Interviewing: Questions
2nd floor Academic Center ● www.aib.edu—Student Life—Career Services
The mission of the Career Services office at AIB College of Business is to encourage and assist students and alumni in achieving their career goals.
Revised 7-05
2
Basic Interview Question and Answer
(Adapted from National Association of Colleges and Employers, Job Choices 2005, p. 47)
The following is a list of commonly asked interview questions and how to respond to them.
Tell me about yourself.
This open-ended question is usually asked at the very beginning of the interview to get things started. The key to this question is keeping your answer relevant to the position which you are applying. Be specific but most importantly do not ramble. Your answer should be around 2 minutes.
Why do you want to work for this organization?
This question is mainly used to see if you have done your homework. Be specific about what you have learned from your research and how it relates to your career goals.
Why are you applying for this particular position?
Use this question as an opportunity to express your passion and commitment to your field.
Describe your best/worst boss.
The main key is to keep the conversation positive. Begin by speaking about your best boss. When describing your worst boss, talk of it in a positive way by describing what you learned from the experience. For instance, “I had a manager who was often very vague. However, this experience taught me the importance of good communication.”
What is your major strength/weakness?
Major strengths are usually easy for students to think of. The key to this question is keeping this strength related to the position. As with the last question, when speaking of a weakness try to keep it positive. For example, “I tend to be nervous around my supervisors, although I’ve gained more confidence in that area since my last job where my supervisors encouraged me to ask questions.”
Give me an example of a problem you encountered either in school or at work,
The mission of the Career Services office at AIB College of Business is to encourage and assist students and alumni in achieving their career goals.
Revised 7-05
2
Basic Interview Question and Answer
(Adapted from National Association of Colleges and Employers, Job Choices 2005, p. 47)
The following is a list of commonly asked interview questions and how to respond to them.
Tell me about yourself.
This open-ended question is usually asked at the very beginning of the interview to get things started. The key to this question is keeping your answer relevant to the position which you are applying. Be specific but most importantly do not ramble. Your answer should be around 2 minutes.
Why do you want to work for this organization?
This question is mainly used to see if you have done your homework. Be specific about what you have learned from your research and how it relates to your career goals.
Why are you applying for this particular position?
Use this question as an opportunity to express your passion and commitment to your field.
Describe your best/worst boss.
The main key is to keep the conversation positive. Begin by speaking about your best boss. When describing your worst boss, talk of it in a positive way by describing what you learned from the experience. For instance, “I had a manager who was often very vague. However, this experience taught me the importance of good communication.”
What is your major strength/weakness?
Major strengths are usually easy for students to think of. The key to this question is keeping this strength related to the position. As with the last question, when speaking of a weakness try to keep it positive. For example, “I tend to be nervous around my supervisors, although I’ve gained more confidence in that area since my last job where my supervisors encouraged me to ask questions.”
Give me an example of a problem you encountered either in school or at work,