How To Prepare

Review the Job Description

Review the skills and qualifications required. Prepare concrete examples of how your past experiences, skills and abilities align with the job description. Strategize ways to address skills you still need to develop.

Strategize Answers

• Brainstorm a list of stories you can share from your work situations, project-based or team work, campus activities, community service and leadership experience. Employers are investigating how you deal with problems, failures, difficult teams or supervisors.
• Brainstorm examples and accomplishments from each experience. How did you handle problems, show initiative and contribute to the outcome?
• Use the S.A.R. method to help you structure your answer to interview questions:
  • Situation. What problem or challenge did you encounter?
  • Action. What did you do to address this problem or challenge?
  • Results. What were the results of your actions?
• Present examples of how you solved a problem, addressed a challenge or completed a task and tie it to the job.
• Expect the employer to ask open-ended questions about a past experience  that reveal any of the following:
  • Communication skills, leadership and organizational ability
  • Analytical and problem solving skills
  • Your decision-making process
  • Cooperative and/or competitive nature
  • Initiative, flexibility, creativity
• Practice!! Draw from several types of experiences to show depth.
• LinkedIn Interview Prep Tool: LinkedIn has an interview prep tool with sample questions and answers for many types of jobs, and an option to record yourself and rehearse your answers and get AI feedback on your voice and words per minute. 

Types of Interview Questions

Behavioral Interview Questions

These questions seek insight into who you are, your experience (educational, work and leadership) and how you would fit into the job and organization. Here are some examples:

• Tell me about yourself. (This question gets asked the majority of the time—expect it.)
• Why did you choose to interview with our organization?
• Of which three accomplishments are you most proud?
• Tell me about a time when you were in a leadership position.
• What skills or ideas do you bring to a job that another candidate may not be able to offer?
• Where do you want to be in five years?
• In which campus activities did you participate?
• What job-related skills have you developed?
• Give an example of a problem and how you solved it.
• How do you think a former supervisor would describe your work?
• Tell me about a time when you have persuaded others to adopt your ideas.
• Tell me about a time you failed or made a mistake.
• What kind of supervisor do you prefer?
• Describe your experience working in a team.
• How do you organize and plan major projects?
• Describe your communication style.
• Tell me about a time you showed leadership.
• Tell me about a time you worked with a difficult person.
• How do you handle competing priorities and deadlines?
• Tell us about your experience working in diverse work environments.

Example of a Behavioral Interview Question and Response

Question: “Give me an example of a time when you took the initiative to improve a project.”

Respond using the SAR Method mentioned above: “As a peer advisor at the Career Center, students often asked me how to find job opportunities in business. (Situation) Since I am also curious about this industry and had taken a web-authoring class, I asked my supervisor if I could create a website linked to our home page discussing many of the different business options (Action). After developing the site, I shared the online resource with the professional staff at the Career Center. They were so pleased with the resource that they now refer students to the site during their advising sessions (Result). If I’m hired, I’ll work to make information accessible at this job.”

Case Interview Questions

Case interviews are most typically used in the consulting industry. These questions give recruiters an opportunity to observe your analytical and problem solving skills when evaluating a hypothetical business problem. Below is a list of case interview examples and guides from industry to help you prepare for this style of interview:

• Bain & Company mock case interview on Youtube
• Boston Consulting Group case interview website
• Cornerstone Research case interview website
• Deloitte case interview prep tool
• McKinsey & Company case interview website

Technical Interview Questions

Technical interviews are primarily used in STEM, engineering, and computer science roles. There is a prep book for coding interviews called Cracking the Coding Interview that you can check out to borrow from the Career Center. Many students find coding problem sets to practice online through LeetCode as well, and you can often find interview guidelines through the specific company you are interviewing at (for example, look up “technical interview guide for (insert company here).”

Questions to Ask Employers

At the close of an interview, you will have an opportunity to ask questions. Ask strategic questions that help you assess the job or highlight your knowledge about the company or position. Questions related to salary, benefits, vacation time and schedule should wait until the employer initiates those topics or you are offered the position. Leave knowing when decisions will be made and what you need to do. Prepare 2-3 questions, such as:

• Always include “What is the next step in the hiring process?” or “When should I expect to hear from you or should I contact you?”
• What types of assignments might I expect in the first six months on the job?
• What will the first three weeks be like? Is training provided?
• What do you like best about your job/company?
• What products (or services) are in the development stage right now?
• Do you have plans for expansion?
• What characteristics do the achievers in this company seem to share?
• Is there a lot of team/project work?
• What are your growth expectations for the next year?
• How do you feel about creativity and individuality?
• In what ways is a career with your company better than one with your competitors?
• What is the largest single challenge facing your staff (department) right now?
• Where does this position fit into the organizational structure?
• How would you describe the management style in this company/department?
• Where might a person who has been in this position expect to be in five years?

Remember to send a short follow up email thanking the interviewers and reiterating your interest in the position. 

Career Center Resources

You can make an appointment with a Career Center advisor to practice your interview skills!