Interview Prep

Tell me about yourself.

Why should I hire you?

In what way do you think you can contribute to our company?

What distinguishes you from the other people I am interviewing today?

What qualifications do you have that make you think you will be successful in your career?

What do you want me to remember about you?

Walk me through your resume.

Tell me about a time in your life when you have made a difference.

What are you most proud of?

What has been your most significant work accomplishment?

Tell me about a time when you had to analyze or interpret numerical or financial information.

What have you learned from your work experience?

What do you do in your current job? What did you do in your last job?

What do you like least about your current/last job?

Tell me about a boss you especially liked and why.

What has been your biggest work challenge? Why?

Have you ever had a boss you didn’t like? What did you do?

What are the attributes of an ideal job for you?

How would your most recent boss describe you?

What would former/current colleagues say about you?

What would people who reported to you say about you?

What would former/current clients say about you?

Describe your management style. What experiences did you have that might account for this?

Why did you take ______ job? What did you learn from it?

Why did you leave your last job? What would you have done differently?

Why did you move from ________ to _________?

How does the work you did as a ________________ relate to the needs and issues of this role or organization?

Have you ever dropped the ball? Explained what happened.

Describe your ideal job or working situation.

Why should I hire you?

Why do you want to do _________?

Tell me about a situation where you dealt with an angry client.

Tell me about a difficult decision you made. What alternatives did you consider?

Tell me about a success you’re proud of. Why are you particularly proud of it?

Tell me about a time you took a risk. What were the outcomes? What did you learn?

Tell me about a time you avoided taking a risk. Why did you avoid it?

Tell me about a time you handled conflict among team members or people who reported to you.

Let’s pretend you are offered and take this job. What will you do first, and why?

You receive a complaint from an important client who is extremely angry. Walk me through your action plan/strategy?

What was your most satisfying experience leading a team? Why?

Describe a time you made a bad decision. What accounted for this?

Tell me about a time you had to make a key decision based on conflicting information. What did you do? What was the outcome?

Are you _______ (creative, analytical, strategic, etc.)? Give an example that illustrates this. (Be prepared with multiple, specific examples.)

How would you react to a rumor that the division is in trouble and will be relocated or possibly closed within the year. What would you do?

Have you ever recognized a problem before your boss? What did you do?

Describe a project you worked on that was not progressing according to plan. How did you get it back on track?

Describe your most rewarding business school experience.

Why did you select your college or university?

What led you to choose your field of major study?

Do you have a geographical preference? Why?

Will you relocate? Does relocation bother you?

Are you willing to travel?

How do you keep abreast of current events?

What do you do for fun?

What do you read?

What are your hobbies?

Why did you get an MBA?

Why do you want to be a _________ (position interviewing for)?

What makes you successful in business?

What do you consider your greater strengths/weaknesses?

Tell me about your oral and written communication skills.

Have you ever failed? What did you learn from it?

How would you describe yourself? Are you a leader, creative? Give examples.

How competitive are you?

How would a friend or former professor who knows you well describe you?

How well do you work independently? With others?

How do you work under pressure?

What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction?

What makes you a good investment for this company?

How did you decide to seek a position with this company?

What criteria are you using to evaluate the company?

Why do you want to work for us?

Why are you interested in this industry? This particular company?

What have you read about our company or our products lately, outside of regular recruiting material?

Why do you want to work here?

In what kind of environment are you most comfortable?

Why is the lifestyle of this job right for you?

How do you foresee the future of our industry? What action do you think industry leaders should take?

How would you compare our firm (industry) with others you are considering?

Choose one of this organization’s products, services, or major initiatives. What could we do better with this product/service/initiative?

What did you like most/least about your last job?

Did you get an offer from your summer employer? Why or why not? What other organizations are you talking to?

What would you like to accomplish in the first 3-5 years on the job?

Are you interested in line management or a staff position?

What are your short- and long-term goals and objectives? Have they changed over the past years? If so, how?

How has your experience prepared you for your career?

Explain discounted cash flow analysis or valuation methodology.

Define the concept of cash flow vs. net income.

What is our stock price trading at? Market value? Sales? Net income?

Why investment banking? Why this bank?

Why corporate finance as opposed to sales and trading?

What other firms have you talked to?

What makes you good at selling?

What is the hardest sale you have ever made?

What would you personally invest in?

Where is the Dow, Nasdaq, long bond?

Pitch me a stock.

Did you visit our floor? What did you think? How did it compare to other firms’ floors?

What are forward rates, LIBOR rates?

What particular markets or instruments are you interested in? Why debt vs. equity?

Where is the market going? Where are rates going?

What does the yield curve look like? What does that mean?

Why this area instead of corporate finance?

Why public finance? Why this firm?

What areas are of particular interest to you?

Why brand management?

Pick a product and position it.

Briefly describe a marketing plan for yourself.

Give an example of a suitable new product introduction.

Give me an example of a time when you had to motivate others who did not report to you.

Give me an example of your creative problem-solving ability.

What is marketing? Describe the difference between marketing and advertising.

Give me an example of an ad you liked and why.

I see that most of your experience has been in consumer products. Do you think you would be as successful in hi-tech marketing? Why?

Name some of the most recent new products launched by a consumer products company in the last 6 months. Which of these impressed you? Why? Do you believe that it will be successful in the marketplace? Why?

If you had your choice among all the brands/products in the US, which would you want to market? Why? Which would you not want to market?

How would you describe the personality of Brand X?

Scenario: Create a plan to market Brand X in Philadelphia. What is the theme of your advertising? Be extremely detailed.

Pretend that today is your first day of work as a brand manager for Brand X. What are the 10 most important questions you would ask to learn about the brand?

Why consulting? Why this firm?

How is our practice different from other consulting firms?

Do you view consulting as a permanent career choice?

How would you describe the competitive niche of your most recent employer?

Give me an example of a business problem and tell me how you solved it.

How do you feel about the lifestyle issue associated with consulting?

Tell us about a time that you had to adapt to a difficult situation.

Tell me about a time you adjusted to a colleague’s working style to complete a project or achieve your objectives.

Tell me about a situation when you had to adjust quickly to a change in organizational, departmental, or team priorities. How did the change affect you?

Tell me about a time you had to meet a scheduled deadline while your work was disrupted continually. What caused you the most difficulty? Why?

Describe a project or idea implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role? What was the outcome?

Describe a time when you made a suggestion to improve the work in your organization.

Give an example of an important goal that you set in the past. Tell about your success in reaching it.

Tell us about a time when you had to surpass expectations to get a job done.

What has been your biggest achievement in your last position? What steps did you take to achieve it?

Give me an example of a time when you set a goal and were able to meet or achieve it.

What do you consider your greatest achievement to date? Why?

Tell me about a goal that you set that you did not reach. What steps did you take? What obstacles did you encounter? How did it make you feel?

What impact did you have in your last job?

Give me an example of a risk you took to achieve a goal. What was the outcome?

Describe a time when you anticipated potential problems and developed preventive measures.

Tell me about a time you learned some tricks or techniques that either made a job easier or made you more effective. How did you learn that?

Describe a situation where you have had to use your initiative to solve a problem. What did you do?

Give me an example of a time when you tried to accomplish something and failed.

Give me an example of a time when you showed initiative and took the lead.

Tell me about a time when you had to excel beyond the expectations of the role to get the job done.

Tell me about a creative idea that you implemented to improve your organization’s process or procedures. How did you develop the idea? What happened to your idea?

What types of new ideas or suggestions did you generate in your last position? What prompted the idea? What was the result?

What was the best idea you proposed during your professional or college career? How did you apply it?

Tell me about a problem that you solved in a unique or unusual way. What was the outcome? Were you satisfied with the outcome?

Tell me about a time when you were required to make an unpopular decision.

Give a specific example of a time when you had to conform to a policy with which you did not agree. Why did you disagree with the policy?

Has your manager ever asked you to do something that you believed was inappropriate? How did you respond?

How have you adjusted your style when the objectives were not being met and/or people were not responding correctly?

When you have difficulty persuading someone to your point of view, what do you do? Give an example.

Describe a time when your job demanded extensive effort.

Everyone makes errors after working long hours on the job. Tell me about the last time this happened to

you. What errors did you make in your work?

Describe a time when your workload was particularly heavy. How did you respond?

We all have times when the responsibilities of a job become overwhelming. Share an example of when you

felt overwhelmed. How did you react?

Describe a time when you faced a particularly demanding situation (emergency, deadline, etc.). How did you

react?

Things don’t always go our way. Describe a situation when you tried your hardest yet failed to achieve the

desired result.

How would you deal with ambiguity in the workplace?

Describe a company you think is doing well/badly and explain why you think so.

What do you think are key qualities of successful companies?

What significant factors have affected this industry in recent years?

What do you understand of the role this firm plays in this industry?

Describe a recent time you coached someone. What was the task? How, if at all, did you involve the person in the process? (Offer suggestions, listen to their concerns, etc.)

Interacting with others can be challenging at times. Describe a situation when you wished you had acted

differently with someone. What happened?

Have you ever been in a team group with an unproductive person? How did you handle the situation?

Tell me about the most productive meeting you’ve led. What made it so productive?

Tell me a time when you dealt with a conflict.

Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation skills to influence someone’s opinion.

Describe a situation when you used persuasion to convince someone to see things your way.

Describe a situation in which you were able to influence positively the actions of others in a desired direction.

Have you ever had to persuade a peer or manager to accept an idea that you knew they would not like?

Describe their resistance. How did you overcome it?

Tell us about a time when you used facts and reason to persuade someone to accept your recommendation.

How do you handle problems with customers? Give an example.

How do you establish rapport with a customer? What did you do to gain their confidence? Give an example.

What have you done to improve relations with your customers?

Tell me about a time you helped create an environment where differences were valued, encouraged and supported.

Tell us about a time when you made an intentional effort to get to know someone from another culture.

How have you furthered your knowledge/understanding about diversity? How have you demonstrated your learning?

What measures have you taken to make someone feel comfortable in an environment that was obviously uncomfortable with his or her presence?

Tell me about a time you helped a team member successfully identify the resources they needed to do a job.

Tell me about a time you successfully dealt with another person despite that person not liking you (or vice versa).

Tell me about a recent situation in which you had to deal with an upset co-worker.

Describe a situation where you worked as part of a team to achieve a result. What was your role in this?

Describe a situation where others you were working with on a project disagreed with your ideas. What did you do?

Describe a time when you put your needs aside to help a co-worker understand a task. How did you assist them? What was the result?

Tell me about a difficult decision you’ve made.

Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision without all the needed information. How did you handle it? Why? Were you satisfied with the outcome?

Tell me about a situation where you had to solve a difficult problem. What did you do? What was your thought process? What was the outcome? What do you wish you had done differently?

Describe a situation where you had to overcome a problem or obstacle to move forward. What did you do?

Describe a situation when you saw a problem and took action to correct it rather than wait for someone else to fit it.

Projects rarely proceed without obstacles. Tell me about a recent project when you encountered a major obstacle. How did you solve the situation?

Describe the project or situation that best demonstrates your analytical abilities. What was your role?

Developing and using a detailed procedure is often very important in a job. Tell about a time when you needed to develop and use a detailed procedure to complete a project successfully.

Give a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic to solve a problem.

Tell us about a time when you had to analyze information and make a recommendation. What was your thought process? What was your reasoning?

Tell us about a time that required you to be especially alert to details while doing the task involved.

Describe a time when you had many projects or assignments due at the same time. What steps did you take to get them all done?

Tell me about a time when you had too many projects and were required to prioritize your tasks.

Tell me a time you prioritized projects or tasks when scheduling your time.

Give an example of a time when you were able to inspire motivation in your co-workers or employees at work.

Have you ever had difficulty getting others to accept your ideas? What was your approach? Did it work?

What is the toughest group where you had to gain cooperation? Describe how you handled it and the outcome.

Give an example of a time when you motivated others.

Tell me about a time when you delegated a project effectively.

Tell me a time when you gave presentations to small/large groups. What is your most successful experience in speech making?

Tell me about a team project when you had to take the lead or take charge of the project? What did you do? How did you do it? What was the result?