Sample Interview Questions for Student Employment
Contact your prospective student employee(s) to schedule an interview and request that they bring a copy of their
class schedule to the interview.
General
1.
Tell me/us about yourself.
2.
Give an overview of your previous work experience.
3.
What qualifications do you possess that will make you successful in this position?
4.
What made you decide to choose your particular field of study?
5.
What courses have you liked best? Least? For what reasons?
6.
Describe your ideal supervisor.
7.
What interests you about our office and the services we provide?
8.
What challenges might you face in this position?
9.
Why should our office hire you?
10. What do you know about this department/office?
Situational
11. Tell me about a time you were given a task to complete but you did not have the tools necessary to
complete the task. What did you do?
12. Not all parts of a job are fun or challenging. What tasks fall into this cat egory for you and how do you
motivate yourself to complete these tasks?
Character Traits/Personality
13. If I asked your friends to describe you, what would they say?
14. Tell me about a time you made a mistake on the job. How did you remedy it?
15. What motivates you to do a good job?
16. What have you done that shows initiative and willingness to work?
17. How would you describe your work style? Do you prefer to work alone or in team?
18. What is the best criticism you've ever received?
Communication Questions
19. Tell me about a time you had to adjust your communication style to accommodate the style of another?
What was the outcome?
20. Would you rather do a written presentation or a verbal presentation? Why?
Updated: January 2016
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21. When you have entered a new workplace/classroom in the past, describe how you have gone about
meeting and developing relationships with your new classmates, coworkers and supervisors?
Customer Service Questions
22. How do you know when you have truly met a customer’s needs?
23. What does great customer service mean to you?
24. A student approaches your desk, the phone is ringing, and your boss is calling you into his/her office.
What do you do first, and why?
25. How would you handle an upset customer?
26. Discuss a situation during the past year in which you had to deal with an angry or upset customer,
coworker, or classmate. How did you handle this situation?
27. Describe a time on any job that you’ve held in which you were faced with problems or stresses which
tested your coping skills.
Illegal Interview Questions
It is against the law to ask questions related age, race, religion, national origin , marital status, family status,
disability and other topics that may lead to discrimination. Here are examples of questions that you CANNOT
ask.
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
Illegal Question
Reason
How old are you?
age
When did you graduate from high school?
age
Do you go to church?
religion
Are you pregnant?
family status
What is your height/weight?
personal
Are you married or do you have a partner?
marital status
Do you wish to be addressed as Mr., Mrs., Miss, or Ms.?
Gender
What are your child care arrangements?
family status
Do you have any disabilities?
disability
What is your race?
race
Updated: January 2016
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Technical and Logistical Questions
Student Name
CWID
Has
FWS?
Has
SSN?
Schedule/Availability
Has Offcampus job?
# of Credit
Hours
Graduation
Date
Major
You may use this interview chart to compare interviewees.
Updated: January 2016
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