PARKER CAREER MANAGEMENT CENTER

GENERAL/BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

The following is a sample of general and behavioral interview questions that are organized by the type of
characteristics that interviewers may be looking for in their candidates.

For additional sample interview questions specific to industries and functions, please refer to the “Interviewing”
section of the Parker CMC website.

Ability to Learn
• What shortcuts or techniques have you learned to make school or a job easier, or to make yourself more
effective? How did you learn them?
• Describe an example of how you acquired a technical skill and converted it into practical application.
• Give me an example of when your work was criticized and how you handled the criticism.
• Tell me about a time you made a bad decision and how you corrected it.

Adaptability
• How was your transition from college to the world of work and then back to graduate school? Did you face
any particular challenges?
• Tell me about situations in which you had to adjust quickly to changes over which you had no control.
What was the impact of the change on you?

Analysis
• What steps do you follow to study a problem and fix it before it becomes a major problem? Give an
example(s) of how you have done this.
• We can sometimes identify a small problem and fix it before it becomes a major problem. Give an
example(s) of how you have done this.
• Describe a situation in which you had to collect information by asking many questions from several people
from various parts of an organization.
• Describe a situation where you had to seek out relevant information, define key issues, and decide on
which steps to take to get desired results.
• Describe an instance where you made effective use of facts to secure the agreement of others.

Communication
• Tell me about a time when your active listening skills really paid off for you - maybe a time when other
people missed the key idea being expressed.
• What has been your experience in giving presentations to small and large groups? What has been your
most successful experience in speech making?

Company/Industry Knowledge
• Who else are you interviewing with? What differences do you see between these companies?
• What would you do for us? What do you have to offer? (Requires you to know what they need!)
• What do you like best about our company? What would you change and how?
• Who is our competition? How do you see them affecting our company direction?
• Where do you see this industry 5 - 10 years from now?
• What kind of research did you do for this interview?

Creativity
• Describe a creative/innovative idea that you produced which made a significant contribution to the success
of an activity or project.
• Give me an example that called for you to develop your own approach to a situation - you had to “think
outside the box”.
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• Give me an example of when you solved a problem in a creative way.

Customer Service Orientation

• What was the most difficult customer service experience that you have ever had to handle - perhaps an
angry or irate customer? Be specific and tell us what you did and what the outcome was.
• Tell me about a time when you had to work with an unsatisfied client/customer who disagreed with your
suggestions.

Decision Making
• How will you know when you have found the right opportunity? What criteria will you use?
• Why did you choose UCLA Anderson?
• How did you select your undergraduate school?
• Tell me why you made the job/company transitions you have since college.
• What is the most difficult decision you have ever made?
• Why did you work for the companies listed on your resume? (prior to UCLA Anderson)

Initiative
• Summarize a situation where you took the initiative to get others going on an important issue, and played
a leading role to achieve the results wanted.
• Describe some projects or ideas (not necessarily your own) that were implemented, or carried out
successfully primarily because of your efforts.
• Describe a situation that required a number of tasks to be done at the same time. How did you handle it?
What was the result?
• Have you found any ways to make school or a job easier or more rewarding?
• What have you been doing to reach your career goals?

Leadership
• Give me an example of when you led a group.
• What do you have to offer to a group?
• How do you lead your group mates (if you do)?
• What is your leadership style? (What are the pros and cons of that style)
• How do you persuade someone to accept your ideas - particularly when you have no direct authority over
them?
• Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult team member as the leader of the group.

Management (Sensitivity)
• Give an example of when you had to work with someone who was difficult to get along with. Why was this
person difficult? How did you handle this person?
• Describe a situation where you found yourself dealing with someone who didn’t like you. How did you
handle it?
• In a supervisory or group leader role, have you ever had to discipline or counsel an employee or group
member? What was the nature of the discipline? What steps did you take? How did it make you feel?
How did you prepare yourself?
• How did you monitor the performance of people in your job at….

Motivation
• Why do you want to work for ABC Corporation?
• Give examples of your experiences at school or in a job that were satisfying. Give examples of your
experiences that were dissatisfying?
• Under what kind of supervisor do you work best? Provide examples.
• What would you like to be doing in five years?
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• Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

• Why are you interested in this career?
• Why are you interested in this industry?
• What are your career aspirations?
• What do you think are the key success factors of this job?
• What kinds of people turn you off? What types of people inspire you? How do you interact with these
people? Specific examples please.
• Give me examples of two leaders you admire. Why?

Planning and Organizing

• How do you determine priorities in scheduling your time? Give examples.
• Describe a time in school/work when you had many projects or assignments due at the same time. What
steps did you take to get them all done?

Personal
• Tell me about yourself. (Focus on your work experience, not your personal life.)
• How do your friends describe you? What are your 3 key strengths?
• What are 3 words your friends will use when talking about you?
• What are your 3 key development needs? What are your weaknesses?
• Give me an example of where you failed and what did you learn from it?
• How do you handle being wrong?
• If you could change something about yourself, what would it be?
• What do you do for fun? What is the last book you read, just for fun?
• What is your most significant achievement?
• What is your favorite class you’ve taken so far and why?
• Why should we hire you over your other classmates who are applying for this job?

Teamwork
• Describe a situation where others you were working with on a project disagreed with you ideas. What did
you do?
• Give an example of how you worked effectively with people to accomplish an important result?
• Give me an example of when you had to resolve a conflict.
• Give me an example of when you had to deal with a difficult team member.
• Give me an example of when you had to persuade someone in your team.
• Give me an example of when someone had to persuade you to their point of view.
• Tell me about a time when you became involved in a team that experienced conflict. What was done to
correct the situation?

Work Experience/Knowledge
• What aspects of your previous job do you consider most crucial/important to this position?
• I see from your resume that you did…Tell me about this project/what you did in this role.
• What did you like/dislike about your previous job?
• What relevant experience do you have for this job?
• Give me an example of how you applied knowledge from position “A” to a project in position “B”.
• Sometimes it’s easy to get in over your head. Describe a situation where you had to request help or
assistance on a project or assignment.
• Provide an example of how you acquired a technical skill and converted it into practical application.

Work Standards/Ethics
• Compare and contrast the times when you did work which was above the standard with times your work
was below the standard.
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• Tell me about the times when you were not very satisfied or pleased with your performance. What did you
do to improve?
• What are your standards of success in school? What have you done to meet these standards?
• How have you differed from your supervisors/professors in evaluating your performance? How did you
handle the situation?
• Describe an instance where you set your sights on a high/demanding goal and saw it through to
completion, despite obstacles.
• Describe an ethical situation and how you handled it.