Category: Interview Questions

A supervisor’s role is a leader’s role and hence questions which center on ability to manage and organise people to bring out their best will be asked during a Supervisor’s Interview Questions. While questions specific for supervisors will be asked, the regular Job Interview questions will also be expected.

Supervisors are expected to possess Leadership skills and competencies that will enable them handle their responsibilities and duties successfully. The supervisor interview is streamlined to evaluate the prospective supervisor for competencies that will make him a successful supervisor.

The interviewee should bear this in mind and prepare beforehand to confidently produce an interesting interview and land the supervisor job. Here are some questions a supervisor interviewee should expect at a Supervisor Job Interview. Also you can download the sample supervisor interview questions & answers PDF version.

What do you see as the vital qualities a supervisor should possess?

Answer: A supervisor is expected to lead others and so should possess the qualities of good leaders. They are good decision-making, Planning, Organising, Delegating, problem solving, influencing, Good Team player, managing conflicts and motivating. A supervisor should be very good at adequately managing his emotions.

You could cite an example of how you used one of the above mentioned qualities, for instance; Good Team player. This is a good case for a good-team-player supervisor, “At my previous role as supervisor, I discovered that if employees are respected, they will respond by respecting you and work extra hard for you. As I maintain an open-door approach with my employees, which means   they feel free meeting me with any challenge they are have. This gives them a feeling of ownership in the job which has yielded great results. Though I try to separate supervisor from friend, I see the need to let them know we are all part of the team, working for one goal”

What can you say about your supervisory style?

Tip: There exists no right or wrong supervisory style and so there is no wrong or right answer to the question. However, it is important to note that the way one deals with the person in front of him is different from the way would deal with people.

Key word is adaptability, ability to adapt your style to the circumstance, demands of the task and person involved is what defines a supervisory style. Supervisory style should be particularly appropriate to the situation at hand.

If you have examples, you can cite them to buttress your point.

How did you take a situation when the work you did was criticized?

Tip: This is a test of how you respond to criticisms that are thrown at you as a leader, does it break you down or improve your work and character. A supervisor should expect his or her work to be criticized, it should be accepted and the work improved upon.

Let the interviewer know that you accepted it positively and reviewed what was done. It didn’t break you down but instead fired you up knowing that eyes are watching what you do. Make him understand that you view criticism as a means of checking the quality of what you do. Be positive with your answer about criticism and the people who criticized your work whom you view as essential stakeholders in the job process.

Tell us what happened when you had to implement or initiate a change.

Answer: People in a work environment can be resistant to change just as people tend to want to maintain the status quo. By telling the interviewer this you have informed him of the hard work you did. Describe how you influenced them to see the good reasons why you want to implement the change and the great results that await the employees and the company when they all accept the new idea.

Also tell the interviewer how you went to drum up support for the change and how it pulled through. As a supervisor you didn’t let the change divide your team between the deferring sides, you carried everyone along and achieved great results everyone was proud of.  

How did you respond when an employee made a mistake or when there was conflict within your team?

Tip: The interviewer asks this question to know your approach to uneasy situations and you need to be as clear and as possible without mincing words because supervisors are bound to face these situations at work.

Answer: Mention the mistake made by the employee and how you constructively managed it while getting to the remote cause of the mistake and turning it to a learning point to the employee and to those who were aware of it. Discuss the conflict and how you resolved it without creating a rift in your team. Make the interviewer understand that you motivated the team adequately in spite of the conflict or mistake, ability to motivate and move the team in times of hitches makes for a fine supervisor. 

Have you coached an employee to carry out a task? If yes how did you do it?

Tip: Supervisors are expected to develop and coach other employees to perform a task.  Discuss how you effectively communicated the task and the expected result to him or her. Describe how the employee was adequately monitored and progress objectively rated to ensure that the task was successful. Also discuss how you handled a situation when the employee made a mistake along the line, how you set milestones and used constructive feedback to see out the task to a great result.

Supervisor interview questions about the development of employees should include your ability to agree on the outcomes and methods of coaching with the employee, to explain and demonstrate task performance, to observe and provide constructive feedback.

Describe a short term plan you created for you team or department

Tip: This is a test of how competent you are in planning and organizing both human and material resources. In your answer describe your ability to create objectives and milestones, set priorities, feedback mechanism and adequate use of available resources.

Also include how you intend to monitor the plan when absent or present and how you involved other employees to see the actualization of the plan.

Read its PDF version

When preparing for marketing job interview, be ready to hear questions that will test how smart and convincing you are and your ability to communicate clearly and persuasively.

Ensure you prepare well to pass your interview convincingly because the interviewer wants to know if you have core features of strategic planning, creativity, ambition and patience to carry out this crucial work for the company.

Endeavor to impress your interviewers with well-founded effective ideas, as this can go a long way in influencing the company to hire you so that they can take advantage of them.

Endeavor to practice the marketing interview questions and answers suggested here and other regular Job Interview questions and be well acquainted with the kind of questions to expect in a marketing job interview.

The company wants to be sure they are hiring a very creative and ambitious market personnel who will give their product and company a good perception out there. This informs why the interviewer would not only be impressed with your qualifications but interested in real life challenges especially marketing-related problems. Work on your resume and also be convincing enough for the interviewer to see.

The following are samples of questions and suggested answers during a marketing job Interview. Also refer marketing interview questions and answers PDF version

Question: Highlight the kind of Marketing Campaigns you ran in the past.

Answer: The interviewer wants to know the type of job you have done, as you attempt to answer questions regarding your accomplishments with your previous companies give specifics. For instance if you say “I ran many marketing campaigns on the internet”, this does not fittingly tell what you are capable of doing for the company.  A better answer should be, “I initiated acampaign on social media that made use of targeted advertising processes to market the Firm’s services to North America youth.” Detailing is also key here as the interviewer wants to hear verifiable facts. Use figures that corroborate the campaign, like “Within 3 financial quarters, product sales went up by 427% while brand recognition was largely enhanced by 10% in the selected demographic area.”

Question: If you have budgetary constraints, can you work effectively?

Answer: When the asked about the future during Interview questions, try to refer the interviewer to what you achieved in the past. The point is,if asked about how you would handle possible scenarios in future, refer to your accomplishments in the past.  You should focus your answers on successful campaigns by stating something like, “While I worked with company ABC, I started inexpensive lead generation tactics and many self replicating marketing campaigns, with a nearly non-existent budget to raise revenue by 200%.”

Question: What difference will bring to the company?

Answer: When you hear this question which is commonly asked during marketing job interviews, it implies the interviewer wants to know what special marketing results you would bring when employed.

Hence, use it as an opportunity to sell some of your marketing strategies which you intend to apply after carefully studying the company and discovered the areas they need improvement in their marketing department.

Start by stating your experience and qualification, remember to include statements like, “researching your company, I noticed that while your online marketing face was good, there are many areas that could be improved upon, these include…” and add your ideas. However, don’t use this answer if you are being interviewed by the head of marketing department, since you might be denting their principles.

Question: Can you cite an instance of a Marketing Strategy/Tactic that failed?

Tips: Expect such a question because interviewers would want to know if you have ever failed and how you handled, whether you turned it to your favour or let it damage the company. When attempting this question endeavour to note the following:

1. Admit the tactic that failed and don’t get defensive, it’s a sign that you are human and know when things go wrong.

2. Describe how you discovered it failed with the use of usinganalytical and numericalmeasurements as instances.

3. Discuss the modifications that you formulatedso as to makea more successful campaign.

4. Mention the lessons you learned from it.

Question: Describe a scenario where you made a successful sale or persuasion.

Answer: Refer to a situation when you successfully persuaded someone or group of people to use or bur something. Explain in details how you were able to win the people or person on your side with the appropriate use of pictures and certain words persuasively. If you used very attractive decorations for an event,explain how everyone got attracted to the room design. Ability to use the power of persuasion adequately to win people over to your side is what Marketing entails.When being interviewed for marketing interview questions be confident and convincing with your words to the interviewer so that he will see that you will be able to convince customers.

Question: Describe the Benefits of One of Our Products to a Customer.

Answer: You are most likely to hear this question in marketing job interview and it is for a purpose. The interviewer wants to see for himself what you have been trying to convince him about how good you would be as marketer. He wants to see and hear you focus on one of their products and persuasively describe its benefits to a prospective customer. Act like you are on the sales floor as the marketing personnel pointing at the product before the prospective customer. Elaborate its wide range of uses as well as what and how the customer would benefit from the product.

Discuss how reasonable paying at its price is and the payment methods the company offers including availability of online payment and cash on delivery. For every sale, attend to the customer’s peculiar needs. Put a question across to the customer and find out the most appropriate choice and why. Make him or her feel you are there to make him or her satisfied with their purchase which is why the company researched and made product. Be descriptive enough to tell him that the company’s products were customer-customized.

This article is about managerial level interview. It contains the common manager interview questions with answers.

When companies want to hire a manager, they expect that such position would have some knowledge requirements.  The knowledge requirements for a manager job will differ depending on the employer, scope and level of the manager job. Nevertheless, typical knowledge requirements for managerial jobs include:

• Management and business principles
• human resource management principles
• administrative procedures
• strategic planning
• organizational planning tools
• information processing applications
• operating systems
• proper understanding of financial and accounting and reports
• relevant software applications

Manager job interview questions regarding the knowledge requirements are usually answered by assessing your resume as they refer straight to your work experience and qualifications. Here is some questions and topics that you can expect in your manger role job interviews. Manager interview question with answers PDF version also available for your reference and download.

Prepare for the manager job interview by reviewing your CV and appraising yourself on your depth of knowledge on the above listed knowledge requirements for the managers.

Manager competencies

The typical management job interview focuses on questions which search for proof of management competencies. Expect questions that require specific instances of when you exhibited the required competency. Refer to your past experiences, choose appropriate instances and prepare your response applying the following format:

• Describe the particular situation you were part of
• Elaborate the action as well as steps you took concerning the situation
• Mention the outcome and results of the actions you took.

Go through these manager job interview questions that survey the relevant competencies for a manager position.

Decision and Judgment-making

Question: “Describe a difficult decision you made at work recently, how did you arrive at your final decision?”

Recall a good decision you took after so much deliberations and checking of facts.

Discuss how you were able to review the important facts, study alternatives and take a decision on the most suiting action. Also discuss how you were able to factor in the available resources as well as any other possible constraints.

Delegating Responsibility and Tasks

Question: “Describe a very important assignment that you delegated.  What steps did you take in ensuring its successful completion?”

Tip: “Describe how you demonstrated your confidence in an employee’s ability to carry out the job when delegating a recent assignment,

Answer: Discuss how you usually assign responsibility and tasks to the qualified people, your means of clarifying particularly what is expected, transfer confidence and ensure required resources are readily available for successful completion of the responsibility or task. Don’t forget to include setting deadlines and follow-up procedures.

Staff Motivation

Question:“Provide an instance of when you used incentives or rewards to successfully motivate a staff member.”

Tip: “Describe vividly a time you had to motivate a member of staff who was unwilling to carry out an assignment.”

Answer: mention how you decide the necessary motivation strategies for members of your staff by coming to terms with their varying perspectives and needs.

Also mention how you communicate visions and goals to your staff members, getting their commitment to these, creating appropriate incentive and reward structures and helping and leading member of staff to success.

Problem Analysis and Assessment

Question: “Describe a complex problem you recently had to handle on your job. How were you able to gain a better insight into that problem”?

Tip: while you answer this question, it is important you demonstrate your ability to adequately analyse and resolve a seemingly intimidating problem because managers are expected to solve complex problems.

Answer: You could start by mentioning that “I analysed the problem with all parameters at my disposal and discussed it with my staff members and carefully screened your suggestions. I kept researching about the problem and involved some staff with some aspects of the problem. With very objective analysis and processes, the problem was solved to the credit of the entire team.

Question: Do you know the 3 key challenges the industry faces today and how can they be handled effectively?

The candidate is expected to think about the top challenges of the industry in which the potential employer operates. The ability of the candidate to demonstrate how much he understands the industry, current challenges, market, and solutions that can possibly be applied would reflect in the way he answers the question . It is important for any project manager to know this because, if hired, he is going to be faced with similar challenges and be expected to solve them. The question, therefore, assists the hiring managers in determining whether the candidate is best suited for the job.

Development of Staff

Question: how did handle some workers who were performing badly, how did you respond to the situation?

Tip: discuss how you discovered he was performing poorly and how you addressed it.

Answer: from my regular staff appraisal, I realised a particular staff member was doing poorly by all indices. I had a personal chat with him and he opened up on his issues and was so appreciative that I met him. From my findings he needed more trainings, which I recommended him for and he came back a significantly improved worker. In less than a month his impact and performance improved greatly.

Staff Communication

Question: Narrate an instance where you had to vividly communicate your expectations to one of your subordinates.

Tip: explain how you created a good rapport with a staff in order to carry out a task.

Answer:  I made use of my very good rapport with the workers and in clear terms pass the information across to him. Like my usual style, I communicated to him and waited for feedback to ensure the staff grasped the information. I waited for his input, which when I got proved he had understood the task. With proper monitoring to completion, it was clear he was effectively communicated to.

Question: What can you say is your Biggest Management Weakness?

Tip: Every hiring manager wants to know the weakness of the interviewee as part of routine Job Interview questions. This question is also directed to the manager job interviewee and is expected to be answered honestly and objectively. To answer this question effectively, one could start by saying “Sometimes in a bid to beat deadline, I have discovered that I have ignored great work by a member of staff. Going forward, I am working on ensuring every staff that works with me gets their deserved acknowledgement on successful completion of their given tasks, since it is vital that every individual staff member be recognized for their input toward building the success of company.”

Question: How can you translate your previous experience into success when given this job?

Tip:  This is a good opportunity to tell them the worth of your experience, be cool and confidently elaborate the impact your previous experience would make in the job.

Answer: mention that the experience you acquired from your previous job had made you a better manager. You could start by saying “when I took over as manager in my former job, I noticed the workers were not performing to their best. On careful study and enquiry, I realised there was lack of communication, team spirit and non-assignment of duties to best qualified personnel. I corrected all these and after 30 days, output rose by 155%. I intend to bring my wealth of experience in managing resources to the success of the organisation.”

Question: What is your strategy for the first 90 days?

Context: the interviewer wants to test how much you had thought about the position. You ought to assure your probable employer that you will not interrupt current production but will hit the ground running.

Answer:  don’t give specifics on changes or initiatives except asked to do so, yet demonstrating your resolve to improve the organisation. You can say “I would work with the team to fully grasp the situation on ground and objectively apply myself into achievement of the company’s goals and objectives. The staff members would be properly involved in idea I would put forward.”

If you are interviewing for law jobs, you’re likely wondering what type of questions you’ll be asked.It will reflect badly about you if you’re unwilling or unable to answer questions a job interviewer asks you and worse when it’s a Legal Job Interview.

Prior to your interview, research commonly asked Legal interview questions and get to really understand and rehearse how you will answer them. As we know, every interview is peculiar, but here are samples of 10 sample legal interview questions and answers you are likely to get in a Legal Interview and its PDF version.

This legal questions and answers will be helpful for law firms jobs or lawyer job interviews.

1. Question: How did or do you find the law school?

Answer: When asked this question, don’t mention how you hated the Law school or liked every second there, but try to be positive about the experience. The question can be best approached thus: “Overall, I had a great time there as well as found it challenging. Of course, it was tasking at times, but I garnered enough knowledge that made it a worthwhile experience eclipsing every challenge I faced.”

2. Question: Mention your favourite classes at law school?

Emphasis is not on what you liked so well at Law school but how it relates the job role you are going for. For instance if you interviewing at a small Law firmthat handles If you’re interviewing at a small law firm that only does civil cases, it will be out of place of all of your favourite courses happen to be criminal law and procedure. This puts a question mark as to why you are being interviewed here. Prepare for this question beforehand by recalling your courses and think about what classes are best related to the work you would be handling. Those should form your favourite classes and should be looked up so as to answer questions from there brilliantly.

3. Question: Why did you leave your current job?

 If you are working now, be ready to clarify why you are quitting it. Be discreet and direct your answers towards career growth opportunities. For instance you could say, “I like the work I do now but want to broaden my horizon and I think this place would give me that opportunity” or I want bigger challenge” or I would like to spend more time in the court.”

4. Describe your note/moot court competition brief.

Always remember that almost all items on your resume is a possible source of questions. If on your resume, you listed an undergraduate thesis project or a Law Review Note, be ready to give a detailed defense. You can refresh your memory with the notes before the interview if it’s been a while since you last looked over them (or thought about the argument in your Moot Court Competition)

5. How is this position a good match for you?

   You are not likely to be asked this question plainly, but it could come obliquely (“Why this Organization?”). This is where you get to demonstrate the result of your research on the company as well as job description. You may want to demonstrate that:

(1) you are aware of  what the description of job requires and

(2) that you qualify as a good match. For instance, “I’m actually excited about the blend of work in this role. I like client communication, so I’m interested in helping out with the weekly legal information stand. But I would also like to improve my courtroom talent, and broaden the job I did at the law school family law clinic, so the chance to deal with regular motion hearings is attractive.”

6. From your resume, I see you love to bake…what kind of things do you bake?

When writing your resume, ensure you write what you actually do on your Hobbies and Interests Section, as this could be used in an interview to create a more person-to-person connection with the interviewer. When asked anything from resume, relax and give details of the answer, this will go a long way in boosting your chances of landing the Legal Job interview.

7. Question: Why do you think we should hire you?

This is the question that you could use to differentiate yourself.  Focus on them: You ought to explain how you meet nearly all the criteria they require, including two to three more abilities that they don’t realise they need…yet. You have to tell them you are not just useful to them in the present but that you will be a valuable asset for where they are headed in the future. Would they require another set of skills as they grow as an organisation? Or probably you noticed you have talent that you noticed are in a different description of job they want to fill? These are areas you be of help to the company until they get someone (or be a support to the they employ). Do you have a negative experience you turned to a lesson which they want to start. Offering “lessons learned” can be a very strong boost to landing the job.

8. Question: What challenges do you look for in this role?

Tip: This question is used to determine your views about the role and whether you are good match for the position being employed for. The most efficient to respond to questions on the challenges you are looking for is to demonstrate how you would like to be able to efficiently make good use of your experience and skills if you landed the job. Furthermore, you can also say that you are easily motivated by challenges, possess what it takes to efficiently meet challenges, and have the skills and flexibility necessary to deal with a challenging job. In order to drive your message you can describe specific instances of challenges you have met and set goals you have achieved previously.

9. Question: What experience do you have in this law field?

Expectedly, if you’re seeking this position you have loads of related experience, you should mention it all if that is the case and state a few accomplishments. But if you’re changing careers or venturing into something a bit different, the type of experience necessary for the position may not be in your kitty. However, you can be honestly creative in the way you match the experience you have with the one you have.

10. Question: How do you fare when working under pressure?

Answer: Working under can very challenging and at the same time demanding. Answer the question in a positive way; you could say “Under pressure I work well, I thrive under pressure.”

When you go for a Leadership job interview the HR professional will be very curious to know the experience that makes you fit to lead, your accomplishments and your style of leadership while you are working as a team leader.

In preparation for interview questions on leadership, take note of the leadership qualities that are best fitting for the job that you would be interviewed for. Check the job listing for available information about the kind of leader they are interviewing for as well as the types of tasks he will need to perform.

Some of the most commonly questions related to leadership are

• Tell me about a time you showed leadership
• Describe your leadership style in 3 words
• Tell me about a situation you demonstrated leadership skills
• Please describe your leadership style

Leadership does not only connote managing others, it also implies being a powerful example to others, and inspiring the people in your environment. So, even though you are not seeking a leadership role, questions on leadership might still be thrown at you.

Find below some crucial Leadership Job Interview questions and answers and its PDF version to download

Question: What can you say are the most significant values you possess as a leader?

Answer: Integrity is the most important value that I have. Trust and honesty are my watch words in all I do in order to establish credibility suiting for a leader.

Question: describe how you have garnered commitment from members of your team?

Answer: I usually garner commitment from members of my teams through persuading and influencing them to set specific goals and likewise monitor its achievement by buying into the process. Immediately they have established cohesion and cooperation, they will attain the goal in no time.

Question: Is it possible for a leader to fail? Describe a time when you failed as a leader.

Leaders are not immune to failures and can fail if they don’t keep members of their team abreast of the goals of the company. Certain factors outside a leader’s influence may also cause failure such as time constraints, available resources as well as the economy.

In the example you cite concerning a time when you failed as a leader, ensure you talk about how you handled a difficult problem and failed and how you analyzed the failure which you viewed as a setback. Endeavor to explain how you sought honest and objective feedback to ensure that you turned around the failure and learned from it.

Question: Differentiate between a Team manager and a Team Leader

Answer: The difference is while a manager can handle responsibilities and tasks and make sure that other employees get their job done, a leader will inspire and motivate his team members to achieve their set goals.

Question: What can you say is your biggest strength?

Answer: My greatest strength is my ability to lead and inspire my team members to function at their peak and try to achieve goals. I can do this through being passionate about the goals, influencing people around me and building of relationship.

Question: What do you see as your biggest weakness?

Answer: My biggest weakness is delegating a duty that I know can be better done by me. Nevertheless if I decide not to delegate, it then means I would have more work load than I could deal with myself. In order to deal with this weakness I had to take programs in Time Management and have learned how to adequately delegate duties thereby overcoming the weakness.

Question: Describe how you get other employees to buy into your ideas?

Answer: I share with them the benefits of the idea as well as how to apply it for the overall good of the organisation. I don’t stop there, but stay receptive to other thoughts and modify my views in a way we all can agree. It is important to get others to accept the idea as this will guarantee the ease with which the set goals will be attained rather than make it compulsory for others to follow procedure.

Question: How would you praise a member of your team in public?

Answer: Praising a member of the team will encourage other team members to work harder and follow best practices. Hence I would wait for a period all members of the team are gathered together like a meeting where every member of the team is present. At the appropriate time I would call him up and mention what he did, this way the whole team will learn to imbibe best practices.

Question: How often would you have a meeting with your team?

Answer: Communication within the team is crucial to the achievement of set goals, so that would be a great chance to discuss their challenges and share ideas to move the forward. I would meet with my team members once a week at least and make sure every member is present and participate very adequately. We will meet and discuss when the team gets to a milestone, a promotion or award is given, new project starts or when there is a daunting situation. We will meet together to celebrate or brainstorm when there is a challenge.

Question: When there is bad news, how do you convey it to your team?

Answer: As members of the team they need to know what happens whether good or bad, so I would call a meeting of all members and disclose the news. I would give details of what happened, why and what strategies we ought to take in future. We would share our concerns, our opinions as to prevent its recurrence and answer questions as I give them the opportunity to speak.

Question: Discuss a situation when a team member opposed your instruction and what you did to handle it.

Answer: Varying opinions are welcome, so I will listen to him and know why he disagrees with my directive. I would consider going back to re-explain more elaborately the directive and why it was given. I would give them opportunity to get feedback from them and consider reviewing the directive with it. Nonetheless, I would stick to the details as to why their commitment is significant.

Question: Describe a time when you were tasked to make a decision without all the important facts.

Answer: I had to take a decision that I didn’t have all the facts about when I saw it as the best compared to all other options laid out before me. I picked it because it seemed the best to turn out as most successful. However, since I didn’t have all relevant facts about I had to create a very strong monitoring and feedback system to ensure it wouldn’t fail.

For example, I had to decide if our company would involve itself in a new marketing drive that would use social media to advertise its products. At that time we didn’t have relevant facts on how our social media marketing drive in the past fared. In order to forestall failure, I had to dedicate someone to monitor the progress and impact of the marketing drive and report back to me with recommendations. I also set goals and joined in the responsibility myself in order to motivate the employee and see to the achievement of the goals and overall the success of the marketing campaign.

An informational interview could be a very useful tool for a jobseeker. Informational interviews provide job seekers the opportunity to interact with someone in a field or industry they are interested in and determine whether they possess what is required to make their career successful in that industry.

Typically, an Informational interview is not planned around a particularly job opportunity or opening, rather it is a chance for a jobseeker or student to study about an industry, its corporate practice and to get career advice from a person who has walked a related professional route to help them choose if it might be the right match.

Companies typically offer these interviews as a means of building their candidate pool to be used for future job opportunities.

In this article you will get some ideas about how to prepare (face) for an informational interview and some sample questions that can ask for getting proper & useful information for your career.Also refer the Informational interview questions list in PDf.

At the interview, introduce yourself, shake hands with the interviewer and appreciate them for their willingness to have a meeting with you. Establish the fact that you are there to gather information and learn about his career field. Before the day prepare your questions and use a not too formal dialogue during the discussion.

You should take notes, or you may want to get permission from your interviewees to record the conversations, which will allow you to participate in the discussion without distraction.

Below are sample good informational interview questions you can ask.

1. Please describe your job. What make up the core components?
2. What are your key responsibilities?
3. What other type of workers regularly interact with this role?
4. How did you develop interest in this field?
5. What was the particular thing you did yesterday?
6. What does a normal day (or week) look like for you?
7. Does the normal worker have an arranged schedule (i.e. 8 am – 5 pm) Or are the work hours flexible?
8. What are the experiences that best prepared you for the job you do?
9. Is there an established chain of command in your field?
10. Describe what transpires in different divisions of your agency, like the media buying side, the client side, the creative side and the finance side.
11. Are there people who depend on you?
12. Are there people you depend on?
13. What are the most relevant personal traits for one to succeed in your field?
14. What is the job of the people who work for you?
15. What excites you most on your job?
16. What excites you the least about your work?
17. I want to know the most difficult aspect of your job?
18. What kind of technology do you use and how do you use them?
19. In what way does your position fit into your organization/ industry /career field?
20. In what way does your job influence your general lifestyle?
21. What type of challenges do you face on a daily basis?
22. What type of decisions do you make for your company?
23. What does it mean to work for this company?
24. What differentiates it from the remainder of the advertising world?
25. What types of achievements are likely to be appreciated and also rewarded in this field?
26. In your field what is the future look like?
27. What are chances for progression? To what level? Is a higher degree necessary? (If yes, in what discipline?)
28. Highlight some long-term tendencies in your business?
29. What’s a usual career path in your business?
30. Does your company send its employees to regular trainings?
31. How important to your work is your undergraduate major?
32. If you could start all over again, would you still pick the same route for yourself? Otherwise, what would you do differently?
33. What are the various settings in which personnel in this occupation may work (i.e. – businesses, educational institutions etc.)?
34. Do you have proof of differential treatment between male and female workers concerning job duties, pay, and opportunities for progression?
35. What are the recruitment chances in the advisor’s geographic location? Where are the best recruitment chances? What are the recruitment chances at the advisor’s organisation? Is mobility a necessity to succeed?
36. What city do you advise I live in if I want to practice this profession?
37. What’s the usual title for entry-level?
38. List the various salary ranges?
39. I see that the entry-level remuneration for this field is normally in the range of ______? Does this match what you’ve seen? (Tip: ensure you don’t ask about the person’s salary range)
40. In what position do people usually enter when your company wants to hire?
41. What’s your recruitment process like?
42. What is the profile of the person most recently hired at my level?
43. Would you recommend magazines, trade journals, or professional associations which would be relevant for the development my profession?
44. Are any co-curricular activities recommended?
45. List the most efficient strategies for seeking a job in this field?
46. List the relevant “buzz words” or “key words” to add in a resume or cover letter when searching for job in the field?
47. Where can someone find the job listings?
48. What would you advise someone who is thinking about this kind of job (or field)?
49. Is there a related field you recommend I consider looking into?
50. Where is your career headed from here?
51. Where do you see this industry going?
52. Do you recruit interns?
53. Whom will I talk to concerning the internship program?
54. In your internship program, who is the overall best person you’ve had?
55. What set of skills does your business look for?
56. What would you advise I read in college to best groom me for this field?
57. What would be the right internship experiences I should think about? Should I attempt to work in a large or small agency?
58. What kind of portfolio or work samples should I be attempting to develop as I work towards moving into this career?
59. Is there someone else you would recommend I talk to (Tip: mention someone else you’ve discussed with in the field)?

Landing a job happens as a result of successfully passing through a screening interview process. As a result, a bad or good interview with Human Resources professionals will determine how well an interviewee fares and their chances of getting the job. The following are what to expect and how to prepare for an HR round interview. Also refer its PDF version

Question: Tell us something about yourself

Answer: this is usually the first question you hear during a job interview. It is used to start the interview and establish communication between the Interviewer and the interviewee. Get this question answered by supplying information about your person, educational qualifications, work experience, dreams which is related to your career and subtly include your likes and dislikes. If you are a fresh graduate, in place of work experience, tell them the kind of job you intend to do and why. Stop at the right spot so that it will call the next question of your choice, an example is “I got a good grade while also doing a part-time job which was tedious”.

Question: Why the interest in this role or position?

Answer: This question is very regular and important to Human Resources professionals so take it as your opportunity to sell yourself by to explain your strengths as well as harp your usable skill set and drive for the organisation and the role. Tell of how your experiences in the past suit the requirements for the role using reference points from the job description to drive down your point. Also reiterate how you want the company to grow while you build a stronger career.If you link your skills to the role this way, the Human Resources professional will begin to imagine you in the role.

Question: Why do you want to leave your present job?

Answer: HR professionals ask this question in order to determine if you want to quit your current job due to a bad attitude you put up. They want to know if you are quitting on good or bad terms. Are you trying to run away from your present job or build your career within a new job? These are the kind of questions the HR professional is pondering in his mind.

Advice:  Use this chance to speak wellabout your current employer and informing them that you see this position as the next rung in the ladder of your career. Ensure you don’t speak ill of your current boss and company. By constructing your answers positively, you make the job interviewerfocus on your possible contributions to the company.

Question: What is it you can do that nobody can?

Answer:Being a bit egoistical here is allowed because the HR interviewer wants to know what gives you a competitive edge for the job. Tell them of skills and competencies, how you got jobs done to time, career accomplishments drive or record of thoroughness when carrying out responsibilities.You should sum up by saying that all your skills, experience, records  and undying quest for improvement equips you to do the job more than anyone else.

Question: What are the most and least attractive things to the Position?

Answer:You are free to mention about five things that attracts you to the position and one insignificant unattractive thing. You could mention as attractive, opportunity to work with a new team, chance to improve the company etc.

Question: Do you know anything about our organisation?

Answer:You are expected to know some things about the company you intend to work with and Job interviewer use it to test your preparedness to change a work environment and climate. Carrying out a study on a company prior to a job interview is very crucial. You ought to have some facts about the company such as the makeup and history of the organisation, the key players, recent achievements and position in the industry and any other vital information.

Question: If you are picked, what will be your plan for the next two months?

Answer:If I am picked for this position, I will use my first two months to understand my role carefully as it concerns my input to the business as well as increasing the general profitability. I will meet with my superior and other juniors in order to properly grasp what has been done and its impact. I will build on the information and formulate my work plan for growth in conjunction with managers and see out its proper implementation.

How would you improve upon our product/ company?

Answer: You can start by stating that you would come here with a different perspective to the company, environment, product, strategy, and so on because you are coming from an entirely different environment.  This will help you to objectively probe things that any other person here may not do. This approach will go a long way in improving the processes thereby making the company and its product better.

What is your expected salary?

Answer:Everyone wants to be paid well but don’t rush to mentioning how much you want to be paid start by explaining what you will be paid for. Tell them that you believe that a befitting remuneration for a position acknowledges the ability, repays the performance and gives the employee a chance to indulge in his passions and hobbies. Tell them you believe their organisation can take care of that. When you want to mention the actual amount of money to be paid consider your qualifications, experience and competitiveness. When you state the amount of money, give a range and not a particular amount for instance “I would like to be paid within the range of sixty and seventy thousand”.

Question:Any questions for us?

Answer:you are likely to hear this question as the last when u go for interview as they would want to evaluate how curious you are or where your interests lie. The question should be tactical,smart and career-related. You can ask some questions from your observations while researching about the company or ask if certain things such as training which can improve your career would be allowed.

Consulting Interview Questions (also known as “case interview” questions) vary significantly from traditional Job interview questions. In a normal or behavioral interview, the Job interviewer would ask questions that are likely to start with “tell me about a time.” An instance is: “Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a team member and steps you took to resolve the conflict.”

Consulting interview questions, in contrast, start by putting you in a corporate or business scenario. They often start with “our client.” For instance: “We have a client who is a $2B office equipment distributor whose revenues have plummeted in the last 4 years. What do you advise them to do?”

When answering consulting interview questions, you are supposed to draw from your experience. Your goal is not to draw from your background, experience, or opinions. When answering consulting interview questions, you would be engaged in an intelligent interactive problem-solving discussion in order to provide a data-driven suggestion or solution to the question being handled.

You are sure to perform better during a consulting interview by possessing an upfront glance of what kind of questions may be thrown at you. Find below four types of questions and a few guidelines on areas that should be explored within each:

1. Growth
2. Profitability
3. Pricing
4. New product

1) Growth

Cases on Growth are centred on a company getting bigger—traditionally with regards to dollars of income, but the rating might also be number of clients or market share. For instance:

• Our client has promised Wall Street 5% income growth every year over the period of the next ten years. We ought to find out how he will get there.
• Our client wants to know why they have been growing at 3% per year whereas the competition has been growing at 5%.

Accurately, the only means to grow income is to boost quantity sold or the cost for a unit sold. This mathematically developed system can add some vital structure to your tactic, but don’t allow it limit your creative thought process.

A company can also grow by expanding or adding new forms of distribution channels (e.g. retail stores, online, catalogues, or affiliate partners). It can also initiate new products or fine-tune existing goods to better suit their clients. They can also review their marketing and sales strategies. Finally, the company can also grow in giant strides by buying up another complete company.

2) Profitability

Profitability matters directly handle the amount of money generated by a business. For instance:

• Our client manufactures ceramic mugs. Profits have plummeted within the last three years. We are expected to decipher the problem and develop the solution.
• One of our clients is a distributor of propane accessories and propane. Their CEO was recently reprimanded by one of the Wall Street Analysts for producing margins well below the standard obtainable in the industry.  He needs our help to find out where the opportunities for margin increase are.

When handling a profitability problem, never hesitate to tackle the known drivers of profitability – cost and revenue. Revenue could be split down further into prices, quantities as well as product mix. Separate the revenues though helpful. Then ensure you examine both the variable costs and fixed.

Often checking up revenue first provides insights as to what may be driving the prices. If assessable, some standard data — either externally (against competitors) or internally (against regions, different stores, plants, etc.) can really be of help in shedding light on what might be happening in the company.

3) Pricing

Consulting interview questions on pricing, centre on the optimal price or means of figuring out the optimal price for a particular service or product. For instance:

• One of our clients just invented the food replicator from “Star Trek” that has the ability to instantly make any delicious meal you can think of. They would like to know how much to charge for it.
• Our client is planning to readjust their prices for their complete condiment product line. How do you advise them to tackle this problem?

In terms of determining prices, there are three essential ways to develop your approach.

First is cost-based pricing. This is the way engineers view pricing. Your cost per unit is determined, then a reasonable margin is added on top of that. However, this is an incomplete method, but it sure helps provide you with some perspective about the minimum feasible price.

Second is alternative-based pricing. With this method, you check how the alternatives (e.g. substitute or competitors) are priced and compare with your product price.

The third approach happens to the customer’s maximum readiness to pay. Consider the ultimate essential advantage brought about by the product (e.g. time-savings, cost-savings) and then put a dollar amount to it. For instance, if a product lowers the time a heart surgery procedure takes by 20 minutes, with the total hourly cost of running the operating team calculated, 1/3rd of that amount provides you a good guess of the value of thet time saved.

Traditionally, the cost-based method will give you a theoretical base for the price (if you sold for a less amount, you’d lose money), while the readiness to pay method provides you a theoretical limit (no reasonable customer will ever pay any higher than that). Arriving at the final price regularly depends on using qualitative factors to select a reasonable figure somewhere in-between both of them.

4) New product

New product instances deal with a new invention or idea for a company. For instance:

• A client has created an iPhone cover that looks just like a normal cassette tape player. What is the next step they should take?
• One of our clients has stumbled into a chemical compound that removes body hair permanently from a given area. Do you advise them to launch it?

New product situations require you look at a broad variety of issues. An essential understanding of the product, customers, company, competition and go-to-market method will be very crucial.

A number of new product cases move into the figures associated with expected prices and costs. When these figures materialize, interviewers often want you to analyse a break-even volume (or the volume relevant to achieve pre-determined business goals) and find out if such a volume is attainable.

Behavioral Interview Questions are likely to be encountered during a Job screening Interview. What are Behavioral Interview Questions and how are they different from Conventional Job Interview questions that we are used to?

Behavioral Job Interview questions are questions that will seek very definite examples of experiences and skills that are directly related to the position. The Human Resources professional would want to find out how the interviewee managed a situation and you would be expected to explain what you did. The manner by which a situation is handled in the past is a pointer to how it would be handled in future. Many types of organisations make use of Behavioural Interview questions.

Take a look at good examples of behavioral Interview Questions one is likely to encounter during a Behavioural Interview. Also you can download free sample behavioral interview questions and answers pdf version. Study the answers and with good understanding, decide how to answer them in your own words.

Question:Explain how you were able to work effectively under pressure.

Answer: I worked on a crucial project that was supposed to be delivered to the client in sixty (60) days. My Line manager instructed me to get the job ready in forty-five (45) days without losing time on our other projects. I responded by challenging my staff to deliver the project to time, so added more time to our schedules, shared the workload appropriately and we got the project ready in forty-two (42) days.

My ability to effectively allocate the tasks among my already great team of staff I had was largely responsible for the success of the project.

Give an instance of how you handled a challenge

Question:  How do you handle a challenge? Give an example.

Answer: Once, my supervisor had to leave town unexpectedly while in the middle of a very crucial negotiation with a prospective sponsor. I had to fill in for him by applying myself to make sure the team was properly covered.

As a result, I was given the responsibility to prepare a PowerPoint presentation from the notes he left behind and a few briefing from his manager. After a brief but rigorous preparation, my presentation was successful. This made the prospective sponsor to give us the sponsorship deal. As a way of appreciating my efforts and encouraging me I was recommended for award by the Management team.

Question: Tell us about a mistake you made in the past and how you handled it.

Answer: There was a time I misquoted the fees for a particular kind of membership. I felt very bad about this and had to summon courage and approach my supervisor concerning it and I was surprised by the response from him. He appreciated my honesty and boldness and advised me to give concession to the new member by waiving his application. So the member joined the club though I made a mistake about his fee. My supervisor was considerate and this taught me to be careful and be thorough next time and how to turn an employee’s mistake around for good.

Question: Describe how you once set goals.

Answer: Within about four weeks of starting my first job with a department store whilst a sales associate, then I discovered that I ought to be working within the fashion industry. As a result, I made up my mind to climb up the ladder in 2 years to manager of department, a position that would give me the opportunity to save enough money to be able to enroll in a fashion school full-time

Things worked out exactly as planned and I even got a job via an internship I finished the summer before my graduation.

Question: Describe how you managed implementing a decision you took that wasn’t well-liked by people.

Answer: Sometimes ago, I inherited a set of employees as their supervisor moved to another city. They were permitted to do one another’s shifts without approval of the management. I realized this created inconsistencies that wasn’t good for the company, a situation where certain employees were being afforded more privileges than others. In order to address this situation I initiated a system where I made my assistant consent to every staffing changes, as to ensure everyone that wanted more time and was free at certain periods could be made use of.

Question: Describe an example of how you worked in a team.

Answer: While in my last semester of College days, I worked as one of the members of a research team in the department of History. The professor heading the project was at that time writing a book on Language development in Europe during the Middle ages.Each of us was assigned different sectors to work on, so I recommended that we convene separately prior to our once-in-a-week appointment with the professor to review our progress, so as to help each other out  if anyone had any challenge. The professor actually appreciated our teamwork and this helped him a great deal to streamline his research the way we worked together, and it helped to restructure his research as well. As a result, months ahead of schedule he was set to start work on his final copy.

Question: If someone disagrees with you at work, how do you respond?

Answer: Some years ago, my supervisor asked me to discover ways to outsource majority of the work we did in my department. On the contrary, I saw my department as one where having the employees on premises created a massive influence on our efficiency and ability to communicate to our customers. I approached her with a strong case, in response she came up with a compromise strategy.I persisted with my facts and she later bulged when it was very clear my argument would do the company the ultimate good.

Question: discuss an example where you were able to motivate co-workers or employees.

Answer: I once found myself in a situation where my department management was being controlled by employees who had no experience in our department, in a bid to optimize profits above service. A lot of my colleagues resisted the spontaneous changes that took place, but when I identified a few benefits we stood to gain, I had to make a u-turn and motivate my co-workers to give the new idea an opportunity to succeed.

How did you handle a difficult situation?

Answer: At some point while I worked with ABC Global, I discovered one of the employees was addicted to painkillers that were prescribed to her after her surgery. Her work output dropped and I found out she needed help. On speaking with her one on one, I realized how bad she needed medical attention which I helped her arrange as a weekend treatment program. She took advantage of her as it was covered by her insurance and the result was good as she recovered from the medical challenge. Her impact at work improved so much that she was promoted six months later.

The surest way to excel at job interviews is to adequately prepare, and the same rule applies to Accounting job interviews. The interview will comprise a series of questions peculiar to Accounting processes and general job interview questions, and it is expected of you to answer them excellently. Proper preparation will definitely help you ace the interview.

Here is a sample of questions to expect during an Accounting job Interview: Also refer list of accounting questions in PDF format

Question: Tell us about yourself.

Answer: This is a familiar way to start the interview and create communication with the interviewee. It should be given a very compelling response so that the HR professional will be endeared to you. It is recommended you do a SWOT analysis of yourself in the context of accounting job interview. Evaluate the industry, the organisation, and the job role using a SWOT analysis and look for chances to sell your strength.

Question: How come you chose accounting as your profession?

Answer: I have always liked playing with figures and solving financial problems. So when I ad distinction in Accounting, I decided to adopt it as a  profession.

Question: Do you possess any professional experience in the field of Accounting?

Answer: Yes, I worked as an accountant in my previous two jobs.

Question: Did you make use of accounting programs at your previous jobs or prefer to work manually?

Answer: Yes, I made use of Advanced Business Solutions as well as AME Accounting Software at the places I worked previously.

Question: Can you mention any other accounting program you know?

Answer: Yes, I am conversant with Financial Force, CGram Software, Microsoft Dynamics AX Microsoft Accounting Professional and Microsoft Small Business Financials.

Question: Which accounting program do you prefer the most and why?

Answer: All are good but when asked to choose which is best I would choose Microsoft Accounting Professional because it offers dependable and quick processing of accounting operations that increases proficiency and saves time.

Question: What do you know as the abbreviation for the accounting terms credit and debit?

Answer: Credit abbreviation is “cr” while Debit abbreviation is “dr”.

Question: How many types of business operations are there in accounting?

Answer: There exist two types of transactions in accounting and they are capital and revenue.

Question: What is the balance sheet?

Answer: Balance sheet is a statement that displays all assets and liabilities of the company at a particular period.

Question: Have you ever heard of TDS, if yes what is it?

Answer:  Yes, TDS stands for Tax Deduction at Source.

Question: where do you show TDS on your balance sheet?

Answer: it is displayed on the assets column just right after the head current asset.

Question: what do you know about Excise or Service Tax?

Answer: this is a type of hidden tax contained in the service supplied by the service provider which is taken care of by the service receiver.

Question: In your opinion, is there any difference between dormant and inactive accounts?

Answer: there is a difference; they are dissimilar terms in Accounting. An Inactive account is an account that is closed and will not be opened or used in future. A Dormant account is an account that is not working today but might be used or opened in the future.

Question: define Tally accounting?

Answer:  This is a software used accounting by small businesses and shops for handling routine accounting transactions.

Question; what is departmental accounting?

Answer: Departmental accounting is a type of accounting whereby different departments have separate accounts. The accounts are managed differently and the balance sheet displays it independently.

Question: what is executive accounting?

Answer:  Executive accounting is a type of accounting that is custom designed for the enterprise that provides service to users.

Question : what Is Company’s payable cycle?

Answer: this is the time mandatory for the company to pay all of its account payables.

Question: what is retail banking?

Answer: this is a type of banking that engages retail clients. The clients are the regular people and not one of the organisational clients.

Question: What is Depreciation and types of depreciation?

Answer: depreciation means that the value of an asset in use is going down.  There are two types of depreciation and they are: STRAIGHT LINE METHOD as well as WRIITEN DOWN VALUE METHOD.

Question: differentiate between depreciation expense and accumulated depreciation

Answer: depreciation expense is different from accumulated depression in the following way:

Depreciation expense is the sum of depreciation that is stated on the income statement. It is focused on period of time shown or being considered on the income statement.

While

Accumulated depreciation is the entire sum of depreciation which has been recorded on a company’s assets right up to the time of the balance sheet.

Question: can you mention some examples for liability accounts?

Answer:

• Accrued Expenses
• Unearned or Deferred Revenues
• Accounts payable
• Current Portion of long-term debt
• Mortgage loans payable
• Instalment Loans Payable
• Short-term loans Payable

Question: what is the difference between Consignee and Consignor?

Answer: Consignor is the person that owns the goods or the person who delivers the goods to another person referred to as consignee. A consignee is that person who takes delivery of the goods.

Question: What is balancing in accounting?

Answer: it is the act of equating the two sides of the T-account, this means the credit and debit sides of a T-account has to be balanced or equal.

Question: what is the level of statistics knowledge that is necessary in accounting?

Answer: an accountant should be well versed in Statistics so as to excel in accounting. On the contrary, little knowledge of statistics will negatively affect your day to day operations and thereby your output. Adequate knowledge of statistics is relevant in accounting and for an accountant.

Question: define Project Implementation.

Answer: Project Implementation comprises a total of 6 steps and they are:

1. Identify the need
2. Generate and scrutinize ideas
3. Conduct feasible study
4. Build the project
5. Execute the project
6. Project Control

Question: what is Public Accounting?

Answer: Public accounting proffers audits and Certified Public Accountants to re-evaluate company financial standings to establish accountability. It is designed for general public.

Question: In accounting, what is Scrap value?

Answer: this is the left-over value of an asset. The left-over or residual value is the actual value that any asset has at the end of its estimated life time.