As the interview proceeds, information on critical topics can be uncovered by asking thought-provoking questions of the applicant. The following sample questions will effectively generate information about the applicant’s past work history.

• Organization – “Describe how you organized a recent project assigned to you.” or “how did your organizational skills impact the project outcome?”
• Education – “In what ways would you apply your education to this position?”
• Teamwork – “Tell me about some examples where you were a team member.” or “what was your role on the team and what were the results?”
• Customer Service – “Describe to me a difficult customer complaint and how you resolved it.” or “tell me about an instance where you were able to exceed a customer’s expectations”
• Selling Skills – “Give me an example of your most successful sale. How did you make it happen?” or “describe a recent objection you overcame during a sale. How did you overcome it?”
• Initiative – “Give me some examples where you have shown initiative in your past jobs. What did you do and what were the results?”
• Productivity – “Have you ever worked with a low-producing team member? Explain how your manager handled the situation.”
• Managing Resources – “Tell me about a past situation where you improved workplace efficiency which resulted in increased productivity/profitability.”

Your goal is to control the interview in order to obtain relevant information upon which to base a selection decision.

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