Sample Interview Questions

Good Interview Questions That Are Resume-Related

With any job interview, the resume plays an integral role.  From the very first phone interview to the very end, interviewers will ask a number of good interview questions based on your resume.  These can take several forms; however, they will tend to be focused on getting more information on your background and trying to determine whether you have fudged on your resume.  Here, are some good interview questions that are usually asked:

1. Tell Me About Yourself?
2. 1. A good answer should be concise (between thirty seconds to a minute and a half)
   2. Avoid talking about where you were born or went to high school unless this would be beneficial to the job position.
   3. Instead, focus on what your current career track is and how your recent background has led to that path.  In other words, if you are personal banker, state you have been working as a personal banker for the last two years at such and such and have been working on X,Y, and Z.  You can even add you went to such and such college if it is relevant.
   4. Add in something that is safe, personal and not controversial.  For instance, if you enjoy playing weekend basketball, or painting, or bowling, or whatever, be sure to say this.  This is designed to make you appear more well rounded.
   5. Ex.  “I am a business analyst who enjoys data compilation.  I first got started in this field after graduating from State U with a MIS degree.  Since then, I have been doing this type of research for two years at ABC Corporation and have really enjoyed the opportunity to help create databases and reports.  In my free time, I enjoy following the Redskins and running.  I am an avid jogger who tries to run 3 miles almost every day.

2. What did you do in your first job?
3. 1. State generally what your basic job duties were.
   2. If you have any accomplishments state those as well.
   3. Mainly, you want to tie in whatever you did to how that relates to the current role you are looking for.
   4. Ex. "My first job with ABC Corporation was as a customer service representative.  I would routinely take customer call-ins and help answer their questions or direct them to other representatives who could.  I took a great deal of satisfaction with meeting external customers and would enjoy using that experience as a salesman for your company."

3. What are your career goals?
4. 1. The safest answer here is to stay humble.  You do not want to go on record for making statements like wanting to be a VP in 5 years.  It is far better to remain general and state how you believe the current position would be a wonderful opportunity to grow and that your focus is on doing your next job the best you can.  If you can take on additional responsibilities at a later time, that would be just fine with you.  
   2. Ex. "I would like to continue getting more experience working on projects that are process improvement oriented.  I really enjoy the framework of process improvement projects and would like to see myself take an increasingly more job responsibilities as a project manager over the course of the next five years.  I think your company has an excellent reputation in this area and, would enjoy learning from your company."

4. There appears to be a 6 month gap in your resume history.  What happened during this time?
5. 1. How you answer this depends somewhat on what the reason was for the gap.  If the gap was for a serious reason like you were in jail, you really need to be the first one to bring this issue up.  However, if the reason is less serious like you were having trouble finding another job or you just didn’t feel like working.  I would tailor your question a little differently.
   2. In those cases, I would state what things you did during that time if anything: helped the family through errands and research, it gave you the opportunity to travel, gave you an opportunity to reevaluate your career.  In other words, you don’t want to give off the impression that you were sitting at home playing video games and eating chips all day.
   3. Ex. "Since leaving XYZ Corp, I had the opportunity to reflect on my career goals and determine which direction I wanted to take with my career.  This time also allowed me to spend time with my sister and strengthen my relationship with her.  The time away has been great for me as I'm very excited about this opportunity and look forward to the next step in the interview process."    

5. What role did you play in this organization?
6. 1. Briefly state what was the purpose of the organization.  If you played a minor role say so but, state what benefit you got out of the organization.
   2. If you played a major role, such as was an officer.  Be sure to state this as well and state the type of things you did and how it relates to the position you are applying for.
   3. Ex. "I was a treasurer for the Spotted Owls Society.  This gave me an opportunity to blend my analytical skills with my love for nature.  In addition, I was able to meet a number of interesting people and gain some additional business skills regarding recordkeeping."

6. Why did you leave this type of role and move over to another role?
7. 1. The two biggest concerns here are you do not want to disclose that you are (1) a flake who has no plan and is jumping around from job to job and (2) don’t bad mouth your prior company.
   2. The best way to address this question is to show how it fits into some bigger career plan.  For instance, the new position gave you more responsibilities or it gave you an opportunity to learn X skill. 
   3. If you are a career changer, it is ok to say why you are changing careers.  The important point is to key that the move is in your best interest and one you really want to do.
   4. Ex. "I finally had to admit that my current position was not what I wanted to do with my life.  Instead of trudging along for 10 more years in a job I did not like, I decided it was far better to start doing what I am really interested in.  That is why I am talking to you today.  I believe this position is in line with my ultimate career goal of becoming a business director."

7. What did you like best about a certain position?  What did you like least?
8. 1. Your answer for what you like best should tie back into the position you are interviewing for if possible.  For instance, if your current job requires giving presentations, be sure to highlight those examples from prior work experience and why you enjoyed them.
   2. Your answer for what you like least should be something that is not directly related to the position you are applying for.  For instance, if you are applying for a marketing position and your former position was as a personal banker, it would be ok to say you didn’t like all the necessary attention of detail required to be a personal banker.  This is ok for this interview because a marketing position tends to be more high level rather than detail specific.
   3. Be Honest.  As the old saying goes, it is hard to fake honesty and sincerity.  Be sincere in what you liked about the position rather than trying to fake it.  Regardless of what you may think, the interviewer is likely to know something is amiss.
   4. Ex. "I enjoyed being a salesman because it gave me the opportunity to interact with people.  I thrive off this and enjoy the interaction.  Unfortunately, I had difficulty dealing with the quotas as I did not enjoy doing the paperwork to get my sales passed through.  For this reason, I believe being a trainer will be a much better fit because it keys on one of my biggest strengths which is dealing with people and, it requires little paperwork as the training material has already been made.

Naturally, you can add a number of questions to this list.  However, this is a good starter list to help get you thinking on how you are going to answer these questions.  Remember the key here is to learn the skills on answering questions generally rather than being able to answer any one individual question.  The overall flow of your interview will matter far more than having one killer answer to a tough question.

To get information on job qualification questions, check out Job Qualification Questions Part I.