Bradley Valentin 
30+ Interview Questions for Preparation!
Interviews are stress-inducing and difficult. However, strong interview preparation can reduce stress and help you land the job you need. Understanding the process is vital to giving a high-quality performance. In this article, you can find specific questions you should expect in most interviews. We will also explain the mindset of the interviewers and why they ask the questions they ask. For a more in-depth review of interview tips outside of interview questions, click here to find our Interview Tip Guide.
Behavioral-Based Interview Questions
Many interview questions today are called “Behavior-Based,” which is a way to say that they are based on the stories you provide, so that the interviewers can decide if you are fit for the job based on your skills through the stories that you’ve told.
These questions will usually focus on specific skills such as time management, customer service, sales abilities, leadership, etc. The questions usually come in a form that sounds like “Tell us about a time,” or “Can you describe a situation in which…?”
When asked these questions, be specific and provide a detailed answer, using a relevant story to illustrate your response. We will go over how to answer the questions, but first, let’s go over some examples.
Generic Example Behavioral-Based Questions
- How have you handled accountability in your role in the past?
- Tell me about a time when you had to adapt to a difficult organizational change.
- Tell us about a time when you had to go above and beyond for a customer.
- Can you describe a situation in which you had to work together with a team to achieve a goal for your organization?
- Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a conflict with a peer.
Example Questions for Customer Service Jobs
- Tell us about a time when you had to handle a difficult customer, and made sure they walked away happy.
- Can you describe a situation in which you had to deliver bad news to a customer?
- How do you handle policy changes that are sprung on you at the last minute?
- Tell me about a time when you had to be efficient in finding a solution for a customer when you or the customer didn’t have a lot of time.
- Describe a time when you had to manage unrealistic customer expectations from a customer. How did you handle it, while still providing accurate information?
- Tell me about a time when you had to research a customer’s issue and follow up to give them a strong resolution. What was the process in doing follow-up, and how did you ensure that the customer walked away happy?
Example Questions for Sales Roles
- What is your strategy for meeting difficult sales goals? (Make sure to still answer this with a story of how you’ve done this in the past).
- Tell us about a time when you had to overcome a major objection from a prospective customer. What was the outcome?
- Describe a time when you turned a cold lead into a customer. How did you build that customer relationship?
- Tell me about a time when you had to negotiate with a customer. What was the outcome, and how did you make sure that you got the sale and made sure the customer was happy?
- Tell us about a time when you missed a difficult sales target. What did you learn, and how did you recover?
Example Questions for Leadership Roles
- Can you tell us about a time when you had to hold an employee accountable for their performance?
- Tell me about a time when you had a disagreement with your manager? How did you work together to come to an agreement?
- Can you describe a situation when you had to give bad news to a group of employees? How did they react? How did you prepare for the meeting?
- Tell us about a time when you had to coordinate with other departments to solve a problem.
Example Questions for Technology Jobs
- Tell us about a time when you had to learn a new tool quickly to solve a problem on a project.
- Can you tell us about a time when you improved on an old system or process? What impact on your peers or the organization did it have?
- Describe a situation in which you had to work on a complex technical issue under tight deadlines. What was your approach?
How to Answer Behavior-Based Interview Questions
The STAR format is an interview technique that many hiring managers and HR professionals are trained to look for during interviews. STAR stands for: Situation, Task, Action, Results. Be prepared to answer the questions in the STAR format and it will give your interviewers a great understanding of your skills.
Situation – This is the point when you describe the situation you were involved in. Be sure to be specific and give details. How did the situation form? What difficulties did you experience during this situation? Who was involved in the situation?
Task – At this point, you describe your role and tasks within a situation. It’s important to make it clear to your interviewer how you were involved, and what was asked of you. Ask yourself: What was your role in this situation? What actions did you need to take to solve a situation?
Action – This is the meat of your answer. Describe what you did to solve the situation and be specific. Be sure to include any other players in the scenario, and what you did to help them. Try to share the results of conversations or meetings. Describe the actions you took throughout, and why you decided to take those specific actions.
Results – What was the result of the actions you took? It’s important to end your answer with a specific result. Think about the metrics your interviewer might be looking for, and provide an answer around that. There’s no use in lying or exaggerating, as most interviewers can see through that.
When interviewing and answering questions, make sure to tell a story. You are going to want to be specific and give a lot of details and data where possible. Sometimes, if you are too vague, interviewers will think that you don’t understand the question or haven’t experienced the situation they’re asking you. Avoid talking negatively about your previous peers and employers; this can come across as very negative to the interviewers and can paint you in a bad light.
More Example Questions
- Can you tell us about a time when you had to come up with a creative solution to a difficult problem?
- Tell me about a time when you had to fix a mistake of your own making.
- Describe a situation when you had a disagreement with your leadership/management.
- How have you dealt with difficult deadlines in the past?
- Tell us about a time when you turned a dissatisfied customer into a loyal customer.
- Tell me about a time when you had to build rapport quickly with a client?
Non-Behavioral-Based Interview Questions
Not all interviews will be structured this way, and some interviews might have non-behavioral-based interview questions. It’s important to prepare for all types of questions, so here are some questions you might be asked and how to answer them. It’s still important to remember to be specific and tie an experience to many of these questions where possible, but some might not need that exact strategy.
- Why are you looking to leave your current role?
- This is a particularly difficult question, especially if you have had a bad experience with your current employer. You don’t want to necessarily spend a lot of time speaking negatively about your current employer, so instead, focus on you: Growth, career development, etc.
- Why are you looking to work for us (the company you’re applying for)?
- To prepare for this question, you should make sure that you know some of the products and services the company offers. Understanding their values and goals can also be useful here.
- Tell me about your weaknesses.
- This question is often asked in interviews. Here, it’s important to avoid answers like “I work too hard” or “I care too much.” Try to be sincere, and focus on your strengths, and what downsides/blindspots you might have. For example, maybe you are very competitive. You can talk about how you like to compete, and sometimes you have to remember to help your coworkers be successful in their work too.
- Why should I hire you for this role?
- The emphasis in this question is “YOU.” The interview is asking you why you would stand out as a hire for the role, so make sure to emphasize your skills, strengths, and experience.
- Can you tell me about your personal hobbies? What’s your favorite movie? Etc.
- Sometimes, interviewers will ask you questions because they want to keep it light. Prepare for a few personal experiences, hobbies, etc. for when this questions might come up.
- Do you have any questions for us?
- Some hiring managers want to make sure that you have questions here. Try to have at least 2-3 questions prepared in case your interviewers ask you this. Even if you don’t have any questions about the company, here are a few examples:
- What does a day in the life look like in this job?
- If you hire me, what would success look like in this role in one year from now?
- What is the biggest struggle for employees in this role?
- Some hiring managers want to make sure that you have questions here. Try to have at least 2-3 questions prepared in case your interviewers ask you this. Even if you don’t have any questions about the company, here are a few examples:
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