| Competency | Interview questions are intended to: |
|---|---|
| Adaptability | to find candidates that are adaptable to change; flexible when facing tough decisions; able to deal with ambiguity effectively; and have the ability to change course when required |
| Analytical Thinking | to find candidates who can identify and define problems in order to develop solutions |
| Attention to Detail | to find candidates that are extremely detailed orientated; pay close attention to the little things and make sure nothing falls through the cracks; and are accurate and organized |
| Career Development | to understand the candidate's career progression and how the role being interviewed for fits into their career goals |
| Client Relations/Customer Service | to find candidates that have a service-oriented attitude, a “Your-problem-is-my-problem” approach, take ownership, are accountable and escalate when necessary, and have a “can- do/will-do” mind-set, with rapid follow up |
| Communication | to find candidates that approach communication strategically; that never assumes one type of communication fits all circumstances; ability to express thoughts effectively both verbally and non-verbally; and has strong listening skills to ensure understanding |
| Conflict Resolution | to find a candidate that can diffuse and resolve issues or tense situations |
| Decision Making | to determine a candidate's ability to make informed decisions based on available information that are in line with department goals |
| Delegation | to find candidates that are comfortable delegating both routine and important tasks; can see how all the individual pieces fit together; and trusts employees to perform these tasks |
| Diversity Inclusion | to probe a candidate's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); their ability to deal fairly with all races, ethnicities, disabilities, cultures, ages and genders; and ability to engage in self-reflection of their impact on DEI in their organization |
| Employee Development | to find a candidate that has a genuine intent to foster long-term learning or development of others; and has a focus on the developmental intent and effect rather than a formal role of training |
| General | to find out why the candidate is interested in the role they are interviewing for; to get a sense of what the candidate is looking for and what they understand about the organization |
| Initiative | to find a candidate who is proactive; forward thinking; and who takes initiative to meet goals |
| Innovation | to find a candidate who can find new ways of looking at old problems; who has the ability to develop new and creative solutions; and who can put those solutions into action |
| Integrity | to find a candidate whose actions are consistent with what they say ("walk the talk"); who has the ability to communicate intentions, ideas and feelings openly and directly; and who welcomes openness and honestly |
| Internship Interview Questions | to find qualified and interested internship candidates |
| Interpersonal Skills | to probe a candidate's ability to understand other people and to find candidates who can build and maintain friendly and reciprocal relationships with people |
| Introducing Change | to probe a candidate's ability to make change part of "business as usual"; to learn their methods to reduce and manage resistance to change; and how they drive adoption to achieve the business result |
| Leadership | to determine a candidate's ability to influence, motivate and challenge others; and how they adapt their leadership style to different situations |
| Management | to probe a candidate's ability to successfully manage people; including their ability to manage performance by setting clear expectations and goals, giving feedback, and addressing performance issues promptly |
| Motivating Others | to probe a candidate's ability to help others to see the benefit of doing their job well and how they maintain a positive, yet realistic, outlook to sustain morale |
| Motivation | to find candidates who are self-motivated; to learn about what actions a candidate takes to ensure goals are met |
| Multitasking | to probe a candidate's ability to juggle different work projects and how they effectively shift their attention from one task to another |
| Negotiating | to probe a candidate's ability to work with two or more people, organization, etc. to reach solutions through compromise |
| Organization/Planning | to find candidate's who have an aptitude for organizing their work in order to complete their assigned responsibilities |
| Personal Effectiveness/Self-Assessment | to learn how a candidate views themselves and their work |
| Persuasion | to get a sense of a candidate's ability to inspire and persuade others to voluntarily follow direction, pursue and achieve goals, and adopt new positions or opinions |
| Presentation | to probe a candidate's ability to convey ideas and information to others |
| Problem-solving | to identify a candidate's ability to identify problems; determine accuracy and relevance of information; use sound judgement to generate and evaluate alternatives; and to use information to make decisions |
| Project Management | to learn how a candidate structures and directs work on projects; how they define and communicate success in a project; and what past experience leading projects was like |
| Setting Goals | to probe a candidate's ability to clearly define success and their ability develop appropriate steps to achieve success |
| Sound Judgment | to find candidates who are trustworthy and are consistently professional in their work |
| Strategic Planning | to find candidates who have the ability to link long-range visions and concepts to daily work and have an awareness of the impact of the world at large on strategies |
| Stress Management | to probe a candidate's ability to keep functioning effectively when under pressure and maintain self-control in the face of difficult situations |
| Teamwork | to determine how a candidate works with others to achieve shared goals and recognizes the value of diverse perspectives |
| Time Management | to probe a candidate's ability to finish tasks on time; learn how they organize their time to complete tasks; and how they manage their own time, priorities, and resources to achieve goals |
Resources:
https://economics.virginia.edu/behavioral-interviewing-and-question-bank
https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/100-potential-interview-questions