Interview Questions and Answers

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Candidates are always interested in understanding how to navigate interview questions and answers they should be giving. Knowing what questions to expect is a critical part of your interview preparation. You might encounter different types of interviews during your job search, but chances are the questions you're asked during the interview process will be fairly predictable. Knowing the questions is half the battle. Understanding how to answer interview questions can make the difference between success and failure in your interview performance.

If you're looking for a comprehensive list of job interview questions, DerrJones has compiled a list of 100 sample interview questions, including some questions that are specifically designed for sales professionals. We even give you advice for how to tailor your response by giving you tips on what the interviewer is looking for.

The List:
100 Interview Questions and Answers...

We struggled a bit with how to present the links that follow. It's not pretty, but you'll find our complete list of interview questions and answers here. You'll find some of the most important information by click on the links to get our suggestions on how to answer!

Tell me about yourself.
Why do you want to work for us?
Why are you leaving your current company/job?

Short term goals (3 years)?
Longer term goals (5 years)?
What are your strengths?

What are your weaknesses?
How are you preparing yourself to achieve your goals?
Tell me about your ideal job.

Major challenges in your career?
Tell me about your ideal boss.
Tell me about the boss you liked best.

Tell me about the boss you liked least.
How would your boss describe you?
How would your peers describe you?

Tell me about a time when you used humor to defuse a tense situation.
What do you do in your spare time?
How have you grown over the past 5 years? Professional development objectives?

Tell me about a time when a project you were speaheading didn't go well.
Tell me about a difficult problem that you solved.
Describe a situation that required you to persuade a group of people.

What is your most significant accomplishment and why?
How would you characterize your work ethic? Provide examples.
What's the worst mistake you've made in a work situation?

Tell me about your most creative idea.
What aspects of your current position are most stressful? How do you handle stress?
How do you decide among competing priorities?

What's the toughest decision you've made in the past 6 months?
What other opportunities are you considering?
If you could do it all over, what career would you be in?

What do you do to energize a group?
Tell me about a time when you seized opportunity or grabbed something and ran with it yourself.
When faced with a difficult problem, what do you tend to do?

What do you do to put people at ease? Are there times when you would not follow this strategy?
Have you ever tried to push an unpopular change? How did others react when you did that?
Tell me about a time when you handled a conflict you were having with a boss or direct report.

Do you think you're better at handling conflict than others? Why?
Tell me about your greatest brainstorm.
Contrast a good decision with a poor decision that you've made.

How do you know when to stop analyzing/collecting data and make a decision?
Have you ever had to represent a position you didn't totally agree with? Are there times when you wouldn't do this?
Tell me about a time when you stood alone to stand up for what was right.

Tell me about a time when you turned around someone's performance.
What are some of the key challenges in leading a team?
How do you motivate your team?

How many people who worked under you have quit in the last 5 years? How many have you fired? Promoted? Why?
What changes have you implemented to improve the performance of your team?
How do you manage a project once it has been delegated to someone who reports to you?

Tell me about a time when...you lost the deal; went over budget; failed to meet an important production deadline; lost a case...what did you learn?
What is your annual quota...or production target...or employee retention rate? What were your results last year? Where are you YTD?
How much of your volume is new business vs. repeat business with existing customers?

What are your short term goals - over the next 1-3 years?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
What are your key strengths?

What's your average deal size? What's the sales cycle?
How do you build relationships?
What level do you routinely interact with in your organization?

Walk me through your sales process (or a typical project, or developing code for a new product introduction, developing a marketing plan, etc.) from start to finish.
What's your closing rate?
Tell me about the biggest project you've ever worked on. What was your role in the process?

How do you get past the gate keeper?
How do you create a win-win proposition?
What techniques do you use to get to the decision maker?

Of the positions you've held, which position did you like best and why?
How do you stay current with what's happening in your field?
Why should we hire you for this position?

Why are you still unemployed?
What's your biggest challenge in your current position?
Walk me through your background. For each position -- how did you land this job; why did you leave?

What are your salary requirements?
Tell me about a time when you had an ethical dilemma in a work situation. What did you do?
How many people have you promoted within your organization?

Tell me about a time when you changed your interpersonal style midstream because something wasn't working. How did you know that the new style would work?
Tell me about a time when you built strong relationships where none existed before.
What do you feel has been your greatest contribution in your current role?

If you remain in your current position, what would you hope to accomplish in the coming year?
What do you expect your legacy to be with your current company?
Describe your most disappointing experience and what you learned from it. What would you have done differently?

Describe a situation in which you needed to influence different stakeholders with differing perspectives? What were the results...what worked well for you and what would you have done differently?
What is the one skill, knowledge or experience from your professional career that you believe will benefit our organization the most? Why?
How would you rate your career in relation to your other priorities?

Describe a time when you had to get along with a difficult co-worker. Why was this person difficult and how did you adapt your style to build a successful working relationship?
How do you deal with conflict?
Provide an example of a time when you tried to reach a goal but failed.

Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision in the absence of good information.
What does it mean to be a team member?
What is your biggest challenge in dealing with people or customers?

How would your customers describe you?
How do you segment your market? How do you qualify your prospects?
Is the customer always right?

You also need to think about the questions you want to ask the hiring manager and others you meet at the company. Don't overlook this important part of the interview process! Stumped on what to ask? Our interview questions to ask will give you lots of good ideas!

Go to Interview Questions to Ask

Our free interview questions and answers give you a road map to what companies are looking for, and more importantly, advice on how to answer questions to avoid knocking yourself out of the running. We'll give you some hints on what the interviewer is really looking for to help you structure your own answer to each question. You'll be able to adapt the answers we provide to virtually any type of job opportunity.

Our interview questions to ask are also free, so there's no excuse for not being prepared!

Our information is broken down into manageable sections...three or four interview question and answer segments per page. You can get to all of our related content by clicking on the links at the bottom of each page. Or start over with Question 1 if you need to work through the questions more than once.

Can't Find an Answer You Need?

If you've been stumped on a recent interview, and can't find the interview question you're looking for, let us know. You can pose a new question for DerrJones to answer on our Tough Interview Questions visitor page. We'll provide a good answer for any interview question that gave you trouble.