Sample Interview Questions: Ability To Work Under Direction
Sample Interview Questions: Ability To Work Under Direction
Sample Interview Questions: Ability To Work Under Direction
Adaptability
What is the best way for your supervisor to give you constructive criticism?
What did your supervisor compliment you for? What did your supervisor
criticize you for?
Describe a time on any job in which you were faced with problems or stresses
that tested your coping skills.
Tell me about a change that you have had to manage within your organization.
Describe a time when you have had to respond quickly to something within a
changing environment.
Describe a situation that was particularly stressful. How did you handle the
stress and how did it affect you?
Have you ever had to introduce a change into your department that was met
with resistance? How did you handle the situation?
Have you ever worked hard on something and then had your priorities change
mid-stream? How did it make you feel? What did you do?
How have you had to adapt your work style to fit the needs of others?
Analytical Skills
We all have parts of our jobs that we dont especially enjoy doing. Tell me
about a situation when you were asked to perform one of those tasks.
What has been a frustration or disappointment in your past experience and how
did you overcome the obstacle?
Tell me about a time when youve had to use your analytical skills to solve a
problem.
Tell us about a time when you discovered a more efficient way to do a work
task.
Describe a dilemma you faced at work and how you solved it.
Attendance
What will your previous supervisors tell us about you attendance record at your
previous jobs? What is the name of the supervisor?
Attention to Detail
Give me an example of a time when you found errors in your work. What
caused the errors? How did you correct your mistakes?
Have you ever had to proofread or check detailed information? How well did
you do?
Tell me about how you make your work as accurate as possible.
How do you manage details so that they dont fall through the cracks?
Have you had to handle a lot of details in your previous positions?
How do you handle multiple projects with short deadlines?
Being Managed
Give me an example of something that you and your boss have disagreed
about. How did you handle the situation? Have you ever disagreed with a
decision that your boss has made? What did you do?
Which one of your bosses managed you the best? Why?
Describe the best boss you have ever had.
Tell me about a time when you were reluctant to talk with your supervisor about
something.
When do you need help from your supervisor? Give me a recent example.
What kind of direction do you like to receive from your supervisor?
What kind of manager do you find most difficult to work for?
Communication
Creativity
What is the most creative idea you have ever come up with?
Tell me about a time when you approached an issue creatively.
Im going to present you with a problem. Tell me what creative approaches you
might use to solve it.
Customer Service
Tell me about a time when you have had to deal with an irate or difficult
customer.
What does customer service mean to you?
Who are your customers (internal and external)?
Give me an example of a time when you made an extra effort to provide good
customer service.
What would your most difficult past customer say you could have done to
improve service delivery?
Tell me about the nicest compliment youve ever received from a customer.
How many interactions with customers did you have in your position at___?
How do you ensure that your customers are satisfied?
How do you decide the best way/method to sell something to a customer?
Tell me about a challenging situation that you have had to handle over the
phone.
Define the phrase good customer service and give an example of a first-hand
experience with it.
The customer wants to pursue a particular solution that you do not believe best
serves the customer. How do you handle the situation?
Describe a highly stressful interaction youve had with an internal or external
customer. How did you handle it?
What do you consider to be the challenges of working as a contractor to a
government agency?
Decision Making
Delegation
What is the most difficult decision you have had to make on the job?
What kinds of decisions have you had to make in your previous positions?
Have you ever had to make an unpopular decision? Walk me through how you
handled it.
What kinds of decisions are most difficult for you to make?
Describe a time when you had to make a decision under severe time
constraints.
Walk me through how you go about making an important decision.
Have you ever had to make an important decision when your boss was away?
What were the circumstances?
Describe a time when you had to bend/break the rules to accomplish
something.
Give me an example of a time when you werent comfortable making a
decision. What did you do?
What are some examples of tasks, etc. that you consider inappropriate to
delegate?
What kinds of things do you delegate?
What are some projects, tasks, etc. you would like to delegate but cannot?
Walk me through the process you use to delegate work to your employees.
Describe a time when you have delegated something that you wish you hadnt?
How did you select your major in college?
What jobs did you hold in college? What was your biggest challenge in these
positions?
What has been your least and most valuable work experience?
What extracurricular activities did you participate in? What did you learn from
these activities?
How did you stay organized in school? How did you prioritize in school?
What subjects did you excel in at school? Why?
What courses have you taken that are directly transferable to the job?
What kinds of skills have you acquired as a result of your education?
How does your education relate to this job?
What did you like least/best about school?
Describe your most rewarding high school/college experience?
How do you feel your education prepared you for this position?
Ethics
How would you handle a situation where you are asked to do something you
believe to be contrary to policies by
a. a co-worker?
b. a customer?
c. your supervisor?
What were the most important responsibilities in your most recent position?
Tell me about a typical day in your job at _____.
Did you have responsibility for a budget in your department? How did you
make budgetary decisions?
Were you involved in long-range, organizational planning? Describe your efforts
and the impact that you had.
What achievements were you most proud of in your most recent position?
How did you feel about your workload at ______?
It appears you have changed jobs frequently. Can you explain why?
Why do you want to leave your current position?
What are you looking for in a job/position?
What did you like most/least about your last job (or your job at _____)?
What was the most important lesson you learned in your job as ______?
What other information should I know about you that would be helpful to me in
making my decision? Is there anything else youd like to tell me about
yourself?
Handling Deadlines
Initiative
Interpersonal
Have you ever had to deal with someone who is very sensitive or easily
offended? What did you do?
Leadership
Management/Supervisory
Experience
Negotiation
Planning/Organizing
Position/Company/Culture
Presentations
Problem Solving
Resourcefulness
Risk Taking
Self-Development
Teamwork
Time Management
Technology
your weaknesses? During past performance appraisals, what have been cited
as your developmental areas?
What are your major strengths?
When compared to others in your field, where do you excel?
As you look at your qualifications for this position, what do you see as some of
your development needs?
What do you need to accomplish to feel successful?
How do you know that you are doing a good job?
Describe a time you had to endure some criticism. How did you handle it and
what did you do about it?
Describe how you want to improve in the coming year and how you will make
that happen.
What areas of training would your current/previous supervisor say you would
benefit from the most?
What kind of professional development will make you a more effective worker?
What books or trade publications have you read in the past 6 months and how
have you used or implemented information from them?
Give me an example of a time when working with others produced something
more successful than if you had completed it on your own.
In your opinion, what are the key ingredients in guiding and maintaining
successful business relationships?
We all have parts of our jobs that we dont especially enjoy doing. Tell me
about a situation when you were asked to perform one of those tasks.
If we were to ask your current co-workers to describe their experiences working
with you, what would they say to us?
Tell about the most recent success that your team has had. How did you help
them to achieve success?
Give me an example of a time when you pulled your team together under
difficult circumstances.
Have you ever had a team effort that wasnt successful? How do you think you
might have contributed to its failure? How might you handle it differently now?
Have you ever had to lead a team on a project? How did you lead the team?
What do you consider to be the advantages of working on a team? The
disadvantages?
Describe a time when you had to work on a project with people outside of your
immediate work group. How were you successful in gaining their cooperation?
Tell me about a time when your time management skills really paid off for you.
How do you manage your time?
Tell me about an especially busy time on your job at ______. Explain how you
made it through that time.
How often are you presented with unexpected projects or priorities in your
current job? How do you handle them?
Walk me through an unusually crazy day for you. How did you manage
everything?
How do you handle interruptions at work?
Weve all had times when we couldnt complete everything on time. When has
this happened to you, and how did you handle it?
Tell me about a time when you missed a deadline. How did you handle it?
What causes the most stress for you on the job? How do you manage this
stress?
Give me an example of a time when you felt excessive demands was placed on
you. How did you handle the situation?
How do you start a typical day?
How do you manage paperwork?
What kind of deadlines have you had to work under? How did you manage
these deadlines?
What percentage of time do you spend on the phone?
What systems, processes, procedures, etc. have you set up in your department
to make things run more efficiently?
Describe a time when it was necessary for you to communicate technical
information clearly to an audience.
Vision of Job