[Anonymous]

Thinking about making the transition from public to industry. It’s been a few years since I’ve been on an interview so I’m pretty rusty. Can anyone share some questions and answers they feel an interviewer would ask? Just want to start putting Q&A’s together so I’m prepared. Thanks!

[Starved_Wolf]

I got this question a lot when i was interviewing.

“What is an achievement you are most proud of and why?”

[Missy]

The question posted above and these:

What do you like most/least about your current position?

What about this position attracted you to it?

Where do you see yourself in five years?

How have you handled a difficult situation at work?

What would your current boss/peers say about you?

What is one thing you'd never want to do as part of your job?

Give an example of multitasking or prioritizing tasks.

Give an example of something you took on without being asked to.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Missy]

And remember there's an underlying question to every question above. Don't take any at face value. The question about what attracted you to apply doesn't mean they care what you're looking for, they're looking to see if you took the time to do some homework on the company before you interviewed, or if you're just willy nilly sending out resumes and going on every interview because you're desperate for any job you can find.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Anonymous]

@mla those are good questions… definitely can see those coming up in an interview. I will for sure be doing my homework on companies before the interview. Someone also told me to never ask a question that can b found on a company website or easily found online.

[Missy]

I was told when it's your turn to ask questions the number one question to ask is “what do you need me to hit the ground running with on day one?”

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Matt]

I actually have a questions, as someone now looking to go into public accounting what should you look for or even better what are they looking for you to want from them?

FAR 74

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone! If anyone else has anything to share please do 🙂

[Anonymous]

I can't tell you the best answers to questions, because frankly, I don't know you. I keep all my answers pretty short and simple and above all, I am honest. If I am looking for work-life balance, I'm going to ask about it. No point wasting both our times if the job requires me to work lots of weekends and OT.

Also, keep in mind many answers can be used for multiple questions. For example your answer to “your biggest strength” can also be used for “tell me about a time you succeeded” You just have to think on your feet and tailor your response. It's hard to do, but practice makes perfect. Also, really pay attention to what the interviewer is saying. Always try to find ground you can relate with and if possible, listen > speak. People love to talk about themselves.

Anyway, here are the top 5 questions I've come across while interviewing (both as an interviewer and candidate)

1. Tell me about yourself

2. Why do you want to work here

3. Tell me about a difficult project/work related experience and how you overcame it

4. Why do you want to leave your current job (if applicable) or why you left your current job

5. Do you have any questions?

Questions I always ask to the interviewer:

1. Why is this position open? I want to know if the person quit, got promoted, left department etc.

2. If I were to start tomorrow, what would I be working on?

3. What are the biggest challenges with this position?

4. Why did you choose to join this company?

[Floreat]

The questions will differ depending on the duties and level of responsibility of the position. As mla11692 mentioned, behavioral questions are popular during interviews. They're sleepers in the sense you can't really prepare for them. But they're useful for interviewers in evaluating how you think on you're feet or under pressure. They're objective is to dig into your professionalism, judgement, leadership and maturity- among other things – with actual examples. They usually are phrased something like,

“Tell me about a time you struggled to meet competing deadlines due to lack of information. What was the outcome? In retrospect how would you have handled it differently?”

“Describe a time a situation there was a conflict within your team regarding how to approach a deliverable. What did you do to build team consensus and keep the deliverable on track?”

“Tell me about a time you made an error or missed a deadline. What was the effect and how did you rectify it?”

Be prepared for the open ended, “So, tell me about yourself.” It's a sleeper used by savvy interviewers to evaluate your presentation skills – which should be concise, relevant/on topic and engaging.

Best wishes to you in your transition to industry.

FAR: 80 (10/28/2016)
AUD: 85 (2/6/2017)
REG: DSIT (Dragon Slayer in Training) (5/31/2017)
BEC: DSIW (Dragon Slayer in Waiting) (7/2017)

[Anonymous]

@floreat thanks for the advice those are great pointers. The hard thing is I don't know what type of questions they're going to ask. I'm sure the tell me about yourself question they will ask. That's a given. But are they leaning more towards behavioral questions, technical questions… I have no idea. When the recruiter of the company called me he said, both the ladies I will be interviewing me thought I was very qualified for the position. Which made me feel good. I have heard people say go on a few interviews to get a feel for them and then leave the company you want for last. Well unfortunately, the company I was is my first. But on the positive side at least they called and the recruiter said something positive. The interview is also a half hour long with the first person and half hour long with the second person. So you can only fit so many questions in a half hour slot. I'm just so nervous because I think it's a great company and really want the job.

[Author]

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