Sample Interview Questions, for Academia, Non-Profit and Business

Source: http://www.jobinterviewquestions.org
Phone Interview

Phone interviews seem to be growing more common as search committees try to make the difficult decision of who to invite for a campus interview. When you pass this level you will pass to the interview, and to campus for in-person interviews, and ultimately offered the position! If you are not interviewed by phone, these same questions are likely to be asked on site.

Some helpful hints:

Introduce yourself clearly and directly. Engage in some “small talk” at the start of the interview, just as you would a face-to-face interview.

Speak clearly into the receiver and modulate your voice. Your voice is the only way you have of showing eagerness, enthusiasm and zest for the job. Your voice reveals both your personality and your attitude toward the caller. Don’t forget to smile! It makes a big difference in a conversation, even on the telephone.

Have your resume and the job advertisement with you for reference, and a pencil and some paper to make notes.

No matter how or where your interview is conducted, you should still have the same goal: to communicate to the interviewer that you are the best candidate for the position for which you are being interviewed. If the interview has been scheduled in advance, you should prepare as carefully as you would for a formal “sit down” in someone’s office.

What to Say at the Interview

Introduce yourself with a smile and firm handshake. Maintain good eye contact during conversation.
Demonstrate to the recruiter what you want to and can do for the employer today, based on employer research. Give two minute commercial.
Answer questions with:
" Yes, for example (accomplishment/result statement)" and
" No, however (accomplishment/result statement)"
Show interest in what the interviewer is saying, by nodding your head and leaning toward him/her occasionally.
Give positive answers to negative-based questions.
Ask the recruiter prepared questions.
Initiate the next step by asking what the next step is.


Types of Questions Asked

Open questions-" Tell us a little about…….."

Keep in mind the selection criteria and your strengths.


Closed questions -

Asked when the interviewer wants specific information, often factual or technical in nature, these questions can frequently be answered with a “yes” or “no” Ask for clarification and elaboration of past experiences.
Require you to demonstrate your technical knowledge in some area


Hypothetical questions-

What would you do if… These will assess your ability to think on your feet.


Leading questions

- The answer seems logical… As a faculty member (or as an event planner for our publishing house), you will require good communication skills - do you have good skills in this area? Do not give a yes/no answer. Give examples to support your response.


Multi-barrelled -

two or more questions linked to the same topic

Don't be afraid to ask to have the question repeated if you can't recall the full question.
Take notes on the parts of the question as asked.


Behavioural questions
-
uses your past experiences to predict future behaviours Prepare examples of how your experiences have allowed you to develop specific skills and how these could benefit the employer.

STAR: Situation, Tasks, Action, Result



Sample Interview Questions: Business

Why did you apply for this position?
Tip: How do you think that you might fit into this company

Would you tell us what attracts you to a career with us? How do you see your studies, skills, experience and personal qualities contributing to the work of the organization?
Tip: How do you think that you might fit into this company

Describe a time when you had to deal with conflicting demands. How did you deal with this situation and what was the outcome?
Tip: STAR

Can you describe a time where you have been required to perform as part of a team? What was the situation? What part did you play in the team and what was the outcome of the exercise?
Tip: STAR

How do you establish a working relationship with new people?
Tip: Team skills

Where do you expect to be in 5 years time? What will you do if you are not successful in gaining this position?
Tip: Demonstrate to the interviewer that you have thought about what it is you want from work and what you hope to achieve. Let them know you are flexible however, and willing to explore new opportunities.

What particular skills and qualities do you bring to the workforce? What other skills would you like to develop in the future?
Tip: Strengths and weaknesses

Tell me about a challenging situation you have faced. What was the situation and how did you cope with it?
Tip: STAR

Is there an achievement of which you are particularly proud? What is it? Why is it significant?
Tip: STAR

Imagine that you are a member of a small team responsible for the development and production of an internal publication. Your team is dependent on another workgroup to provide the data which will form the basis of your publication. The deadline for completing this project is not able to be relaxed. (a) What factors do you think might affect the team's ability to meet the publication deadline? (b) What could the team do to ensure the project is completed on time?
Tip: Hypothetical questions allow the interviewer to identify key competencies deemed important by the employer. No right or wrong answer

What are the key elements of measuring performance and how can you establish whether an outcome represents a success? (Answer this in terms of your own work or study experience.) More specifically, what do you think might be some key indicators of the successful performance of a national agency?
Tip: STAR (Behavioural +Situational question)

You have demonstrated in your CV that you have knowledge of entomology. Could you please expand on your experience and tell us what you think your strengths are in this field. An important component of the position will be the maintenance of water quality parameters within acceptable limits for the species. Can you outline your experience in water quality testing? What do you feel are the most important water quality variables?
Tip: Multi-part question

The ability to work independently within a structured team is essential to the position. This will require the successful applicant to be self-starting, able to prioritise tasks, be a good communicator, as well as showing considerable initiative. Can you give us some examples where you have worked within a team environment and demonstrated these abilities?
Tip: STAR + multi-part question

What do you feel is the potential for aquaculture in Australia and what are some of the major impediments to its development? What are some of the major aquaculture species cultured in freshwater? As well as the position involving general maintenance of the aquaria and pond facilities, a significant component will involve participation in scientific experiments through the collection and collation of research data. Can you describe previous experience you have had in the day to day running of scientific experiments?
Tip: STAR + multi-part question

The research project and facilities the successful applicant will be involved with receives considerable attention from the general public. Therefore, a component of the job will involve liaising with the general public and media. This requires the delivery of information in a simple precise manner. How confident do you feel you are in delivering sometimes complex information in a simple manner?
Tip: give examples

What computer programs are you familiar with, and more specifically, what programs would you use to write a report, enter research data, and to prepare a poster or seminar.
Tip: give examples of where you have applied the use of these programs.

You have had an opportunity to look at the statistical table from the publication (this was supplied before the interview). (a) Imagine you were asked to write a commentary on the information in the table. Are there any significant or curious or interesting features revealed by the data which you think should be highlighted, and if so, what might you say about them? Can you offer any suggestions to explain these features? (b) What is your opinion of the general layout of the table? How might it be improved?
Tip: multi-part question


Sample Interview Questions: Academic
1. Describe your research. (Have a good articulate rap down pat in short and longer versions, for experts and non-experts).

• What audiences are you addressing, what are the other hot books or scholars in your field, and how does your work compare with theirs? (Rephrased: what is the cutting edge in your field and how does your work extend it?)(Answer this question on your terms, not those of your competition).
• How will you go about revising your dissertation (or MFA Thesis) for publication?(be able to answer this in both general and specific ways). Question may imply: do you have an interested publisher and where do you stand in your negotiations with said publisher?
• What is the broader significance of your research? How does it expand our historic understanding, literary knowledge, humanistic horizons? Usually asked by someone outside your field. Can you explain the value of your work to an educated layperson?

2. What is your basic teaching philosophy?
• Question might be answered quite differently for the small liberal arts college, state branch university with heavy service teaching load, or graduate-degree granting institution.
3. How would you teach...?
• basic service courses in your field
• any of the courses on your C.V. that you say you can teach.
• What courses would you like to teach if you had your druthers? how would you teach them?
• Be prepared to talk about several courses, after having sized up the institution's needs. Do your homework to anticipate what the department needs.
• Be prepared to talk about teaching its basic service course(s). If you're applying to a small liberal arts College, this could include things like Western Civilization, Western European art history, Brit Lit., etc.
• Be ready to talk in detail about an innovative course or two that you think the Department might really go for.
• Take course X. As you would teach it, what three goals would the course achieve? When students had completed your course, what would they have learned that is of lasting value?
4. Tell us how your research has influenced your teaching. In what ways have you been able to bring the insights of your research to your courses at the undergraduate level?

5. We are a service-based state branch university with an enrollment of three zillion student credit hours per semester, most of them in the basic required courses. Everyone, therefore, teaches the service courses. How would you teach Hist Or Lit or Art 101?
• what they are asking is are you willing/experienced/ mentally stable enough to teach a heavy service course load to students who've likely read fewer than 3 books in their entire lives. They may also be saying is No one on the faculty (much less the students ) at Mediocre State U has even heard of the figure/subject/method of your research. How do you think you could fit in here? Could you be happy or at least useful in a backwater?

6. Your degree is from Prestige Research University--what makes you think you would like to (or even would know how to) teach in a small liberal arts college?
• Depending on the college, this may be one or two questions: 1) can he/she survive in Timbuktu with idiots for colleagues and morons for students? 2) do you understand the liberal arts college mission, are you a dedicated teacher, and will you give your students the time and personal attention that we demand from all our faculty members?
• At our college, teaching is the first priority. Do you like teaching? Would you survive (and thrive) under those circumstances?
• What experience do you have teaching or learning in such a setting?
7. This is a publish or perish institution with very high standards for tenure review--what makes you think you would be able to earn tenure here? (see next question).

8. Tell us about your research program. What are you working on currently? (now that you've completed your doctoral or MFA work)? What do you plan to look at next?
• Having a paper or a talk ready that showcases a topic different from your doctoral research demonstrates research prowess.
9. Why do you especially want to teach at Nameless College or University? How do you see yourself contributing to our department?
• (The real answer to this, of course, is "because I need the job") But don't be caught without a well-considered answer. This is a hard question to answer if you are unprepared for it. Be sure you've done your homework).
• (for small colleges) We conceive of our campus as one large community. What non- or extra-academic activities would you be interested in sponsoring or participating in?
10. Are you connected? (If you were organizing a special symposium or mini-conference on your topic, which scholars could you pick up the phone to call?)

11. You've seen our (religious) mission statement. How would you see yourself contributing to our mission and campus atmosphere?
• technically, asking about your religious affiliation/ beliefs is an illegal question. Committees will be more or less direct with you about this question and you can perceive the degree of conformity/support they expect according to how they broach the subject.
• they are also trying to tell you that character (defined in their traditional, conservative way) counts at the institution and in town as well; they want you to withdraw from consideration if you w