Common Interview Questions

Questions Frequently Asked By Employment Interviewers

Tell me about yourself.
Tell me about a situation when you were under a great deal of pressure. What was your role? How did you react? What was the outcome?
Tell me about a situation when your coworkers or group members didn't agree with you.
What are your future career goals in 1, 5, and 10 years?
What area of your skills/professional development do you want to improve?
Why did you choose St. John's University? Your major?
What interests you about working at our company?
What is your understanding of the position?
Tell me about a difficult customer service problem you have handled.
What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
What was the worst mistake you ever made and how did you handle it?
Why should I hire you?
Give me an example of when you had to work on a team to complete a project. What was your role? How did you react to problems that arose with the project? What was the outcome?
How would your current employer/teacher describe your work?
What areas in your career are you interested in further developing?
Identify two accomplishments that you are most proud of.

Questions You Can Ask Employers

What are typical career paths of your employees?
What personal qualities or characteristics are most important for success in this job?
Describe a typical day on the job and the overall work environment.
What are the challenging facets of the job?
How would you describe your corporation's personality and management style?

Additional Questions Educators May Be Asked

Tell me about a pupil or class you've helped recently.
What are some characteristics of a well managed classroom?
What effective disciplinary tools do you use in your classroom?
How do you provide for individual differences in your classroom (both in personalities and intelligence levels)?
What is your philosophy of education?
How would you respond to the needs of multicultural students in the classroom?
How would you establish rapport with students, parents, colleagues, and the community?
Recall a lesson you have taught which went particularly well. Describe the lesson. Describe the second best lesson.

Sample Questions Educators May Ask