Position Name: Executive Assistant
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.
Transitional & Verification Questions
– Clarify any unclear information from resume or application
– Verify availability for work hours and schedule, start date, and other important details
Will you now or at any point in the future require visa sponsorship to work 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
How would you describe your proficiency level in [Excel as an example]?
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?
Analytical/Detail Orientation
There are times when we inadvertently let details “slip through the cracks.” Tell me about a time when this happened to you. What was the cause? What were the results?
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Give me an example of a workflow or procedure improvement you made. Who else was involved and how did you implement it?
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Communication
Give me an example of the types of writing that is required of you in your current position. How do you go about beginning the writing process?
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Customer Focused
Describe for me a recent time when a customer request could not be satisfied. What was the situation and how did you handle it?
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Emotional Intelligence
What do you do when you think someone is not listening to you? Give me an example of a time when that happened.
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Describe a time when you needed to react to an emergency situation. How did you respond? What was the result?
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Planning & Organization
How do you assure that you do not get so caught up in “task” that you lose the big picture?
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Time Management
Where do you tend to get bogged down? Provide me an example of how you’ve worked to overcome that.
Situation:
Action:
Result:
Talk about a time you were overloaded.
Situation:
Action:
Result:
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?