Commonly-asked Interview Questions

Computer Science/Mathematics Co-op:
Commonly-asked Interview Questions

Some Typical Interview Questions

Tell me about yourself?
What are your long and short-term career goals?
Why did you decide to study computer science?
Why did you choose the career for which you are preparing?
What courses did you like best? Least? Why?
What is your understanding about the nature of this job?
What do you think are the most important aspects of this job?
Why do you want to work for our company? What do you know about our company?
How did you research this postion?
What jobs have you held? Enjoyed the most? Least? Why?
What have you learned from the jobs you have held?
In what kind of work environment are you most comfortable?
Do you prefer working with others or by yourself?
Do you like routine work? Regular hours?
Name a major problem you have encountered and describe how you solved it.
What have you done which shows initiative and willingness to work? Give two examples.
What two accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction? Why?
Why do you believe you should be hired for this job?
What are your special abilities and strong points?
What are your weaknesses?
What parts of the job do you think you would find most satisfying? Least satisfying? Why?
In what ways do you think you can make a contribution to our firm?
How would you describe your ideal job?
How would you describe yourself?
What motivates you to put forth your best effort?
Are you willing to travel or relocate if required?
Define co-operation.

The UVic Co-op Curriculum Website contains additional general questions.

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Typical Interview Questions for a Technical Support Position

How are your classes this year? (ice breaker)
What is it about this job that appeals to you? (The interviewer is looking for an understanding of what the job will entail)
What hardware experience do you have?
What software experience do you have?
Scenario Questions
- You have installed software on a new PC and the new user is unable to connect to the network. What should you do? ( the interviewer is looking for logical steps to correct the problem)
- You receive a frantic call from a co-worker trying to print a document that is needed immediately. The printer has jammed and now refuses to go on-line. The PC appears to be hung on the printing process. How do you handle this? (get the document printed first at another printer, then solve the hardware problem)
- In the last 10 minutes you have received 7 phone calls for help and you are swamped. What do you do? ( determine priority, do not be afraid to go to supervisor for assistance)
How do you deal with a user who repeatedly calls for help with advanced features that they clearly do not understand, yet continue to attempt to use? (may need to have them trained on the software or show them simpler ways to accomplish their tasks.)
How would you respond if asked a question you could not answer immediately? (tell person that you cannot answer their question immediately, but will find out the answer and get back to them. Give them a time frame as to when they can expect a response)

Practice exercises

Below are two typical computer science co-op job descriptions. Beneath each job description are some of the questions interviewers typically might ask. This is not a complete list of interview questions, however. What other questions would you ask if you were the employer?

Read each job description very carefully, and ask yourself:

Do I know and understand all the concepts related to this job? If so, make sure you review them before the interview. If not, you must look them up before the interview.
Have I had experience in any/all of these areas? If so, be prepared to give specific examples of your experience. If not, will you have had this experience before starting the work term? Have you done similar or related types of techniques? Transferable skills? Do you have relevant background that would enable you to learn fast? Can you give examples of learning something in a short period of time?
What questions am I likely to be asked based on this job description?

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Job Description #1: A Help Desk job.

JOB TITLE: Computer System Support and Development. DESCRIPTION: The student will assist in the maintenance of the Macintosh-based computing systems for the Big Thyme Corporation, and aid in the development of innovative technology projects.

Specific duties will include:

responsibility for maintaining computer equipment (hardware and software);
installing hardware
training staff where necessary
solving network and application problems as they arise;
maintaining and updating the corporations's website and file servers;
managing the back-up system; and evaluating and testing software packages.

SKILLS/BACKGROUND REQUIRED: The ideal student should be familiar with Ethernet networking and AppleShare servers; have basic knowledge of both Macintosh and PC hardware configurations; possess HTML and other web-based skills; be willing to learn in-house database; have excellent interpersonal, organizational, and priority management skills; and be a creative self-starter.

Typical interview questions might include ...

Tell us what you know about the work we do.
Give us your understanding of this job.
Why do you want this job?
Describe a time when you taught someone how to use a new software application.
Give an example of how you have "multi-tasked" on the job or at school.
Scenario: you are called to fix the accountant department's computer before the noon payroll run, the webserver crashes and online sales are halted, the report your boss needs from you by the end of the day is still unwritten, and you are scheduled to give a training class in 30 minutes: in what order to you tackle these tasks, and why?
What other types of assignments would you expect to receive in this office?
What are your long-term plans? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

What other questions is an interviewer likely to ask you?

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Job Description #2: The e-commerce Department of a Software Development Company

POSITION: e-Commerce Software Developer DESCRIPTION: You will be a member of a team of software professionals developing, enhancing and supporting e-business applications for small business clients. You will gain exposure to our company's methodologies for e-commerce software and e-business applications. As a junior software developer, you will develop and execute test scripts, report on progress, replicate reported problems, and fully document your work. Bi-weekly team presentations to the company executive are likely. SKILLS REQUIRED: SQL. Unix. C++. HTML. Excellent verbal and written communications skills. Teamwork.

This position requires a person who can work independently and be able to perform their duties with a minimum of supervision.

Typical interview questions

Why did you choose to study computer science?
What do you know about e-Commerce? What do you feel are the strengths and weaknesses of doing business over the internet?
Give an example of a time when you worked as part of a team. What were the challenges, and how did you overcome them?
Give examples of your C++ skills. How have you developed/used them?
How did you develop your SQL skills?
What do you think will be the major challenges of this job, and how will you overcome them?
How would you feel if, as the junior member of the team, you were assigned to do all the testing. How would you handle that? Would you think it was fair?
How do you feel about relocating outside Victoria in order to take this job?

What other questions is an interviewer likely to ask you?

Wherever possible, respond to questions in such a way as to demonstrate capability. A way to do that is to give tangible examples of your experiences and personality which directly relate to the situation for which you are applying. The technique is called S.T.A.R.

S = Situation
T = Task
A = Action
R = Results

Example Questions

Drawn from Job #2
Question: Can you handle being busy or rushed?

Situation: Sometimes our labs seemed to have more work than could be finished in the time allowed.

Task: I had to find a way of completing the exercises in two hours.

Action: I made sure that I read and understood the exercises before going to class, and planned my lab work so it could be accomplished in the most time-efficient way.

Result: My partner and I were always able to finish the required work within class time.

Question: Do you like routine work?

Situation:

Task:

Action:

Result:

Use the STAR technique to prepare different answers for the same question.

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Summary Chart

Using the chart below, deconstruct Job Descriptions # 1 and #2, listing each job's requirements and your related skills/experience.

Job Requirements My Validating Experiences

Do you possess all the experience and skills the employer is seeking?
Where do your skills gaps lie?
Do your resume and covering letter clearly state the required skills you already possess?

Job Requirements	My Skills Gaps

Use this exercise of deconstructing job descriptions to prepare for all your interviews. It will make long job descriptions seem less overwhelming, and help you anticipate questions you'll likely be asked.

Job Requirements Related Interview Questions

My Skills Gaps My Answers to Related Questions

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Behavioural Interview Questions

TEAM

It is often necessary to work together in a group to accomplish a task. Tell me about the most recent project/assignment you had working as part of a group.

What was the project?
How Many people were in the group?
What was your role in the group?
Did any difficulties arise while you were in this group? How did you resolve them?
How successful was the group in completing the task?

People work at different speeds and have different priorities. Tell me about the most frustrating occasion you experienced when you had to work with someone whose pace or priorities were significantly different from yours.

What were the circumstances of the situation?
How was the situation frustrating?
How did you attempt to cope with the differences?
What did you say to you co-worker(s) to let your feelings be known?
What was the response to you?
What was the outcome of the situation?

Working effectively with your co-workers is obviously important. Tell me about a time when you used your social strengths to help your co-workers through a difficult time?

What led to the difficulty?
What steps did you take to improve the situation?
What was the result of your effort?
How was your relationship with your co-workers affected?
How often have you helped out in this manner before?

Tell us about an experience leading a group when you had to deal with a group member who was uncooperative

How did you deal with the individual?
Were you successful in gaining the individual's cooperation...why/why not?
Would you work with this individual again?

Describe a group experience you have had where you thought the leadership was ineffective.

Why did you think it was ineffective?
Did someone take over the leadership of the group?
What was your role?
Was the outcome successful or unsuccessful?

Tell us about a situation where you had to make a decision where there was no black and white answer.

What was the situation?
How did you go about making the decision?
Was the outcome successful?
What would you do differently next time?

Tell us about a time when you had to delegate a task to someone?

How did you go about it?
Did the individual need a lot of direction?
How did you know how the person was getting along?
Did the person do a good or poor job?

Sometimes we have responsibility for a major project or action that despite our best efforts and intentions does not turn out as we planned, anticipated or desired. Tell me about such a time.

What was the project? What went wrong? Why did they go wrong?
If you could do it again, how would you do it differently?
What did you do to improve the situation?
What were the consequences?

When in a group you are sometimes called up to demonstrate leadership to bring differing opinions together. Can you relate an incident where you were called upon to do this?

Describe what happened. How significant was the conflict?
Could you identify with both sides?
Did the differing parties continue to work together effectively after the incident?
Describe how you felt in dealing with the situation? What feedback did you receive?

If you could structure the ideal business environment, what kinds of behaviours would you encourage and reward? Why?

What kinds of behaviour would you discourage and even punish? Why?

Describe a situation where your behaviour served as a model for others.

What types of decision do you have difficulty making? Give us an example of a difficult decision that you have made and the steps you took to arrive at that decision.

COMMUNICATION

Communication is of key importance when interacting with people. Tell us about a time you were most effective i getting a complex concept across to a co-worker/fellow student.

What was the concept you were trying to get across?
How did you go about making it understandable?
How did you know you had gotten the idea across?

Reports can be very demanding when you are trying to be as clear and precise as possible. Tell me about the best report you wrote.

What was the report for?
What specifics did you need to include in the report?
How long did it take you to write it?
What was the outcome or result?
Did your supervisor/professor comment on the report? What was said?

Tell me about your most successful oral presentation.

What was the topic? How did you prepare?
What were the objectives?
What information did you feel it necessary to include?
What was the outcome? Any comments received?

Communication with others not only includes communicating your message but also hearing what the other person is saying. Tell me of a recent situation in which it was important for you to hear and understand what the other person was saying.

How did you determine it was necessary for you to hear what this person had to say?
How did you encourage the other person to communicate with you?
What was the result of the communication process?
How did this process affect your relationship with this person?

Tell us about a time when you had a serious disagreement with someone?

Why did you disagree?
Was it resolved? How was it resolved
What would you do differently?
Have you had further dealings with this person?

Give me an example of a time when your communication skills were powerful enough so that you were able to influence the way others thought or acted, even in a very difficult situation.

BUSINESS FOCUS

Can you think of a project/assignment you completed recently that best reflects how you applied new knowledge or information to complete the project?

What was the project?
What new information did you use?
How did you discover the new information?
What was the outcome associated with using this new behaviour?
What comments did your supervisor/professor make?

A highly regarded trait is when you take the initiative to look at all aspects of a project and carefully weigh the solutions. Tell me about the most challenging project you faced this past year where you really had to dig in, assess the needs, develop objectives and then decide what plan of action was best. What were the various aspects of this project that you had to look at?

How did you go about assessing the project needs?
What factors did you consider when evaluating the plan of action to take?
What criteria did you use to evaluate the outcome of the project?
What did your supervisor/professor say about your work?

Tell us about a time that your suggestion/action improved the bottom line (financial or process results)?

How did you come up with the idea?
Were the results quantified?

Tell me about your involvement in a relatively major (personal or business) financial transaction.

How did you make decisions?
What are the key factors in a good business transaction?
Do you think you got a 'fair' deal.....did the other party get a 'fair' deal?

When Shell is faced with determining the location of a major gas plant/refinery, what factors should Shell consider?

How would you go about making the decision?

CREATIVITY/INNOVATION

To maintain their competitive edge, organizations are placing a high value on innovation. Tell me of a project or assignment where you went beyond the status quo and were able to introduce a new idea(s) into the project.

What was the new idea?
How did you acquire this new idea?
How did you convince other project/team members to adopt the new idea?
What was the outcome?
What do you think was the overall impact of your idea on the project?

Usually introducing innovative ideas require some risk, (financial, reputation). Specific end results cannot be guaranteed since a new idea has never been tried before. Tell me of a situation where you implemented a new idea that was associated with a high level of risk.

What was the idea and the risk?
How did you weight the pros and cons associated with the risk?
What was the final rationale that you based your decision on to implement the idea?
To whom did you speak abut promoting the idea and gaining approval?
What was the end result?
How do you feel the level of risk associated with the idea impacted on your personal and professional lives?

Tell us about a time that you challenged the accepted norm or status quo?

What was the situation?
How did you go about effecting change?
Did it meet with resistance. How did you deal with the resistance?
Did it create stress for you/others? How did you manage the stress?
What was the outcome....did you change the status quo?

In describing yourself would the words creative or innovative be used?

Why do you say that?
Give us an example of your creativity or innovation.

Tell us a time you were able to be flexible in a situation with an arrogant, dogmatic person.

ATTITUDE

Describe for me a personal goal that you set and how you achieved it.

Why was this goal appropriate for you?
How would you compare the achievements of this goal to other personal goals you have set and achieved?

Companies today are striving to achieve excellence which often translates into high expectations of their employees. Tell me of a situation where a high level of performance was expected of you and how you managed the stress associated with it.

What were the expectations?
What was the level of stress you experienced in meeting the expectations?
How did this stress affect you and your job?
How did you manage the stress?
How well did you meet the expectations?
In a similar situation, would you handle the stress differently?

Tell us about a situation where you took on additional responsibility outside the 'job description'?.

Why did you take it on?
What was the outcome of the situation?
How did it impact other projects?
Would you do it again in future....why?

Tell us about a situation where you declined additional responsibility.

Why did you decline?
Do you regret it?

What's the hardest decision you've ever had to make?

How did you approach the decision making?
What was the impact on yourself and others?

Tell us about a goal you set for yourself that required you to stretch your abilities and resources to the limit. Something that was and/or is very important to you.

How did you deal with other conflicting goals or responsibilities?
What other activities were you involved with at the time? Did these suffer?
How did you prioritize?
What outside help did you need? How did you get it?
Were you able to meet your expectations?

What kind of people do you find most difficult to work with? How have you successfully worked with this type of person?

Describe what you think will be entailed in your first job upon graduation.

How much responsibility will you have?
How quickly will you progress?
What type of work will you be doing?
What do you want to get out of the job?
How long would it take you to make a contribution?

OTHER

Tell me about a time that you had a strong sense of urgency about getting results at work or school.

What is your definition of success?

What major setback/problems/hardship have you overcome?

What criteria are you using to evaluate and choose a company?

What has made the most impact on your life, how?

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Federal Government Interviews

Hiring for Federal Government jobs is done through the Public Service Commission (PSC). The interviewer must be able to show that the hiring process was equitable and fair, and document the rationale for the hiring decision if required by his/her supervisor. Therefore, expect most federal government interviews to follow a more formal format than non-government interviews.

Often, a panel of two or more people will interview you (to reduce or eliminate personal bias.)
The interview follows the same format for all candidates.
All candidates will be asked the same questions, which have a numerical score - usually 40% on academic knowledge, 40% on technical skills/experience, and 20% on personal suitability (motivation, communication skills, interest, etc.).

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Prepare to Ask Questions

Knowing something about the company and the job will enable you to ask informed questions during the interview, demonstrating you have done your research and have a sincere interest in the organization. If not provided during the course of the interview, you may want to ask for more information on:

What would be your daily responsibilities on the job?
Who you would be responsible to and working with.
What you would be expected to learn and achieve.
What training and supervision would be provided.
What the work term report would likely be based on.
Some of the employer's specific products and services, if related to the work term assignment.
Permanent employment and promotion potential (size of organization, plans for expansion or cutting back in certain areas, new products, services and contracts).
Numerous other topics which show that you have read the company material and have been listening to what the recruiter has had to say throughout the interview.
Do not ask direct questions about salary or fringe benefits at the beginning of the interview. If you do, you're proving that you are much more interested in what the company can do for you than in providing good reasons for hiring you in the first place. You may refer to salary at the very end ("Would you please clarify for me how the co-op salary is set? Is it determined by the number of workterms, study terms, or a combination? Or by other factors?")

Keep the questions direct and be prepared to explain why you asked them.

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Yet More Practice

To further prepare for your interviews, practice answering anticipated interview questions. Practicing will improve your interview performance, increase your confidence level and alleviate nervousness. Remember to keep the specific job in mind when answering questions.

Practice out loud, preferably to someone else, or facing yourself in a mirror (practice your eye contact!) You are not trying to develop rehearsed answers, but simply attempting to be at ease with the process of listening to a question, formulating an answer and delivering it.

Some of the questions you should anticipate include:

Those relating to the employer objectives at the beginning of this document.
Those stemming from your résumé and other application information you have provided. Review all this information carefully and anticipate requests for more details or explanations. It is also a good idea to bring an extra copy of your résumé with you, so you can refer to it if necessary.

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Return to Student Prep Program

Last Modified: Jan. 24, 2002 - SF

Situation:	Sometimes our labs seemed to have more work than could be finished in the time allowed.
Task:	I had to find a way of completing the exercises in two hours.
Action:	I made sure that I read and understood the exercises before going to class, and planned my lab work so it could be accomplished in the most time-efficient way.
Result:	My partner and I were always able to finish the required work within class time.

Computer Science/Mathematics Co-op: Commonly-asked Interview Questions

More interview questions

Typical Interview Questions for a Technical Support Position

Practice exercises

Example Questions

Behavioural Interview Questions

Federal Government Interviews

Prepare to Ask Questions

Yet More Practice

Computer Science/Mathematics Co-op:
Commonly-asked Interview Questions