
84. How do your peers/managers collectively perceive you?
85. What type of role do you play on your team?
86. Have you ever started your own business?
87. Take me through a time when you took a product/project from start to
fruition.
88. Describe how you work under tight deadlines.
89. Describe how you work under tough managers.
90. Describe how you work with employees that are low level/medium
level/stars.
91. What tools or resources have enhanced your ability to do your job?
92. In the last 5 years, what part of your professional skill set have you
improved the most?
93. In a team environment, are you a team motivator, player, leader, or
enthusiast?
94. What is your definition of working too hard?
95. If you left your current job, what would you miss the most/least?
96. If you were a new person, what would you do to gain respect in your
group over the first 30 days?
- 60 days?
- 90 days?
97. Persuade me to move to your city.

8. 98. How do you manage stress?
100. How have you created opportunity for yourself in your current
position?