Sample Interview Questions The following list provides a sample of

							                                 Sample Interview Questions

 The following list provides a sample of questions that you may be asked during an interview.
 Anticipating and rehearsing your answers to these questions beforehand will result in the most
 successful interview. Here’s a tip: Think of examples you can use to illustrate your answers to
 these groups of questions. Practice telling them in a clear and concise way.

General Questions about You…
      Tell me about yourself.
      Why should I hire you?
      What do you want out of your career?
      What are some of the things you find difficult to do? Why?
      What qualifications do you have that will make you successful in this field?
      What have you done that shows initiative and willingness to work?
      What is your greatest weakness?
      What personal characteristics are necessary for success in this field?
      Describe your most rewarding academic experience and tell me why it was so rewarding.
      What is the most difficult situation you have faced?
      How do you organize and plan for major projects?
      Do you prefer working independently or on a team?
      What are your biggest accomplishments?
      What would you like to be doing five years from now?
      Under what conditions do you work best?
      What are some big obstacles you had to overcome to get where you are today? How did you
      overcome them?

Relevant Work Experience
      How do you spend an average workday on your current job?
      How has your current position changed from the day you started until now?
      What have your previous jobs taught you?
      What do you consider to be your most important accomplishment in the last three positions
      you have held?
      What were some of the setbacks or disappointments you experienced in the last three
      positions you have held?
      Why did/would you leave your last employer? Did you give notice?
      What would you want in your next job that you are not getting now?
      Describe any involvement you have with committees, your role on the committees, and what
      you learned from this experience.
      In previous positions, how much of your work was accomplished alone and how much as part
      of a team effort?
      What was the most radical idea you ever introduced to an employer, and what was the result?
      What kinds of policies and procedures have you created and to whom did you take them for
      approval?


S:\GSIPS Career Managers\Career Website Files\Interviewing\Consolidated Interview Questions 08 01
29.doc
       Have you had public speaking experience? If so, who was the audience, and what was the
       purpose: selling, informing?
       When did something happen that caused a lot of stress in your department? How did people
       react?
       Describe a time when you went beyond the “call of duty” to accomplish a task
       Describe a situation in which it was necessary for you to mediate or negotiate a solution or
       compromise.
       What could your last employer have done to keep you?

Relevant Education and Training
      How do you think college contributed to your overall development?
      In what way do you believe your education and training has prepared you for this position?
      What special training do you have that is relevant to this position?
      What type of training would you like to receive if hired for this position?
      Tell me about some things you learned in graduate school that could be used on the job.
      Relate your studies and/or experience to this job.
      Why did you choose to attend the Monterey Institute of International Studies?
      Why did you choose your particular degree program?

The Vacant Position
      What do you know about my organization?
      Why are you interested in working for __________?
      In what way does this position meet your career goals and objectives?
      Why do you think you would like this type of work?
      If you were hired for this job, in what areas could you contribute immediately, and in what
      areas would you need additional training?
      Why do you think you would be successful in this field?
      As described to you, what about this position appeals to you?
                            ll
      How do you feel you' add value to our organization?
      What challenges would you anticipate if hired for this position?
      Are you able to travel as required by this position?

Problem Solving
      How would you handle the problem of a team member not doing his or her share of the work?
      Describe an innovative way you handled a conflict involving two or more of your subordinates.
      How would you respond if you spend several weeks on a special assignment and your
      supervisor told you to drop it and start something new?
      Give me an example where and how you dealt with pressure.
      Do you make your opinions known when you disagree with the views of your supervisor?
      How?
      Give an example of a potentially volatile situation or individual that you successfully calmed
      down and how you went about it.
      Describe an instance when you boss made you angry and what you did about it.
      Tell me about a time when you had to analyze facts quickly, define the key issues and develop
      a plan which produced good results.
      If you had to do that activity over again, how would you do it differently?

Attendance and Punctuality
      How many days of work did you miss, other than for medical reasons, in the last year you
      worked?
      What do you consider to be good attendance?
      What do you consider a legitimate reason for missing work?
S:\GSIPS Career Managers\Career Website Files\Interviewing\Consolidated Interview Questions 08 01
29.doc
       Do you know of any reason why you would not be able to get to work on time on a regular
       basis?

Clerical/Administrative Work
       What word processing systems have you worked with, and what are the advantages and
       disadvantages of each?
       Give us an example of a task you performed that required attention to detail, and what you did
       to ensure accuracy.
       What kinds of filing systems have you used and/or created?
       Which decisions could you make on your own, and which did you refer to your boss?
       What kinds of reports did you develop, create, or produce?

Tenacity and Decisiveness
      Can you relate some experiences in which you felt you gained something because you
      persisted for a length of time?
      Describe an experience in which you were too persistent. What happened? How could you
      have improved the outcome?
      What are the most difficult decisions you have made in the last six months? What made them
      difficult?
      How difficult is it to establish priorities in your job?
      What kinds of decisions do you tend to make rapidly, and which ones do you take more time
      on? Give some examples.

 Supervision
     Describe the positions in which you have had supervisory responsibilities. How many people
     have your supervised and in what kinds of positions? Did you have hiring/firing authority?
     What qualities should a successful manager possess?
     Give an example of a time when you were disappointed by an employee’s lack of
     accomplishment and what you did about it.
     What are the generally accepted steps in progressive discipline?
     What recognition and reward systems for subordinates have you found most effective?
     Describe an effective training and orientation program for a new employee
     Describe the most serious complaint an employee brought to your attention and what you did
     about it.
     Describe the relationship that should exist between a supervisor and subordinates.
     Give an example of the most novel idea an employee presented to you and what you did
     about it.
     What would you say to a subordinate who makes a suggestion which you know will not work?
     What is meant by the term “protected class” under civil rights laws?

Management
     What was the level of your decision-making authority in past positions?
     Describe a decision you made that had an unhappy result.
     Give us an example of a decision you made that backfired and what you did about it
     Give an example of a decision you made that turned out better than you believed possible.
     Describe a time when you made a decision in the absence of a clear policy regarding the
     issue.
     Have you experienced political pressure that interfered with your getting the job done?
     Describe your experience in developing and monitoring budgets.
     Give an example of a situation in which a budget overrun was necessary to accomplish a goal.
     Describe a time when your goals conflicted with the goals of the organization and what you did
     about it.
S:\GSIPS Career Managers\Career Website Files\Interviewing\Consolidated Interview Questions 08 01
29.doc
       What have you done in the past five years to improve your writing ability?
       What experience have you had with public presentations? What was their purpose, what visual
       aids, technology, and kinds of notes did you use?
       Do you assign work to other people? What did you assign? To whom?
       All of us have been in situations where we assigned work to other people and they didn’t do
       what we intended. Can you tell me about some of those? Why did it happen?
       Tell me about a time when you accomplished something significant that wouldn’t have
       happened if you hadn’t been there to make it happen.
       Tell me about a time when you were able to step into a situation, take charge, muster support,
       and bring about excellent results.

Planning and Organizing
     How have you determined what constitutes top priorities in scheduling your time? Give
     examples.
     How often is your time schedule upset by unforeseen circumstances?
     What are some recurring problems in your area of responsibility? What have you done about
     them?

Work Standards
    What are your standards of success in your job? What have you done to meet these standards?
    Bosses are sometimes just not satisfied with the way we do certain things or complete certain
    projects. Can you give some examples of when this happened to you and how handled the
    situation?
    Tell me about some times when you weren’t pleased with your performance? What did you do
    about it?

Tolerance for Stress
     Under what conditions do you work best?
     What are the highest pressure situations you have been under in recent years? How do you
     cope?
     Give some examples of when you ideas were strongly opposed in a discussion. How did you
     react?

Tenacity
    What are some big obstacles you had to overcome to get where you are today? How did you
    overcome them?
    Can you relate some experiences in which you felt you gained something because you persisted
    for a length of time?
    Describe an experience in which you were too persistent. What happened? How could you
    have improved the outcome?

Decisiveness
     What are the most difficult decisions you have made in the last six months? What made them
     difficult?
     How difficult is it to establish priorities in your job?
     What kinds of decisions do you tend to make rapidly, and which ones do you take more time on?
     Give some examples.

Delegation
     Do you assign work to other people? What did you assign? To whom?
     All of us have been in situations where we assigned work to other people and they didn’t do
     what we intended. Can you tell me about some of those? Why did it happen?
S:\GSIPS Career Managers\Career Website Files\Interviewing\Consolidated Interview Questions 08 01
29.doc
Leadership
    Tell me about a time when you accomplished something significant that wouldn’t have happened
    if you hadn’t been there to make it happen.
    Tell me about a time when you were able to step into a situation, take charge, muster support,
    and bring about excellent results.

Initiative and Follow Through
      Give me an example of a situation where you had to overcome major obstacles to achieve your
      objectives.
      Tell me about a goal you set that took a long time to achieve or that you’re still working towards.

Thinking / Problem Solving
     Tell me about a time when you had to analyze facts quickly, define the key issues and develop a
     plan which produced good results.
     If you had to do that activity over again, how would you do it differently?

Creativity and Innovation
     Tell me about a situation in which you were able to find a new and better way of doing
     something significant.
     Describe a time when you were able to come up with new ideas which were key to the success
     of some activity or project

Working Effectively with Others
    Can you give me an example that would show you’ve been able to develop and maintain
    productive relations with others, even though they may have differing points of view?
    Tell me about a time when you were able to motivate others to get the desired results.

Communication
   Tell me about a time when you had to present a proposal to a person in authority and were able
   to do this successfully.
   Tell me about a situation when you had to be persuasive and sell your idea to someone else.

Priority Setting
     Tell me about a time when you had to balance many competing priorities and did so
     successfully.
     Tell me about a time when you had to pick out the most important things in some activity and
     make sure those got done.

Job-Related Questions
    Would you tell me about your last (or current) position?
    What were your major responsibilities?
    Of all your responsibilities, which presented the most difficulty to you?
    What were some of the more challenging aspects of your last (or previous) positions?
    How much and what type of training did you receive on your last (or current) position?
    What position did you immediate supervisor hold?
    What were his or her major responsibilities?
    Do you feel you were treated fairly at your last place of employment?
    What were your advancement options? Were they realized?
    In what ways do you feel your previous employment will help you in performing the job we have
    open?
    Describe a typical day on your last job.
S:\GSIPS Career Managers\Career Website Files\Interviewing\Consolidated Interview Questions 08 01
29.doc
       What were some of the problems you encountered in performing your last position?
       How did you overcome problems you faced there?
       Which problems frustrated you the most?
       Of these jobs indicated on your application, which did you enjoy the most and why?
       What were all the reasons for leaving your last job?
       Have you ever been discharged from any position? If so, for what reason?

General Interview Questions
    What kind of work would you most like to do?
    What do you consider your strong points?
    What do you consider your weak points?
    What is your strongest personal quality or qualifications?
    What is your weakest area?
    Are there certain activities you feel more confident of performing than others? What are they
    and why do you feel that way?
    Why do you feel that you are qualified for this position?
    What is your specific job related goal?
    What specific job factors are important to you? Why?
    What job factors would you like to avoid in a job? Why?
    What do you want from your next job that you are not getting from your present position?
    What is your real career objective? What have you done or intend to do outside your job to help
    you reach this objective?


                         International Development Interview Questions

    The following is a list of questions asked by international relief and development organizations.
    Developing your own answers to these questions may help you have a more successful interview
    for an international development position in the US or overseas.



•     What is your definition of effective international development?
•     What motivates you to work in international development in the US or overseas?
•     How has your graduate school program qualified you for this position in international development
      in the U.S. (or overseas as appropriate)?
•     How has your graduate school program qualify you for this position?
•     What made you decide to major or specialize in this field?
•     Describe your background in economics, finance, or managing budgets.
•     Describe your experience managing project budgets and supervising staff on an overseas project:
      what problems did you encounter/how did you handle them?
•     Tell me about your backstopping experience.
•     What experience do you have writing proposals or fundraising?
•     What experience do you have with obtaining funding from USAID, DFID, or another country’s
      developing funding body? What experience do you have reporting on the progress of a project to
      the above mentioned agencies? What experience do you have with other major donor
      organizations such as the U.N., World Bank, CARE, etc?
•     Describe in detail an international development project that you designed, implemented,
      evaluated, and completed.
•     How did you define and measure success in this project?
•     Describe your experience in international development in an urban or rural environment.

S:\GSIPS Career Managers\Career Website Files\Interviewing\Consolidated Interview Questions 08 01
29.doc
•   How has your professional development experience thus far influenced your views of international
    development?
•   What techniques or methods have you used to successfully involve the local people in the
    development process?
•   What have you usually done on those days when almost nothing seemed to be working with a
    particular group of people? How did you go about building a team?
•   What are some examples of how you have used creativity in your work?
•   How proficient and diverse are your personal computer skills? Describe your experience using
    computers. How well do you know how to use e-mail and the Internet?
•   How have you adapted your approaches to different cultures and people?
•   Describe your experience working in international development with diverse people in the same
    country (i.e. indigenous, tribal, or ethnic minorities as appropriate).
•   What have you done to promote the involvement of the local people in projects or activities who
    are functionally illiterate and/or are non-speakers of the primary language of the country?
•   What have you done to improve or increase community support for your work?
•   How have you collaborated with others (community agency representatives from local NGOs or
    PVOs, host government department officials, school leaders, USAID or foreign development
    organization officials, or staff from other institutions or programs) to strengthen or sustain your
    efforts in the field?
•   Based on your past experience and coursework, how would you set up a program in your major
    area of interest now?
•   Describe the role of an American Chief of Party or Director of an international development project
    overseas.
•   Define the role of an international development consultant in your area of specialization.
•   What have been your most challenging situations in a development project and how did you
    handle them?
•   What skills do you feel you personally need to develop more or improve upon? What will you do to
    make this happen?
•   How would your last supervisor describe you as an international development professional? How
    would the people in that overseas community describe you?
•   How would your fellow international development workers describe you?
•   What if anything, does current research or literature say about international development projects
    like the one(s) you’ve implemented?
•   What professional organizations do you belong to? What role have you had in them?
•   What have you done and/or plan to do to continue your own professional development in this
    field?




S:\GSIPS Career Managers\Career Website Files\Interviewing\Consolidated Interview Questions 08 01
29.doc
                                         Illegal Interview Questions

 Anti-discrimination laws in the United States forbid potential employers from not hiring someone on the basis
 of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation and arrest record.
 Therefore, questions that require you to disclose this type of information are illegal.



     INQUIRY AREA                   ILLEGAL QUESTION                                LEGAL QUESTION
         National                  Are you a U.S. citizen?                     Are you authorized to work in the U.S.?
    Origin/Citizenship
                                   Where were your parents born?               What languages do you
                                   What is your native tongue?                 read/write/speak fluently?
                                                                               (Only okay if this ability is relevant to
                                                                               the job.)
           Age                     How old are you?                            Are you over the age of 18?
                                   When did you graduate?
                                   What’s your date of birth?

   Marital/Family Status           What’s your marital status?                 Would you be willing to relocate if
                                   Whom do you live with?                      necessary?
                                   Do you plan to have a                       Would you be willing to travel as
                                   family? When?                               needed by this job?
                                   How many kids do you have?                  Would you be able and willing to work
                                                                               overtime as necessary?
         Personal                  How tall are you?                           Are you able to lift a 50-pound weight
                                   How much do you weigh?                      and carry it 100 yards, as that is part of
                                                                               the job.
        Disabilities               Do you have any disabilities?               Are you able to perform the essential
                                   Please complete the following               functions of this job?
                                   medical history.                                 o (Okay if the interviewer has
                                                                                        thoroughly described the job.)
                                   Have you had any recent or past
                                   illnesses or operations?                    As part of the hiring process, after a job
                                                                               offer has been made, you will be
                                                                               required to undergo a medical exam.
      Arrest Record                Have you ever been arrested?                Have you ever been convicted
                                                                               of_________? (The crime named
                                                                               should be reasonably related to the
                                                                               performance of the job in question.)
          Military                 If you’ve been in the military, were        In what branch of the Armed Forces did
                                   you honorably discharged?                   you serve?
                                                                               What type of training or education did
                                                                               you receive in the military?

Handling Illegal Interview Questions:
Therefore, while it is within your legal right to respond to these kinds of questions by saying, “I chose not to
answer that question because, as you may or may not know, it is illegal”. I would suggest a milder approach: try
to address the underlying concern. When the interviewer asks the marriage question, respond by saying, “I have
no problem with frequent travel or even relocation.” Or if they ask how old you are, you can say, “I feel
completely comfortable with the level of responsibility inherent in this job.” If an interviewer asks a question that
    t                                               m
isn'so easy to analyze, you can simply say, “I' not sure how that relates to the job. Can you explain your
concern more explicitly?”




S:\GSIPS Career Managers\Career Website Files\Interviewing\Consolidated Interview Questions 08 01
29.doc