Interviewing Quick Reference: Legal and Potentially Discriminating Interview
Questions and Suggestions for Interview Questions
Legal and Potentially Discriminating Interview Questions
It is the policy of Johnson County Government to hire and retain individuals based upon their relative merits, abilities, experience, ambition, and availability to best serve the public interest without regard to factors such as: race, color, gender, religion, creed (statement of beliefs), national origin, political affiliation, or disability.
All policies, practices, and actions will conform with State and Federal Laws and will be in accordance with Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action.
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Legal Questions to Ask: |
Discriminatory Questions You Shouldn't Ask: |
| Family Status |
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| Race |
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| Religion |
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| Residence |
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| Sex |
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| Age |
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| Arrests or convictions of a crime |
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| Citizenship or Nationality |
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| Disability |
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For additional information on this topic, please contact HR.
Suggestions for Interview Questions
The following questions are provided to assist you in developing interview questions to help you determine the best match for your vacant position. Contact HR for assistance in adapting these interview questions to meet your specific needs. Questions provided are listed by “type” or job competency and is intended to focus the job candidate on a specific issue or discussion topic.
General Interviewing Questions:
Excellent for interview openings and developing a relationship with the applicant before proceeding to more difficult questions.
- Tell me about your work history.
- Describe the ideal job for you.
- Describe your ideal work environment.
- What are your strongest abilities and how do these relate to this position?
- If we contacted your last employer, what would he or she say about your strengths and areas needing improvement?
- Why did you choose the career for which you are pursuing?
- How would you define the job for which you are interviewing?
- What is most attractive about this job? What is least attractive?
Adaptability to Change:
Good for determining an individual’s flexibility and how the applicant adapts to change.
- Tell me about your typical work schedule. To what degree do you use a time-management system and to what degree do you simply wait and see what turns up?
- Oftentimes, what works with one person does not work with another and we have to be flexible in our style of relating to others. Give me an example of when you had to vary your style to work with a particular individual? How did it work out?
- Sometimes it is best to move ahead. Tell me about when you needed to do this at work.
General Competency:
Can be used to determine if the individual has the core skills needed to perform the job.
- What are reasons for hiring you?
- Give me an example of when you used planning skills to solve a business problem?
- Tell me about a project that challenged your technical abilities? Why?
Work Experience:
Use these questions to determine if the applicant has the relevant experience needed to perform job tasks.
- Tell me about previous work experience and your major duties and/or responsibilities. Why did you leave these jobs?
- What were the biggest challenges faced in your previous job? How were these handled? Would you do anything differently, if you could?
- What job-related experience do you have that prepares you for this position?
Manageability:
These questions are often used to determine how the individual responds to direction and supervision.
- Describe the relationship that should exist between a supervisor and those reporting to him or her.
- Are you committed to learning job requirements over the next three to six months?
- Describe an experience when you worked under close supervision. How did you react and how well did you manage the job?
Interpersonal Skills:
Used to determine the individual’s ability to interact successfully with others.
- At times, we are all required to deal with difficult people. When have you been successful with this type of situation at work?
- Describe a time when you worked on a team to complete a task or project. How successful were you and why?
- Describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult or unpleasant situation at work with a peer or superior. How did it turn out?
Attitude:
These questions are useful to determine a person’s optimism about work.
- Tell me about a time when your enthusiasm was able to motivate a team to finish a major project or job.
- What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction at work? Why?
- What have you learned from your mistakes?
Initiative:
Can be used to determine the goals and ingenuity of an individual at work.
- What are your long-range career goals? How would these be accomplished at our company
- What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort
- In your most recent position, what problem(s) did you identify that had been previously overlooked? How were these handled?
Maturity:
These questions examine a candidate’s professionalism.
- How have you handled situations with conflicting priorities in the past?
- Describe a situation in which your work was criticized and how you handled this situation.
- Saying what comes into your mind can produce unexpected results. Can you tell me about such a time? How did it finally turn out?
Stability:
Determines how an individual views his or her future with the organization.
- What do you see yourself doing five years from now?
- How would you meet your career goals at Johnson County Government?
Emotional Control:
Provides evidence if an individual can remain composed during times of pressure and stress.
- Tell me about a situation where you were able to remain detached from a serious emotional situation at work. What happened?
- There frequently are times when we are placed under extreme pressure on the job. Would you tell me about a time when you were under such pressure and how you handled it?
- Problems occur in all work relationships. Would you describe a time when you had to cope with resentment, anger, or hostility from a subordinate or coworker?
Integrity:
Used to evaluate a candidate’s honesty and trustworthiness.
- Tell me about a time when you found it necessary to speak up about a quality issue that potentially affected the company’s reputation.
- There are occasions when everybody has taken advantage of an employer. Tell me about such a time and how it was handled.
- Give me a time when you had to “stand up” for a decision you made even though other important people were opposed to that decision.
Values:
Evaluates if an organization’s culture can satisfy a job candidate.
- How do you determine or evaluate job success?
- Describe your most rewarding job experience? Least?
- What two or three things are most important to you in your job?
Leadership:
These questions can be used to determine the management and organization skills of an individual.
- Give me an example of when you had to influence others to get an important job done.
- How would you describe your leadership style?
- How many people do/did you supervise in your present/previous job?
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This page last updated: December 18, 2006