Potential Interview
Questions
From the book: Expect Success! The Science Of The Over 50 Career Search
How to Use these Questions
Entire books have been written that focus solely on interviewing and interviewing questions. The purpose here is not to write a book, but to prepare you for some questions that you may have to field.
Obviously, every interview for every position in every company should be different; however, there are some general questions that may be asked at each level based on that level of experience and responsibility. Most of those questions probably will be self-explanatory. After some questions, I will explain the motivation behind the question.
Review STEP 9, "Impassioned Interviewing," to see how these different methods of interviewing within the different interviewing formats may be used. Remember the value in telling stories to illustrate your experience and points.
These potential questions are separated by level of experience. Remember, most people conduct interviews without having been trained; therefore, even an executive may be asked a question that targets more junior-level experience because the interviewer may just be going down a list of questions that was handed to her by human resources or a friend. Many questions are developed based on the challenges the candidate will face in a new position.
Some of the questions listed here were taken from actual interviews I have conducted. You can see that I have worked with a wide variety of people.
Use these questions to begin your interview preparation. It is not an exhaustive list but should get you thinking in the proper frame of mind.
Question Groups
For your convenience, the questions have been divided into the following groups:
- Executive Level
- Professional and Sales Level
- Positions that require Driving/Business Travel
- Technical
- Marketing
- Sales
- Project Manager
- Accounting/Audit
- Construction
- Human Resources