MOCKJOB INTERVIEW

Here are some questions that you may encounter during an interview. Try Answering them.

Interpersonal Skills
1. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?
Answer: I’m a problem solver. I love taking a problem and looking at it from every angle. I enjoy work that
challenges me and pushes me to think outside the box. And I’ve always been known for my work ethic. I am
committed to meeting deadlines and taking responsibility for the quality of my performance. However, I have a
hard time letting a project go or sharing a task with others because I’m always convinced that I can do it all on
my own and that asking for help will be taken as a sign of weakness. This has led to me taking on projects that
have overwhelmed me and resulted in me being frustrated and angry. It hasn’t been easy learning to let go, but
I’ve been working on trusting others and sharing the responsibilities for projects and as a result, have been able
to really accomplish some incredible things.

2. What do you do when you know you are right and your boss disagrees with you? Give me an example.
Answer: I will carefully suggest my opinion to my boss by saying this with respect and positivity to him/her.
But first, it should be clear that I am suggesting it for the wellness of our team and company. I believe that
communication is the best way to patch-up disagreements that is why I will present my opinion in a way that’s
both courteous and convincing. But in the end it is still up to my boss to agree or disagree, so no matter what
his/her decision will be, I should respect it and move on.

3. If your colleagues had an opportunity to tell us your primary strength what would that be? And your
primary weakness-what would that be?
Answer: My colleagues would probably tell you what they usually see in my performance in the workplace.
They all know that I communicate to them very well, and I consider that as my primary strength. However, they
probably noticed that most of the time I tend to take on too much responsibility because I believe that I can do it
without disturbing others, and I consider this as my primary weakness that I need to work on.

4. As a component of this position, you may have to work on a team on certain projects. Describe when
you’ve worked on a team before and what, in your opinion, constitutes an effective team? What do you
expect from others on the team and what do you need from others on the team?
Answer: I have experienced working on a team before, back in the past company that I have worked for. And in
my own perspective, an effective team is consist of members and leader that is a team player and not just a
group player. Because a group is a collection of individuals who coordinate their individual efforts. On the other
hand, a team is a group of people who share a common team purpose and a number of challenging goals.
Members of the team are mutually committed to the goals and to each other. And this is what I usually expect
and need from others in the team so that we can all work harmoniously and effectively.

5. What do you do when others resist or reject your ideas or actions?

Answer: If others reject my ideas or resist my actions but I positive that it is the necessary and right thing to do
for the wellness of our team and company, I would use my communication skills. I will try to convince them
calmly and respectively. But if my ideas and actions are unnecessary, I will respect them and move on so that
we don’t take time in arguing but rather just focus on working.

Behavioral
1. Suppose you are in situation where deadlines and priorities change frequently and rapidly. How would
you handle it?
Answer: I would handle it by working smarter not harder. What I mean is I would organize the tasks from the
urgent and non-urgent, and focus on the tasks that needed to be submitted, then work on the other tasks later
after finishing what is really needed. If ever I find it difficult or impossible to do it on my own, I would
respectively ask for help from my other colleagues that don’t have loads of work at the moment.

2. How do you know when you are stressed? What do you do to de-stress?
Answer: I know when I am stressed if I cannot focus and I cannot solve problems effectively. In order for me to
de-stress I would often motivate myself or take a short break from work and immediately get back if I am calm
and okay.

3. Tell me about a time when you were a part of a great team. What was your part in making the team
effective?
Answer: I was a part of a great team in the past company that I have worked for, and I can say that because we
worked together effectively and harmoniously that results to having our project done with great outcomes and
feedbacks from our company. And I just did my part by being a team player like my other colleagues.

4. Suppose your supervisor asked you to get information for them that you know is confidential and
he/she should not have access to. What would you do?
Answer: I should try to effectively and respectively convince him/her that the information he/she is asking for
is not something that we can both have access to and we should respect that as employees.

5. Describe a time when you performed a task outside your perceived responsibilities. What was the task?
Why did you perceive it to be outside your responsibilities? What was the outcome?
Answer: When a boss is giving me a task that should be his/her task. It is not my responsibility as an employee
to perform it, because the outcome would not be good for the reason that my loads of work will add up and my
priority changed to my boss’ task instead of mine that resulted me from not managing my own tasks properly
because of lack of time.

Creative Thinking
1. What’s the best book you’ve read in the last year? Please take a minute and tell us what you liked
about it.
Answer: The best book that I have read so far is the Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. What I love about
it is this book is about self-improvement and personal development. I believe improvement and development
will always have a great role in our lives no matter what phase we are currently in life. It made me believe that
there is always a room for improvement, and for me, improvement is really essential so that we can be a better
version of ourselves now than we are yesterday.

2. What was the most creative thing you did in your last job?
Answer: One of my most creative accomplishments occurred in my last job, where I was tasked with reaching a
new audience for our products. I started by meeting with a few people in my department for a brainstorming
session to come up with ideas for maximizing our resources. We decided to go after social media video
platforms since the audience we were targeting was younger. I decided to bring our new intern to the project.
He was a student majoring in photographic arts and I felt he could add a lot of value to this project. After
evaluating videos in different niches for ideas, I decided that funny video tutorials would add the greatest value
and be the most entertaining. Because they were entertaining, I felt viewers would be more likely to watch the
videos in their entirety. After launching our video series, we were able to grow a new fan base within two
months on the platform, primarily through word of mouth. And successfully generated in higher income. It was
a great effort and I'm really proud of the results we achieved.

3. What is your interpretation of “success?”

Answer: My interpretation of success is when a certain task that I have put my heart and effort to came out
great. For me, success is achieving your ultimate goal at the moment.

4. Describe an ideal work environment or “the perfect job.”

Answer: In my own perspective, an ideal work environment is when the environment is safe, practice
camaraderie, clean, convenient, and harmonious.

5. In what way(s) do you express your personality in the workplace?

Answer: I express my personality in the workplace by effectively showing it through my actions and words.

Leadership
1. How would you describe an ideal supervisor?
Answer: In my own perspective, an ideal supervisor should be someone who is a leader that effectively
develops his/her employees to be also a leader.

2. What strengths did you rely on in your last position to make you successful in your work?
Answer: Determination, self-motivation, and a great mindset is the strengths that I solely rely on that made me
successful especially in my work.

3. As a supervisor, it is essential to motivate employees in your area. Sometimes this must be done using
non-monetary means. Please describe some creative ways you have motivated and recognized employees
in the past non-monetarily.
Answer: By just simply recognizing their efforts, praising them for their great works, and simply treating them
to a meal is already something that will put a smile on their faces and can motivate them to work harder. I
believe that creating a motivated environment is essential for our employee/employer relations that will result to
effectively done tasks.

4. Explain, step by step, how you have coached an employee who had performance problems.
Answer: First, is you find out the root cause of why they have such difficulties. Second, is you recognize the
cause and problem. Third, is you practice that employee to adapt change and him/her develop a habit that could
help him/her to improve and learn.

5. If you had to describe your own leadership style as directive, delegating, or coaching, which would you
choose? Please explain why giving examples.
Answer: I will describe my style of leadership as coaching. It is because I want my subordinates to develop
leadership in themselves. Coaching employees to improve performance enhances individual skills and helps
them better understand their role in the organization. When employees know what to do and why they're doing
it, they'll perform better and at a higher level.

Optional Situational Questions:

1. You observe two of your employees arguing in a central location in the office.
Answer: I would approach them and make them both calm so that they can communicate effectively without
the need of arguments.

2. One of your employees comes to you complaining about another employee and insisting they should no
longer work together.
Answer: I will first investigate the situation and let them patch things up. But if it is not effective, I would just
respect his/her decision.

3. One of your employees comes to you to complain that he/she has a more demanding work load than
another employee and wants the workload to be shifted.
Answer: I would grant his/her request if it is indeed true and let the workload be shifted to those that has less
tasks. Because loads of work will only result to an ineffective work performance.

General
1. Could you share with us a recent accomplishment of which you are most proud?
Answer: I am most proud of myself in where I have acquired new skills, develop my current skills, enhance my
knowledge, and improve myself and my behavior in the workplace as my experience builds up. That is what I
consider my greatest accomplishments and the rewards and results are just a bonus.

2. Tell us a bit about your work background, and then give us description of how you think it relates to
our current opening.
Answer: My experience includes a variety of marketing and advertising opportunities. In college, I was the ad
intern at the local radio station, where I designed event posters for local concerts and music festivals. Then I
worked as a market research assistant, analyzing consumer data and drafting reports for the marketing director.
My other positions allowed me to practice applying research to writing ad copy, social media posts and a few
radio commercial scripts. As your social media specialist, I would want to continue sharing my research insights
and improving my ability to transform consumer data into actionable, engaging content.

3. Why have you applied for this position?

Answer: I have applied for this position because I believe that I am capable and equipped to be in the position.

4. What skill set do you think you would bring for this position?
Answer: I would bring necessary skills that is needed for me to perform effectively in this position.

5. Tell me about your present or last job. Why did you choose it? why did you/do you want to leave?
Answer: I enjoyed the people I worked with. It was a friendly and fun atmosphere, and I actually enjoyed going
to work each morning. I felt that the leadership team was great too. They knew all of their employees on a first
name basis and tried to make those personal connections. I also enjoyed the fact that the office tried to do
community outreach with local organizations. One of the reasons I’m leaving is that I felt I was not challenged
enough at the job. As a new employee in the working world, the company offered me a great opportunity for a
good entry-level position—one that I’ll always be grateful for. However, after being there for so many years, I
felt I wasn’t able to fulfill all of my potential because of a real lack of challenge. There was no room for
advancement in the company. While I did enjoy working there and appreciate the skills I developed, I feel my
skill set can be better employed elsewhere. Somewhere my capabilities are more recognized, and where there is
the opportunity for growth.
6. What was your primary contribution/achievement? Biggest challenge?
Answer: The value that I have added when working on a team project is that I exceeded a sales goal. The
biggest challenge in doing this is how to do this in the first place. That is why I have used my skills and
acquired new skills and experiences while on the process, this helped me so much in performing my job and in
enhancing my performance.

7. What are your short-term and long-term goals?

Answer: As I read through the job description for this position, I set up both short- and long-term goals that
would help me hit the required targets. I plan on delivering more than is asked from me. My long term goal is to
take on bigger, more challenging targets so I can assess my abilities. I plan on shaping myself during this initial
time so that I’m prepared to deliver on bigger targets later. While my short term goal is to acquire new set of
skills needed for my improvement as an employee.

8. In what areas would you like to develop further? What are your plans to do that?
Answer: I want my skills, knowledge, and employee relations to develop further so that I could do my work
effectively.

9. What are some positive aspects of your last employment/employer? What are some negative aspects?
Answer: Through my experience at ABC Company, I learned a lot about different management styles and
strategies for maintaining cooperation in a large group project setting. I feel that as valuable as that experience
has been, I am eager to work on more specialized projects on which I will have the opportunity to be more of a
leader than was going to be possible there.

10. What do you know about our company?

Answer: I'm really impressed by your company's values and mission statement. I find that many of the things
that are important to this company are also important to me. I have always admired the way that this company
has had such a strong focus on delivering top-quality customer service.

11. Why should we hire you?

Answer: You should hire me because I have the skills, knowledge, and experiences that is best suited for this
position.

12. After learning this opportunity, what made you take the next step and apply for the job?
Answer: I am interested in this job and that made me grab this opportunity.

13. If you are the successful applicant, how would you expect to be different after a year in this position?
Answer: I believe that there is always a room for improvement and experiences do really shape what we ought
to be, so I expect myself to be better in my performance after a year in this position than my current
performance.

14. Now that you have learned about our company and the position you are applying for, what hesitation
or reluctance would you have in accepting this job if we offer it to you?
Answer: I have no hesitation nor any reluctance because before I apply for this job, I am already sure of what I
want and that is to be in this position. I will be very thankful if you hire me.