Position Name: Customer Solutions – Retail
Interviewer
Candidate Name
Interview Date
Introductory Questions
– Interviewer(s) share name, role, tenure, and hand business cards for thank you messages – Share a brief overview of the company
– Give Candidate the Job Description, highlight Job Purpose, Schedule/Travel, Major Challenges & Key Decisions, and Physical Requirements
Tell us about yourself.
What do you know about our organization?
Transitional & Verification Questions
– Clarify any unclear information from resume or application
– Verify availability for work hours and schedule, start date, and other important details
What interests you about this role?
What interests you about working for us?
Technical Questions
– Ask job related questions, based on skills and competencies needed for the role
– Ask open ended questions that allow candidates to tell a story about a specific example
– Ask 5-10 questions based on the role and how much time you have (~3-4 minutes per question)
– Listen for recent examples, details, consistency, the candidate’s role in the story, and teamwork
– Take notes and ask clarifying questions as follow-ups
What specific areas (related to the position) do you consider yourself the most knowledgeable? What areas have you had less experience or do not feel as comfortable with?
What has given you the greatest sense of achievement at work and why?
Behavioral / Situational Questions
– Ask job related questions, based on skills and competencies needed for the role
– Ask open ended questions that allow candidates to tell a story about a specific example
– Ask 5-10 questions based on the role and how much time you have (~3-4 minutes per question)
– Listen for recent examples, details, consistency, the candidate’s role in the story, and teamwork
– Take notes and ask clarifying questions as follow-ups. Follow up questions may include:
- Tell us more about the action you took and the outcome.
- What did you say at that point?
- How did you react to that situation?
- Explain your role in more detail.
- Tell me in detail what steps you took.
- And what was the result?
- Describe the obstacles you faced in getting it done.
- What other options did you consider?
- Why do you think you reacted as you did?
- How do you think others felt about your actions at the time?
- Were you satisfied with the outcome of your actions?
- If the same or a similar situation presented itself, what would you do differently?
Adaptability
What is one of the most challenging changes you have faced at work? How did it impact you? What was the outcome?
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Change Management
Tell me about a situation where you needed to adjust quickly to a significant change in team or department priorities? What did you do? What was the outcome?
Situation:
Action:
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Communication
Tell me about a time when you had to give instructions to another person who was having difficulty understanding. What did you do?
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Do you tend to take an observer/listener role or be an active participant in meetings? Tell me about a time when your preferred style worked well and a time when it didn’t.
Situation:
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Conflict Management
Tell me about a difficulty you encountered in working with another department. What did you do to improve the situation?
Situation:
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Describe a time when you communicated something unpleasant or difficult to your manager. How did you assert yourself?
Situation:
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Customer Focused
When a customer irritates you, how do you react? Tell me about a time that happened.
Situation:
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Have you ever had to go the extra mile to satisfy a customer? Tell me what you did and what was the result?
Situation:
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Describe a time when you successfully handled a customer complaint.
Situation:
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Integrity
Tell me about a time you were new to a company or work group. What steps did you take to build trust with coworkers and/or staff?
Situation:
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Judgement
Tell us about a mistake that you made, how you took ownership, and what steps you took to make it right.
Situation:
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Share a success story about balancing personal and professional demands to maintain a healthy balance.
Situation:
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Learning Agility
Describe a time when you overcame a major obstacle.
Situation:
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Describe a situation when you had to get started on something but didn’t know what to do.
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Planning & Organization
Tell me about a time when a coworker did not report to work and you had to take on extra duties to help out in that absence. How did you plan your day? What did you do?
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Problem Solving
Tell me about a time when you encountered a problem and your supervisor was not available to help you. How did you handle the problem?
Situation:
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How has your approach to problem solving changed as you’ve progressed in your career?
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Tell me about a problem that needed fixing where you weren’t sure how to approach it.
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Quality
Tell me about a time when you were given constructive feedback. How did you use it to improve your quality of work?
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Tell us about some of your good and bad qualities
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Relationship Building
How does one go about building rapport quickly and maintaining successful business relationships? Give examples of how you made these work for you.
Situation:
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Give a specific example of a time when you had to address an angry customer. What was the problem and what was the outcome? How would you asses your role in diffusing the situation?
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Teamwork/Team Building
Please give me an example of how you have contributed to the culture of previous teams.
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When it comes to group dynamics, what do you believe hinders teamwork the most?
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What role do you enjoy playing when working on a team?
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What do you believe makes a team successful?
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Tell us about a time when someone wasn’t pulling their weight on a team. What was the situation and how did you manage through it?
Situation:
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Do you prefer to work by yourself or with a team? Which is more interesting to you and why?
Situation:
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Candidate’s Questions
– Be sure to leave time for their questions, generally 1-3
– Paint a positive but honest view of the pros and cons of the work and culture
Notes
Closing Questions
– Describe where you are in the process, next steps, and when they can expect to hear back
– Ask if they have any final remarks
What is one thing I should know about you that I haven’t asked?
What is the best thing a previous employer did that you wish everyone did?
Interviewer Assessment
Enter your overall assessment about the candidate’s knowledge, skills, abilities, and fit for this position.
Would you recommend this candidate advance in the process?