Steven Schlagel

Here are 40 interview questions that will give you insight into 20 character traits. Find the character traits you are looking to hire below. After each character trait is two questions that you may want to use in a job interview to gain insight as to whether the job candidate has that character trait. Good luck!

Alertness
 
How do you like our facility? What's the first thing you noticed about it when you walked in?

Was the person who gave you the job application friendly to you?

Resourcefulness

Tell me about a time when you were having trouble solving a problem. How did you handle it?

If I told you that you had 100 dollars to spend, and only 100 dollars to advertise a product you believe in, what would you do?

Orderliness

How do you stay organized when you're swamped?

What is the first thing you do when you reach your desk in the morning? Why?

Respectfulness 

What do you do when your supervisor says something that you think is a little offensive?

How do you react to constant interruptions?

Attentiveness

When do you open doors for others?

How do you know when a supervisor is disappointed with work that you've done?

Hospitality

How would you react if you had to cover for the receptionist and a teenager, complete with nose-ring, slouched into the door?

What is the best way to respond to someone who asks you why it is taking so long for your supervisor to get back to them?

Thriftiness

Is a penny saved a penny earned? Why? or Why not?

What is the best piece of financial advise you were ever given? How have you applied it?

Initiative 

How did you hear about our company and what we do?

If you ever found you had completely finished your work, what would you do?

Diligence 

How many times would you repeat yourself if you had to keep showing a new trainee how to do something?

What would you do if one of your customers said that they would never come back?

Responsibility 

When you do not have enough time to get all of your work done for the day, how do you handle it?

What is the biggest project you ever managed?

Thoroughness

When you are faced with something extremely difficult for you, are you more likely to plow through it, ask for help, or move on to the next thing on your list?

Do you think that multi-tasking helps you or hurts you? Why?

Punctuality 

Do you work better by the hour or by the project?

What do you do when you have car trouble in the morning?

Flexibility

Have you ever been cross-trained? Do you think it works?

What's the longest time you ever had to cover for a sick coworker?

Dependability 

What's the difference between a good reason and a bad reason to miss work?

Do you have any problems with working overtime occasionally?

Creativity 

If your coworkers are crabby, what's your strategy for getting through the day?

When you're stuck for a solution to a problem, are you more likely to look at the past or the future for answers?

Decisiveness 

When customers, managers, and coworkers all need your help at once, how do you decide what to do first?

Do you work better with no supervision, someone in the next room in case you need help, or a more experienced person at the desk next to you?

Determination

What was the worst problem you ever had on the job, and how did you work through it?

How do you handle it when you're having trouble learning something new?

Persuasiveness 

If you're training a new employee, what do you do when they don't seem to be on board with the task?

What's the best way to get a stubborn coworker to collaborate on something?

Patience

If you're training a new employee, what do you do when they're having trouble understanding something?

What is your first reaction when a customer gets upset with you?

Loyalty

Have you ever had to follow a policy that you thought was stupid?

Have you ever had to fire anyone or know someone who was fired? What happened?