Behavioral/Situational Interview Question Bank
Table of Contents
SKILL/COMPETENCY
PAGE
ILLEGAL/LEGAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ............................................................... 1
ADAPTABILITY ............................................................................................................... 2
ALIGNING PERFORMANCE FOR SUCCESS ............................................................... 4
APPLIED LEARNING ....................................................................................................... 6
BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL TEAM ............................................................................... 7
BUILDING CUSTOMER LOYALTY............................................................................... 9
BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS ......................................................................................... 10
BUILDING STRATEGIC WORKING RELATIONSHIPS ............................................ 12
BUILDING TRUST.......................................................................................................... 14
COACHING ..................................................................................................................... 15
COMMUNICATION ........................................................................................................ 17
CONTINUOUS LEARNING ........................................................................................... 18
CONTRIBUTING TO TEAM SUCCESS........................................................................ 19
CUSTOMER FOCUS ....................................................................................................... 21
DECISION MAKING ...................................................................................................... 22
DELEGATING RESPONSIBILITY ................................................................................ 24
DEVELOPING OTHERS ................................................................................................. 26
RESPECTING DIVERSITY ............................................................................................ 27
ENERGY .......................................................................................................................... 28
FACILITATING CHANGE ............................................................................................. 29
FOLLOW-UP ................................................................................................................... 31
FORMAL PRESENTATION ........................................................................................... 33
GAINING COMMITMENT ............................................................................................. 34
INFORMATION MONITORING .................................................................................... 37
INITIATING ACTION ..................................................................................................... 38
INNOVATION ................................................................................................................. 40
JOB FIT ............................................................................................................................ 41
LEADING THROUGH VISION AND VALUES ........................................................... 48
MANAGING CONFLICT ................................................................................................ 49
MANAGING WORK (Includes Time Management)....................................................... 51
MEETING LEADERSHIP ............................................................................................... 53
MEETING PARTICIPATION ......................................................................................... 54
NEGOTIATION ............................................................................................................... 56
ORGANIZATION FIT ..................................................................................................... 58
PLANNING AND ORGANIZING .................................................................................. 64
QUALITY ORIENTATION ............................................................................................. 66
RESEARCH/SCHOLARSHIP: ........................................................................................ 67
RISK TAKING ................................................................................................................. 68
SAFETY AWARENESS .................................................................................................. 70
STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING ............................................................................... 71
STRESS TOLERANCE.................................................................................................... 73
TEACHING ...................................................................................................................... 74
TECHNICAL/PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS ................................... 76
WORK STANDARDS ..................................................................................................... 78
ILLEGAL/LEGAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
The following are some illegal interview questions along with related
questions that are legal.
National Origin/Citizenship
• Illegal: Are you a U.S. citizen? You sound like you have an accent, where
are you from? Where were your parents born? What is your native
language? When did you arrive in the U.S.? What was your port of entry?
Are you native-born or naturalized? Questions which identify customs or
denomination. Any other inquiry into national origin (for applicant or his or
her spouse or parents; maiden name of wife or mother).
• Legal: Are you authorized to work in the U.S.? What foreign language skills
do you have (reading, speaking, and/or writing) if relevant to the job? After
employment, can you submit a birth certificate or other proof of U.S.
citizenship or other proof of the right to remain in or work in the U.S.
Marital/Family Status
• Illegal: Are you married? Do you have children? If so, what do you do for
child care? Are you planning to have children soon? Have you ever been
divorced?
• Legal: Are you willing and able to put in the amount of overtime and/or
travel the position requires? Are you willing to relocate if necessary? Do
you have responsibilities or commitments that will prevent you from
meeting specified work schedules? Do you anticipate any absences from
work on a regular basis? If so, please explain the circumstances.
Age
• Illegal: How old are you? When were you born? When did you graduate
from college? When is your birthday?
• Legal: Do you have any concerns about handling the long hours and
extensive travel that this job entails?
Disability Status
• Illegal: Do you have any disabilities or medical conditions? If so, how
serious? How is your health? Do you take any prescription drugs? Have
you been diagnosed with a mental illness? Have you ever been an
alcoholic? Have you ever been in rehab? How is your family’s health?
1
• Legal: Are you able to perform the essential functions of this job with or
without reasonable accommodation? Do you have any conditions that
would keep you from performing this job? Do you take illegal drugs?
Religion
• Illegal: What is your religion? Are you practicing?
• Legal: Advise candidate about normal hours and days of work required by
the job to avoid possible conflict with religions or other personal
convictions. Does your religious affiliation, if any, interfere with your
working in this position?
Arrest Record
• Illegal: Have you ever been arrested?
• Legal: Have you ever been convicted of any crime other than a traffic
violation?
Military Service
• Illegal: What type of discharge did you receive?
• Legal: In what branch of the Armed Forces did you serve? What type of
training or education did you receive in the military?
Race/Color
• Illegal: All related questions are illegal.
• Legal: Have you ever been convicted of any crime other than a traffic
violation?
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS BASED ON SKILL/COMPENENCY
ADAPTABILITY
Maintaining effectiveness when experiencing major changes in work tasks or the
work environment; adjusting effectively to work within new work structures,
processes, requirements, or cultures.
Key Actions:


Tries to understand changes – Tries to understand changes
in work tasks, situations, and environments as well as the
logic or basis for change; actively seeks information about
new work situations.
Approaches change or newness positively – Treats change
and new situations as opportunities for learning or growth;
2

focuses on the beneficial aspects of change; speaks
positively about the change to others.
Adjusts behavior – Quickly modifies behavior to deal
effectively with changes in the work environment; readily
tries new approaches appropriate for new or changed
situations; does not persist with ineffective behaviors.
Questions:
1.
Tell me about a situation in which you had to adjust quickly
to a significant change in organization, department, or team
priorities. How did the change affect you? What did you do?
2.
Working with people from diverse backgrounds can be
challenging. Tell me about a time when you faced a
significant challenge working with people from different
organizations. What did you do? What was the result?
3.
New processes and procedures can be disruptive. What
actions have you taken when you've been asked to
significantly change a work process or procedure? What
were the results?
4.
Going from ____ department to ____ department must have
been difficult. Describe the adjustments you made during
the transition.
5.
Your assignment as ____ is certainly very different from
what you were doing before. Can you compare and contrast
the assignments? How long did it take you to feel
comfortable doing the new work?
6.
Tell me about a time when you were faced with an
unexpected policy change. How did it affect you? What did
you do?
7.
Tell me about the most challenging change you’ve faced at
work. What did you do? What were the results?
8.
Sometimes we have to work under new policies or
procedures we don't agree with. Tell me about the last time
you disagreed with a new policy or procedure instituted by
senior management. How did you respond?
9.
Tell me about the time when you had to change your work
schedule to help a peer. How did this affect you? What
happened?
3
10.
Tell me about the most diverse group/team that you’ve been
a part of. What problems did you encounter? What did you
do? What happened?
11.
Not all organizational changes are clearly explained and/or
communicated. What have you done when you found out
about an unexpected change or were confused by a
change?
12.
Tell me about a situation in your job at _________when you
had to abruptly change what you were doing. What did you
do? How did the change affect you?
13.
Can you give me an example of a time when you recently
made an effective adjustment to a changing policy or
procedure. What did you do? Why was it effective?
14.
Unexpected absences can disrupt progress of a work
task/assignment/project. Tell me about a time when this
happened to you and explain what you did.
ALIGNING PERFORMANCE FOR SUCCESS
Focusing and guiding others in accomplishing work objectives.
Key Actions






Sets performance goals - Collaboratively works with direct
reports to set meaningful performance objectives; sets
specific performance goals and identifies measures for
evaluating goal achievement.
Establishes approach - Collaboratively works with direct
reports to identify the behaviors, knowledge, and skills
required to achieve goals; identifies specific behaviors,
knowledge, and skill areas for focus and evaluation.
Creates a learning environment - As necessary, helps
secure resources required to support development efforts;
ensures that opportunities for development are available;
offers to help individuals overcome obstacles to learning.
Collaboratively establishes development plans Collaboratively identifies observation or coaching
opportunities, training, workshops, seminars, etc., that will
help the individual achieve important goals.
Tracks performance - Implements a system or uses
techniques to track performance against goals and to track
the acquisition and use of appropriate behaviors, knowledge,
and skills.
Evaluates performance - Holds regular formal discussions
with each direct report to discuss progress toward goals and
4
review performance; evaluates each goal, behavior,
knowledge, and skill area.
Questions:
1.
Tell me about a recent performance review that you
conducted with a direct report. Describe what happened
before, during and after the review.
2.
Tell me about a time when you worked with a direct report to
identify opportunities for development. What process did
you use?
3.
Tell me about a recent change in your organization's
business plan. Did this change affect performance
expectations for your direct reports? What did you do?
4.
Describe the technique/system you use to track the progress
of your direct reports in acquiring and applying new
behaviors, knowledge, and skills.
5.
Give me an example of how you've involved direct reports in
identifying performance goals and expectations. What was
your role? What was the other person's role?
6.
Describe what you've done to help others overcome
obstacles to learning and development.
7.
Give me an example of a time when you established
performance standards with a direct report. Describe the
process you used.
8.
Can you give me an example of when you provided
feedback and assistance to another person about
substandard performance? What did you do? How did you
do that? What happened next?
9.
Tell me about a time when a direct report disagreed with the
performance goals that you set for him or her. What did you
do?
10.
Describe what you've done to link organizational objectives
to your direct reports' objectives.
11.
Some people set unrealistic goals for themselves. Tell me
about one of your direct reports who did this. What did you
do?
12.
Communicating poor performance ratings can be difficult.
Describe how you've handled a situation like this with a
direct report.
5
13.
What have you done to ensure that direct reports have
adequate resources and opportunities to work on improving
performance?
14.
We all know that it's difficult to make a time in a busy
schedule to provide developmental feedback to high
performers. Tell me about your highest performer. How
frequently have you met to discuss this person's
performance?
15.
Give me an example of a project/task/assignment you gave
to a direct report to help him or her develop a specific skill.
APPLIED LEARNING
Assimilating and applying new job-related information in a timely manner.
Key Actions:



Actively participates in learning activities - Takes part in
needed learning activities in a way that makes the most of
the learning experience (e.g., takes notes, asks questions,
does required tasks).
Quickly gains knowledge, understanding, or skill - Readily
absorbs and comprehends new information from formal and
informal learning experiences.
Applies knowledge or skill - Puts new knowledge,
understanding, or skill to practical use on the job; furthers
learning through trial and error.
Questions:
1.
What was the most difficult task you had to learn on your job
at ___________? How did you learn it?
2.
Tell me about a part of your job at _____that was easier for
you to learn than for others to learn. How did you
accomplish this?
3.
It's never easy to fully understand everything about a new
product, service, or procedure, even after attending a
training session. Can you give me an example of when this
happened to you.?
4.
Tell me about a complex aspect of your job at ______. How
long did it take you to learn it?
5.
In any new job there are some things we pick up quickly and
other things that take more time to learn. In your job at
6
____, tell me about something you learned quickly and
something that took more time.
6.
What did you have to learn to be effective at
_____________? How long did that take you? Which part
took the most time? Why?
7.
What technical aspects of your job at _____ did you have to
learn? Tell me about one technical aspect and how you
learned it.
8.
Sometimes it's difficult to understand everything about a
process even when you've used it for a long time. Give me
an example of a process you've used for a while but haven't
mastered.
9.
What formal training did you receive in your job at _______?
Tell me about one particular training program. How did you
do?
10.
Being a ____ (welder, mechanic, etc.) certainly requires a lot
of technical knowledge. How did you learn your skills? How
long did it take before you were able to effectively apply what
you'd learned?
11.
Describe a situation in which you learned something
complex in a short period of time.
12.
Describe a time when you had difficulty learning something
complex.
13.
Tell me about the most recent software program you've
learned. How did you learn to use it?
14.
Tell me about how you've used a computer on the job. How
did you learn how to use it? How long did it take you to
learn?
15.
How did you learn everything you needed to know when you
started in your position as ______?
BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL TEAM
Using appropriate methods and a flexible interpersonal style to help build a
cohesive team; facilitating the completion of team goals.
Key Actions:

Develops direction - Ensures that the purpose and
importance of the team are clarified (e.g., team has a clear
7





charter or mission statement); guides the setting of specific
and measurable team goals and objectives.
Develops structure - Helps to clarify roles and
responsibilities of team members; helps ensure that
necessary steering, review, or support functions are in place.
Facilitates goal accomplishment - Makes procedural or
process suggestions for achieving team goals or performing
team functions; provides necessary resources or helps to
remove obstacles to team accomplishments.
Involves others - Listens to and fully involves others in team
decisions and actions; values and uses individual differences
and talents.
Informs others on team - Shares important or relevant
information with the team.
Models commitment - Adheres to the team's expectations
and guidelines; fulfills team responsibilities; demonstrates
personal commitment to the team.
Questions:
1.
What have you done to ensure that your team clearly
understood its charter/goal?
2.
Describe how you've worked with a team to set specific and
measurable goals and objectives. What process did you
use?
3.
Accomplishing team goals requires that all team members
fulfill their responsibilities. Tell me about what you've done
to help clarify a specific team member's roles and
responsibilities.
4.
There are many obstacles that can prevent a team from
accomplishing its goals. Describe a time when you were
able to remove obstacles so your team could achieve a goal.
5.
Sometimes teams get off track when working toward a
specific project or goal. Describe a time when this happened
and you were able to help your team get back on track.
What did you do?
6.
Tell me about a time you were on a team and had to involve
other team members in decisions and actions. What was
your approach?
7.
Describe the most effective techniques you've used to
encourage team members to contribute their talents to the
team's function or goal. Give me a specific example of a
time when you used one of these techniques.
8
8.
Tell me how you determined what information to share with a
team to help them achieve their objectives. Give me a
specific example.
9.
For a team to function effectively, every member must be
committed to the team and its goals. Tell me about how
you've demonstrated your commitment to the team. What
were the results?
10.
Tell me about a time when you had to step in to help a group
or team complete a task/project/assignment. What did you
do?
11.
Can you give me an example of a time when you worked
with a group or team to determine project responsibilities.
What was your role?
12.
Think of a time when you had a major role in developing a
team that become very successful. Tell me one or two
things you did that contributed to the team's success.
BUILDING CUSTOMER LOYALTY
Effectively meeting customer needs; building productive customer relationships;
taking responsibility for customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Key Actions






Uses Key Principals - Establishes good interpersonal
relationships by helping people feel valued, appreciated, and
included in discussions (enhances self-esteem, empathizes,
involves, discloses, supports).
Acknowledges the person - Greets customers promptly and
courteously; gives customers full attention.
Clarifies the current situation - Asks questions to determine
needs; listens carefully; provides appropriate information;
summarizes to check understanding.
Meets or exceeds needs - Acts promptly in routine
situations; agrees on a clear course of action in no routine
situations; takes opportunities to exceed expectations
without making unreasonable commitments.
Confirms satisfaction - Asks questions to check for
satisfaction; commits to follow-through, if appropriate; thanks
customer.
Takes the "heat" - Handles upset customers by hearing the
customer out, empathizing, apologizing, and taking personal
responsibility for resolving customer problems/issues.
Questions:
9
1.
In you job at ____, how did you ensure that your
internal/external customers' needs were met? Describe your
procedure with one customer.
2.
Tell me about the most you've ever done to try to satisfy a
particular customer.
3.
Sooner or later, we all have to deal with an internal/external
customer who makes unreasonable demands. Think of a
time when you had to handle an unreasonable request.
What did you do?
4.
Describe a time when you had to ask numerous questions
and listen carefully to clarify the exact nature of an
internal/external customer's problem or needs.
5.
What skills or qualities contribute to building productive
relationships with internal/external customers? Give me an
example of a time when you used these skills or qualities
with a specific customer.
6.
Describe a time when you effectively handled an
internal/external customer complaint.
7.
Can you tell me about a customer request you've received
that was in conflict with your company's policies? What did
you do?
8.
Tell me about a time when you were the focus of a
customer's displeasure. What did you do?
9.
Can you describe a time when you didn't handle an
internal/external customer complaint well? What did you do?
What happened?
10.
Tell me about a difficult internal/external customer you've
had to deal with. Why was he or she difficult? What did you
do?
11.
Describe a time when you took steps to make sure an
internal/external customer was satisfied. What did you do?
12.
Describe a situation when you chose to involve others to
help solve an internal/external customer's problem. What
was the problem, and how did involving others help?
BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS
10
Identifying opportunities and taking action to build strategic relationships between
one's area and other areas, team, departments, units, or organizations to help
achieve business goals.
Key Actions:





Identifies partnership needs - Analyzes the organization and
own area to identify key relationships that should be initiated
or improved to further the attainment of own area's goals.
Explores partnership opportunities - Exchanges information
with potential partner areas to clarify partnership benefits
and potential problems; collaboratively determines the scope
and expectations of the partnership so that both area's
needs can be met.
Formulates action plans - Collaboratively determines
courses of action to realize mutual goals; facilitates
agreement on each partner's responsibilities and needed
support.
Subordinates own area's goals - Places higher priority on
organization's goals than on own area's goals; anticipates
effects of own area's actions and decisions on partners;
influences others to support partnership objectives.
Monitors partnership - Implements effective means for
monitoring and evaluating the partnership process and the
attainment of mutual goals.
Questions:
1.
Describe a time when you participated with someone outside
of your team/department/group in an activity that turned out
to benefit both teams/departments/groups. What was your
role?
2.
Sometimes it's not easy to identify opportunities that benefit
your and another department. What have you done to find
new opportunities to cooperate with other departments?
Give me a recent example.
3.
Getting people from outside your work area to cooperate
often requires them to commit time for your benefit. Tell me
about a time when you asked someone outside of your work
area to commit time for your benefit. What did you say to
gain their cooperation?
4.
In any organization there often are conflicting departmental
goals. Tell me about a time when you modified your goal for
another department's benefit, and a time when you stuck
with your goal and asked another department to modify its
goal.
11
5.
Interdepartmental cooperation involves giving and receiving.
Tell me about a time you collaborated with others to
determine courses of action to achieve mutual goals.
6.
Think of someone from another department with whom
you've worked who would say you're a good partner. Why
would that person say that?
7.
One department's success often depends on cooperation
from other departments. Give me an example of a plan
you've developed to obtain another department's
cooperation for the short term. How about a plan you
developed to gain another department's long-term
cooperation?
8.
Tell me about a time when you had to persuade an
internal/external partner to form a partnership with you.
9.
What have you done to promote collaboration and
cooperation in a way that supported the overall objectives of
a partnership?
10.
In a partnership, responsibilities must be shared so that
mutual objectives can be met. Describe how you have
worked with a partner to determine each other's
responsibilities.
11.
Partnerships are not indestructible. Describe what you've
done to sustain a healthy, productive partnership with
someone.
12.
How do you determine if adjustments need to be made in a
partnership?
BUILDING STRATEGIC WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
Developing and using collaborative relationships to facilitate the accomplishment
of work goals.
Key Actions:



Seeks opportunities - Proactively tries to build effective
working relationships with other people.
Clarifies the current situation - Probes for and provides
information to clarify situations.
Develops others' and own ideas - Seeks and expands on
original ideas, enhances others' ideas, and contributes own
ideas about the issues at hand.
12



Subordinates personal goals - Places higher priority on team
or organization goals than on own goals.
Facilitates agreement - Gains agreement from partners to
support ideas or take partnership-oriented action; uses
sound rationale to explain value of actions.
Uses Key Principles - Establishes good interpersonal
relationships by helping people feel valued, appreciated, and
included in discussions (enhances self-esteem, empathizes,
involves, discloses, supports).
Questions:
1.
Describe a situation in which you needed to brainstorm
differing/conflicting ideas with others in order to help
accomplish work goals.
2.
Describe a time when your goals or preferences were not
included in a final team/group decision. How did you
respond?
3.
Give me an example of a time when you worked with a
group/team to determine project responsibilities. What was
your role? What process did the group/team use? What
difficulties or issues came up?
4.
Sometimes it can be difficult and frustrating to obtain
information from other people in order to solve a problem or
achieve goals. Please describe a situation you've had like
this. What did you do?
5.
Occasionally other people's work priorities conflict with ours.
Tell me about a time when this happened to you. What did
you do?
6.
Working with others usually involves some and give-andtake. Describe a time when you worked out an agreement
with a peer or team member. What did you do?
7.
Describe a time when you wished you'd been more
collaborative with others at work. What did you do?
8.
Interacting with others can be challenging at times. Tell me
about the greatest difficulty you faced when trying to get
along with peers, team members, or others at work. How did
you handle the situation?
9.
Leaders often have opportunities to foster positive
relationships at work. Give me an example of a time when
you did this.
13
10.
Tell me about one of the toughest teams/groups that you've
had to work with. What made it difficult? What did you do?
11.
Have you ever helped a peer or tem member develop an
idea? Tell me about one of those times.
12.
Tell me about a time you worked with someone who wasn't
as cooperative as you needed them to be. What did you do?
13.
Have you ever spent a significant amount of your own time
and effort into helping a team/group complete a task? Give
me an example. What happened?
14.
Have you ever been on a team/group with an unproductive
person? What did you do?
15.
Can you describe a situation in which you dealt with a very
sensitive person. What did you do? What happened?
BUILDING TRUST
Interacting with others in a way that gives them confidence in one's intentions
and those of the organization.
Key Actions:




Operates with integrity - Demonstrates honesty; keeps
commitments; behaves in a consistent manner.
Discloses own positions - Shares thoughts, feelings, and
rationale so that others understand personal positions.
Remains open to ideas - Listens to others and objectively
considers others' ideas and opinions, even when they
conflict with one's own.
Supports others - Treats people with dignity, respect, and
fairness; gives proper credit to others; stands up for
deserving others and their ideas even in the face of
resistance or challenge.
Questions:
1.
There are many ways to show respect to others. What ways
work best for you? Give me a specific example.
2.
Give me an example of what you have done to earn others'
3.
Sometimes we are asked to do something that we don't think
is right. Tell me about a time when this happened to you.
What did you do? What happened?
trust.
14
4.
Tell me about a time at work when you objectively
considered others' ideas, even when they conflicted with
yours.
5.
We don't always work with people who are ethical or honest.
Give me an example of a time when you saw another
employee to something that you thought was inappropriate.
What did you do? What happened?
6.
Often there are people in an organization who deserve more
credit than they receive. Tell me about a time when this
happened. What did you do?
7.
When meeting or orienting a new employee, what have you
disclosed about the new person's manager/supervisor/team
leader? Peers? The job? The organization?
8.
It's often easy to blur the distinction between information
meant to be kept in confidence and information meant to be
shared. Can you give me an example of when you were
faced with this dilemma? What did you do?
9.
Tell me about a time when your manager/supervisor/team
leader asked you to do something that you didn't think was
appropriate. How did you respond?
10.
Company policies vary regarding employees' personal use of
office equipment (e.g., photocopiers). Tell me about a time
when you used company equipment for personal reasons.
COACHING
Providing timely guidance and feedback to help others strengthen specific
knowledge/skill areas needed to accomplish a task or solve a problem.
Key Actions:



Clarifies the current situation - Clarifies expected behaviors,
knowledge, and level of proficiency by seeking and giving
information and checking for understanding.
Explains and demonstrates - Provides instruction, positive
models, and opportunities for observation in order to help
others develop skills; encourages questions to ensure
understanding.
Provides feedback and reinforcement - Gives timely,
appropriate feedback on performance; reinforces efforts and
progress.
15

Used Key Principles - Establishes good interpersonal
relationships by helping people feel valued, appreciated, and
included in discussions (enhances self-esteem, empathizes,
involves, discloses, supports).
Questions:
1.
Tell me what you've done to help a peer/team member
understand what knowledge/skill areas to strengthen. Give
me a specific example.
2.
Tell me about how you've coached a peer/team member to
become more successful.
3.
Describe a recent coaching discussion you conducted.
What was the task? How, it at all, did you involve the other
person in the discussion (e.g., offer suggestions, listen to
concerns, etc.)?
4.
Tell me about a time when you gave feedback to reinforce
someone's effective performance.
5.
Give me an example of feedback you gave to someone you
were coaching who was having difficulty with an assignment.
(Probe for the use of Key Principles and how specific and
objective the feedback was.)
6.
Sometimes our best coaching efforts don't yield successful
results. Tell me about a time when you worked with
someone, but the person failed to improve. (Probe for
coaching methods.)
7.
Describe how you coached two different people to
accomplish a comparable task. What similarities and
differences were there in your approaches?
8.
Tell me about a time when you conducted on-the-job
coaching. How did you know if your coaching was effective?
9.
Describe a complicated task that you had difficulty teaching
someone to perform. What approach did you take? What
were the difficulties?
10.
Tell me about a face-to-face meeting in which you had to
give feedback for improvement to a sensitive person. What
did you do? How did the person react?
11.
Tell me about a time when you provided feedback to
someone after that person performed poorly.
16
12.
Tell me about a direct report/team member whom you found
difficult to coach. Describe a specific situation. How did you
handle it? What were the results?
COMMUNICATION
Clearly conveying information and ideas through a variety of media to individuals
or groups in a manner that engages the audience and helps them understand
and retain the message.
Key Actions:






Organizes the communication – Clarifies purpose and
importance; stresses major points; follows a logical
sequence.
Maintains audience attention – Keeps the audience engaged
through use of techniques such as analogies, illustrations,
an appealing style, body language, and voice inflection.
Adjusts to the audience – Frames message in line with
audience experience, background, and expectations; uses
terms, examples, and analogies that are meaningful to the
audience.
Ensures understanding – Seeks input from audience; checks
understanding; presents message in different ways to
enhance understanding.
Adheres to accepted conventions – Uses syntax, pace,
volume, diction, and mechanics appropriate to the media
being used.
Comprehends communication from others – Attends to
messages from others; correctly interprets messages and
responds appropriately.
Evaluate the candidate’s behavior in the dimension of communication.



Review your notes and determine whether the candidate’s behavior
in the dimension’s Key Actions was effective (+), neutral (o), or
ineffective/absent (-).
Place a check mark on the appropriate line for each Key Action.
Use a five-point scale (5 – much more than acceptable; 4 – more
than acceptable; 3 – acceptable; 2 – less than acceptable; and 1 –
much less than acceptable) to rate the candidate’s behavior in the
dimension. Write the rating in the space provided.
+
___
o
___
___
Organizes the communication
___
___
___
Maintains audience attention
___
___
___
Adjusts to the audience
17
___
___
___
Ensures understanding
___
___
___
Adheres to accepted conventions
___
___
___
Comprehends communication from others
Communication Rating: _______
CONTINUOUS LEARNING
Actively identifying new areas for learning; regularly creating and taking
advantage of learning opportunities; using newly gained knowledge and skill on
the job and learning through their application.
Key Actions:





Targets learning needs - Seeks and uses feedback and
other sources of information to identify appropriate areas for
learning.
Seeks learning activities - Identifies and participates in
appropriate learning activities (e.g., courses, reading, selfstudy, coaching, experimental learning) that help fulfill
learning needs.
Maximizes learning - Actively participates in learning
activities in a way that makes the most of the learning
experience (e.g., takes notes, asks questions, critically
analyzes information, keeps on-the-job application in mind,
does required tasks).
Applies knowledge or skill - Pouts new knowledge,
understanding, or skill to practical use on the job; furthers
learning through trial and error.
Takes risks in learning - Puts self in unfamiliar or
uncomfortable situation in order to learn; asks questions at
the risk of appearing foolish; takes on challenging or
unfamiliar assignments.
Questions:
1.
Describe how you have identified and pursued learning
opportunities in new areas.
2.
What was the most difficult task you had to learn on your job
at ______?
3.
In any new job there are some things we pick up quickly and
other things that take more time to learn. Think about your
last job, and tell me about something you learned quickly
and something that took more time.
18
4.
Describe a situation in which you capitalized on an
opportunity to learn a new skill.
5.
It's difficult to keep up with the rapid technical changes
occurring in almost every field. Tell me about an area that
you don't completely understand because of the number or
complexity of changes.
6.
Even after working with a piece of equipment or machinery
for a long time, you might still have questions about how it
operates. Tell me about a piece of equipment or machinery
you've worked with for a long time, but still have questions
about.
7.
Seemingly constant changes in processes, procedures, and
technology make it difficult to keep up with everything there
is to know about our jobs. How do you determine which
areas to target for learning?
8.
We've all had the experience of trying a new technique or
process we've learned in training, only to have difficulty
making it work. Tell me about a time when this happened to
you. What did you do? What happened?
9.
Learning new skills isn't always easy or fun. Tell me about
the last time you volunteered to work on a project even
though it seemed intimidating to you. What happened?
10.
What steps have you taken to make the most of a learning
experience?
11.
How did you learn everything you needed to know when you
started in your position as _______?
12.
Have you taken any steps to improve your skill or
performance? Give me an example of when you did this.
CONTRIBUTING TO TEAM SUCCESS
Actively participating as a member of a team to move the team toward the
completion of goals.
Key Actions:

Facilitates goal accomplishment – Makes procedural or
process suggestions for achieving team goals or performing
team functions; provides necessary resources or helps to
remove obstacles to help the team accomplish its goals.
19



Involves others – Listens to and fully involves others in team
decisions and actions; values and uses individual differences
and talents.
Informs others on team – Shares important or relevant
information with the team.
Models commitment – Adheres to the team’s expectations
and guidelines; fulfills team responsibilities; demonstrates
personal commitment to the team.
Questions:
1.
Tell me about a time when you encouraged a quiet team
member to get more involved. What did you do or say?
What happened?
2.
Describe how you have encouraged members on your team
to share their perspectives and ideas. What did you do or
say to encourage them? What happened?
3.
What are some specific tasks you’ve completed that directly
contributed to accomplishing a team goal?
4.
Tell me about a time when a team you were on got stalled
and was not functioning effectively. What was the problem?
What did you do?
5.
Sometimes we comply with a team decision, even though we
have personal reservations. Describe a time when this
happened to you.
6.
Accomplishing team goals often requires activities and tasks
beyond formal team meetings. Tell me about something
you've done outside of formal meetings that helped a team
accomplish its objectives.
7.
To accomplish goals, a team often must obtain resources
from other areas. Tell me about a time when you had to do
this. What did you do? How did you know your actions
benefited the team?
8.
Describe how you've used procedural suggestions to help
move your team forward. Give me a recent example. What
did you suggest? What happened?
9.
Describe the most effective techniques you’ve used to
encourage full participation from every member of a team
you were on.
10.
Describe how you've involved other team members in
decision-making. Why did you do so? How did their input
add value?
20
Questions for people with little work experience:
1.
Give me an example of a time when a team or group of
which you were a member accomplished its goals. What
was your role? What was the team's objective?
2.
Describe a time when you needed to share information that
would benefit your team/group. What did you do? What
was the result?
CUSTOMER FOCUS
Making customers and their needs a primary focus of one's actions; developing
and sustaining productive customer relationships.
Key Actions:





Seeks to understand customers - Actively seeks information
to understand customers' circumstances, problems,
expectations, and needs.
Educates customers - Shares information with customers to
build their understanding of issues and capabilities.
Builds collaborative relationships - Builds rapport and
cooperative relationships with customers.
Takes action to meet customer needs and concerns Considers how actions or plans will affect customers;
responds quickly to meet customer needs and resolve
problems; avoids over commitments.
Sets up customer feedback systems - Implements effective
ways to monitor and evaluate customer concerns, issues,
and satisfaction and to anticipate customer needs.
Questions:
1.
Tell me about the most you've ever done to obtain
information to better understand a customer. What did you
do? How did the information improve your service?
2.
What is the most effective way to evaluate the quality of your
internal/external customer services? Give me an example.
3.
What have you done to understand a customer's point of
view about a problem? Give me an example.
4.
How do you build collaborative relationships with customers?
Give me details about one or two of them.
21
5.
How do you ensure that internal/external customers keep
you informed of issues/concerns/satisfaction in a timely
fashion? Give me a recent example.
6.
What have you done to educate customers about your
company/product/service capabilities?
7.
Describe some customer-focused actions you've taken or
policies you've implemented that have produces positive
business results. Give me a specific example.
8.
Tell me about one procedure you've put in place to monitor
the quality of customer focus within your
department/organization.
9.
To better serve customers, we sometimes promise more
than we can deliver. Tell me about a time when you over
committed yourself or your company. What happened?
10.
Describe a time when you took action to provide quick and
thorough service in response to an internal/external
customer's request or problem.
11.
Describe a time when it was particularly important to
establish a good relationship with an external customer.
What did you do?
12.
Tell me about your most difficult customer. Describe a
specific interaction you had with this customer. (Listen for
attitude and approach.)
13.
Even good customers can make unreasonable demands.
Tell me about a time when this happened to you. How did
you respond?
DECISION MAKING
Identifying and understanding issues, problems, and opportunities; comparing
data from different sources to draw conclusions; using effective approaches for
choosing a course of action of developing appropriate solutions; taking action
that is consistent with available facts, constraints, and probable consequences.
Key Actions:


Identifies issues, problems, and opportunities – Recognizes
issues, problems, or opportunities and determines whether
action is needed.
Gathers information – Identifies the need for and collects
information to better understand issues, problems, and
opportunities.
22





Interprets information – Integrates information from a variety
of sources; detects trends, associations, and cause-effect
relationships.
Generates alternatives – Creates relevant options for
addressing problems/opportunities and achieving desired
outcomes.
Chooses appropriate action – Formulates clear decision
criteria; evaluates options by considering implications and
consequences; chooses an effective option.
Commits to action – Implements decisions or initiates action
within a reasonable time.
Involves others – Includes others in the decision-making
process as warranted to obtain good information, make the
most appropriate decisions, and ensure buy-in and
understanding of the resulting decisions.
Questions:
1.
If we're lucky, sometimes we can identify a small problem
and correct it before it becomes a major problem. Can you
give me an example of a time when you identified a small
problem before it became big?
2.
Describe the most complex problem you’ve recently been
asked to solve. What did you do? What alternatives did you
consider?
3.
Walk me through a situation in which you asked a lot of
questions of several people to get the information you
needed to make an effective decision. How did you know
what to ask?
4.
Give me an example of a good decision you made recently.
What alternatives did you consider? Why was it a good
decision?
5.
Tell me about a time when you had to analyze or interpret
numerical or financial information.
6.
Describe a time when you weighed the pros and cons of a
situation and decided not to take action, even though you
were under pressure to do so.
7.
Think about a good decision you made recently and one you
wish you hadn't made. Describe the process you followed in
making each decision.
8.
Tell me about a recent problem you uncovered in your job at
____. What sources on information did you use to identify
this problem?
23
9.
Describe an occasion when you decided to involve others in
making a decision. Why did you do so? To what extent did
you use their contributions?
10.
Describe a situation in which you had to decide whether to
accept or reject a recommendation. What did you decide,
and why? What happened?
11.
What sources of information have you used to
monitor/uncover problems in your work area? Tell me about
a situation in which you used one of those sources.
12.
What kind of information have you been required to analyze?
Describe one of your most difficult analyses.
13.
Describe the most successful troubleshooting you have
done. Contrast this with a time when you were
unsuccessful. What did you do differently?
14.
How have you monitored potential problems with the
equipment you use? Tell me about a potential problem you
noticed using this method.
15.
We all make decisions that turn out to be mistakes.
Describe a work decision you regret making.
16.
Describe a difficult decision you recently made at work.
What factors did you consider? How long did it take to make
your decision?
17.
Sometimes we have to make decisions very quickly. Tell me
about a time when you made a decision too quickly. What
happened?
18.
Tell me about a decision you thought about for a long time.
How did you finally make your decision?
19.
Can you give me an example of a decision you made that
significantly altered company policy. Describe your decisionmaking process.
DELEGATING RESPONSIBILITY
Allocating decision-making authority and/or task responsibility to appropriate
others to maximize the organization and individual's effectiveness.
Key Actions:
24




Shares appropriate responsibilities - Allocates decisionmaking authority and/or task responsibility in appropriate
areas to appropriate individuals (considering positive and
negative impact, organizational values and structures, and
the enhancement of the individual's knowledge/skills).
Defines parameters - Clearly communicates the parameters
of the delegated responsibility, including decision-making
authority and any required actions, constraints, or deadlines.
Provides support without removing responsibility - Suggests
resources and provides assistance or coaching as needed;
expresses confidence in the individual.
Stays informed - Establishes appropriate procedures to keep
informed of issues and results in areas of shared
responsibility.
Questions:
1.
How do you decide (1) what to delegate and (2) to whom?
Describe a situation when you've applied these guidelines.
2.
Sometimes it's difficult to know how much direction to
provide when delegating. Tell me about a time when you
didn't provide enough instruction or guidance for an
assignment or task you delegated. How and when did you
find out that things weren't going well?
3.
What procedures have you used to stay informed about a
task you delegated?
4.
Tell me about the degree of decision-making autonomy
you've delegated to your direct reports. Give me a specific
example.
5.
Selecting the appropriate person to delegate a task to can
be difficult. Tell me about a time when you delegated an
important project/task/assignment to a person who
performed ineffectively. What happened? Why?
6.
Tell me about the last major project/task/assignment you
delegated. How did you decide to whom you would
delegate?
7.
When assigning work to direct reports, how have you
determined the amount of instruction to give? Give me an
example when you applied these guidelines.
8.
Tell me about one of the most difficult problem-solving
assignments that you've delegated. Why was it difficult?
What happened?
25
9.
Tell me about a time when you asked someone to fill in for
you when you were out of town or out of the office. Why did
you choose that person? What happened?
10.
Tell me about a time when you decided not to delegate a
project/task/assignment. Why? What happened?
11.
When delegating an important project/task/assignment, it's
important to convey trust and confidence in the person's
ability to do the job. Give me an example of how you
communicated your trust and confidence in a recent
delegation.
12.
Tell me about the last big decision you delegated. What
happened?
13.
Tell me about a situation in which someone was reluctant to
accept responsibility for a delegated
assignment/project/task. How did you handle that situation?
DEVELOPING OTHERS
Planning and supporting the development of individuals' skills and abilities so that
they can fulfill current or future job/role responsibilities more effectively.
Key Actions:




Collaboratively establishes development goals - Works with
individuals to identify areas for development, understand
need for improvement, and set specific development goals.
Collaboratively establishes development plans - Works with
individuals to identify options for meeting development goals;
explores environmental supports and barriers to
development; jointly determines appropriate developmental
activities.
Creates a learning environment - Secures resources
required to support development efforts; ensures that
opportunities for development are available; offers
assistance to help individuals overcome obstacles to
learning.
Monitors progress - Give individuals specific feedback on
their performance related to established goals; highlights key
positive and negative performance issues; adjusts plans to
ensure development.
Questions:
26
1.
Tell me about a time when you helped a peer who was not
performing satisfactorily. What did you do? What
happened?
2.
What are the most effective techniques you use to help
another person develop his or her skills and abilities? Give
me an example of a time when you used one of these
techniques.
3.
Tell me about a time when you worked with a peer to identify
areas for development.
4.
Describe how you've worked with another person to identify
practical development goals.
5.
What steps have you taken to ensure that resources are
available for a person to develop his or her skills and
abilities?
6.
Give me an example of a project/task/assignment you
delegated to a peer to help the person develop a specific
skill.
7.
Tell me about a time when you gave feedback to a person
on his or her performance related to established
performance goals.
8.
Are there any techniques that are particularly helpful in
identifying people's needs and capabilities? Tell me how
you used those techniques with someone.
9.
Tell me about a unique way in which you addressed a peer's
specific developmental need.
10.
Tell me how you created an on-the-job opportunity for a
person to develop a particular skill.
RESPECTING DIVERSITY
Able to adapt behavior to others’ styles; able to interact with people who are
difficult, or have different values, cultures, or backgrounds; able to optimize the
benefits of having a diverse workforce.
Key Actions:


Does the candidate’s behavior demonstrate respect for others’ values
while working toward mutual objectives?
Did the candidate try to learn from the diverse approaches and use the
differences to maximize success?
27
1. Please describe your efforts to recruit, retain and advance faculty,
staff and students of diverse populations?
2. UW-Stout is engaged in an effort toward increasing diversity and
inclusiveness. Given the value placed on diversity, how have you
integrated the value of diversity into your various roles and
responsibilities?
3. Give the value UW-Stout places on diversity, how might you see
yourself integrating this value into your roles and responsibilities as
a faculty/staff member?
4. What is your experience working with students from diverse
backgrounds, especially multicultural students or students from
economically distressed families?
5. Please provide an example that shows your skill in interacting with
people who have different values than you.
6. Describe an effort you undertook to ensure that diversity was
accepted and facilitated in your work area.
7. Describe a series of interactions you had in which you adapted your
behavior around the other people’s styles.
8. Diversity can bring with it a barrage of perspectives on various
aspects of work. Describe something you’ve done to optimize the
benefits of having a diverse group of colleagues.
9. Describe a time when you were able to adapt to a person from a
background or culture that was different from yours.
ENERGY
Consistently maintaining high levels of activity or productivity; sustaining long
working hours when necessary; operating with vigor, effectiveness, and
determination over extended periods of time.
Key Actions:


Maintains stamina - Keeps a strong work pace over time;
exhibits intensity in completing work objectives.
Maintains effectiveness - Performs mentally or physically
taxing work effectively; retains the capacity for effective
action or accomplishment over long periods of time.
Questions:
1.
Tell me about a time you had to work at a fast pace for a
long period of time. What kind of work did you do? What did
you do to maintain that pace?
28
2.
How many hours of overtime have you worked in the past
two months (or other recent period)? How did you handle
that situation?
3.
Describe a time when you were particularly bust at work.
What kind of hours did you put in? How did the situation
affect you?
4.
Tell me about a time when you had to put things together in
sequence at a constant tempo. What did you do to maintain
your pace?
5.
Tell me about a time you worked swing shifts or night shifts.
What did you do to maintain your effectiveness?
6.
What kinds of physical tasks were required in your job as
______?
7.
How much overtime have you averaged in the last three
months? Why did you work overtime?
8.
What job activities have you found require the most energy?
What did you do to maintain your effectiveness?
9.
Tell me about a time you worked evenings or weekends for a
long period of time. What was the result?
10.
What are the longest hours you've work in a day in your job
at____? How often did this happen: How did you maintain
you effectiveness?
11.
Describe a typical day on the job at ____. What have you
done to maintain efficient productivity levels from the
beginning to the end of your shift?
12.
People often make errors after they work long hours on the
job. Tell me about the last time this happened to you.
FACILITATING CHANGE
Encouraging others to seek opportunities for different and innovative approaches
to addressing problems and opportunities; facilitating the implementation and
acceptance of change within the workplace.
Key Actions:

Encourages boundary breaking - Encourages associates to
question established work processes or assumptions;
challenges associates to ask "why" until underlying cause is
29




discovered; involves stakeholders in continuous
improvement actions and alternatives.
Values sound approaches - Consistently remains open to
ideas offered by others; supports and uses good ideas to
solve problems or address issues.
Rewards change - Recognizes and rewards associates who
make useful changes.
Addresses change resistance - Helps individuals overcome
resistance to change; shows empathy with people who feel
loss as a result of change.
Manages complexity and contradictions - Tries to minimize
complexities, contradictions, and paradoxes or reduce their
impact; clarifies direction and smoothes the process of
change.
Questions:
1.
Describe a time when you helped a group of employees
understand why a specific change (in process, procedure,
policy, etc.) was necessary. What was the change? What
did you do?
2.
What strategies have you used to encourage others to
challenge established business assumptions?
3.
Describe a time when you used to encourage others to
challenge established business assumptions.
4.
People often feel threatened by change. Tell me about a
specific situation and some actions that you took to smooth
the process of change for others. Which actions were
successful, and which were not?
5.
What techniques have you used to reduce the effect of
change on your direct reports? Describe the most effective
technique you've used and the situation in which you used it.
6.
What systems have you put in place, or helped put in place,
to recognize or reward associates who suggest or make
effective changes? What effect has this recognition had on
others' innovation? Give me a specific example.
7.
Tell me about a time when you had to align others' activities
and procedures with an organizational change. What did
you do?
8.
Describe a time when change caused a problem for your
group/department. What did you do? What happened?
30
9.
It can be difficult to get people to think "outside the box".
Tell me about a time when you were able to get others to go
beyond conventional thinking. What did you do? What
happened?
10.
Describe some ways in which you changed standard
operating procedures for your department/group. What
prompted you to make these changes?
11.
Describe the methods you've used to ensure that a change
was being implemented as intended. Which methods were
effective, and which were not?
FOLLOW-UP
Monitoring the results of delegations, assignments, or projects, considering the
skills, knowledge, and experience of the assigned individual and the
characteristics of the assignment or project.
Key Actions:



Communicates time frames – Builds due dates into
assignments and task delegations; effectively communicates
milestones and expected results.
Gathers appropriate information – Asks questions to obtain
relevant information; convenes meetings to review progress
and share information; gets feedback on results from those
directly involved.
Evaluates results – Meets formally with peers, associates,
and others to review the results of an assignment, project, or
delegated task.
Questions:
1.
Describe how you have kept track of tasks/assignments that
were someone else's responsibility but affected your
productivity. Give me a specific example.
2.
Have you ever been responsible for monitoring progress on
someone else's projects? Give me an example. What did
you do?
3.
Have you ever gathered information from peers/team
members/others in the organization to be sure tasks were
completed on time? Tell me about one of those situations.
4.
Describe what you have done to monitor the progress of
projects/assignments in which you’ve been involved with
several other people. Give me a specific example.
31
5.
Have you ever had to follow up with peers/team
members/others to check the status of products or services
that you requested? Tell me about one of those situations.
6.
How do you monitor the satisfaction of your internal/external
customers? Give me a specific example.
7.
Tell me about a time when you met with peers/team
members/ others at the end of a project/task/assignment.
What did you discuss? What was your role in the meeting?
8.
Tell me about one of the methods you’ve used to follow up
on your projects/tasks/assignments.
9.
We've all been surprised when we find out a deadline was
missed because someone didn't do what he or she was
supposed to do. Tell me about a time this happened to you.
10.
How have you made sure that due dates were met for work
that you delegated? Give me an example.
32
FORMAL PRESENTATION
Presenting ideas effectively to individuals or groups when given time to prepare;
delivering presentations suited to the characteristics and needs of the audience.
Key Actions:







Maintains audience attention - Keeps the audience engaged
through use of techniques such as analogies, illustrations,
humor, an appealing style, body language, and voice
inflection.
Defines clear goals - Establishes an objective that clearly
reflects the needs of the audience.
Follows a logical sequence - Presents main ideas that
support the objective of the presentation, and presents facts,
evidence, and details that support the main ideas; delivers
information in a logical order to aid understanding.
Uses nonverbal communication - Uses body language (e.g.,
eye contact and gestures) that is consistent with verbal
communication and aids understanding.
Uses learning aids - Uses audio and visual aids to enhance
the audience's understanding of content.
Listens and responds to questions and objections - Involves
the audience by soliciting questions and input; clarifies as
needed to help achieve the goals of the session.
Summarizes the presentation - Summarizes the main ideas;
calls the audience to take action or make decisions, where
appropriate.
Questions:
1.
Tell me about the most memorable presentation you made in
the past year.
2.
Making a formal presentation can be very challenging. Tell
me about a formal presentation that you wish you could do
over.
3.
Tell me about one of the most diverse groups to which
you've made a presentation. What difficulties did you
encounter? What did you do?
4.
How have you adjusted you presentations for different
audiences? Give me a specific example. How did you
change your approach to meet the needs of that audience?
5.
Tell me about a presentation you've made at a professional
association or conference. What was your approach?
33
6.
We've all made presentations in which something went
wrong (lost overheads, defective audiovisual equipment,
etc.) Tell me about your most memorable presentation in
which something went wrong.
7.
Describe a presentation you've made several times to
different groups. Tell me how you modified the presentation
over time to make it more effective. What worked, and what
didn't?
8.
We've all experienced difficult audiences when presenting.
Can you give me an example of a time when you made a
presentation to a hostile audience?
9.
Tell me about one of your most effective presentations.
What was your approach? What made it effective?
10.
Tell me about a time when you had to present technical
information to people without a technical background. What
was your approach?
11.
Describe a presentation you made to your
supervisor/manager/team leader. How did you prepare?
12.
Tell me about a time you presented business plans to senior
management.
Questions for people with little work experience
1.
Describe a presentation you’ve made.
2.
Tell me about your public speaking experience. Tell me
about one of those experiences.
3.
Have you taken any public speaking courses? Tell me about
a class you attended and a particular presentation that you
made to the class.
GAINING COMMITMENT
Using appropriate interpersonal styles and techniques to gain acceptance of
ideas or plans; modifying one's own behavior to accommodate tasks, situations,
and individuals involved.
Key Actions:

Opens discussions effectively - Describes expectations,
goals, requests, or future states in a way that provides clarity
and excites interest.
34





Clarifies the current situation - Sees, gives, and summarizes
information; ensures that the situation/issue at hand is
understood.
Develops others' and own ideas - Presents own ideas; seeks
and develops suggestions of others; makes procedural
suggestions.
Facilitates agreement - Uses appropriate influence strategies
(such as demonstrating benefits or giving rewards) to gain
genuine agreement; persists by using different approaches
as needed to gain commitment.
Closes discussions with clear summaries - Summarizes
outcomes of discussions and establishes next steps it
needed.
Uses Key Principles - Establishes good interpersonal
relationships by helping people feel valued, appreciated, and
included in discussions (enhances self-esteem, empathizes,
involves, discloses, supports).
Questions:
1.
What techniques have you used to gain acceptance of ideas
or plans? Give me an example of a time when you used one
of these techniques.
2.
Not everyone agrees with our decisions. Tell me about an
unpopular decision you made and how you gained
acceptance from others.
3.
Describe a face-to-face meeting in which you had to
influence a very sensitive person. What techniques did you
use? What happened?
4.
Tell me about one of the most difficult one-on-one meetings
in which you had to gain someone's agreement with or
commitment to an idea or plan. What did you do?
5.
What are the most successful techniques you've used to
gain others' agreement? Describe one or more of these
techniques.
6.
Once you gain agreement to an idea or plan, how do you
ensure that the agreed-upon actions are taken?
7.
As managers, we are concerned about people whose
performance is less than satisfactory. Tell me about a time
when you gained commitment from a peer/team
member/direct report to improve that person's performance.
What did you do?
35
8.
Occasionally we need information and contributions from
other people to be effective in our jobs. Describe whet
you've done to ensure others' participation in one of your
projects.
9.
Often we must convince others of the benefits they will
realize from committing to an idea or plan. Describe how
you've demonstrated the benefits of a plan or idea to gain
someone's commitment. What happened?
10.
Tell me about a time when you influenced an associate to
take on a difficult assignment that was beyond the scope of
the person's responsibilities. What did you do? What
happened?
11.
Tell me about a time when you worked with a direct
report/team member/peer to develop an idea or plan.
Describe whet you did to gain this person's commitment.
12.
Tell me about a time when you needed to persuade a team
member/peer to change his or her mind about something.
What did you do?
13.
Give me an example of a time when you influenced others to
do a job in a new and different way.
GENERAL
Questions:
1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself and what attracted you to
this position at UW-Stout?
2. As you researched this position, what factors caused you to
apply? Why do you want this position?
3. What is it about this position that seems to be a good fit for your
goals as a teacher and a scholar?
4. Tell us about the responsibilities of your current or previous
relevant position(s) and why you are interested in this position at
UW-Stout?
5. How have your past responsibilities prepared you for this
position?
6. Have you had any experience advising students? If so, what do
you see as important advisor attributes?
36
7. What type of experiences and level of expertise do you have
working with technology in your previous positions?
8. What do you want to accomplish as a [insert job title]?
9. What do you expect from your chair?
10. What issues in education are of greatest concern to you? Why?
11. What are your long-term career goals and how does this
position fit into them?
12. What would your co-workers say are your strongest qualities?
13. What areas challenge you professionally that you may be
looking to improve upon?
14. What would you consider to be your professional strengths and
challenges?
15. What qualities do you possess that would be the greatest asset
to this program?
INFORMATION MONITORING
Setting up ongoing procedures to collect and review information needed to
manage an organization or ongoing activities within it.
Key Actions:




Identifies monitoring needs - Determines which processes or
areas need to be monitored; identifies what information
needs to be obtained.
Develops monitoring systems - Establishes systems to
monitor activities or outputs that are easy to use and that
provide timely and pertinent information.
Implements tracking systems - Effectively puts into place
monitoring systems with minimal interruption for other
organizational processes.
Reviews data - Collects and reviews data on a regular basis
to determine progress, anticipate needs, and make
necessary adjustments to personnel or processes.
Questions:
1.
Give an example of how you stay informed about issues and
events in your area of responsibility.
37
2.
Explain how you've determined which areas within your
department need to be monitored.
3.
Can you tell me about a project you managed and how you
monitored progress?
4.
How have you monitored your team's/group's productivity or
performance? Give me a specific example.
5.
Tell me about a time when you were responsible over a long
period of time for ensuring that equipment, instruments, or
products were not defective. What was your approach?
6.
Give me an example of how you've monitored regulations
(e.g., legislative, environmental) that affect your industry.
How did you use the information?
7.
Sometimes it's difficult to keep track of changing
policies/procedures. Tell me about a time when you were
unaware of a policy or procedure change. What happened?
Why didn't you find out about it?
8.
Staying abreast of current developments in your
professional field can be challenging. Describe what you
have done to stay informed.
9.
Have you ever had to reallocate resources in the meddle of
a project you were managing? How did you determine that
adjustments needed to be made?
10.
Describe a process that helps you keep track of matters that
require your attention.
INITIATING ACTION
Taking prompt action to accomplish objectives; taking action to achieve goals
beyond what is required; being proactive.
Key Actions:



Responds quickly – Takes immediate action when
confronted with a problem or when made aware of a
situation.
Takes independent action – Implements new ideas or
potential solutions without prompting; does not wait for
others to take action or to request action.
Goes above and beyond – Takes action that goes beyond
job requirements in order to achieve objectives.
Questions:
38
1.
Have you suggested any new ideas to your
manager/supervisor/team leader recently? Give me an
example. What happened to the idea(s)?
2.
Have you made any suggestions for cutting costs to your
manager/supervisor/team leader? Give me an example.
3.
Often there are no rewards when we volunteer for special
projects or assignments. Tell me about a time when you
didn't volunteer or participate in a special project or
assignment because there was no reward or recognition for
doing so.
4.
Have you taken any steps to make your job easier/more
efficient/more productive? Give me an example.
5.
Tell me about the last change or improvement you initiated
in your job at ______.
6.
Describe a time when you went beyond your job
requirements to achieve an objective. What did you do?
What happened?
7.
Describe some ways you changed your job at ___________.
What prompted you to make the changes?
8.
Can you think of a project or idea that was sold or
implemented primarily because of your efforts.
9.
Tell me about a time when you did more than was required
in your current job at _______.
10.
What has been your biggest achievement at ______? What
steps did you take to achieve it?
11.
Were there any projects you initiated at _____? Give me an
example. What prompted you to begin that project?
12.
While you were at ______, what change were you able to
bring about? How did you do that?
13.
Tell me about a suggestion you made to improve work
procedures or manufacturing processes at ______. How did
you gain acceptance for it?
14.
Describe a situation in which you identified a problem and
took action to correct it rather than wait for someone else to
do so.
39
15.
Tell me about a time when you took action to exceed an
internal/external customer's expectations. Specifically, what
did you do?
16.
Have you ever volunteered your personal time to help
complete a task on time? Tell me about that situation.
17.
Describe a time when your quick response to a problem or
situation made a difference. What happened?
INNOVATION
Generating innovative solutions in work situations; trying different and novel ways
to deal with work problems and opportunities.
Key Actions:





Challenges paradigms - Identifies implicit assumptions in the
way problems or situations are defined or presented; sees
alternative ways to view or define problems; is not
constrained by the thoughts or approaches of others.
Leverages diverse resources - Draws upon multiple and
diverse sources (individuals, disciplines, bodies of
knowledge) for ideas and inspiration.
Thinks expansively - Combines ideas in unique ways or
makes connections between disparate ideas; explores
different lines of thought; views situations from multiple
perspectives; brainstorms multiple approaches/solutions.
Evaluates multiple solutions - Examines numerous potential
solutions and evaluates each before accepting any.
Ensures relevance - Targets important areas for innovation
and develops solutions that address meaningful work issues.
Questions:
1.
Tell me about a time when you worked with others to
develop new and creative ideas to solve a problem. What
was your role?
2.
Tell me about what you've done to develop new and creative
solutions to business problems. Give me an example of a
specific approach you developed.
3.
Describe how you improved the productivity/profitability of
your work unit. How did you identify these opportunities for
improvement?
4.
Give me an example of a time when you changed an
established work procedure to solve a problem.
40
5.
Tell me about a creative idea you thought of to improve one
of your company's products or services. What happened?
6.
Because an organization can't develop a new
product/service every day of the week, sometimes it's
important to combine existing products/services/ creatively to
seize a new opportunity. Tell me about a time when you did
this successfully.
7.
Give me an example of an idea you had for improving your
organization's processes or procedures. How did you come
up with the idea? What happened?
8.
In your job at ____, what was your most creative
contribution?
9.
Tell me about a unique approach you took to solve a
problem. How did you come up with the approach? Did you
consider other options?
10.
Tell me about a time when your standard approach to
problem solving didn't produce the desired solution. What
did you do?
11.
Tell me about a time when you had the opportunity to
generate a creative solution to a problem. What happened?
How did you come up with the solution?
12.
Tell me about the techniques you've used to generate
solutions to business problems. Give me an example. What
was the problem? Describe some of the ideas you
considered.
JOB FIT
The extent to which activities and responsibilities available in the job are
consistent with the activities and responsibilities that result in personal
satisfaction; the degree to which the work itself is personally satisfying.
Facets:




Achievement - Meeting increasing work challenges.
Center of attention - Working on high-profile assignments.
Challenging work - Working on difficult or demanding tasks
requiring substantial effort and commitment.
Coaching others - Fostering other people's job-related
development
41






















Commission - Working under a pay structure in which part of
one's income depends on measurable performance (e.g.,
commission sales).
Compensation - Receiving a commensurate salary or
monetary compensation (e.g., stock options) for work.
Complexity - Performing complex tasks or working on
complex projects.
Continuous learning - Increasing knowledge and skill when
circumstances call for additional learning.
Details - Working on tasks requiring great attention to
details.
Entrepreneurialism - Developing business by seeking out
new opportunities, taking risks, and initiating new ventures.
Formal recognition - Receiving formal recognition (inside and
outside the organization) for accomplishments.
High-involvement leader - Influencing others by creating a
participative, empowered environment.
High-involvement member - Working in a participative,
empowered environment.
High responsibility/accountability - Receiving primary
responsibility/accountability for completing tasks that might
place heavy demands on one's time and involvement.
Influencing others - Using appropriate interpersonal styles
and methods to inspire and guide individuals; gaining
acceptance of ideas or plans.
International exposure - Working with situations involving
different cultures/languages and responding to the ambiguity
of unexpected/unfamiliar approaches.
Interpersonal support - Receiving regular and abundant
emotional support, reassurance, and gestures of
appreciation.
Physical environment - Working in a physically comfortable
and attractive environment.
Position/Status - Holding a position with a highly respected
title or status relative to others in the organization.
Practical results - Performing work that results in concrete
outputs or outcomes.
Promotion opportunities - Earning positions of greater
responsibility/status.
Recognition for expertise - Receiving rewards or recognition
for expertise in technical or others specialized skill areas.
Relationship building - Developing and maintaining ongoing
working relationships requiring personal interaction and
mutual support.
Standardized work - Performing clearly defined, stable work
assignments with established goals and procedures.
Task variety - Working on several different tasks or projects.
Travel - Regularly traveling away from the office (i.e., flying,
driving) to conduct business.
42
General Questions:
1.
When were you most satisfied or dissatisfied in your work?
What was most satisfying or dissatisfying about that?
2.
Tell me about a time when work would have been more
enjoyable if there had been more or fewer aspects of the job
(e.g., tasks, relationships, opportunities) available.
Job Fit Facet Questions:
Use Question 1 when a facet is extremely present in job; use Question 2
when a facet is extremely absent from a job. Some facets have only one
question, which can be used in both situations.
Achievement
1.
Tell me about a time when you had difficult goals to achieve
at work. How satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that?
2.
Tell me about a situation in which you easily achieved your
work goals. How satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that?
Center of Attention
1.
Tell me about a time when you had a highly visible role on a
major assignment. How satisfied/dissatisfied were you with
that?
2.
Tell me about a time when you worked on a low-profile
assignment and didn't receive a lot of attention from others.
How satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that?
Challenging Work
1.
Tell me about one of the most difficult and demanding tasks
you've had to complete. How satisfied/dissatisfied were you
with that?
2.
Describe a time when the tasks you were working on were
not difficult or demanding. How satisfied/dissatisfied were
you with that?
Coaching Others
1.
Tell me about a time when you had many or few
opportunities to coach others in your work area. How
satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that, and why?
Commission
43
1.
Under what type of pay structures have you worked (e.g., set
wages or part of wages based on commission/incentive
performance)? How satisfied/dissatisfied were you with this
compensation structure(s), and why?
Complexity
1.
Tell me about a time when you had a lot of opportunities to
work on complex tasks. How satisfied/dissatisfied were you
with that, and why?
2.
Tell me about a time when most of your work was relatively
simple. How satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that, and
why?
Continuous learning
1.
Tell me about a job you had in which continuous learning
was necessary for you to be effective. How
satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that?
2.
Tell me about a job you had that did not require additional
learning after the initial training for you to be effective. How
satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that?
Details
1.
Tell me about a job you had that required high attention to
details. How satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that, and
why?
2.
Tell me about a time when your job did not require high
attention to details. How satisfied/dissatisfied were you with
that, and why?
Entrepreneurialism
1.
Tell me about a situation in which you had a chance to
increase or expand your company's business through
initiating or developing new ventures. How
satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that, and why?
2.
Tell me about a time when you did not have the opportunity
to develop or initiate new projects or approaches that might
have contributed to your company's growth. How
satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that, and why?
Formal recognition
44
1.
Tell me about a time when your achievements were formally
recognized (e.g., plaques, awards, ceremonies). How
satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that?
2.
Tell me about a time when your achievements were not
formally recognized with plaques, awards, and ceremonies.
How satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that?
High-involvement leader
1.
Tell me about a time when you involved direct reports or
team members in decisions affecting their work. What kinds
of decision did you involve them in? How
satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that, and why?
2.
Tell me about a time when you did not involve direct reports
or team members in decision affecting their work. How
satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that, and why?
High-involvement member
1.
Tell me about a time when you had a lot of input into
determining your tasks and how to do them. How
satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that, and why?
2.
Tell me about a time when other people made most of the
decisions affecting your work. How satisfied/dissatisfied
were you with that, and why?
High responsibility/accountability
1.
Tell me about a time when you were accountable for the
completion and success of a major assignment. How
satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that?
2.
Tell me about an important task you were involved in, but
other people were accountable for its completion and
success. How satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that?
Influencing Others
1.
Tell me about a time when you had the opportunity to inspire
or motivate others to take action and achieve goals. How
satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that, and why?
2.
Tell me about a time when you had few opportunities to
influence and guide others in your work. How
satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that, and why?
International exposure
45
1.
Which of your previous jobs provided you with the
opportunity to interact with the widest diversity of cultures
and nationalities? How satisfied/dissatisfied were you with
that, and why?
2.
Which of your previous jobs provided you with the fewest
opportunities to interact with people from different cultures
and nationalities? How satisfied/dissatisfied were you with
that, and why?
Interpersonal support
1.
Tell me about a situation at work in which you received a lot
of emotional support from others. How satisfied/dissatisfied
were you with that, and why?
2.
Tell me about a situation at work in which you did not receive
a lot of emotional support from others. How
satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that, and why?
Physical environment
1.
Tell me about a job you've had in which the work
environment was or was not comfortable (temperature,
atmosphere/décor, noise levels, humidity, dust, etc.) How
did you feel about that?
Position/Status
1.
Which of the positions in your career has carried the greatest
respect, status, or power? How satisfied/dissatisfied were
you with that?
2.
Which of the positions in your career has carried the least
respect, status, or power? How satisfied/dissatisfied were
you with that?
Practical Results
1.
Tell me about one of your jobs in which you could see the
results of your actions (i.e., there were concrete outcomes).
How satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that, and why?
2.
Tell me about one of your jobs that was more conceptual in
nature and did not produce concrete outcomes or the results
were not immediately observable. How satisfied/dissatisfied
were you with that, and why?
Promotional opportunities
46
1.
Tell me about a time in your job when you had opportunities
for promotion or advancement. How satisfied/dissatisfied
were you with that?
2.
Tell me about a time in your job when your opportunities for
promotion or advancement were limited. How
satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that?
Recognition for expertise
1.
Tell me about a time when you received recognition or were
rewarded for your expertise. How satisfied/dissatisfied were
you with that?
2.
Tell me about a time when you were not recognized for your
expertise. How satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that?
Relationship Building
1.
Tell me about a time when you had to work closely with
others, building and maintaining relationships, to accomplish
a task. How satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that?
2.
Tell me about a situation in which you worked alone much of
the time. How satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that, and
why?
Standardized work
1.
Tell me about a job in which you had to follow established
procedures to accomplish routine tasks. How
satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that, and why?
2.
Tell me about a job that had few routine tasks, and you
determined how to complete the work. How
satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that, and why?
Task Variety
1.
Tell me about a time when you had a lot or little variety in
your work. How satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that, and
why?
1.
Tell me about one of your jobs that required extensive or
minimal travel (i.e., driving, flying, short or long trips). How
satisfied/dissatisfied were you with that?
Travel
47
LEADING THROUGH VISION AND VALUES
Keeping the organization's vision and values at the forefront of associate
decision-making and action.
Key Actions:




Communicates the importance of the vision and values Helps others understand the organization's visions and
values and their importance.
Moves others to action - Translates the vision and values
into day-to-day activities and behaviors; guides and
motivates others to take actions that support the vision and
values.
Models the vision and values - Takes actions, makes
decisions, and shapes team or group priorities to reflect the
organization's vision and values.
Rewards living the vision and values - Recognizes and
rewards associates whose actions support the organization's
vision and values.
Questions:
1.
Have you ever been in a situation in which you had to
motivate others to take actions to support a major
reorganization? How did you do that?
2.
What strategies have you used to communicate a major new
directive from senior management to employees? Which
strategies have worked, and which have not?
3.
What have you done to make your organization's vision and
values meaningful to others? Which strategies have worked,
and which have not?
4.
Tell me about a time when you helped others shape
priorities to reflect the organization's vision and values.
5.
Describe a time when you helped a group of employees
understand why the organization was going in a particular
direction. What did you do?
6.
Tell me about a time when you communicated a major
change in your organization's vision and/or values to others.
How did you do that?
7.
Tell me about a time when your actions or words played a
critical part in realizing senior management's vision for the
48
organization. What actions did you take to support the
vision?
8.
Describe a time when you planned team/group priorities to
reflect the organization's vision and values. What did you
do?
9.
Describe what you've done to keep your organization's
vision and/or values a critical factor for associates' decisions
and actions.
10.
Tell me what steps you've taken to instill the organization's
vision and/or values in your direct reports.
11.
What changes in your organization's vision and values have
affected your direct reports? Tell me about a specific action
you took to help your direct reports incorporate the change
into their day-to-day activities and behaviors.
12.
Gaining commitment to a new vision can be very
challenging. Tell me about a time when you could not
motivate others to actively support a new vision. Why were
your efforts unsuccessful?
13.
Every manager has problems (turnover, low morale, low
productivity) when his or her work unit isn't committed to the
organization's vision. Give me an example of when your
work group experienced these problems. What did you do?
MANAGING CONFLICT
Dealing effectively with others in an antagonistic situation; using appropriate
interpersonal styles and methods to reduce tension or conflict between two or
more people.
Key Actions:





Opens discussions effectively - Establishes a clear and
compelling rationale for resolving the conflict.
Clarifies the current situation - Collects information from
relevant sources to understand the conflict.
Remains open to all sides - Objectively views the conflict
from all sides.
Stays focused on resolution - Stays focused on resolving the
conflict and avoids personal issues and attacks.
Develops others' and own ideas - Presents and seeks
potential solutions or positive courses of action.
49


Initiates action - Takes positive action to resolve the conflict
in a way that addresses the issue, dissipates the conflict,
and maintains the relationship.
Closes discussions with clear summaries - Summarizes to
ensure that all are aware of agreements and required
actions.
Questions:
1.
Working on a project with others sometimes causes conflict.
Describe one of the most difficult situations you've had
involving conflict with another person. How did you handle
it?
2.
People in conflict often become antagonistic and
unproductive. Tell me about a time when you had a conflict
with another person and remained objective. Describe how
you did this. What happened?
3.
Tell me about a time when you came up with an effective
rationale for resolving a conflict. What did you do? What
happened?
4.
Describe the most difficult conflict you've been involved in.
What actions did you take to resolve the conflict? What
happened?
5.
People in a conflict sometimes can't separate issues from
personalities. Tell me about a time when personal issues
(yours or someone else's) got in the way of resolving a
conflict.
6.
Not every conflict we're involved in can be resolved. Tell me
about a conflict you couldn't resolve. What did you try?
What happened?
7.
Tell me about a time when you took positive action to
resolve a conflict. What did you do? What happened?
8.
Have you ever been a member of a group/team on which
there was a conflict? What did you do to encourage
agreement? What happened?
9.
Open conflict can prevent a team/group from achieving
objectives. Tell me about a time when you were in this kind
of a situation. What did you do about it? What happened?
10.
Tell me about a time when you had to mediate a discussion
among people who were in conflict. How did you prepare?
What did you do?
50
11.
Can you tell me how you prepared for a meeting in which
you addressed conflict issues with another person? What
did you do? What happened?
Questions for people with little work experience:
1.
Interacting with others can be challenging at times. Describe
a student group you were a member of in which there was
conflict. What specifically did you do in this situation? What
happened?
MANAGING WORK (Includes Time Management)
Effectively managing one’s time and resources to ensure that work is completed
efficiently.
Key Actions:





Prioritizes – Identifies more critical and less critical activities
and tasks; adjusts priorities when appropriate.
Makes preparations – Ensures that required equipment
and/or materials are in appropriate locations so that own and
others’ work can be done effectively.
Schedules – Effectively allocates own time to complete work;
coordinates own and others’ schedules to avoid conflicts.
Leverages resources – Takes advantage of available
resources (individuals, processes, departments, and tools) to
complete work efficiently.
Stays focused – Uses time effectively and prevents
irrelevant issues or distractions from interfering with work
completion.
Questions:
1.
Tell me about a time when you were faced with conflicting
priorities. How did you determine the top priority?
2.
Describe how you've organized materials (files, records, or
other information) so that you could find them easily.
3.
Describe a procedure you've used to keep track of items
requiring your attention. Tell me about a time when you
used this procedure.
4.
At one time or another, we’ve all forgotten to do something
important for an internal/external customer. Tell me about a
time when this happened to you recently. What did you
forget? Why? What happened?
51
5.
Tell me about a time when you adjusted your work schedule
because you couldn't get all the necessary parts, materials,
or equipment for a project. How did this happen? What did
you do?
6.
We've all been in situations in which we couldn't complete
everything we needed to on time. Tell me about a time
when this happened to you.
7.
Give me a recent example of a time when your schedule
was disrupted by unforeseen circumstances. What did you
do?
8.
What performance/production objectives were you expected
to achieve this year? What steps did you take to ensure that
you were making progress in all areas?
9.
Tell me about how you've scheduled meetings with other
people so you could complete your work more efficiently.
What steps did you take?
10.
Every once in a while, we all have idle time on the job
because of some unforeseen event (unexpected delays,
etc.). Tell me about the last time this happened to you.
What did you do?
11.
Prioritizing project/activities/responsibilities can be
challenging. Tell me about the last time you could've done a
better job of prioritizing a project/activity/responsibility. What
happened?
12.
Describe how you plan your daily or weekly activities. Walk
me through the process for yesterday (or last week).
13.
Do you have a particular system for organizing your work
area? Tell me about a time when that system helped you in
your job and a time when it didn't.
Questions for people with little work experience:
1.
Tell me about a time when your school course load was very
heavy. What steps did you take to get all your work done?
2.
Describe how you scheduled your classes to meet your
degree requirements most effectively.
3.
Tell me how you balanced your schoolwork with
extracurricular activities.
4.
Tell me about a time when you were faced with conflicting
priorities. How did you determine the top priority?
52
MEETING LEADERSHIP
Ensuring that a meeting serves its business objectives while using appropriate
interpersonal styles and methods and considering the needs and potential
contributions of others.
Key Actions:





Opens discussions effectively - Helps to establish the
purpose and importance of the meeting.
Clarifies the current situation - Seeks, gives, and
summarizes information; checks for understanding.
Develops others' and own ideas - Seeks, makes, and
develops suggestions; makes procedural suggestions.
Closes discussions with clear summaries - Helps to
summarize meeting outcomes and establish follow-up.
Uses Key Principles - Establishes good interpersonal
relationships by helping people feel valued, appreciated, and
included in discussions (enhances self-esteem, empathizes,
involves, discloses, supports).
Questions:
1.
Tell me about a time when you led a task force or committee
meeting. What did you do to ensure that the meeting was
productive?
2.
Tell me about a recent meeting you led in which it was
critical to achieve specific business objectives. How did you
conduct the meeting? What happened?
3.
Tell me about a time when you led your direct reports/team
members in a meeting to solve a problem. How did you
involve everyone in the meeting? What happened?
4.
Gaining others' acceptance of our ideas sometimes can be
difficult. Tell me about a meeting you led in which you had a
problem getting others to accept your idea. What was your
approach?
5.
Tell me about the methods you've used to keep meetings on
track. Describe a meeting when you used one of these
methods. What happened?
6.
Tell me about a meeting you were leading in which you
noticed someone not paying attention or participating. What
did you do?
53
7.
Tell me about a meeting that you've led in which one person
dominated the discussion. What did you do?
8.
Have you ever led a meeting in which a participant
suggested an inappropriate idea? How did you respond?
9.
Often it's critical to gain agreement on outcomes and followup actions in a meeting. Tell me about a meeting you've led
in which you needed to do this. What steps did you take?
What happened?
Questions for people with little work experience:
1.
Describe a student meeting you led. How did you plan the
meeting? Were the meeting's objectives met? Why or why
not?
2.
Describe a time when you had to lead a student meeting,
and the group got off track. What did you do?
3.
Tell me about a time when you had difficulty gaining
agreement from the people involved in a meeting you were
leading. Did you have formal authority: What did you do?
4.
Have you ever led a meeting in which one or more
participants were not serious about its purpose? What did
you do?
MEETING PARTICIPATION
Using appropriate interpersonal styles and methods to help reach a meeting's
goals while considering the needs and potential contributions of others.
Key Actions:




Clarifies the current situation - Seeks, gives, and
summarizes information; checks for understanding.
Develops others' and own ideas - Seeks, makes, and
develops suggestions; makes procedural suggestions.
Facilitates agreement - Tries to build agreement on
outcomes and actions.
Uses Key Principles - Establishes good interpersonal
relationships by helping people feel valued, appreciated, and
included in discussions (enhances self-esteem, empathizes,
involves, discloses, supports).
Questions:
1.
Describe a meeting in which you had something you wanted
to share but didn't. What prevented you from contributing?
54
2.
Tell me about a meeting in which you took a stand on an
unpopular issue. What did you say to promote agreement
for the issue?
3.
Tell me about a time when you supported someone else's
ideas in a meeting. How did you support them? What
happened?
4.
Tell me about a meeting you attended in which you
suggested a new idea. What approach did you use to gain
acceptance of your idea? Were you successful? How did
you know?
5.
Tell me about a meeting in which someone suggested a new
idea that affected your work. How did you react?
6.
Tell me about a meeting in which you and other participants
had to agree on specific action items. Did everyone reach
agreement? What was your role?
7.
We've all been in meetings when our
manager/supervisor/team leader said something we
disagreed with. Tell me about a time when this happened to
you.
8.
Tell me about the most productive meeting you've been in.
What was your role?
9.
Tell me about a recent unproductive meeting you attended.
Why was it so unproductive? What was your role?
10.
Sometimes when meeting with an important internal/external
customer, we don't understand everything that's being
discussed. Tell me about a time when this happened to you.
What did you do?
11.
Tell me about a meeting in which your role was to provide
technical expertise. How did you ensure that everyone
understood what you said?
Questions for people with little work experience:
1.
Have you ever been in a (class, fraternity/sorority, peer
group, student/faculty, etc.) meeting in which you had
something to share but didn't? What prevented you from
contributing?
2.
Have you ever been involved in a (class, fraternity/sorority,
peer group, student/faculty, etc.) meeting in which you took a
55
stand on an unpopular issue? What did you say to promote
agreement?
3.
Tell me about a (class, fraternity/sorority, peer group,
student/faculty, etc.) meeting in which you suggested a new
idea. What did you say to gain acceptance of your idea?
Were you successful? How did you know?
4.
Were you ever in a meeting with a professor who said
something you disagreed with? What did you do or say?
NEGOTIATION
Effectively exploring alternatives and position to reach outcomes that gain the
support and acceptance of all parties.
Key Actions:






Clarifies the current situation - Explores all parties' needs,
concerns, and initial positions, including own.
Identifies points of agreement/disagreement - Builds
common ground by highlighting areas of agreement; focuses
efforts by pointing out areas of disagreement.
Keeps discussion issue oriented - Manages the
interpersonal process to stay focused on the task;
constructively addresses emotions and conflict.
Develops others' and own ideas - Engages in mutual
problem solving by brainstorming alternative positions or
approaches and evaluating them openly and fairly.
Builds support for preferred alternatives - Builds value of
preferred alternatives by relating them to the other party's
needs; responds to objections by emphasizing value;
exposes problems with undesirable alternatives.
Facilitates agreement - Seeks a win-win solution through a
give-and-take process that recognized each party's core
needs.
Questions:
1.
Successful negotiation involves a give-and-take process that
recognizes each party's needs. Describe a negotiation in
which you reached a win-win solution with someone. What
did you do?
2.
Negotiation involves tactful exploration of alternatives and
positions. Describe a negotiation in which you explored
alternatives to reach an agreement that satisfied all parties
involved. What did you do?
56
3.
What types of negotiations have you been involved in?
Describe a recent negotiation for me. What was you role?
What was the outcome?
4.
Often it is difficult to keep negotiations issue oriented.
Describe a situation when you were able to do this.
5.
What types of negotiating techniques have you used?
Describe a situation in which you used these techniques.
What happened?
6.
Describe a situation in which you negotiated a very favorable
outcome for your organization. What approach did you use
to plan and conduct the negotiation?
7.
Think of a time when a negotiation didn't turn out exactly as
you had planned. Describe what happened?
8.
Describe a situation in which you negotiated with others in
your organization for limited resources.
9.
Tell me about one of the legal settlements you negotiated.
10.
Describe your most successful (unsuccessful) experience
mediating a dispute.
11.
Describe a situation in which you negotiated
price/term/delivery with a difficult customer. What
happened?
12.
When negotiating, we often compromise on certain points.
Tell me about a negotiation in which you used a strategy for
accepting (rejecting) some points to achieve the desired
outcome.
13.
Describe a situation in which you thought an internal/external
customer was mistaken or when you disagreed with that
person. How did you handle the situation?
14.
Sometimes there is just no room for compromise. Tell me
about a time when you had to make nonnegotiable
demands. What happened? What was the response?
15.
Tell me about the most difficult person you've had to
negotiate with. What happened?
Questions for people with little work experience:
1.
In negotiations with others, it's important to build support for
your views by relating them to the other party's needs. Tell
me about a situation in which you employed this strategy.
57
2.
Tell me about a time when you had to negotiate expectations
with ____(parents, professor, peer).
3.
Sometimes we're given assignments that don't interest us.
Tell me about a time when this happened to you. What did
you do? What happened?
4.
Did you have to make any compromises about your choice
of curriculum? How did you get what you wanted?
5.
Tell me about a major purchase that you recently made (car,
computer, stereo). Did you get a good deal? What did you
do?
6.
Successful negotiation involves a give-and-take process that
recognizes each party's needs. Describe a negotiation in
which you reached a win-win solution with someone. What
did you do?
ORGANIZATION FIT
The extent to which an organization's mode of operation and values are
consistent with the type of environment that provides personal satisfaction.
Facets:








Achievement recognition - Emphasis on appropriately
rewarding individual success.
Bias for action - Oriented toward aggressive, proactive
responses to problems and opportunities.
Challenging the status quo - Emphasis on asking questions
and challenges the norms and standard procedures for
breakthrough advances.
Civic responsibility - Support of and involvement in
community activities (e.g., volunteering).
Clarity of policies and procedures - Emphasis on carefully
documented organizational policies, procedures, and other
rules for doing business.
Continuous improvement - Emphasis on constantly
improving processes, products, and services and exploring
innovative ways to do the job.
Customer focus - Emphasis on understanding, meeting, and
exceeding customer needs and maximizing customer
satisfaction.
Employment security - Operation of a stable business that
creates employment security.
58



















Environmental sensitivity - Encouragement of
environmentally safe work processes and proactive
measures in protecting surroundings.
Fun and friendly environment - Orientation toward a size and
style that makes it possible for employees to be well
acquainted in an upbeat and energetic environment.
Geographic distribution - Possession of business units
located throughout a wide national and international
geographic area.
Growth at any cost - Emphasis on the bottom line and
increasing organizational resources and assets.
High-technology orientation - Uses and/or development of
state-of-the-art, high-tech applications.
Intellectual focus - Emphasis on intellectual discussions,
continuing education, professional development, and idea
exchange.
Interdepartmental cooperation - Cultivation of an atmosphere
of interdependence, collaboration, and reciprocal
communication between divisions within the company.
Lean and mean - Maintenance of minimum staff for
efficiency and effectiveness.
Minimum management structure - Orientation toward a
simple, short, decision-making infrastructure.
Openness to frequent change - Willingness to consider
change and to adapt; modification of job and roles within an
organization to adapt to change.
Participative management - Encouragement of an
environment in which individuals have a sense of ownership
and influence over their work.
Personal freedom - Emphasis on freedom from imposed
constraints in the work environment and on a healthy
balance between work and other activities.
Personal growth - Enhancement of individual effectiveness
by providing training and development opportunities.
Planning for long-term success - Orientation toward
achieving future success, long-term goals, and meeting
timelines through careful planning and well-established
strategic direction.
Prestige - Orientation toward prominence, domination of the
industry, influential status, and/or contributions to society.
Quality focus - Emphasis on the production of high-quality
goods and services.
Quick reaction to business opportunities - Emphasis on
responding quickly to business needs and developing
products, plans, and strategies quickly and perfecting them
later.
Resource consciousness - Emphasis on prudent use of
resources and avoiding waste.
Thriving on risk - Promotion of bold ventures to take
advantage of business opportunities.
59

Valuing diversity - Advancement of diversity in the workforce
(with regard to race, ethnicity, opinion, gender, physical
ability, etc.) for the achievement of common goals.
General Questions:
1.
When were you most satisfied or dissatisfied working in a
company or organization? What was it about the company
or organization that made it satisfying/dissatisfying?
2.
Tell me about a time when work would have been more
enjoyable if some characteristic of the company or
organization had been different (e.g., policies, environment,
structure.)
Organization Fit Facet Questions:
Achievement recognition
Tell me about a time when the organizational culture in which you
worked did or did not give individuals recognition for success and
achievements. How satisfied were you with that?
Bias for action
Organizations differ in the extent to which they support and
encourage aggressive, proactive responses to problems and
opportunities. Tell me about an organization for which you worked
that did or did not encourage aggressive, proactive approaches.
How did you feel about that?
Challenging the status quo
Organizations differ in the amount of emphasis placed on
challenging norms and standard procedures in order to make
breakthrough advances. Describe one of your employers that did
or did not encourage employees to question the status quo. How
satisfied or dissatisfied were you with that?
Civic responsibility
Organizations might encourage some degree of employee
involvement in community activities. Describe the degree of
community involvement encouraged by an organization where you
worked. How did you feel about that?
Clarity of policies and procedures
Organizations differ in the extent to which policies and procedures
for doing business are documented and communicated. Tell me
about a time when you worked for an organization that did or did
60
not clearly document and communicate business policies and
procedures. How did you feel about that?
Continuous improvement
Organizations differ in the amount of emphasis placed on improving
products and processes. Describe one of your employers and the
degree of importance given to continuous improvement. How
satisfied or dissatisfied were you with that?
Customer focus
Emphasis on customer focus differs among organizations. Tell me
about one organization where you worked where the degree of
emphasis on customer needs and satisfaction was high, or about
one where it was not. Describe how you felt about that.
Employment security
Job security varies by organizations and business/industry.
Describe an organization where you worked that either did or did
not have the degree of employment security you desire. How did
you feel about that?
Environmental sensitivity
Organizations vary in the degree to which they emphasize taking
measures to protect the environment. Describe an organization for
which you worked where work processes were or were not modified
in order to protect the environment. How did you fell about that?
Fun and friendly environment
An organization's size and culture can foster or impede an upbeat,
energetic atmosphere where employees can get to know one
another well. Tell me about an organization for which you worked
and describe the degree of fun and friendliness that was or was not
present. How did you feel about that?
Geographic distribution
Some organizations are centralized in one location, while others
are dispersed over a wide national/international geographic area.
Tell me about one of your past employers and describe their
geographic profile. How satisfying or dissatisfying was that for
you?
Growth at any cost
61
Organizations vary in the degree of focus on profit and growth.
Give me an example of one of your employers and the
actions/attitudes that demonstrated their level of focus on growth.
How did you feel about working in that kind of environment?
High-technology orientation
The orientation toward using and developing high technology varies
widely among organizations. Describe one of your employers and
the degree of high technology usage. How did you feel about this?
Intellectual focus
What experience have you had with organizations that did or did
not emphasize professional development, continuing education,
and intellectual discussion/exchange of ideas? How satisfying or
dissatisfying was that kind o work environment for you?
Interdepartmental cooperation
Tell me about a time when the organizational culture in which you
worked supported or did not support collaboration among
departments. How satisfied were you with that?
Lean and mean
Some organizations operate with minimal staff resources, while
others have a sizable staff. Describe one of your past employers
that had one of these work environments. How did you feel about
that?
Minimum management structure
Some organizations have a complex, multi-layered management
structure, while others have a simpler, flatter structure. Looking at
your past employment experiences, describe the level of complexity
or simplicity of the management decision-making structure. How
satisfying or dissatisfying was that for you?
Openness to frequent change
Organizations that are open to change and that implement frequent
change can create an environment that might range from
stimulating to unsettling. Describe a time when you experienced
organizational change. What was the degree of change, and how
did you feel about that?
Participative management
Organizations differ in the degree to which they give employees
ownership and influence over their jobs. Describe what you
62
consider an ideal degree of participation, influence, and job
ownership at work and compare it to one of you jobs.
Personal freedom
Organizations vary in the emphasis on a balance between work
and personal activities. Describe an organization for which you
worked that did or did not encourage individual choices to achieve
balance. How did you feel about that?
Personal growth
Organizations vary in the degree of training and development they
offer to enhance employee effectiveness. Describe an organization
for which you worked where there were many of few training and/or
development opportunities available. How did you fell about that?
Planning for long-term success
Some organizations focus on long-term goals, while others
emphasize short-term results. Describe one of your employers and
the emphasis on long- or short-term planning. How satisfying or
dissatisfying was that for you?
Prestige
Organizations have varying degrees of prestige. Tell me about an
organization for which you worked that you thought was or was not
prestigious. How did you feel about that?
Quality focus
Tell me about a time when you worked for an organization that did
or did not have a strong emphasis on producing high-quality goods
or services. How satisfied were you with the degree of significance
given to quality.
Quick reaction to business opportunities
Some organizations focus on rapid development of new
products/plans/strategies with refinements and perfection delayed
until a later time. Others take the time to perfect products/services
before taking them to market. Describe one of your past employers
that used one of these approaches to product/services
development. How did you feel about it?
Resource consciousness
Organizations vary in the degree to which they encourage
economizing and discourage waste of resources. Describe on
organization where you worked that did or did not encourage
63
careful use of resources to avoid waste. How did you feel about
that?
Thriving on risk
Tell me about a time when you worked in an environment in which
associates were encouraged to take risks t pursue business
opportunities. How satisfied were you with that?
Valuing diversity
Organizations differ in the degree to which they support the
accomplishment of common work goals by a diverse workforce
(opinions, race, ethnicity, gender, physical abilities). Describe an
organization for which you worked that did or did not encourage
workforce diversity. How did you feel about that?
PLANNING AND ORGANIZING
Establishing courses of action for self and others to ensure that work is
completed efficiently.
Key Actions:





Prioritizes – Identifies more critical and less critical activities
and assignments; adjusts priorities when appropriate.
Determines tasks and resources – Determines
project/assignment requirements by breaking them down
into tasks and identifying types of equipment, materials, and
people needed.
Schedules – Allocates appropriate amounts of time for
completing own and others’ work; avoids scheduling
conflicts; develops timelines and milestones.
Leverages resources – Takes advantage of available
resources (individuals, processes, departments, and tools) to
complete work efficiently; coordinates with internal and
external partners.
Stays focused – Uses time effectively and prevents
irrelevant issues or distractions from interfering with work
completion.
Questions:
1.
Tell me about a time when you faced conflicting priorities.
How did you determine the top priority?
2.
How have you avoided scheduling conflicts when working on
a project with several other people?
64
3.
Tell me about a time when you had to coordinate resources
(people, processes, departments, equipment) to complete a
complex project.
4.
Tell me abut a time when you were responsible for
determining assignments, schedules, and timelines for a
project you were managing. Describe how you worked out a
project plan. What happened?
5.
What kinds of project planning or administration did you do
in your job at ________? Tell me about one of the projects
you planned.
6.
What objectives were you expected to meet this year? What
steps did you take to make sure you were making progress
on all of them?
7.
Prioritizing projects/activities/responsibilities can be
challenging. Tell me about the last time you could have
done a better job of prioritizing a
project/activity/responsibility. What happened?
8.
Tell me about a time when you adjusted your work schedule
because you couldn't get all the necessary parts, materials,
or equipment for a project. Tell me about one of those
situations. What did you do?
9.
Describe a time at _________when you needed to complete
several things at the same time. What did you do to get the
work done?
10.
What have you done to make your department/group/team
more efficient or organized? Give me an example.
11.
Tell me about a long- or short-term plan you've developed
for your department.
12.
Have you ever prepared production or delivery schedules?
Describe how you did this.
13.
Have you planned any conferences, workshops, or retreats?
Describe the steps involved in planning one of these.
Questions for people with little work experience:
1.
What factors did you consider when setting up your class
schedule?
2.
How did you balance you schoolwork with extracurricular
activities?
65
3.
Tell me about a time at school when you faced conflicting
priorities. How did you determine the top priority?
4.
We've all been in situations in which we couldn't complete
everything we needed to one time. Tell me about a time
when this happened to you.
QUALITY ORIENTATION
Accomplishing tasks by considering all areas involved, no matter how small;
showing concern for all aspects of the job; accurately checking processes and
tasks; being watchful over a period of time.
Key Actions:



Follows procedures - Accurately and carefully follows
established procedures for completing work tasks.
Ensures high-quality output - Vigilantly watches over job
processes, tasks, and work products to ensure freedom from
errors, omissions, or defects.
Takes action - Initiates action to correct quality problems or
notifies others of quality issues as appropriate.
Questions:
1.
When working on a project or task over an extended period
of time, it can be difficult to maintain awareness of errors,
omissions, or defects. Tell me about a time when you
worked on a large project/task and one of these problems
slipped through the cracks. What happened?
2.
Tell me about a time when you had to send out an important
letter/document quickly and you didn't take time to verify the
accuracy of the information. What happened?
3.
When working on a repetitive task, it's easy to lose
concentration and miss important details that could cause
problems later. Give me an example of a time when this
happened to you.
4.
Describe a process you carried out that required paying
close attention or adhering to prescribed instructions. How
did your attentiveness pay off?
5.
Tell me about a time in your job at ____ when you noticed
that a process or task was being done incorrectly. What did
you do?
66
6.
Can you give me an example of a time when you found
quality defects in work outputs (yours or others'). How did
you discover the defects? What did you do? What
happened?
7.
We've all had occasions when something important escaped
our attention at work. Can you give me an example of when
this happened to you? What happened?
8.
Sometimes if we're lucky, we can identify a small error or
problem and correct it before it becomes a major headache.
Has this ever happened to you? What happened?
9.
Tell me about a time when you noticed subtle changes in
equipment/processes/material on your job. How did you
notice the changes? What did you do?
10.
Describe a time when you identified an error/problem/defect
that had escaped others' attention. What did you do? What
happened?
11.
Tell me about a time when you had to proofread someone
else's writing. How did you go about it?
12.
Tell me about a time when you thought you had completed a
project but your manager/supervisor/team leader returned it
to you for additional work. Describe the project and the
steps you needed to take to complete it.
Questions for people with little work experience:
1.
Tell me about a detailed class project that you worked on.
How did you keep track of the details? How did the project
turn out?
2.
We've all had occasions when we were working on
something and overlooked a detail. Give me an example of
when this happened to you. What was the result?
RESEARCH/SCHOLARSHIP:
Able to develop and maintain a program of scholarship, research or creative
endeavors.
Questions:
1.
Tell us about your research program. How do you see
yourself continuing or modifying that program here?
67
2.
Tell us about any experiences you have in involving
undergraduate/graduate students in your research. What do
you see as the pros/cons of undergraduate research
assistants?
3.
In what ways can you envision yourself getting involved in
motivating students to do research and in serving as a
mentor to students doing research?
4.
What type of support does your research require?
5.
What do you see as a potential source of external funding for
your particular type of research?
6.
Describe how you might develop a successful program of
scholarship involving undergraduates.
7.
As a comprehensive university, our teaching load is 12
credits each semester. How do you envision making time for
scholarship?
8.
Tell us how you view the relationship between your
research/scholarship and your teaching.
RISK TAKING
Initiating action that tries to achieve a recognized benefit or advantage when
potential negative consequences are understood.
Key Actions:



Actively seeks opportunities - Pursues situations or
opportunities that can lead to either substantial benefit or
significant negative consequence.
Calculates risk - Gathers information to understand
probability of success, benefits of success, and
consequences of failure.
Commits to action - Initiates action despite uncertainty of
outcome; is willing to accept the consequences of failure.
Questions:
1.
Describe the biggest professional risk you've taken. What
information did you consider before taking action? What
happened?
2.
It's never easy to take a risk, especially when you don't have
the support of peers or co-workers. Tell me about a risk that
you avoided taking because you didn't have others' support.
68
3.
Describe a time when you decided to try a new and untested
approach to handling a problem. What happened?
4.
We all have had time when friends or co-workers have
advised us to avoid risk. Describe a time when you ignored
this advice. What happened?
5.
Tell me about a time when you took action despite knowing
that the odds for success were slim. What was your
rationale for taking the action? What happened?
6.
Describe a time when you took a risk you later regretted.
What happened?
7.
Describe a time when you took a risk and you were glad you
did. What factors did you consider before you took action?
8.
Describe a time when you took an action that posed a risk
for the organization or others in the organization. What
happened?
9.
Describe a time when you supported someone else's idea
that had a low probability of success. Why did you support
the idea? What happened/
10.
Tell me about a risk you took recently. What steps did you
take to understand the potential benefits and consequences
of your action? What happened?
11.
Describe a time when you chose a low-/no risk option over
one with higher risk. Why did you rule out the option with a
higher risk?
12.
Tell me about a time when you were asked to examine a
problem and determine which solutions posed the most risk
and the least risk. What factors influenced you decisions?
What happened?
13.
Switching from ____ to _____ was a major change. What
factors influenced your decision to change jobs? (Listen for
intentional risk taking.)
Questions for people with little work experience:
1.
Describe the biggest risk you've taken. What information did
you consider before taking action? What happened?
2.
Describe a time when you tried a new approach to handling
a problem. What happened?
69
3.
We've all been in situations in which friends advised us to
avoid taking a risk. Describe a time when you ignored this
advice. What happened?
SAFETY AWARENESS
Identifying and correcting conditions that affect employee safety; upholding
safety standards.
Key Actions:



Identifies safety issues and problems - Detects hazardous
working conditions and safety problems; checks equipment
and/or work area regularly.
Takes corrective action - Reports or corrects unsafe working
conditions; makes recommendations and/or improves safety
and security procedures; enforces safety regulations and
procedures.
Monitors the corrective action - Monitors safety or security
issues after taking corrective action and ensures continued
compliance.
Questions:
1.
In your job at ____, did you ever notice any process or task
that was being performed unsafely? Give me an example.
How did you notice it? What did you do?
2.
Give me an example of when you were involved in
establishing safety standards for your work group/team or
organization. What was your role? What was the result?
3.
Tell me about a hazardous material or piece of equipment
you've worked with. What special procedures did you follow
when working with it?
4.
Sometimes it seems necessary to bend safety or security
rules to finish a job. Give me an example of when you did
this. What happened?
5.
Tell me about a time when you recognized an unsafe
situation involving a dangerous piece of equipment. What
did you do?
6.
Describe a time when you had to confront someone who
violated a safety or security regulation. What happened?
7.
Tell me about a dangerous work-related task you had to do.
How did you make sure no one got injured?
70
8.
Tell me about a technique/procedure you developed to help
ensure safety on your job.
9.
Have you ever seen a co-worker doing something unsafe?
Tell me about the situation. What did you do?
10.
Tell me about a time when you were really busy or under a
lot of pressure to finish an assignment to work. What actions
did you take to ensure that safety was not compromised?
11.
Tell me about a time when you were understaffed at work.
What actions did you take to ensure that safety was not
compromised?
STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING
Obtaining information and identifying key issues and relationships relevant to
achieving a long-range goal or vision; committing to a course of action to
accomplish a long-range goal or vision after developing alternatives based on
logical assumptions, facts, available resources, constraints, and organizational
values.
Key Actions:





Gathers information - Identifies and fills gaps in information
required to understand strategic issues.
Organizes information - Organizes information and data to
identify/explain major trends, problems, and causes;
compares and combines information to identify underlying
issues.
Evaluates/Selects strategies - Generates and considers
options for actions to achieve a long-range goal or vision;
develops decision criteria considering factors such as cost,
benefits, risks, timing, and buy-in; selects the strategy most
likely to succeed.
Establishes implementation plan-Identifies the key tasks and
resources needed to achieve objectives.
Executes plan – Makes sure strategies are carried out;
monitors results and makes adjustments as needed.
Questions:
1.
Tell me about a time when you had to implement a complex
company directive. Explain how you approached the task.
What happened?
2.
Tell me about a time when you had to weigh different options
for implementing a general directive from senior
71
management. What factors did you consider? How did you
make your decision?
3.
What strategies have you employed to make sure a major
new directive from senior management was carried out?
Which strategies worked, and which did not? Give me a
specific example.
4.
Describe a time when you recommended a plan of action in
response to business/market trends. What information did
you use to make your recommendation? Was the plan
executed? What was your role?
5.
Describe a time when you had to significantly modify work
procedures so they aligned with new strategic directive.
How did you accomplish this?
6.
Tell me about a time when you had to link a general directive
from senior management to individual performance
expectations. How did you do this, and what were the
results?
7.
What types of organizational systems (controls,
compensation, communication, accounting, etc.) have you
put in place to support a specific organizational strategy?
Explain the process. What were the results?
8.
Describe how you have planned tasks and acquired
resources in order to implement a long-range corporate
vision. What information did you consider? What steps did
you take?
9.
Tell me about a time when you had to develop an alternative
course of action to address a problem or capitalize on an
opportunity. What decision criteria did you use to determine
your course of action?
10.
How have you determined an appropriate course of action
for achieving a long-range organizational goal? Give me a
specific example. What options did you consider? Were
your actions successful?
Questions for people with little work experience:
1.
What types of information did you check when determining
what you wanted to do for a career? How did you use this
information?
2.
What options did you consider when planning how to
complete your education? How did you reach your
decision?
72
STRESS TOLERANCE
Maintaining stable performance under pressure or opposition (such as time
pressure or job ambiguity); handling stress in a manner that is acceptable to
others and to the organization.
Key Actions:



Maintains focus - Stays focused on work tasks and
productively uses time and energy when under stress.
Maintains relationships - Presents a positive disposition and
maintains constructive interpersonal relationships when
under stress.
Copes effectively - Develops appropriate strategies as
needed to alter conditions that create stress and to sustain
physical and mental health.
Questions:
1.
Every job produces different levels of stress. What was the
most stressful aspect of your job at ____? How did you
react to this?
2.
We all have times when the responsibilities of our jobs are
overwhelming. Give me an example of a time when you felt
overwhelmed at work. How did you react?
3.
Working with customers can be challenging at times.
Describe one of the most stressful interactions you've had
with an internal/external customer. How did you react?
4.
Have you ever been faced with an ethical or value conflict in
your job? Give me an example of when this happened to
you. What did you do?
5.
Have you ever worked in a job with a high level of
ambiguity? Give me an example. How did you handle the
situation?
6.
To what extent have you had to work in very unpleasant
work conditions (heat, dust, noise, etc.)? Give me an
example of when you worked under these conditions. How
did you cope?
7.
Sometimes interacting with others at work can be difficult.
Describe the most stressful interaction you've had with your
management/supervisor/team leader or a peer/team
member. How did you respond?
73
8.
Tell me about a time when you were too busy at work to take
a break. How did you cope?
9.
Can you think of a time when you had unreasonable
production goals? How did you respond?
10.
Sometimes angry, internal customers make personal
accusations or attacks. Tell me about a time when this
happened to you. How did it affect you? How did you react?
11.
Tell me about an important project you were working on that
had an unreasonable deadline. How did it affect you? How
did you react?
12.
Work can be filled with distractions or interruptions. Tell me
about a time when you wee distracted or interrupted often at
work. How did you react?
Questions for people with little work experience:
1.
Describe a time when your workload in school was
particularly heavy. How did you respond?
2.
We've all been in high-pressure situations at school.
Describe a time like this in your school experience. How did
you react?
3.
Describe a time when you faced conflicting demands at
school. What were the demands? How did you respond?
TEACHING
Able to help students learn information, clearly present information to a students
with varying abilities and learning styles, use a variety of pedagogical techniques,
stay current in the field.
Questions:
1.
2.
How do you provide feedback to students about how they
are doing?
What motivational techniques have you used to help
students reach their maximum learning potential?
3.
What kinds of instructional strategies do you or would you
use to facilitate student learning?
4.
Please describe your experience teaching undergraduates.
What methods have you used?
74
5.
What strategies have or would you use when teaching a
class of 200 students or larger?
6.
How do or will you determine if students are learning? What
evaluation techniques do you use?
7.
How do you handle the different ability levels of students?
How do you help a student who is having difficulty?
8.
What have you done to reinforce major ideas or concepts
that you wanted students to learn?
9.
How have you handled a student who refused to work in
your class or do what you asked?
10.
How have you dealt with a student who is consistently late
for class?
11.
Describe a teaching strategy you used to maximize the
learning potential of all students.
12.
Define cooperative learning and give an example of how you
have used it.
13.
What curriculum materials have you developed?
14.
How do you individualize your teaching?
15.
What have you done in terms of professional development to
develop your skills as a teacher?
16.
How have you used technology in your teaching?
17.
Please discuss your experience with college students. In
what capacity have you worked with them?
18.
How do you evaluate your students’ academic performance
and growth?
19.
Tell us about one of your proudest moments teaching. Tell
us about one of your most frustrating moments teaching.
Other Questions:
1.
What do you consider rewarding and exciting about
teaching?
2.
What do you see as one of your major strengths as a
teacher?
75
3.
What do you see as one of your major challenges as a
teacher?
4.
In your opinion, what are some of the most significant
challenges we face in teaching today’s undergraduate
students and how do you meet those challenges?
5.
Please describe your general teaching philosophy.
6.
What kind of learning environment do you try to create?
7.
Besides teaching in your area of specialization, what other
courses are you interested in developing/teaching?
8.
What unique teaching experiences and qualifications would
you bring to our students and department?
9.
What do you feel are the most important things students
learn in your classroom?
10.
Describe an ideal classroom.
11.
Tell us about your interest and/or experience in on-line
teaching?
12.
How do you think your students would describe you?
13.
How do you make students feel at ease around you, while
still respecting you?
14.
What is the toughest aspect of teaching today? What are
some of the greatest challenges of being an educator?
TECHNICAL/PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
Having achieved a satisfactory level of technical and professional skill or
knowledge in position-related areas; keeping up with current developments and
trends in areas of expertise.
Key Knowledge Areas:

Possesses relevant knowledge and skills - Has adequate
knowledge and /or skills to perform effectively on the job.

Maintains knowledge and skills - Keeps abreast of
knowledge and/or skills required to perform the job
effectively.
Questions:
76
1.
What technical training have you received? Can you give
me an example of how you've applied this training?
2.
What experience do you have operating computers (or other
office equipment)? How proficient are you?
3.
Describe a project, situation, or assignment that challenged
your skills as a _______. How did you manage the
situation?
4.
We've all faced the problem of not being able to handle a
new task/responsibility, even though we received the
assignment because of our background and training. Tell
me about a time when this happened to you.
5.
Even though we try to be expert in our area of work, it's
impossible to know and understand everything. Tell me
about an aspect of your work/technical field you are still
trying to master.
6.
Describe a time when you successfully demonstrated your
technical knowledge. Contrast this with a time when you
weren't able to do so. What did you do differently?
7.
What training have you received in_______(process,
function, task)? Can you give me an example of how you've
used this training?
8.
Give me an example of a project you completed that
demonstrated your technical expertise in _______.
9.
Describe how you've gone about learning a new technical
task.
10.
Tell me about the most complex technical assignment or
project you've worked on. What was your role?
11.
What equipment have you been trained to operate? How
proficient are you?
12.
Give an example of a time when you operated a _________
(computer, machine, etc.).
13.
What experience do you have operating machinery (or
computers)? What level of proficiency have you achieved?
14.
Describe the most difficult maintenance work you've done.
15.
What experience do you have using diagnostic equipment
and procedures? Give me an example that shows your level
of expertise.
77
16.
What experience do you have working with computer
hardware (software) components? Give me an example that
demonstrates your level of expertise.
17.
What is your level of expertise reading schematics? Give
me an example that illustrates your proficiency.
18.
What is your experience with computer system
configurations and networking? Describe the most complex
system you've worked with.
Questions for people with little work experience
1.
Give me an example of an assignment you worked on that
showed your expertise in ___________. What did you do?
2.
Sometimes complex projects require additional expertise.
Describe a situation in which you had to request help on one
of your projects or assignments.
WORK STANDARDS
Setting high standards of performance for self and others; assuming
responsibility and accountability for successfully completing assignments or
tasks; self-imposing standards of excellence rather than having standards
imposed.
Key Actions

Sets standards for excellence-Establishes criteria and/or
work procedures to achieve a high level of quality,
productivity, or service.

Ensures high quality-Dedicates required time and energy to
assignments or tasks to ensure that no aspect of the work is
neglected; works to overcome obstacles to completing tasks
or assignments.

Takes responsibility-Accepts responsibility for outcomes
(positive or negative) of one’s work; admits mistakes and
refocuses efforts when appropriate.

Encourages others to take responsibility-Provides
encouragement and support to others in accepting
responsibility; does not accept others’ denial of responsibility
without questioning.
78
Questions
1.
In your position with __________, how did you define doing
a good job? Did you do a good job? How did you know?
Give me an example.
2.
Tell me about something you’ve done to encourage
peers/direct reports to take responsibility for improving their
work standards.
3.
What were the criteria for success in your job at
____________? What did you do to meet the criteria? Give
me a recent example.
4.
Tell me about a time in your position at ____________ when
you were not satisfied with your unit’s (team’s) performance.
Why not? What did you do to correct the situation?
5.
Sometimes a supervisor’s/team leader’s evaluation of our
performance differs from our own. When has this happened
to you? What did you do about it?
6.
Think about a time when your work was above standard and
a time when it was below standard. What were some
reasons for the difference in performance?
7.
Give me an example of a time when you knew that a
process or operation was being done poorly. What did you
do? What was the effect of your actions?
8.
Tell me about a time when you were not satisfied with your
(department’s) level of sales at ___________. What did you
do about that?
9.
When evaluating the work standards of your direct reports,
what factors do you weigh the most? Describe how you
have used those factors to evaluate a specific employee.
10.
Tell me about a time when you weren’t satisfied with your
work because of quality defects. How did you handle the
situation?
11.
Sooner or later, everyone comes under some pressure to
sacrifice quality in order to get work done on time. Tell me
about a time when this happened to you. What did you do?
Questions for people with little work experience
1.
As a student, how did you define good performance? What
did you do to perform according to that definition?
79
2.
What were your standards of success in school? What did
you do to meet those standards?
3.
We don’t always agree with a professor’s evaluation of us.
Tell me about a time when you disagreed with a particular
professor’s evaluation. How did you handle the situation?
4.
Tell me about a research project you did that made you
proud. What made it so good? What was your role?
80