Questions Commonly Asked to a Candidate during the Interview

When and where were you born?

What’s your marital status? (Are you married or single? Have you got a family? What is your family like?

When did you finish (graduate) high (higher) school?

You got a bachelor’s degree in business administration at college, didn’t you?

You didn’t get a master’s degree, did you?

What did you major in at college? (What subjects did you give your preference to?)

Will you tell me about education and any special training you have had?

Are you working now?

What do you do? (What is your occupation?)

What kind of work experience have you had?

What company are you with now?

What companies did you work for?

How long did you work for each company?

Have you always done the same sort of job?

Have you worked in foreign countries?

How long have you been working in your present job?

What are your responsibilities? (What are you responsible for? What do you do there exactly?)

How did you find out about this position?

Why do you want to change your job?

What kind of job are you looking for? Why would you like this job?

Why are you interested in joining our company?

Why do you feel qualified for this job?

What other skills do you have?

Do you enjoy working with others?

Are you willing to work overtime? What hours can you work?

Do you have any questions about the job?

What kind of salary do you expect?

What are the spare-time interests? What do you (don’t) like doing and why?

What are your good/weak points?

Why should I hire you?

What are your three greatest strengths for the job?

What qualities or qualifications make you feel that you will be successful in this field?

What career (a number of promotions) do you expect to have in a few years?

Why do you choose the school where you received your training?

Do you think you could forget your training and learn a new system?

What have you learned from the experience you have had? How does it relate to the position here?

Are you looking for a part time or full time work? Temporary or permanent?

How do you feel about overtime work? Moving to another area?

How do you get along with other people? Any trouble with communicating before?

What type of people do you find most difficult to get along with?

What personal characteristics do you feel are necessary to succeed in this field?

What do you see as the (dis)advantages of working in this field?

Which jobs have you enjoyed the most?

What would your ambitions be if you worked for this company?

Exercise 3. Match each question about jobs with an appropriate answer.

1. What’s your current job? 2. What does it involve? 3. How long have you been in your present job? 4. Do you enjoy your work? 5. Is there anything you don’t like about your job? 6. How do you spend your time when you are not working?

a) I’ve worked here for about four years now. b) I’m a supervisor in a logistics company called Express Move. c) I enjoy team sports like rugby, but I don’t play as regularly as I’d like. d) Well, the role involves bureaucracy – and I’m not very keen on that. e) Very much. My job entails a lot of different tasks – from co-ordinating drivers to liaising with suppliers – so I don’t get bored. f) I’m responsible for 13 warehouse staff and report to the site manager.

Exercise 4. Complete the extracts from the candidate’s answers at the interview with the words from the box.

expert ▪ glad ▪ thought ▪ afraid ▪ good ▪ ask ▪ think ▪detail

1. That’s a very … question. Basically it was no longer challenging enough. 2. I’m … you asked me that because I developed some important skills while I was there. 3. I thought you might … me something about that. Well, what I can say is, I have a good knowledge of Excell and Word, and can prepare excellent Powerpoint presentations. 4. I haven’t really … about that, to be honest, but I think it’d be really interesting. 5. Well, without going into too much …, I have very good people skills. 6. Let me just … about that for a moment. Well, my sales and marketing experience should be very useful to you. 7. I’m … I don’t know the answer to that, but I hope to be working for your company in a senior position. 8. Well, I’m not an …, but I think the boom in fitness centres will continue in the next few years.

Exercise 5. Complete the following interview with appropriate questions. Then practice the interview in pairs.

A _____________

B I graduated from the University in 2008.

A ______________

B Yes, I’ve had some work experience. I worked for four months with Brown and Co in their finance department.

A ______________

B I have heard a lot about your company and feel that I could learn a lot if I worked here.

A _______________

B I enjoy working with people. In my last position, I worked on a project with four other young people and we shared the responsibilities well.

A ______________

B I would like to gain some experience and then go on to do an MBA.

A _______________

B I speak Spanish and a little French. I am also quite competent with Microsoft Office and I plan to take some special computer courses for finance.

A _______________

B Well, I have been told that I am quite fussy about details, but I think it is very important to be accurate, especially in matters of accounting and finance.

Task 9.