Interview Guide
Introduction
Employers hire people not paper. So while a good resume will get you the interview, it takes a
good interview (or two) to get you the job offer. It is no longer enough to dress up and head into
an interview ready to wing it. Today, it takes preparation and practice to learn to sell yourself in
an interview.
Giving well thought out answers that demonstrate your skills is certainly important. Being relaxed
and sounding confident are equally important. In fact, the way you present yourself accounts for
more than half of the overall impression you make. Things like appearance, tone of voice,
friendliness and body language are an important part of your message.
Making a Positive Impression
Do your homework
Bring yourself up-to-date on the industry and organization you’ll be seeing by doing your research.
Start by checking the organization’s web site for mission and values statements and
products/services.
Practice Talking about Yourself
Review your resume. Practice your answers to common interview questions. Understand your
competitive advantages and be able to articulate them with examples.
Dress for Success
Appearance counts. This includes your clothing, haircut and grooming. Dress conservatively in
clothes that fit well. Clothing should be recently cleaned and pressed. Limit perfume and aftershave. If you need to shop for an interview outfit, consider it a worthwhile investment in your
future.
Body Language in Interviews
Greeting - A firm but painless palm-to-palm handshake is a good way to launch an interview.
Combine that with a genuine smile, direct eye contact and a clear “Thank you for seeing me”, and
you’re off to a good start. Look pleased to be there rather than nervous and hesitant.
Smile - Did you know that the majority of people forget to smile during an interview?
Eye Contact – Take your cues from the interviewer, and match the amount of eye contact you
make with theirs.
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What are Employers Looking for?
 Employees who will bring skills, abilities and strengths which will enable the
organization to progress and to succeed and who can grow with the organization.
 Employees who will FIT within the organization’s style, culture and philosophy.
The interview should
meet the interviewer’s
objectives to:
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Assess your skills and abilities.
Evaluate whether you will fit.
Promote the company to you.
The interview should
meet your objectives to:
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Communicate to the employer your
skills and abilities as they relate to
the vacant position.
SELL yourself - expand on your
resume.
Ask questions and make
observations so that you may assess
whether the job is right for you.
First Interviews
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Usually a screening interview.
Can include a representative from the Human Resources Department and/or a line
manager.
Interviewer will decide if it’s a go/no go on to the second stage.
Usually lasts 30 – 60 minutes.
Second Interviews
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Serves as a second screening opportunity.
Usually held on company premises.
Can take the format of a Board/Panel/Team
Can include lunch, coffee, etc.
You may be asked the same questions; be patient and answer as if it’s the first time
and be consistent.
Could last from a few hours to a half day or longer.
Some sort of testing may occur at this stage or shortly thereafter.
REMEMBER YOU ARE BEING ASSESSED AT EVERY STAGE.
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Preparation & Research
Careful preparation is one the most critical aspects of your job search.
Dedicating time to doing some groundwork will enable you to:
 Reduce the interview anxiety that is experienced by most job-seekers.
 Appear more confident and professional.
 Effectively market your qualifications and potential contribution to the organization.
 Positively impress the interviewer with your initiative.
1. Assess yourself
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Skills, abilities, personality, interests, goals, aspirations, strengths, weaknesses.
What you have learned/gained from previous experience, academic programs,
involvement in activities?
What you can offer the employer?
Why you chose this particular academic program?
Why you are interested in the organization?
What type of organizational culture will allow you to be successful?
2. Study the Job Description
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Review the job posting and/or job description if available.
Highlight specific duties and critical skills required.
3. Match your Background to the Position
 Identify specific examples that demonstrate you have the skills, knowledge, and
relevant experience that relates to the job.
4. Research the Organization
 Demonstrate that you’ve done your homework and that you have a sincere interest
in the organization.
 Assess the opportunity based on relevant data and information.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN DOING YOUR RESEARCH
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What are the organization’s products and/or services? How are they marketed?
What is the history of the organization? Future plans?
What is the organization’s past, present and predicted growth pattern?
How large is the organization? Is it international? Does it have branches, subsidiaries
and divisions? How many people does it employ?
What are its latest products or developments? Is it on the cutting edge of technology?
What is the organization’s reputation? For what is it best known?
How is the organization structured? Who are its key personnel?
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5.
Prepare Questions for the Interviewer
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Prepare 3-6 questions (write them down).
Focus on the organization and the job.
Relate to job duties, training, supervision, feedback, trends in the industry,
company growth.
Stay away from salary, benefits, vacation, etc.
Examples of Questions to ask the Interviewer
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Can you tell me more about your training program?
What have been the career paths for other employees who have started in this position?
What kinds of projects might I be involved in should I be hired for this position?
How does this position fit into the organization’s structure?
Could you tell me why this position became available?
6. Prepare Answers for Potential Interview Questions
Types of Interview Questions
Factual Questions – will allow you to elaborate on your past experiences.
Describe the duties of your most recent position.
Technical Questions – are concerned with your technical knowledge.
What are generally accepted auditing principles?
Situational Questions – ask what you would do in a specific situation.
How would you handle an upset customer?
Role Play Questions – interviewer describes a scenario and gives you a role.
Imagine that you are my supervisor. I have been late for work 6 times in the past
2 weeks. What would you say to me?
Behaviour Descriptive Questions – based on the premise that how you behaved in a
similar situation in the past is how you will behave in the future; used to assess specific
qualities and skills.
Describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult situation and it was
necessary to keep a positive attitude.
General Questions – to determine interests, motivation, goals, strengths, weaknesses,
potential
What do you know about us?
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Planning Ahead
1. Organize your Documents/Portfolio
Invest in a binder/portfolio where you can carry the following:
Your
Portfolio
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Extra copy of your resume
List of your references
Reference Letters
Transcripts
Copy of Job Posting
2. Record the Following on a Clean Sheet of Paper
 Name and title of interviewer(s)
 Location and phone number
 Quick facts on company
 3 – 6 questions you want to ask
3. Plan to arrive 10 minutes early
Give yourself time for unexpected delays and
to collect yourself before you meet the interviewer.
4. Take a trip to the Location prior to the interview
Find out where to park etc.
5. Carry coins for Parking and Emergency
Telephone Calls
Interviewer: Jane Grant
Human Resources Supervisor
125 Portage Ave, Room 22B
Ph: 487-9957
Company: Palliser
Largest employer in Manitoba
Products: Furniture
Questions to ask
1. What is the Management
Development Program?
2. What is the typical career path of
MDP candidates?
3. What kinds of projects do MDP
participants work on ?
4. How did this position become
available ?
6. Determine What You’ll Wear
7. Re-Read your Resume and the Job Posting/Description,
Company Info and the Possible Questions
During the Interview
1. Create a Positive First Impression
 Interviewer will form an impression within the first 4 minutes. Shake hands firmly
and with confidence.
 Participate enthusiastically in the small talk that is used to break the ice.
 Smile, be friendly and courteous, and make eye contact.
2. Give Information
 Listen carefully to the questions; if you do not understand the question, ask for
clarification.
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Think through your answer and give specific examples of what you’ve accomplished
and how you’ve used your skills; answer honestly!!
Watch your voice tone, body language, mannerisms. Stay away from negative
information – stay positive, even about things you dislike or don’t enjoy doing.
Act and speak as if you want the job.
3. Get Information
 Ask the 3 – 6 questions you’ve prepared.
 Sell yourself once again by demonstrating that you have related skills/experience that
would apply to the organization.
4. Wrap Up
 Interviewer will probably advise you of the next steps.
 State your interest and how you think you can contribute.
 Shake hands and express thanks for the interviewer’s time and the information
provided.
After the Interview
1. Evaluate the Opportunity and the Organization
 Will it meet your career needs and goals? Is the environment right for you?
2. Evaluate your Performance
 Ask yourself what questions you answered well and which ones you found difficult
to answer. What needs improvement?
3. Make Notes
 Write down the next steps, and any other pertinent information. Don’t try to
remember it all.
4. Send a Thank You Note
Try to send a brief letter within 24 hours of the interview. Include the following:
 An expression of appreciation for the interviewer’s time
 A reference to the interview date and position for which you are a candidate.
 A statement of how your interest in the job has been enhanced as a result of the
information supplied by the interviewer.
 A reiteration of your qualifications, including any relevant details about your
background you neglected to mention during the interview.
 An indication that you are looking forward to hearing from them.
5. Follow-up
If you haven’t heard from the interviewer by the promised date, call the interviewer.
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Types of Interview Questions
The Smaller Details
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Try not to say “um” or “like”.
Take your time answering the questions, pause and take a moment to think about your answer and
don’t speak too quickly.
Once you are finished answering the question STOP, don’t keep going on and on waiting for the
interviewer to stop you.
Never say anything negative about anything or anyone, EVER!
Sit up straight, keep eye contact and smile.
Behavioral Descriptive Interview Questions
More and more employers are using BDI or Behaviour Descriptive interviewing. It goes beyond
whether a person can do the job and helps determine whether or not a person will do a good job.
Behaviour descriptive interviews follow a structured set of questions designed to look into the
applicant’s past behaviour in specific situations. The interviewer will ask you to identify very specific
examples. The responses to these kinds of questions, especially when followed up with further BDI
questions will help them determine, if faced with a similar situation again, how you would perform.
Students need to be able to provide specific examples from past experiences and be able to
talk about them in detail. There is a formula that can be used to answer these tough
questions – S.O.A.R.
S = Situation
When a BDI question is asked you must be able to come up with a problem, or specific situation. You will then
outline the situation; what was the occasion, who was involved.
O = Opportunity/Obstacle
Explain what needed to be fixed or what could be improved. What was the problem or opportunity?
A = Action
At this point you will describe your actions. What did you do in this situation? How did you solve the problem?
What techniques or skills did you utilize? Include strong action words here like managed, initiated, developed, and
analyzed. What were the reactions of other people involved and how did you react?
R = Result
Many interviewees will forget this part of their answer. It is very important to explain the outcome of the problem or
opportunity. How did you resolve the situation – what were you able to accomplish or contribute? Think in terms of
your own personal accomplishment but also what value did you add to the organization through your actions?
The S.O.A.R. formula should keep you on track in answering BDI questions and allow you to
demonstrate you have the experience to fulfill the required competencies needed in the position.
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Understanding the Process
Behaviour based interviewing is based on the premise that future performance is based on
previous performance. If you successfully demonstrated the ability to perform a
competency in the past, you likely will be able to continue to do it in the future.
Interviewers think about situations that will come up for the person performing in the
position. They then prepare a list of questions based on the competencies required to
successfully perform the job. The questions are designed to illicit answers from candidates
that demonstrate they possess the capabilities to perform the job.
Once you understand this, you are better able to prepare for the interview and reduce your
nervousness. Be prepared to relate a very specific example from your past experiences. The best
way to do this is to actually relive the situation in your mind and tell it exactly as it happened. Be
sure to talk about:
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Challenges you faced
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Steps you took
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Skills you used
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Help or resources you used
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Results you achieved
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Things you learned
Examples of BDI Questions
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Tell me about a difficult situation when it was desirable for you to keep a positive attitude.
What did you do? (Stress management)
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Give me an example of a time you had to make an important or difficult decision. How did
you make the decision? How does it affect you today? (Decision making)
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Give me an example of a time you had to persuade other people to take action. Were you
successful? (Leadership)
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Tell me about a time you had to handle multiple responsibilities. How did you organize the
work you needed to do? (Time management)
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Tell me about a time when you were working as part of a team or a group and one of the
members wasn’t pulling their weight. What did you do? (Teamwork)
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Give me an example of a successful project or new initiative you’ve been involved in. What
was your role? (Creativity, initiative)
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Give me a specific example of a time when a co-worker or classmate criticized your work in
front of others. How did you respond? How has that event shaped the way you
communicate with others? (Oral communication)
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Tell me about a time when you used interpersonal skills to handle a problem with a client.
(Customer service focus)
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Thinking back over the past few years, in which situation did you make the best use of your
technical or problem-solving skills? Please describe a specific challenge that brought out the
best in your skills. (technical skills, problem solving)
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Hard work, more than luck, is necessary for success. Tell me about a time when you
worked hard to achieve your goals. (goal orientation, work ethic)
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Tell me about a deadline you had to meet. How did you make sure it was met? (time
management)
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What is your definition of teamwork and can you tell me how you put it into practice by
relating a specific incident? (teamwork)
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When was the last time you were praised for a job well done? What were the
circumstances? (achievements)
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You say you are creative. Give me a specific example of that? (creativity)
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Tell me about a time when you had to handle a difficult customer. What did you do?
(customer focus, problem solving)
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Tell me about a time when you were creative in solving a problem. (problem solving, creativity)
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Tell me about a time when you prioritized the elements of a complicated project
(organization, time management)
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This position involves a significant amount of teamwork. Tell me about a time you worked
in a team that you are most proud of and what your own contribution to the team was.
(teamwork)
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We are looking for someone with the ability to develop strong relationships with the
business community. Give us an example of an effective network you have developed.
(marketing, networking, relationship building)
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What does initiative mean to you? Describe two major accomplishments that resulted
directly from your ability to take initiative. (initiative, project mgmt)
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Describe the last two networking events that you attended. Who did you meet and what
was the outcome? (marketing, networking)
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Describe the last time you overcame a significant obstacle success. What factors
contributed to your success? (perseverance, problem solving)
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Typical Questions and How to Answer Them
Tell me about yourself.
This question helps get the conversation started. Do not give them a history of your life. Talk about
your education, qualifications, strengths and experiences that are related to the job. Keep mainly to
work-related topics.
What are your strengths?
Discuss your unique strengths and provide short, focused examples - keep in mind what the
organization is looking for in candidates.
For example: I am customer focused, meaning that I listen carefully to identify client’s needs and
accurately communicate the required procedures to follow.
What are your weaknesses?
Everyone has weaknesses but you don’t want to discuss anything negative if you don’t have to.
Select a weakness that is not at all related to the job and then show how you recognize that it is a
weakness and are working to improve it.
For example: Job - Website Developer Weakness - Public Speaking. “If I had to choose a
weakness it would be my public speaking skills. I don’t enjoy giving presentations and I wouldn’t
describe myself as a natural born presenter. I recognize this and I have been trying to improve this
skill over the past few years as I know it is something I may have to do from time to time throughout
my career. In the commerce program we have to deliver presentations in most of our classes and I
am more confident now on stage than I was when I first entered the faculty. I find that preparation
is a key factor in feeling comfortable and confident in front of an audience.”
What do you know about our company?
This question demonstrates your initiative, motivation and interest in their company. It is a key
question and not knowing much about their company will show the interviewer that you are looking
for any job and not specifically a position with their company.
What are your salary expectations?
You need to do a bit of research before the interview to be able to answer this question. Don’t just
throw a figure out there of what you’d like to make without having some kind of idea what salary is
suitable for the position and for someone with your qualifications. When asked you should give a
range rather than a specific amount.
You could answer this question by saying, “The Asper School of Business conducts a salary survey
each year and based on their report last year’s graduating class was earning between $28,000 – 33,000
and I’d be comfortable earning in that range as well.”
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Sample Interview Questions
IMPORTANT
There are 4 basic questions that you must have solid answers for every time you interview. Your answers
to these questions must be tailored to the specific job / qualifications.
A weak answer to any of these questions may end your candidacy. After hearing your answer, it may
become obvious to the interviewer that you are not the right (or best) candidate for the job. They may
continue to ask you a few more courtesy questions and then end the interview. Having strong answers
however could make you the clear choice.
1. Why are you interested in this job?
2. What do you know about us and why do you want to work for us?
3. What relevant skills, education and experience do you have to make you qualified for
this position?
4.
Why should we hire you?
General
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Tell me about yourself.
What are your greatest strengths?
Name one thing about yourself that you would like to improve.
What has been your most satisfying/disappointing experience?
Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?
Describe to me the kind of environment you would like to work in.
Describe your ideal job. What is the most important thing you are looking for in an employer?
What have you learned from participation in extracurricular activities?
If you were going to hire for this position what would you look for in a candidate?
Tell me something that you are proud of.
Tell me about a recent goal you set for yourself.
What have you learned from your mistakes?
Tell me what you know about the ____________industry. Tell me about an emerging issue in
our profession / industry.
Are you willing to relocate?
What are your salary expectations?
What would you describe as the biggest responsibility that you have had?
If you could construct your own job, what factors would you include?
Tell me something that’s not on your resume.
In what ways do you believe you can make a contribution to our organization?
I am interviewing 10 students all with similar backgrounds today; tell me why I should hire you.
What do you want me to remember about you?
Why are you interested in working for us?
Why should we hire you?
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Education
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Why did you choose your current program at school?
What courses have you liked most? Least? Why?
What are the main things you’ve learned in your program? University?
What is your GPA? Do you think your grades are a good indication of your academic
achievement? How would you improve your GPA if you had a chance to do it over again?
How did you earn the scholarships / awards listed on your resume?
Describe your most rewarding experience at University.
Previous Experience
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Why did you leave your previous employer?
What have you learned from your previous jobs?
What was the greatest challenge in your last job? How did you deal with it?
How would your last boss describe you? What did you like most about your last job? Dislike?
Tell me about a contribution you made at your last job.
Teamwork
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Tell me about a time when you were part of a successful work group or project team. Why was
it so successful? What was your role?
Tell me about a time when you were working as part of a team or a group and one of the
members wasn’t pulling his/her weight. What did you do?
Do you prefer working by yourself or with others? Why?
Describe the most difficult person you’ve ever had to work with.
Describe a time when you put your needs aside to help a co-worker or classmate understand a
task. How did you assist them? What was the result?
Leadership
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Describe your leadership style.
What characteristics do you feel are important to be a successful leader?
Tell me about a time when you influenced the outcome of a project by taking on more of a
leadership role.
Give me a specific example of something you did that helped build enthusiasm in others.
Give me an example of a time you had to persuade other people to take action. Were you
successful?
If I asked someone to describe your leadership style what would they say about you?
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Organizational and Time Management / Planning
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Tell me about a time you had to handle multiple responsibilities. How did you organize the
work you needed to do? How did you manage your time?
Tell me about a time when you had to plan or organize something on short notice.
Self Motivation
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Are you a self starter? Give me an example.
How do you stay enthusiastic in your job, despite the parts of it that you don’t enjoy or find
challenging?
Decision Making
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Give me an example of a time you had to make an important or difficult decision. How did you
make the decision? How does it affect you today?
Describe a specific problem you solved for your employer or professor. How did you approach
the problem? What role did others play? What was the outcome?
Describe a situation where you had to make a quick decision and take action.
Initiative
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Give me an example of a time when you took initiative rather than waiting to be told what to do.
Give me an example of a successful project or new initiative you’ve been involved in. What was
your role?
Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty to get the job done.
Give me an example of a time when you initiated a change in process or operations.
How did you prepare for today’s interview?
Every job seems to have its slack periods. Tell me about a time when you had free time in your
last job. What did you do with the free time? What were your co-workers doing? How often did
these slack periods occur?
Analytical Skills
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Describe a project that best demonstrates your analytical skills.
Tell me about a specific time when you had to analyze information and make a recommendation.
Problem Solving
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Tell me about a time when you had to solve a problem and rules or guidelines were not in place.
Tell me about a time when you identified a potential problem and resolved it before it became
serious.
Tell me about something challenging you faced in your most recent job, how did you handle it?
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Flexible / Adaptable
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At one time or another we are all asked to help out with something when we don't seem to have
the time. Tell me about a recent time when this happened to you and how you handled it.
Can you think of the last time that you were asked to help out on a task that was not directly
your responsibility? What was it? What was the situation with your own workload?
Describe a time or a situation where you had to deal with significant change. How did you
handle it?
Communication Skills
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Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer or client? How did you
handle it? What was the result?
Tell me about a time when you had to present complex information (oral or written) in a way
that was clear and easily understand.
Describe a situation where you were able to successfully convince or persuade someone to do
something your way.
Describe the most significant report or paper that you have written.
Describe the most significant presentation that you have had to deliver.
Give me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate with another
person that you did not get along with.
What does effective communication mean to you? When have you demonstrated your effective
communication skills?
Interpersonal Skills
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Give me an example of a time when your effective interpersonal skills contributed to your
success.
Tell me about a time when you handled a difficult situation with a co-worker. What happened?
Goal Setting / Achieving Results
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Describe two specific goals you set for yourself and how successful you were in meeting them.
What factors led to your success in meeting your goals?
Tell me about an accomplishment that you're most proud of? How did you go about achieving
this result? What steps did you take?
Describe a specific task or assignment you found especially difficult to accomplish. What was it,
and what made it difficult? How did you overcome the difficulty? What was the end result?
Creativity
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Tell me about a time when you came up with an innovative solution to a challenge your
company or class was facing. What was the challenge? What role did others play?
Tell me about the most creative school or work related project that you have done.
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JOB SPECIFIC INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
(Real questions asked by interviewers on campus)
Accounting & CA
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Why do you want to be a ……?
Why did you choose the CA profession over CMA or CGA?
What do you consider to be good qualities in a CA student?
Tell me what you know about the CMA program?
Give me an example of a time when you had to use your problem solving skills.
How do you allocate your time in stressful situations?
Give me an example of a time when you came across one of your weaknesses and tell me what
you did to overcome it.
Why are you interested in our company/firm?
Tell me about a time when you had to work within a team setting.
Tell me about your extracurricular activities.
Tell me about an emerging issue in the accounting profession.
You want to compare three companies’ financial performance for the past 5 years. One
company is small, one is medium-sized, and one is large. What is a financial technique that
accountants can use to overcome this size difference and achieve a meaningful comparison?
When using ratio analysis to analyze financial statements and company’s performance, what are
some things to consider?
You have heard of the terms Financial Accounting and Management Accounting, to be sure.
What are some of the differences between the two types of accounting?
Actuarial
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Why did you choose the actuarial profession?
Tell me about a time when you had to work in a team setting.
How do you manage your time between school and your part time job?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?
Do you prefer to work independently or in group settings and why?
Have you taken any actuarial exams yet? What have been the results? How challenging have you
found them?
Tell me about your extracurricular activities.
Tell me about a current issue facing the insurance industry.
Tell me about your computer skills. Programs? Level? Examples of where you have used them.
If you had to explain what the Normal Distribution was to someone who knew little about math,
how would you go about doing this?
If you had a hypothetical death benefit plan that was being marketed through telemarketing,
what would be the major profit drivers?
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Banking
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Tell me about a time where you had to work in a team setting. What was your role?
Based on your experience, what do you think is one of the key elements that should be present
in a team to make it successful?
Have you ever assumed a leadership role? Tell me about it.
What are your short term career goals? What are your long term career goals?
Describe a time where you made a significant contribution to a team goal.
Describe a time when you had to adapt to a significant change.
Tell me about a current issue in the banking industry.
What enticed you to apply to a position at our bank?
Describe a situation when you investigated an individual's issue and found a specific need.
What, in your opinion, are the key ingredients in building and maintaining successful business
relationships? Give me examples of how you have made these work for you.
Tell me about a time when an issue was brought to your attention, but the nature of the issue
was not within your scope of responsibility. What steps did you take to deal with it?
Consulting
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What do you think are the attributes of a successful consultant?
Tell me about a business problem that you have solved. Walk me through the process.
How would you bring in new business to the firm?
Finance Technical & Investment Banking
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Why do you want to be an analyst/investment banker?
What do you think an analyst/investment banker does?
Why would you make a good investment banker or ……?
Do you follow the market? Share your thoughts with me.
Do you have any investments? In what? Why?
How do you feel the market will turn out at fiscal year end?
Where would you invest given the current market conditions and why?
Can you tell me the stock price of any company off the top of your head?
What stocks do you follow? Why?
Tell me how you would value a company?
How would you determine the discount rate?
What is the exchange rate today?
Tell me about a time when you used financial data to prove a point.
Describe a situation where you had to show initiative or leadership.
Describe a project that you worked on that required you to use your strong analytical skills.
What is today’s exchange rate?
What is a hedge fund? What is a bond?
Explain the concepts of cash flow and net income.
Name 3 well known investment banking firms.
Give me an example of a calculated risk you have taken. What was the result?
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Human Resource Management
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What do you think are the key qualities for Human Resources professionals?
What is employment equity?
What is workers compensation?
What are the steps in processing a suspension or termination of an employee?
What are the components of an effective performance review program?
What tools do you use in determining the salary for a position?
What is a grievance and describe a grievance process.
What can you tell me about the employment market right now? Winnipeg or Canada?
What industries / professions are hot?
Can you tell me what Behavior Descriptive Interview questions are?
If an employer called and wanted to hire a student for a promotional job but only wanted female
students to apply what would you tell them?
Can you give me an example of an illegal interview question?
Name one emerging issue in the human resource management field.
Marketing
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Tell me the difference between advertising and marketing.
Tell me about a marketing or advertising campaign that you thought was great and why.
If you had a new product and wanted to arrange for shelf space in a national chain how would
you do this?
What are the most important questions you need to ask before beginning to plan a
marketing/advertising campaign?
What do you think about our advertising campaign for ________ product?
Tell me about a marketing program that you initiated at school or work.
What was your favorite product launched in the last few years? What did you like about it?
Give me an example of a good (bad) marketing campaign you’ve seen. What did you like
(dislike) about it?
Sales and Marketing
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Sell me this pen.
Tell me about a past relationship with a customer that was difficult. How did you handle it?
Tell me about the nicest compliment that you have received from a client/customer.
What attracts you to the __________industry?
How would you go about identifying new prospects?
What strengths do you feel are important in being successful in sales?
How do you keep yourself positive and motivated for selling?
Provide an example of when you received a no from a customer and later turned it into a yes.
What were your sales goals in your past sales job? How did you perform?
Tell me about the most difficult or challenging sale that you have made.
Can you tell me about a time when you went beyond the customer’s expectations in order to
meet their needs?
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Supply Chain Management & Logistics
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What are some of the ways materials may be purchased?
What is a contract?
What items of information are required in order to process a purchase requisition?
What is TQM? How does it impact the way an organization does business?
What are the pros and cons of a centralized purchasing function?
Define "supply chain".
Have you worked with developing bid specifications?
What impact might electronic commerce have on the purchasing process?
Questions to Ask the Interviewer
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Could you tell me why this position became available?
Will I have an opportunity to work with the person leaving this position?
Can you tell me more about your training program?
What have been the career paths for other employees who have started in this position?
How will I receive feedback on my performance?
What kinds of projects might I be involved in should I be hired for this position?
How are work assignments handled?
What are the three most important tasks for this job on a day to day basis?
How does this position fit into the organization’s structure?
Your annual report indicates that your marketing department is twice the size it was five
years ago. Is this trend likely to continue in the next five years?
What do you anticipate will be the major challenges faced by your organization in the near
future?
I have read that your company has sponsored various fund-raising initiatives for charitable
organizations. I would be interested in knowing more about this aspect of your community
involvement.
What are the common characteristics of employees who excel in this position?
Can you give me your thoughts on the impact of the upcoming merger/restructuring etc.?
Examples of Questions NOT to ask the Interviewer
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What are the hours?
How long is the lunch break?
Are there coffee breaks?
Tell me about the benefits?
What is the salary?
How much vacation do I get?
Where can I park and how much does it cost?
When will I be due for the first raise?
Will I have to work overtime?
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