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What is an interview? It is not an action movie encounter, where you are driven into a corner and must answer questions as if at gunpoint, it is not even an assessment and not a police interrogation either. The very word interview hints at a pleasant conversation with an interlocutor; undoubtedly about a lot more than the weather outside – but still, enjoyable. The only problem is that it is impossible to assess all the skills and professionalism of a person in a short talk, therefore, in this case, being prepared for some common questions, the impression you make, and the famous soft skills all help a ton. We have tried to put together key questions that you may come across in your preparation for an interview in a tech company. 

Motivation/ability to make decisions

  1. Describe a situation where you did much more than what was expected of you to complete a project. Have your efforts been recognised? If yes, by whom and how? How did you feel about it?
  2. Tell us about how you took charge of a project. Why did you do it? What was the result of your accepting the challenge? What could have happened if you hadn’t taken responsibility?
  3. Give me an example where you came up with a project idea that was brought to fruition chiefly due to your efforts. What was it about? What was the result? What was your role?
  4. Describe a time when you improved something in a project you were working on.
  5. Give me an example of a project or initiative you started on your own. This may be a non-commercial project. What prompted you to start working?

 

Ability to adapt

  1. Describe a situation in which you encountered an obstacle to completing a project. How did you deal with it? What steps did you take?
  2. Tell me about a time when you had to work on multiple projects at once. How did you deal with it?
  3. Describe a situation in which you experienced significant changes to a project that you did not expect. What were they? How did this affect you, and how did you adapt to this change? How did you stay productive?
  4. Describe a situation in which you had to adjust to changes over which you had no control. How did you do that?

 

Communication skills

  1. I would be interested to hear about disagreements with your manager. What was the reason for this? How did you solve it?
  2. Tell me about a time when you had to deliver very bad news to your manager or team members. How did you do that? What was the result?
  3. Give an example of a time when you disagreed with another colleague. Did you stand up for what you thought was right?
  4. Tell me about a few times/situations where you had to set a task for someone who didn’t understand technical jargon. How do you make sure the other person gets you?
  5. Describe a situation in which you felt that you were not communicating enough with another person. What did you do?
  6. Tell me about a situation in which you had to speak up and be assertive to make a point that was important to you.

 

Conflict Management

  1. Tell me about a time when you had a disagreement with another colleague. How did you handle the situation? Has it been possible to reach a mutually beneficial solution to this conflict? If not, why couldn’t you and your colleague come to a resolution? If you knew then what you know now, what would you have done differently to prevent or resolve the conflict?
  2. Tell me about a time when you had to work with a difficult person to achieve a goal. What was the biggest problem? How did you do that?
  3. Was there a time on the project when you disagreed with someone? What have you done to resolve this issue?
  4. Tell me about a time when you had to deal with conflict in your team. How was the conflict resolved? How did you do that? How would you figure it out now?

Creativity

  1. Give an example of a situation where you had to find a creative and unusual approach to solving a problem. How did this idea come to you? Why do you think it was unusual?

Making decisions

  1. Give me an example of a time when you were faced with a difficult project-related problem, and you couldn’t decide on the best way to solve it. What did you do? How did you decide? If you could go back, would you change anything?
  2. Think about a time when you made a decision at work that you didn’t support. How did you behave?
  3. Give me an example of a project that completely failed. Why do you think it was a failure? Was there an opportunity to do something different to turn it into a success?
  4. Describe a situation in which you worked hard on a project and didn’t get the results you wanted. Why didn’t you get the desired results? What have you learned from the experience?
  5. Think of a time when you made a bad decision or did something that just didn’t work out. What happened?

Goal orientation

  1. Give an example of an important project goal you achieved and how you achieved it.
  2. Think of an example where you worked and achieved multiple project goals.
  3. Describe a time when you failed to achieve the project goal that was set by your supervisor. How did you deal with this situation? What was the result?
  4. Think of an example in which you were dependent on other people to help you achieve a project goal. How did you feel?

Impact/beliefs

  1. Tell me about a recent situation at work in which you were able to convince management to accept one of your ideas.
  2. Describe a situation in which you had difficulty getting other people to accept your ideas? What was your approach? How did it work out? Have you successfully convinced someone to see things through your eyes?
  3. Have you ever “sold” an idea to your project team? How did you do that? Did they buy it?

Planning, prioritization, time management

  1. Tell me about a time when you were responsible for planning a project. Did everything go according to your plan? If not, why not and what kind of counteractions did you have to take?

Problem Solving Skills

  1. Tell me about a situation where you made a mistake at work. What exactly happened and how did you deal with it? What steps have you taken to improve the situation?
  2. What is the biggest problem you ever faced on a project and how did you solve it? What was the most difficult part? What was the result? Would you do something differently now?
  3. Give me an example of a time when you noticed a small problem before it became a major one. Have you taken the initiative to fix this? What measures have you taken?
  4. Tell me about a difficult problem/project you are facing. How did you decide what to do first? What information do you need? What obstacles did you face? Which of them were you able to overcome? Did you need to ask for help?

Teamwork

  1. Tell me about a time you worked with a person who didn’t complete his part of the job. How did you handle the situation? Have you discussed your concerns with a colleague? With your manager? If so, how did your colleague respond to your concerns? What was your manager’s reaction?
  2. Describe a situation where you had to work on a team that didn’t work very well. What happened? What did you do and what role did you take on? How has the situation changed?
  3. Describe an experience with a team that disappointed you. What would you do to prevent this next time?
  4. Give me an example of team collaboration to achieve an important goal. What was the purpose? How much did you interact with other project participants?
  5. Tell me about a difficult situation you had when you were leading a team. What happened and how did you overcome it? Have you been successful? What is the most important thing you have done?

 

Work under pressure

  1. Describe a time when you worked effectively under pressure. How did you feel working in that environment? What happened and how did you get through it?
  2. Tell me about a time you experienced an issue while working under pressure. How did you deal with this situation? Did you ask for help? How and when did you do that?
  3. Give me a recent example of a stressful situation at work. What happened? How did you handle it?

 

The most important thing to remember is that there is no right or wrong answer here. Going through such questions at an interview helps you and your potential employer decide if your professional values are aligned or not and this is always a two-way decision. 

Anna Vashura, HR generalist DAN.IT education

 

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