Below is a listing of sample interview questions to use as a guideline when developing questions you might ask a potential employee. The trend in developing these interview questions has been to make them behavioral based, allowing the interviewer to get the maximum benefit from the interview.

Work History:

• Name of company, position title, description, dates of employment.
• What were your expectations for the job and to what extent were they met?
• What were your starting and final levels of compensation?
• What were your responsibilities?
• What major challenges and problems did you face? How did you handle them?
• Which was most / least rewarding?
• What were the biggest accomplishments / failures in this position?
• What was it like working for your supervisor? What were his strengths and shortcomings?
• Why are you leaving your job?

Questions about the Individual:

• Describe a typical work week.
• How many hours do you normally work?
• How would you describe the pace at which you work?
• How do you handle stress and pressure?
• What motivates you?
• What do you find are the most difficult decisions to make?
• Tell me about yourself.
• If the people who know you were asked to describe you, what would they say?
• Do you prefer to work independently or on a team?
• Give some examples of team work.
• What type of work environment do you prefer?
• Describe a difficult work situation / project and how you overcame it.
• How do you evaluate success?

 Questions about the New Job and Company:

• What interests you about this job?
• Why do you want this job?
• What applicable attributes / experience do you have?
• What can you do for this company?
• Why should we hire you?
• Why are you the best person for the job?
• What do you know about this company?
• Why do you want to work for this organization?
• What challenges are you looking for in a position?
• What can you contribute to this company?
• Is there anything I haven’t told you about the job or company that you would like to know?

The Future:

• What are you looking for in your next job? What is important to you?
• What are your goals for the next five years / ten years?
• How do you plan to achieve those goals?
• What are your salary requirements – both short-term and long-term?