Interviewing:
Common Undergraduate Questions

Education

Why did you choose Boston University?
Why did you choose to major in business? To concentrate in _______________?
What is your grade point average?
What subjects do you enjoy the most? The least? Why?
What leadership positions have you held?
Have you done the best you could in school? If not, why?

Work Experience

What were your major achievements in each of your past jobs?
What functions did you/do you enjoy doing the most?
What did you/do you like about your boss? Dislike?
Which job did you enjoy the most? Why? Which job did you enjoy the least? Why?

Career Goals

Why do you want to join our organization?
Specifically, what attracts you to this industry?
Why do you think you are qualified for this position?
Why should we hire you?
What do you want to be doing five years from now?
If you were free to choose your job and employer where would you go?
What other types of jobs are you considering? Companies?
When will you be ready to begin work?
How do you feel about relocating, traveling, working overtime, and spending weekends in the office?

Personality and Other Concerns

Tell me about yourself.
What are you major weaknesses? Your major strengths?
What causes you to lose your temper?
What do you do in your spare time? Any hobbies?
What types of books do you read?
How well do you work under pressure? In meeting deadlines?
What kind of supervisor do you work best for? Provide examples.
What types of people do you prefer working with?
How ____________________(creative, analytical, tactful, etc.) are you?
If you could change your life, what would you do differently?

Technical and Professional Knowledge

Questions relate to level of understanding and ability to apply it

Sometimes it's easy to get in "over your head." Describe a situation where you had to request help or assistance on a project or assignment.
Give an example of how you applied knowledge from previous coursework to a project in another class.

Teamwork

Questions relate to ability to work with others—peers, other units, senior management—to accomplish organizational goals

Describe a situation where others you were working with on a project disagreed with your ideas. What did you do?
Describe a situation in which you found that your results were not up to your professor's or supervisor's expectations. What happened? What action did you take?
Tell of a time when you worked with a colleague who was not completing his or her share of the work. How did you handle the situation?
Describe a situation in which you had to arrive at a compromise or guide others to a compromise.

Analysis

What steps do you follow to study a problem before making a decision?
We can sometimes identify a small problem and fix it before it becomes a major problem. Give an example(s) of how you have done this.
Describe a situation in which you had to collect information by asking many questions of several people.
In a supervisory or group leader role, have you ever had to discipline or counsel an employee or group member? What was the nature of the discipline? What steps did you take? How did that make you feel? How did you prepare yourself?
Recall a time from your work experience when your manager or supervisor was unavailable and a problem arose. What was the nature of the problem? How did you handle the situation? How did that make you feel?
What was the most complex assignment you have had? What was your role?

Adaptability

How was your transition from high school to college? Did you face any particular problems?
Tell of some situations in which you had to adjust quickly to changes over which you had no control. What was the impact of the change on you?

Work Standards

Describe a time when you were not very satisfied or pleased with your performance. What did you do about it?
What are your standards of success in school? What have you done to meet those standards?

Initiative

Describe a project or idea that was implemented or carried out successfully primarily because of your efforts.
Describe a situation that required a number of things to be done at the same time. How did you handle it? What was the result?

Planning and Organizing

How do you determine priorities in scheduling your time? Give examples.
Describe a time in school when you had many projects or assignments due at the same time. What steps did you take to get them all done?

Communication

Tell of a time when your active listening skills really paid off for you—maybe a time when other people missed the key idea being expressed.
What has been your experience in giving presentations to small or large groups? What has been your most successful experience in speech making?

Customer Service Orientation

Tell of the most difficult customer service experience that you have ever had to handle. Be specific and tell what you did and what the outcome was.

Sensitivity

Give an example of when you had to work with someone who was difficult to get along with. Why was this person difficult? How did you handle that person?
Describe a situation where you found yourself dealing with someone who didn't like you. How did you handle it?

Prepare for Objections and Negatives

The following are questions that interviewers may not pose, but do consider. It is important that you relay your interest in the position and the company with all of your answers so that these questions are answered in a positive manner, without needing to be verbalized.

Why should I hire you?
What do you really want?
What can you really do for me?
What are your weaknesses?
What problems will I have with you?

Interviewing: Common Undergraduate Questions