Great Interview Questions

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Great interview questions make a candidate stop and think about their experience and their accomplishments in ways that are not routine. They are never "yes/no" type questions or superficial in nature. They probe. And, because they are not always obvious questions that cursory interview preparation will take care of, differences among candidates will quickly surface.

Take our advice and work with these great interview questions until you are comfortable talking about your experience from many different angles. Interviewing is not rocket science. But with so much riding on your performance, you want to take advantage of every opportunity to hone your skills.

If you can't find an answer to an interview question that has caused you some trouble, or if you have a great interview question that hasn't been addressed in these pages, please let us know. You can ask us for help by visiting Tough Interview Questions. You can pose your question and help not only yourself, but other candidates who visit us regularly. As someone famous once said: "Bring it on!"

TELL ME ABOUT A TIME WHEN YOU HAD TO MAKE A DECISION IN THE ABSENCE OF GOOD INFORMATION.

This question has a hidden agenda. Does the mere thought of not having data paralyze you? Do you always need to see more data before you can make a decision? Sometimes, data is not readily available and we need to make a decision with limited information. Are you risk averse? Are you willing to risk making the wrong decision? Think about the decisions you need to make in a day...how many of these really are made with everything you need to know in hand.

We often times make educated guesses about an appropriate course of action. Have you ever wanted to have primary research done but lacked the budget to support it? Yet, in the face of this lack of information, you needed to make decisions on how to penetrate the market. Get the idea?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A TEAM MEMBER?

The things that readily come to mind in response to this question include: accountability, reliability, follow through, participation, respect for teammates, listening, honesty. These are the characteristics of strong team players. Craft your answers around these concepts and you can't go wrong!

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN DEALING WITH PEOPLE OR CUSTOMERS?

Dealing with people and customers is inherently challenging. They are human; they make mistakes; they change their mind; they say one thing and mean something else. We could go on...When you answer this question, remember to talk about how you handle the challenge successfully in order to build relationships with all types of people.