Questions employers ask in an interview basically fall into three categories: "behavioral", "situational", and "traditional". The growing trend by employers is to ask "behavioral" interviewing questions.  Following are sample interviewing questions.

See this PDF for Legal and Illegal Interview Questions.

Behavioral Questions

Star Technique for Answering Behavioral Questions

Situational Questions

  • An irate customer is using abusive language, how would you handle the situation?  
  • You have a very busy week coming up, how do you manage your workweek and make realistic deadlines?  
  • If you were working on a team and one of the members was not "pulling their own weight" what would you do?  
  • If you had unlimited leisure time, how would you spend it?  
  • A salesman comes in to talk to your boss without an appointment, how will you handle the salesperson?  
  • In instances where you are required to assert yourself, what do you do to assert yourself effectively?
  • Assume that you are a candidate for promotion, why should you be promoted?  
  • If you were to start your own company, what would that company do?  
  • If a manage or supervisor was not available and a problem arose, what would you do?  
  • You are working on a project and someone disagrees with your ideas, what would you do?  
  • You are working with someone who is difficult to get along with, how do you handle this person?


Traditional Questions

  • Tell me about yourself.
  • What are your strengths and weaknesses?
  • What have been your most satisfying accomplishments?
  • What were your most and least satisfying jobs?
  • Why did you leave your most recent job?
  • How did you get along with your last supervisor and co-workers?
  • How well do you work under pressure?
  • Why did you choose your major?
  • What college coursework did you enjoy the most? The least?
  • What extra curricular activities and interests have you been involved in?
  • What are your short term and long range career goals?
  • What position in the company do you want to advance toward?
  • What do you know about the company?
  • What interests you about our product or service?
  • Why do you think you might like to work for the company?
  • Why should we hire you?
  • Why do you think you are qualified for the position?
  • Are you willing to spend time as a trainee?


Questions for Education Majors

  • Tell us about yourself:
  • What is your philosophy on classroom inclusion for students with special needs?
  • Explain the sorts of activities you will use to engage students.
  • How would you deal with a student that refuses to do what you ask?
  • Briefly describe your technological competencies; explain how you will use these in your classroom.
  • What do you feel are the most important things students PreK-3 (or 7/8, 9-12, etc.) should know?
  • If you could change anything about education, what would it be and why?
  • Please explain how some of your "life experiences" will shape your teaching.
  • Describe three strengths and three weaknesses of yours:
  • What else, if anything, makes you the best person for this job?
  • Explain your familiarity with the "Common Core Standards" recently adopted by Wisconsin. How will these new standards inform your teaching?
  • Do you have any questions for us?
  • Describe two important curricular topics that you have taught in this grade or subject area.
  • How have the state standards for this subject guided your teaching?
  • Tell me about a lesson you taught and why it went well
  • Name a specific method or strategy you have used to teach in the past and why it is one you will continue to use.
  • Describe a classroom management plan that you have used and why it worked.
  • What have you done to start and end a class successfully?
  • Describe an approach you have used to differentiate instruction for students.
  • While a lesson is ongoing, how can you tell if students are "getting" the material?
  • Describe positive communications with students' families that you have used in the past.
  • How have you evaluated your own teaching to improve?
  • Elementary: What approaches to teaching reading have you used?
  • Elementary: How have you used manipulatives in teaching math?
  • Middle: How have you worked with a teaching team?
  • Middle: Tell about integrating the teaching of reading into other subjects.
  • High: How have you interested your students in the subject and motivated them to learn?
  • Science: How have you used labs in the classes you have taught?
  • Foreign language: What percent of a typical lesson do you teach in the target language?
  • Art: What routines for safety and cleanup have you implemented?
  • Music: Describe a performance or concert that went well and why it succeeded.
  • Health/Physical Education: How have you built weight-consciousness topics into your course?
  • Special education: Describe your experiences working with students in a mainstreamed/full inclusion/pullout setting.
  • Special education: Tell us about collaborating with other teachers to help a student


  • What are you most proud of about your school?
  • What would faculty, student, and parents say are the strengths of the school?
  • What were your school's goals for last year?
  • How do teachers integrate technology into the classroom?
  • What priorities would you have for me as a new faculty member?
  • Tell me about your first-year teacher mentoring program.
  • How does the school district support professional development?
  • What extracurricular activity opportunities might be available?

Questions You Might Ask

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