Santa Clara University

Responding to Questions

The following are commonly asked questions during initial interviews. Put some thought into how you will approach these questions if asked. See the STAR technique in the Sample Questions and Responses section for an approach to developing responses.

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. How would you describe yourself?
3. What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort?
4. What are your short-term and long-term goals?
5. What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
6. What recent achievement are you most proud of?
7. What do you think you would like in this particular job?
8. Do you think your grades are a good indication of your academic abilities?
9. How would you respond to a team member who wasn’t pulling his weight on a group project?
10. What have you done that shows initiative and willingness to work?
11. Pretend I’m your boss and I just told you the project you just turned in was not at all what I was looking for. How would you respond?
12. Tell me about a situation in which you could not meet your goals. How did you handle it?
13. Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
14. What do you know about our organization?
15. Why are you interested in working for our company?
16. How do you feel you will add value to our organization?