Introduction

Expectations

People’s expectations go a long way to determining how well they engage and what they achieve, clarity of expectations enables us to make better decisions.

Perceived value and engagement

If the barriers to entry are low it is likely that the role will be perceived as being less valuable or worthwhile. The harder we have to work for something, the more precious and important it becomes. Good questions enable candidates to demonstrate what you can expect from them.

About us• Can you tell me about what you have learnt

about us?

The role• Tell me about what you learnt about the role?• What is it that attracts you to this role?

Differentiators• What do you think makes you different to the

other applicants we are seeing?• How would we see that in your actions?• Is there anything you would like us to be aware

of that would help you?

Dependability• How would I know that I could rely on you?• Can you give me some examples of how I would

see that?

Flexibility• How adaptable or flexible are you?• Can you give me some examples to

demonstrate when you have been flexible or adaptable to help your previous company?

Achievements• What are you most proud of in your career?• What are you most proud of in terms of what

you have done for your customers?

Skills• What would you say are the top 3 skills that

you could bring to our business

Weaknesses• What would you say are your weaknesses?

First Impressions

Experience• How relevant was customer service in your role?• What were you responsible for?• How did that work on a day-to-day basis?

Empathy• Do your customers talk to you about their problems?• Can you give me some examples?• How do you respond to what the customers tell you?

Relationships• What do you do to get to know your customers?• How do you do that?• Do you find out about their challenges or goals?• Why is that?• Can you give me some examples

Influence• How do you feel about helping customers to buy

products?• How much influence do you think you have on wining

sales or contracts? Why is that?• What sales have you won yourself?• How would you go about selling an idea or a product

to your customers

Feedback• Would your customers give you a reference?• What would they say you could do better?• What would they say made you different or better?

Mistakes:• Have you ever let a customer down?• What happened?• How did you turn it around?

Supply chain• What sort of difficulties have you come up against?• Why were they so difficult?• How did you get round these issues?

Needs• As your manager what would you expect from me?

Expectations• If I was one of your customers what could I expect from

you?• Have you ever had experience of customers with

expectations that cannot be met?• What did you do?• What was the outcome?

Customer Focus

Drive For Results

Commercial awareness• What would you say are the top 3 the most important

reasons why a company will succeed in the future? Why is that?

• What type of information would you need, to help you to ensure a contract or project you are working on remains commercially successful?

Drive• What stops you from getting an easier job?• Are you someone who needs praise from your

manager?• What do you do if you don’t receive much praise?• Why do you want this job?

Organisation• What do you use to plan your day and working week?• How do you stay on track?• What tends to stop you from meeting deadlines?• Why is that?

Planning• Do you work better by planning in advance or leaving

things till the deadline?• How do you compensate for that?

Results• Tell me about what you think are the best results you

have achieved for your company in the last 12 months?

Commitment• Do you think it’s fair to say that we are all having to do

more to be successful?• How do you feel about that?

Targets• Tell me about your targets or KPI’s in your current role?• Where are you against target? Can you demonstrate that?• Tell me about any personal goals that you have achieved?• What motivated you to do that?

Goals• What were your career goals 5 years ago?• How do you feel you have done?• What would you do differently?• What are your career goals now?• Who have you shared those with? What did they say?

Today• What goals have you set for yourself this year?• How are you doing?

Awareness• What do you think determines the value of an employee to

their company? • How have you delivered that at your last company?

Decision Making

Decisions• Tell me about how you go about

making an important decision?• Do you ever change your approach? In

what way? Or why is that?• Do you make ‘major decisions’ quickly

or tend to take a long time over them?• Why is that?

Uncertainty• What do you do when you are not

sure which way to go?• Who do you speak to?• What about if you are short on time?

Difference?• How do you go about resolving a

problem in a way that satisfies stakeholders with very different needs?

• Can you give me an example of when you did that?

Conflict• How do you feel about compromising service

levels to achieve business growth?• How would you go about getting a customer

to compromise on their requirements?• Can you give me examples of when you have

done the above?

Problems• Can you recall an example of a time when you

were working at a customer’s site and you came up against a real challenge?

• What did you do?• What happened?• What did you learn from that?

Ideas • Have you ever provided ideas or

recommendations to help your company improve - do things better or differently?

• What did you suggest?• How did the company respond?• What would you do differently today?

Attitude to Risk

Comfort zone• What sort of work related activities push

you outside your comfort zone?• Can you give me an example?• How did you cope with that?

Ambition• Have you ever taken any risks to advance

your career?• What happened?• Would you do that again?

Fear• What if any personal risks do you think

you might need to take to help us grow?• Why is that a risk?• How will you deal with that?• What would your manager need to do to

support you?

Reputation• How do you feel about taking technical

risks on site? • Have you ever taken a risk with your advice

or a technical solution when you weren’t absolutely certain of the outcome? (Without support from your manager).

• What happened?

Customers• Have you ever taken any risks to help out

your customers?• What did you do?• What happened?• What did you learn from that?

Negotiation• Can you think of an example of a small risk

that we could take as a business that may lead to a big pay off or business opportunity?

• How would you present that to your manager?

• What would you do if he couldn’t see it as a good idea?

Personal Development

Expectations• Have you ever worked for a good manager?• Who was that?• What made him / her good?

Appraisals• Do you have an appraisal system at ABC

Ltd?• What do they consist of?• How did you benefit from your last

appraisal?

Feedback• What would you say was the most valuable

criticism or feedback you have received?• What did you gain from that?• What have you learnt about yourself - that

you need to manage?• What would you say has been the least

valuable feedback you have received? Why was that?

Line-manager• Who is your current manager? • What would he / she say were your

strengths?• What would he / she say were your

weaknesses?• How do you feel about that?

Development• What have you been working on during this

last year?• Have you read any personal development

books? What?• What did you learn from these?

Personal skills• Have you ever been told to improve your

personal skills?• How did you feel about that at the time?• What did you do?• What did you learn from that?

Communication Skills

Questions • Do you have any questions that you would like to

ask us?• Note the questions asked.

Body language• How do people give away what they are thinking,

without telling you?• How do you feel about reading people’s non-verbal

clues?

Status• How do you feel about presenting your ideas to

more senior people?• Can you give me an example of when you have done

this with your customers?• How did you modify your normal style or approach?

Questioning & listening• How do you feel about asking customers a lot of

questions?• How many questions would you say are too many to

ask a customer?• In a discussion with a customer what proportion of

the time do you think you should allocate to listening?

Confidence• What questions do you think you need to ask us?• Note the questions asked.

Complexity• How do you make sure that a customer

understands what you have explained?• How do you make sure that a customer

understands what they need to do?• How do you make sure that a customer

understands what they need to do to get buy-in from their decision makers?

Influence• How do you get the people from all departments at

your customers on side?• What training do you think you would benefit from

so that you could do this better?

Communication• What would you say makes someone a really good

communicator?• In what areas could you improve?• What have you found to be the most interesting

part of your interview?