Example questions

Example answers

Describe a situation that required you to do a number of things at the same time. How did you handle it? What was the result?

In my previous job as a Customer Care Specialist I had one situation where I was supposed to run daily bussiness while  my supervisor required me to deliver an optimization concept of the process that documents customer complains. Both tasks where overlapping. In a first step, I checked the availability of our working student. He had some free capacities and I decided to delegate the first task to him. I had to brief him very detailed and in the beginning, it felt like I was putting on extra work. In the end I realized it was worth it to take some extra time to brief him detailed, because as a result he was able to take over the task independently and together we were able to meet both deadlines.

Tell me about a time you had to work with a difficult [client/candidate/supplier/co worker/peer]. What made the relationship challenging? How did you make the relationship workable?

When I was working as a Retail Specialist, I had one situation where I was working together with a client who I wanted to sell one of our products to. She was not convinced about our product in the beginning and had many concerns. Even I was able to clear up all of her concerns, she always came across with another, in my view groundless concern. I managed the situation by not reacting angry or giving up, but by engaging with her and showing my understanding of her concerns. Thereby she gained trust and we ended up in a very personal business relationship. She later became one of our closest clients.

Very General

1. Tell me about you and your career path. Why did you change your career direction?

2. Why are you looking for a new position? What are you looking for in a new position?

3. Where do you see yourself in five years?

4. Describe your dream job. What kind of work environment do you like best?

5. What is your project achievement you are most proud of?

6. Show me an example of a contribution you made to your work team.

7. Tell me how you think other people would describe you.

8. What are your greatest professional strengths?

9. What do you consider to be your weaknesses?

10. What is your personal motivation for being a web developer?

11. Why should we hire you?

Innovation & Results

1. Describe a time when you identified an inefficiency or problem and took initiative to improve or correct it.

2. Describe a situation in which you recognised a potential problem as an opportunity. What did you do? What was the result? What, if anything, do you wish you had done differently?

3. Tell me about a time when you developed a solution or solved a problem both by collaborating and by doing your own deep thinking. What steps did you take? Why?

4. Tell me about a time when you implemented a creative idea that failed. How did you feel? What would you do differently?

5. Tell me about a problem that you’ve solved in a unique or unusual way. What was the outcome?

6. Tell me about a situation in which you had to adjust to last minute additions/changes. What steps did you take to handle this effectively?

7. Describe a situation that required you to do a number of things at the same time. How did you handle it? What was the result?

Communication & Persuasion

1. Describe a decision you made that wasn’t popular and how you managed to convince others on your team for the same.

2. Tell me about a time you had to communicate something important to someone with very limited time. How did you get the message across quickly and effectively?

3. Tell me about a time you disagreed with the decision of a colleague, and how you handled it.

4. Tell me about a time when you had to rely on your communication skills to push a project or issue into the spotlight. What was the result? 

Critical Thinking

1. Tell me about a time when you had to analyse information and make a recommendation. What kind of thought process did you go through? Was the recommendation accepted? If not, why?

2. Tell me about a time you took a calculated risk. How did you balance speed with quality? What did you learn from any mistakes you may have made?

3. Can you tell me about a time when you used your analytical skills to actually identify a problem? How did you discover it, and what did you do once you had discovered it?

4. Tell me about a time when you had to arrive at a compromise due to a lack of time/resources available. Why did you make the decision that you made and what was the outcome?