Sample Interview Questions from UW System HR and Workforce Diversity
General:
1. Why did you decide to apply for this position? What appeals most to you about
it? Least? What aspects about this position would cause you to consider leaving
your current position?
2. What three characteristics best describe you?
3. What traits do you value most in others?
4. What are your short-term and long-term career goals?
5. What type of work environment and pace of work do you prefer?
6. What aspects of your current position do you enjoy the most?
7. What professional accomplishment has given you the most satisfaction?
8. Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond to get a job done.
9. Tell me about two memorable projects, one success and one failure. To what do you
attribute the success and failure?
10.
Tell me about a situation in your professional career that did not work out as you
had hoped and what you learned from it.
11.
Please provide examples of professional situations in which you have had to
exercise judgment and independently make business decisions.
12.
Please describe a work situation in which you recognized a need for change and
how you dealt with it.
13.
What kinds of professional development efforts have you made in the past? What
do you have in mind for the future?
Specific to position:
14.
Please summarize those aspects of your training and career that qualify you for
this position.
15.
What areas of this position’s responsibilities are you most qualified for? Least
qualified for?
16.
Describe your skill levels when it comes to working with automated
tools: analytical and quantitative software, spreadsheets, databases, word
processing, electronic mail, mainframe systems….?
17.
Tell us about a complicated project you completed in the last year. What made it
complicated and how did you approach it?
18.
Describe your experience with… and please provide examples… (use this type of
question to compare the specific experience a candidate has with what you need
for the position).
19.
Situational or hypothetical questions that do not have one correct answer but
instead elicit responses that provide insight into the candidate’s approach or
thought process.
20.
What distinguishes you from other highly qualified applicants for this
position? OR What unique experience or qualifications separate you from other
candidates?
21.
For supervisory/management positions Describe your supervisory/management
experience and style. Describe a difficult personnel issue you have faced and how
you dealt with it.
Diversity:
22.
Describe a time when you were able to adapt your communication approach so
that you could interact more effectively with a person who came from a
perspective, background or culture that was very different from your own. What
did you do to find common ground?
23.
Could you please share a project or situation from your own work history that you
found challenging because of competing interests, viewpoints, and priorities for
constituent groups? Describe how you managed the situation, including the
specific options and strategies you chose to use? What factors did you consider
when weighing the various diverse and conflicting viewpoints and priorities?
24.
Provide an example of what you have done in a higher educational setting to
improve success for students of color and economically disadvantaged students.
Please provide an example of how you do this in your daily work.
25.
The University of Wisconsin values employees with diverse viewpoints and
backgrounds. What has been your experience in working with people of
culturally, ethnically, or other diverse backgrounds?