INTERVIEW GUIDE
ACCOUNTANT
Applicant :
Date :
Recruiter :
The goal of an interview is to determine whether a candidate has a good fit
for your particular job. This is best accomplished by asking questions about
job related competencies to determine whether the candidate has previous
experiences successfully using these competencies.
Introduction Phase
• Encourage some small talk to give the candidate time to get settled
and to help him/her ease into the conversational flow of the interview.
• Candidates usually feel more comfortable when they know what to
expect in an interview. Share your general format with the candidate.
• Tell the candidate that you may be writing during the interview and
explain why you will be doing this.
• Assure candidates that two-way questioning is allowed and
encouraged. Make it clear that the candidate will have an opportunity
to ask questions at the conclusion of the process
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Interview Phase
Have your competency based questions ready for scoring. We recommend a 1 to 5 scoring grid;
a score of 1 would mean the candidate has demonstrated no experience using the competency
and a score of 5 indicating the candidate has a deep understanding of the competency and has
used it successfully in the past with good results.
• Probing: After asking a planned question, you may want to probe for
more information to support a candidate's response. Probes are
usually unplanned; you use them when you want the candidate to
clarify or expand upon a point or when you want more insight into
his/her thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.("Please expand upon
that." "Describe how you .")
• Clarifying Inconsistencies: When a candidate appears to be
caught in a contradiction, it may be appropriate to bring the
conflicting information to the surface for clarification. ("You
mentioned earlier that you were involved in developing a distance
education course. You are now indicating that you have limited
experience with distance education and need to learn more about it.
Please clarify your experience with distance education.")
• Paraphrasing: When in doubt that you have fully understood a
candidate's response, restate what you think you heard in your own
words and ask the candidate for feedback. ("You are basically stating
that there are several ways to handle this situation depending upon
the way in which the client presents the problem. Is that what you
meant?")
• Silence or Pause: Silences or pauses are an effective technique for
encouraging the candidate to do the talking. When there is a silence
or pause, don't jump in with another question; allow the candidate
time to reflect and form a response. Look expectantly at him or her
while you wait.
• Repeating: When the candidate appears to be avoiding a question,
come back to it again. While the candidate may have reasons for
trying to evade it, she/he may simply have gotten sidetracked or may
not fully understand what you mean.
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Attention to Detail
Attention to detail includes the employee’s ability to identify and manage important details associated with doing a
good job. This includes things such as checking and rechecking work, setting up monitoring systems, noticing
missing details, accurately completing forms, following directions, and planning projects to the final detail.
Before you ask this question, best practice suggests that you know beforehand the kind of details that are associated
with both satisfactory and unsatisfactory job performance.
Everyone faces times when we overlook some small, but important detail. Tell me about a
time when this happened to you. What happened ? What did you do? How did it work out?
1 2 3 4 5
Minimal Average ability Exceptional
ability/NA ability
Comments
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Integrity
Integrity is something all employees are expected to demonstrate; however, integrity becomes more critical when the
job includes temptations such as handling financial transactions, handling sensitive personal or health records, or
working with valuable property and materials. People with high integrity follow rules and regulations associated with
the job and are uncomfortable when they are violated.
Before you ask this question, best practice suggests that you know beforehand the kind of integrity associated with
both satisfactory and unsatisfactory job performance.
Some people are willing to break a few rules to get ahead while others refuse. Give me
some examples from your experience that show your preferences.
1 2 3 4 5
Minimal Average ability Exceptional
ability/NA ability
Comments
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Dependability
Dependability involves the employee being reliable, on time, responsible, dependable, and consistently fulfilling
commitments. On the job the employees must do what they say and say what they do. A dependable employee can
be trusted to give straight answers, follow through, and complete assignments on time and within budget. Their
behaviour is predictable and seldom holds any surprises or unexpected reactions. They can be counted on to be
honest and upfront with co-workers regardless of the situation.
Before you ask this question, best practice suggests that you know beforehand the kind of dependability associated
with both satisfactory and unsatisfactory job performance.
How do you balance socializing with co-workers with accomplishing the job ? Can you
give me some examples? What were the results ?
1 2 3 4 5
Minimal Average ability Exceptional
ability/NA ability
Comments
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Analytical Thinking
The position requires someone who successfully performs analytical work. They tend to be thoughtful and approach
decisions both logically and systematically. Analytical people ask questions to discover issues and do not make
decisions without methodically thinking through the consequences.
Before you ask this question, best practice suggests that you know beforehand the kind of analysis associated with
both satisfactory and unsatisfactory job performance.
Please give me some examples that illustrate the kind of problems you have solved. What
was the situation ? What did you do? What were the results ?
1 2 3 4 5
Minimal Average ability Exceptional
ability/NA ability
Comments
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Cooperation
Cooperation requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative work attitude.
This trait differs from concern for others in that it not only includes the willingness to empathize, but includes
volunteering to actively share their work load or help resolve their problems. Specific employee activities include
listening to what another person is saying, empathizing with their situation, asking questions to clarify issues,
explaining how the problem affects them both, and jointly developing a plan of action.
Before you ask this question, best practice suggests that you know beforehand the level of cooperation associated
with both satisfactory and unsatisfactory job performance.
How do you feel when people are overly friendly toward you ? Can you give me some
examples ? How did you react ? What was the result ?
1 2 3 4 5
Minimal Average ability Exceptional
ability/NA ability
Comments
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Achievement/Effort
The position requires someone who has a strong need for achievement. This usually means they will be expected to
continually establish goals and work hard to meet or exceed them. The employees shoudl depend on their ability and
skills rather than luck, chance or other factors beyond their control. They seek specific feedback about performance
so they can progress towards their objectives. Achievement-driven persons are often willing to neglect other parts of
their life in order to accomplish their objectives.
Before you ask this question, best practice suggests that you know beforehand the kind of achievement associated
with both satisfactory and unsatisfactory job performance.
Have you ever worked so hard to achieve a goal that you neglected other parts of your
life? What was the goal ? Why did you choose it ? What was the result ?
1 2 3 4 5
Minimal Average ability Exceptional
ability/NA ability
Comments
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Initiative
Initiative is generally defined as doing something without being asked. A successful employee is expected to make
suggestions to improve a product or process, it might even include offering to take on new responsibilities and
challenges. The position includes being proactive, making improvement suggestions, not being satisfied with the
status quo, volunteering for additional opportunities.
Before you ask this question, best practice suggests that you know beforehand the kind of initiative associated with
both satisfactory and unsatisfactory job performance.
In general, people have a choice of doing what is required of them or going beyond the
basics. Tell me about a few times when you went beyond job requirements. What were the
situations ? What did you do? What were the results ?
1 2 3 4 5
Minimal Average ability Exceptional
ability/NA ability
Comments
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Conclusion Phase
During this phase, you are shifting the emphasis to the candidate's need for information so that
she/he is able to reflect upon the position and decide if it is personally suitable. Both you and the
candidate are evaluating one another in the interview. This is your opportunity to present a
positive, attractive image of the position and you the employer.
• Describe the position and your company to the candidate. You will
probably want to discuss the position in more detail by clarifying the
performance expectations, reviewing critical responsibilities and
describing the work environment. You might also wish to talk about
the support and training that may be provided and career
development opportunities.
• Encourage the candidate to ask questions. Candidates should feel
that you respect their questions and that your responses provide the
information they need to make a decision. Candidates often have
questions about salary and benefits, and you should be prepared to
outline the main facts and features during the initial interviews. If you
are asked a question to which you do not know the answer, let the
candidate know that you will research the question and report back
to them. Record the questions asked and the responses that you
gave.
• Outline the timelines for the final selection decision. Let the
candidate know the general steps ahead and who to contact should
the candidate want to follow up.
• Thank the candidate and close on a positive note.
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Seven Cautionary Notes
Although interviews are an excellent way of assessing how well candidates measure up to your
job requirements, they are subject to many influences that may reduce the effectiveness of the
interviewer's judgment. Interviewers should be aware of these pitfalls and avoid them. Following
are seven of the most common interviewing hazards.
• Halo Effect: This happens when an interviewer forms a global,
positive impression of a candidate based on a characteristic or other
information that biases the interviewer's assessment of the
candidate's qualifications.
• Stereotyping: Stereotyping is a generalization based on personal or
physical characteristics (e.g., racial/ethnic background, social status)
that have nothing to do with the factor being assessed. It affects a
candidate's rating if it elicits a negative or positive reaction in the
interviewer. Restricting candidacy based on gender, race, or religion
is one of the biggest mistakes companies make when hiring.
• Order Effect: The order in which candidates are interviewed can
result in inaccurate ratings. A good candidate who is interviewed
after an outstanding candidate may be given a lower evaluation than
is merited because of the overshadowing effect of the superior
candidate. The time of day may also influence an assessment. A
tired committee is not as attentive or accurate as it would be earlier
in the day.
• Early Judgments/Impressions: Interviewers should avoid making
snap or early judgments (positive or negative) based on factors not
related to the position such as appearance, voice, or handshake.
• Rating Tendencies: Leniency and strictness errors occur when
interviewers gravitate to either extreme on the rating scale and are
consistently too generous or too rigid in their scoring. Errors also
occur when interviewers rate all candidates as average. Rating
tendencies reduce the effectiveness of the assessment process by
making it hard to draw clear distinctions among candidates.
• Inadvertently Influencing the Candidate's Response: The more
you talk, the more you influence a candidate's response. In the
beginning and middle phases, say as little as possible about the
position and get back to questioning and listening. Body language
and tone of voice will also influence a candidate, so be aware of the
signals you may unintentionally be communicating.
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• Losing Control of the Interview: As the chair, it is up to you to
ensure that you control the interview, not the candidate. Use the
communication techniques described above to take control of a
chatty or rambling candidate, to refocus the conversation when it
gets off track, to signal other committee members to ask their
questions as required, and to monitor the time.
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