Tell me about yourself?

Where do you see yourself after five years?  What are your future goals?

What is your greatest weakness?

What are your greatest strengths?

What Do Coworkers Say About You? How do you think that your friends will describe you?

Why Did You Leave Your Last Job?

What do you know about this company?

Why Do You Want to Work for Our Company? Why do you want this job?

Why should we hire you?

What are you looking to make?

Tell me about your ability to work under pressure? 

How do you deal with upset customers? How would you handle a difficult customer?

How do you appreciate them when customers came?

How do you appreciate them when customers leave?

Did you ever have to face a customer who didn’t speak the language well? How did you handle it?

Do you have any questions to ask us?

§  Describe your greatest professional regret

§  Describe a time that you made a mistake, and what you did afterwards

§  Describe a situation where you had to make a critical decision

§  Describe a time where you disagreed with a supervisor

§  Describe a time where you were forced to hastily prioritize tasks

§  Describe a time that you had to deal with conflict

§  Tell me about a time you set a goal and how you achieved it

§  Give me an example of a time that you showed leadership

§  Describe a situation in which you had to use problem solving skills

§  Describe a time that you made a critical mistake

§  Tell me about a time that you gave outstanding customer service

§  Tell me about a time that you went above and beyond expectations

§  Describe a situation in which you had to be the mediator of a conflict

§  Tell me about a time you disagreed with a coworker

§  Give me an example of a time where you were coming close to a deadline and what occurred

§  Describe a situation where you had to collaborate with a difficult colleague.

§  Describe a situation where you had to work with a difficult manager or important client/customer.

§  Describe a situation where you needed to persuade someone to accept your point of view or convince them to change something.

§  Describe a difficult problem you faced and how you approached it.

§  Describe a mistake you've made professionally.

§  Describe a situation where you worked under a tight deadline.

§  Describe a time when you received criticism.

§  Describe a situation when you needed to take initiative.

§  Describe a situation when you've come onto a new team or a new working environment. 

§  Describe a situation where you needed to work with a client or customer who was very different from you.

§  Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way.  

§  Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills.

§  Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.

§  Give me an example of a time when you set a goal and were able to meet or achieve it.

§  Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation skills to influence someone’s opinion.

§  Give me a specific example of a time when you had to conform to a policy with which you did not agree.

§   Please discuss an important written document you were required to complete.

§  Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.

§   Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and you were required to prioritize your tasks.

§  Give me an example of a time when you had to make a split-second decision.

§  What is your typical way of dealing with conflict? Give me an example.

§  Tell me about a time you were able to successfully deal with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa).

§   Tell me about a difficult decision you’ve made in the last year.

§  Give me an example of a time when something you tried to accomplish and failed.

§  Give me an example of when you showed initiative and took the lead.

§ Tell me about a recent situation in which you had to deal with a very upset customer or co-worker.

§  Give me an example of a time when you motivated others.

§  Tell me about a time when you delegated a project effectively.

§  Give me an example of a time when you used your fact-finding skills to solve a problem.

§  Tell me about a time when you missed an obvious solution to a problem.

§  Describe a time when you anticipated potential problems and developed preventive measures.

§  Tell me about a time when you were forced to make an unpopular decision.

§  Please tell me about a time you had to fire a friend.

§   Describe a time when you set your sights too high (or too low).

Dear        ,  

　I applied for　　 position a couple of weeks ago. Again, it was really great to meet with you and your team. Since I have not yet heard back from your pharmacy, I wanted to inquire as to whether I am still under consideration for the position. If the position is still open, I would like to again express my interest in working with you at 　　 Hospital.  

　If necessary, I would be happy to meet again, or resend any application materials to provide any further information. I can be reached at (○○○) △△△-xxxx or mizuhase@gmail.com. Thank you again. 

Sincerely,

Interview Question Examples~アカデミック編

1. Describe your current line of research and explain its clinical relevance. What aspects of your research are innovative?

2. What do you believe is a researcher's obligation for dissemination of results?

3. What experience and success have you had in acquiring research grant support?

4. What research equipment, personnel, and supply requirements do you have?

5. Describe the courses you have taught by summarizing the course content and assignments required.

6. Explain how you grade students' written work. How have you handled conflicts with students over grades and assignments?

7. How would you handle an episode of academic misconduct?

8. Define "integrity" and explain at least two ways that you have demonstrated this trait in your research and teaching.

9. How have your prior jobs contributed to your professional skills and attitude?

10. Why are you interested in a position at this university?

11. What strengths and expertise will you contribute to our department?

12. In what ways do you feel you can lend support to your colleagues?

13. List three areas of weakness that you wish to improve on.

14. How will you be a role model for our students? In your opinion, what personal and professional traits are desirable for mentoring students?

1. Describe your research. What are you currently working on? What is your five year plan?

2. What are your plans for publishing?

3. How do you plan to support your research?

4. How will you seek funding to support your research?

5. In what journals do you plan to submit your research?

6. What is your teaching philosophy?

7. Describe how you'd teach an introductory survey course in your discipline (or an advanced seminar)?

8. What courses would you like to teach?

9. What course, not currently in our catalogue, would you like to develop?

10. How does your research inform your teaching?

11. What are your plans for integrating students into your research?

12. Why do you want to work here?

13. What textbook would you use in a particular course?

14. What classes have you taught?

15. How do you structure your courses?

• What did your years as a junior faculty member look like? What aspect of your position during that time surprised you the most?

• In what ways did you feel prepared/unprepared for the position?

• Who was most helpful person in making those early years successful? In what ways did they help?

• How does your current faculty position compare to what you expected as a graduate student or junior faculty?

• How many other positions did you apply for? Were they all at the same type of institution (e.g., research, liberal arts, religious)? What motivated you to choose the school you are at now?

• When your department hires a new faculty member, what makes an application packet stand out and ultimately make the applicant successful?

• How much time do you spend in teaching/research/service roles? How do each of these factor into the tenure process in your discipline? How do you balance the various demands on your time?

• What are your typical teaching responsibilities? How much choice do you have in what you teach? Given complete freedom and ample time, what would your ideal teaching experience look like?

• What is the current focus of your research efforts? How active is your research program? What are your funding sources? How do you go about getting published? Does your department offer resources or support to help you get published?

• What is your perspective on the relationship between teaching and research?

• Which many committees do you serve on? What is the scope of these committees? Are you able to choose on which committees you participate?

• How do you balance the “big three” (teaching, research, and service) with your personal interests?

• Do you have a mentor or serve as a mentor to another faculty member? What role has mentoring played in your career? What advice do you have about choosing a mentor?

• How many undergraduate students do you advise? How many graduate students? What do you feel is your role as an advisor?

• What have you discovered about yourself as a teacher/researcher/advisor in the last 5 years?

• What have you discovered about your students in the last 5 years?

• What is the most rewarding aspect of your position?

• What advice would you have to offer me when considering a future faculty position?

• What kinds of research projects/ topics could you pursue here?

• How will/have you involved students in your research?

• What is the most useful constructive feedback you have received and how have you applied it?

• Tell me about a project in which you’ve been involved that was successful and one that was not. Why do you think these were the outcomes?

• How would you describe your interactions with students?

• How would you plan a course in______? What texts would you use? What topics would you cover? How would you evaluate student learning in the course?

• Describe your familiarity and experience with different teaching methods such as collaborative learning, learning styles adaptation, and classroom assessment.

• What could you contribute to our program?

• What makes a good advisor? Do you think it’s important to challenge your students? How would you do that?

• How many MS or PhD students would you try to have in your lab? What about technicians and post-docs?

• What is your approach to advising graduate students?

• Please give us an example of a time when you had to give constructive feedback to a student. What was the situation, and how did you handle it? In retrospect, would you do anything differently now?

• How would you advise a student if s/he were questioning whether or not to major in your discipline?

• It is the third week of your introductory class and you notice that some students really aren’t paying attention and some aren’t showing up- what would you do to correct this situation?

• How would you encourage students to major in your field?

• In your first semester, you would be responsible for our course in ___________ How would you structure it? What textbook would you use?

• Can you provide us with a sample syllabus of a course that you have taught?

• What do you think is the optimal balance between teaching and research?

• Have you had any experience with distance learning or technology in the classroom?

• Have you supervised any undergraduate or graduate students?

• What experience have you had teaching diverse students? (Full-time, part-time, students with full-time jobs and/or family care responsibilities, students representing different ethnic groups and races, religions, ages, and genders?) What teaching methods have proved effective with such students?

• How do you bring diversity into your course planning? Into your day-to-day teaching?

• Share an example of when you may have encouraged a student to work harder in your class?

• Describe your current research. Will you be continuing in this research track?

• What are your future research plans?

• How would you involve graduate or undergraduate students in your research?

• How does your research relate to your teaching?

• How do your community service and research intersect?

• Where do you plan to be in your teaching and research in five years?

• Why did you choose your dissertation/( post-doc) topic?

• What changes would you have made to your dissertation or your post-doctoral work, based on the experience you may have gained, if you were to begin again?

• What contribution does your dissertation make to the field?

• What are the possible sources of funding to support your research?

• What facilities do you need to carry out your research?

• Who would you collaborate with in your research project? Institutional/ Departmental issues:

• Can you summarize the contribution you would make to our department?

• Are you willing to become involved in any committee work?

• What is your impression of our institutional mission statement? How are these statements related to your goals?

• What instuitional issues particularly interest you?

• What do you see as your greatest accomplishment to in your career to date? What shortcomings have you dealt with?

• What kind of feedback works best for you and why?

• What is your concept of an ideal work environment?

• What would you have liked to do more of in your last position? What held you back?

• What are the greatest strengths you think you bring to this job?

• What is the most useful criticism you have received? 

• What professional development activities would you be interested in participating?

• What skills do you have that make you the best candidate for this position? Include any special training you have had (on-the-job, college, continuing education, seminars,reading, etc.) and related work experience.

• Tell me anything else you would like us to know about you that will aid us in making our decision.

• If you were a member of this search committee, what is one question you would ask potential candidates?

• Tell us about a project in which you've been involved that was successful and one that was not. Why do you think these were the outcomes?

 -Tell us a little more about your professional experiences, particularly those not metioned on your resume/application.

-Why are you interested in leaving your current assignment and why do you feel that this assignment would be better for you?

-How does this position fit into your overall career goals?

-How do you define good teaching?

-Describe your teaching style.

-Describe your teaching philosophy.

-What do you think are the most important attributes of a good instructor?

-What do you think are your greatest strengths as an instructor? In which areas do you feel you can use some further development?

-Describe the duties of your current job.

-What do you dislike most about your current job?

-What is your favorite part of your current job and why is it your favorite part?

-Share your ideas about professional development.

- In what professional development activities have you been involved over the past few years?

-What are your current research interests?

Have you involved your students in your research?

How do you feel your teaching style can serve our student population?

How do you engage students, particularly in a course of non-majors?

How do you adjust your style to the less-motivated or under-prepared student?

On the basis of the information you have received so far, what do you see as the major challenges of this position and how would you meet them?

Describe a situation in which you did “all the right things” and were still unsuccessful. What did you learn from the experience?

Why did you choose this profession/field?

What new skills have you learned over the past year?

How would your background and experiences strengthen this academic department?

Think about an instance when you were given an assignement that you thought you would not be able to complete. How did you accomplish the assignment?

Have you ever had a great idea but been told that you could not implement it? How did you react? What did you do?

Tell us about your preferred work environment.

Describe your ideal job.

Tell us how you would learn your new job in the absence of a formal training program?

 What things have you done on your own initiative to help you prepare for your next job?

Tell us how you go about organizing your work. Also describe any experience you have had with computers or other tools as they relate to organization.

What experiences or skills will help you manage projects?

Can you describe how you go about solving a problem? Please give us some examples. 

What is the biggest conflict you have ever been involved in at work? How did you handle the situation?

What pedagogical changes do you see on the horizon in your discipline?

How would you characterize your level of computer literacy? What are some of the programs and applications with which your are familiar?

Tell us how you would use technology in your day-today job.

What technology applications have you utilized in the classroom?

How would you go about being an advocate and resource for the use of technology in the teaching and learning process?

What courses have you created or proposed in the past five years?

 What changes have you brought to the teaching of______________?

Think about a co-worker from the present or past whom you admire. Why?

What are the characteristics that you prize most in an employee? What behaviors or characteristics do you find intolerable?

 Describe the best boss and the worse boss you have ever had.

What would your co-workers or your supervisor say about you?

What are one or two of your proudest professional accomplishments?

Do you have any concerns that would make you have reservations about accepting this position if it is offered to you?

What do you think most uniquely qualifies you for this position?

Do you have any additional information that you would like to share?

Do you have any questions for us?

What to Ask During an Academic Job Interview

How are departmental decisions made?

How often are departmental meetings held? Are decisions made in departmental meetings? Who is eligible to vote on departmental decisions (e.g., all faculty or only tenured faculty)?

May I have a copy of the departmental annual report?

What's the relative importance of teaching, research and service for promotion and tenure?

What is the average time that faculty spend in each academic rank? How long is it before assistant professors are reviewed for promotion and tenure?

What is the nature of the tenure review process?

About what percent of faculty receive tenure?

Can grants be used to supplement salary?

What type of retirement program is there? What percentage of the salary goes to retirement? What does the school contribute?

What type of health program exists? What are the costs and benefits?

How many undergraduate and graduate students are presently in the department? How are their numbers changing?

Tell me about your student population.

Where do the undergraduate students go after graduation?

What kinds of technology are available in the classroom?

How well does the library meet departmental needs? Are the reserves adequate?

What courses are you looking to fill?

How does the department and university support the improvement of teaching?

What are the department's research strengths and weaknesses?

What are the department's plans for growth and hiring?

What resources for research are available within the department (e.g., computer facilities, equiptment)

Is there a research office on campus to help faculty write grants?

How important is research in determining tenure and promotion?

Is outside grant support essential for promotion and tenure?

How are graduate students supported?

How do graduate students select research advisors?

What kinds of financial support are available for research and supplies?

Is this a new position? If not, why did the faculty member leave?