How to interview with situational questions

Situational interview questions are a very common type of interview question. They aren't new, as they've been used for years. In a situational interview, candidates are asked how they would handle a particular situation. interviewers typically ask situational questions to gage how well job candidates will respond to various scenarios.

The following are suggestions for responding to situational interview questions:

List situational interview questions

• What negative thing would your last boss say about you?
• How would you attempt to make changes in the process if you felt a policy of your organization was hurting its members/workers?
• What would a good manager do to build team spirit?
• Describe a time when you were faced with problems or stresses at work that tested your coping skills. What did you do?
• Give an example of a time when you could not participate in a discussion or could not finish a task because you did not have enough information?
• Give an example of a time when you had to be relatively quick in coming to a decision?
• How would you organize the steps or methods you’d take to define/identify a vision for your team or your personal job function?
• Tell me about an assignment that was too difficult for you. How did you resolve the issue?
• Tell me about a time when you faced a major obstacle at work?
• Describe a difficult decision you had to make with assistance with your managers?
• You are working with a coworker who is consistently making mistakes that affect customers and that impact your ability to do your own work. You have tried talking with this colleague, but you have seen no improvement in the quality of her work. What would you do next?
• You notice a coworker stealing from the company. What would you do?
• What did you do in your last job to contribute toward a teamwork environment?
• Give me an example of a problem you faced on the job and tell me how you solved it?
• How would you react if two teammates were embroiled in a conflict that kept the team from completing its task?
• Give me an example of a time when you felt you were able to build motivation in your co-workers or subordinates?
• Tell me about a specific occasion when you conformed to a policy even though you did not agree with it?
• How would you handle it if you believed strongly in a recommendation you made in a meeting, but most of your co-workers shot it down?
• In a training session, you find that the trainer has a thick accent, and you can’t understand what’s being said. What would you do?
• List the steps that you would take to make an important decision on the job?
• What would you do if you realized at deadline time that a report you wrote for your boss or professor was not up to par?
• How would you deal with a colleague at work with whom you seem to be unable to build a successful working relationship?
• You have recently begun managing a team within the organization. One of your team members applied for the same job, and she is resentful that she was not given the job. She is speaking in a manner that is disrespectful and undermining your authority. How will you handle the situation?
• You see a coworker taking a shortcut with his job that could become a safety hazard. What will you do?
• Tell me about a time when you helped resolve a dispute between others.
• How do you handle it if the boss is wrong?
• What have you learned from your mistakes?
• You disagree with the way your supervisor says to handle a problem. What would you do?
• Who would you talk to if you discovered that a co-worker was disclosing confidential information that should not be divulged?
• Describe the most creative work-related project you have completed?
• Describe a time when you felt it was necessary to modify or change your actions in order to respond to the needs of another person?
• Give me an example of a time when you had to analyze another person or situation carefully in order to be effective in guiding your action or decision?
• When would it be appropriate to bring in your supervisor while dealing with an angry customer?
• Give me an example of a time when you were able to communicate successfully with another person, even when that individual may not have personally liked you?
• Describe a situation in which you were able to read another person effectively and guide your actions by your understanding of his/her individual needs or values?
• What did you do in your last job in order to be effective with your organization and planning? Be specific?

Responding to situational interview questions doesn’t have to be a mind-numbing ordeal. Not if you have the guidance of a professional. Let Select Group steer you through the pitfalls of job interviewing!