Personnel Selection: Interview Questions: Personal Relations
Describe the ideal employee.
Describe the most difficult boss or co-worker you have ever worked with, and tell me how you coped with the situation.
Describe your best friend and what he or she does for a living. In what ways are you similar or different from your best friend?
How did you get along with your co-workers?
How do you deal with interpersonal conflict?
How do you deal with people at different levels?
How do you deal with rejection?
How do you handle people who are critical? (or How do you handle rejection?)
How do you interact with you superiors?
How do you resolve conflicts?
How have you developed your interpersonal skills? Are they good?
How have you ever embarrassed yourself?
How would you describe your character?
How would you handle a difficult situation with a co-worker?
How would you handle an angry co-worker?
How would you handle an angry customer?
How would you handle an angry supervisor?
How would you help a co-worker with a personal problem?
How would you work with someone you didn't like?
If you could change one thing about your personality, what would it be?
Is it an effort for you to be tolerant of persons with a background and interests different that your own?
Tell me about a particularly difficult or awkward conversation you needed to have with someone?
Tell me about a time where you had to stand firm and make a tough or unpopular decision in order to maintain the standards you had set.
Tell me about a time you used your spoken communication skills to get a point across.
What was a team project that you helped complete?
What's the toughest communication problem you faced?
Inspirations
How did your boss help you to be your best?
What's been the greatest influence on your career plans?
Which person has had the most influence on your life?
Who has been an inspiration to you?
Who or what has been the greatest single influence in your life?
Likeability
Do your subordinates come to you with personal problems?
How do you earn respect from co-workers?
How do you establish rapport with your subordinates?
How do you feel your subordinates would describe you as a communicator?
How do you get along with co-workers?
How do you get along with superiors?
How do you think a friend who knows you well would describe you?
How do you think your co-workers would describe you?
How do you think your friends would describe you?
How would a close friend or professor describe you?
How would one of your friends describe you?
How would others describe you as an individual?
How would someone you work with describe you?
How would you be described by your best friend?
How would your best friend describe you?
How would your co-workers describe you?
How would your supervisor describe you?
If a friend or professor were asked to describe you, what would he/she say?
The successful candidate for this position will be working with some highly trained individuals who have been here for a long time. How will you fit in?
What would your references say about you?
When have your associates relied upon you?
Views of Others
Are you a trusting person, or do you reserve judgment?
Do you feel comfortable asking for help?
Do you get along with co-workers?
Do you get along with people that you've supervised?
Do you interact well with people?
Do you trust your co-workers' advice?
Have you ever worked with someone you didn't like?
Have you had problems getting along with others?
How do you get information from a co-worker?
How do you show interest in your co-workers?
How tolerant are you of others' opinions?
How well do you cooperate?
How well have you gotten along with co-workers before?
How would you describe your relationship with your last few supervisors?
How would you evaluate my interviewing skills?
How would you react to a situation in which a fellow employee confided in you that he was stealing from the company? (situational)
What did you like most, least about your co-workers?
What did you like most, least about your last boss?
What did you like most, least about your last job?
What events have shaped your approach in dealing with people?
Perceptiveness
Do you know what postures people take if they agree with you?
Do you know what postures people take if they don't like your ideas?
What has been the biggest criticism of you?
What have you been most frequently criticized for?
What types of things make you angry?
Preferences
Can you work alone?
Do you like to work alone or with others?
Do you prefer to work alone or with others?
Do you prefer working with others or by yourself?
How well do you interact with your co-workers?
What kind of people do you find it difficult to work with?
What kind of people do you find it most difficult to get along with?
What kinds of people do you have problems working with?
What kinds of people do you like working with?
Success
Have you successfully dealt with difficult people?
How do you think others view the results of your work?
What was the most successful team project you worked on? What were your duties?
Ability to Persuade
How do you influence someone to agree with your ideas?
How do you persuade people to your point of view?
Personal Conflicts
In the past, how have you dealt with co-workers who have disagreed with you?
Tell me about a conflict with a co-worker, and how you resolved it.
Tell me about the time when someone has lost his/her temper at you in a business environment.
Tell me about your last situation with an unhappy customer? What did you do?
What do you do when you know that you are right and others don't agree with you?
What do you do when you're having a problem with a co-worker?
What is the toughest situation you've faced?
What type of people find it hard to get along with you?
What types of people seem to rub you the wrong way?
What would you do if some team members weren't doing their share of the work?