193 interview questions

Interview questions that show how someone really works.

Behavioural and situational questions about the work and how a candidate does it, never about age, family, health or anything that isn't the job. Includes leadership, teaching and volunteer roles.

Use them in a meeting Try a live check-in

Short answer

Good interview questions ask for specific past examples: tell us about a time you disagreed with a decision, and what did you do? Ask every candidate the same core questions, take notes against the same criteria, and leave time for their questions.

1.
What drew you to this role when you first read about it?
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2.
How would you describe your current job to a friend outside your industry?
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3.
What's a recent piece of work you enjoyed, and why?
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4.
What do you already know about what we do, and what are you curious about?
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5.
What would a great first month here look like for you?
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6.
What kind of work makes you lose track of time?
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7.
What questions do you have for us so far?
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8.
Is there anything about your experience we haven't asked that we should know?
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9.
What's something you've learned in the last year that you're excited about?
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10.
Which parts of this job description stood out to you most?
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11.
What did your last team do well that you'd like to bring here?
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12.
What would your current colleagues say you're known for?
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13.
Tell us about a project you led from start to finish. What was your part, and what was the result?
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14.
Tell us about a time you disagreed with a decision. What did you do?
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15.
Describe a mistake you made at work and what you changed afterwards.
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16.
Tell us about a time you had to learn something new quickly to get a job done.
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17.
Describe a time you had too many priorities at once. How did you choose?
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18.
Tell us about a time you received difficult feedback. How did you respond?
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19.
Describe a situation where you had to persuade someone without having authority over them.
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20.
Tell us about a time a project was falling behind. What did you do?
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21.
Describe a time you made a decision with incomplete information.
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22.
Tell us about a time you helped a colleague succeed.
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23.
Describe a time you had to deliver bad news to a customer or stakeholder.
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24.
Tell us about a time you spotted a problem before anyone else did.
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25.
Describe a process you improved. How did you know it was better?
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26.
Tell us about a time you worked with someone whose style was very different from yours.
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27.
Describe a time you had to say no to a request. How did you handle it?
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28.
Tell us about the most complex problem you've solved in the last two years.
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29.
Describe a time you had to change direction halfway through a piece of work.
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30.
Tell us about a time you went beyond your role to help a customer.
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31.
Describe a time you failed to meet a deadline. What happened, and what did you learn?
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32.
Tell us about a time you had to explain something technical to a non-specialist.
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33.
Describe a time you took a calculated risk. How did it turn out?
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34.
Tell us about a conflict within a team you were part of and how it was resolved.
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35.
Describe a time you used data to change someone's mind.
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36.
Tell us about a time you had to work under real pressure. What kept you steady?
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37.
Describe a goal you set for yourself and how you reached it.
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38.
Tell us about a time you noticed a teammate struggling. What did you do?
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39.
Describe a time you had to balance quality against speed.
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40.
Tell us about a time you made a customer or user happier with a small change.
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41.
Describe a time you had to rebuild trust after something went wrong.
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42.
Tell us about a time you took ownership of a problem that wasn't strictly yours.
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43.
Describe a time you had to get people from different teams to agree.
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44.
Tell us about a time when your first idea turned out to be wrong.
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45.
Describe how you handled a project with an unclear brief.
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46.
Tell us about a time you simplified something complicated.
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47.
Describe a time you had to adapt to a big change at work.
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48.
Tell us about feedback you gave someone that made a real difference.
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49.
Describe a time you had to manage a difficult stakeholder.
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50.
Tell us about a time you missed something important. How did you catch it, and what changed?
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51.
Describe a time you had to teach a skill to someone else.
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52.
Tell us about a time you were proud of how you handled a setback.
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53.
Describe a time you worked on a team that was missing a key person. What did you do?
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54.
Tell us about a time you questioned how something had always been done.
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55.
Describe a situation where you had to choose between two good options.
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56.
Tell us about a time you had to work with a tight budget.
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57.
Describe a time you built a relationship that helped your work later on.
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58.
Tell us about a time you had to stay patient with a slow process.
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59.
Describe a time you raised a concern that others didn't want to hear.
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60.
Tell us about a piece of work you'd do differently now, and why.
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Interview questions: common questions

What are behavioural interview questions?

Questions that ask for a real example from the past, usually starting with tell us about a time. Past behaviour is a better guide than hypothetical answers.

Which questions should an interviewer avoid?

Anything about age, family plans, health, religion, nationality or other protected characteristics. Ask only about the job and how the candidate would do it.

How many questions fit in a one-hour interview?

Six to eight good questions with follow-ups, plus ten minutes for the candidate's own questions.

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Interview questions that show how someone really works.

Interview questions: common questions

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