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Human Resources

Sample Interview Questions

Hiring managers have the important responsibility to select and hire the best candidate for a position. Interviewing for mission alignment at BYU and the job's appropriate skill set is a part of this process. Interviews should be used, along with reference checks, to identify qualified applicants.

Not all questions apply to every role—select those that align with the position. When interviewing multiple candidates, use consistent criteria to evaluate each person to ensure fairness and reduce legal risk. Establish core qualifications and apply them uniformly across all interviews.

Most questions do not have a single “right” answer. Focus on responses that align with your department’s needs, culture, and priorities. A candidate’s reasoning and thought process are often as important as the answer itself.

All interviews should include at least one mission aligned question.

Guidelines for legal interviews can be found on the "Hiring Tips & Guidelines" webpage.

    Mission Alignment


    • It is expected that all BYU employees are fully aligned with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the mission and aims of BYU.
      • What does it mean to you to be fully aligned with the Church of Jesus Christ?
      • Please share your feelings about the mission and aims of BYU.
    • One of the aims of a BYU education is that it should be “spiritually strengthening”.
      • How would you help spiritually strengthen students and colleagues at BYU?
    • What interests you most about working for BYU?
    • President Spencer W. Kimball, in his Second Century Address at BYU, challenged all employees to be bilingual (i.e., being proficient in both professional and spiritual matters).
      • Can you provide examples of how you would meet this challenge?
    • One of the aims of a BYU education is that it should lead to “lifelong learning”. 
      • How do you pursue lifelong learning in your own life?
    • BYU has a mission to “assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life.”
      • How have you done this in your life and how you would envision helping to fulfill that mission as an employee at BYU?
    • One of the key responsibilities of employees at BYU is to help students build character.
      • What have you done to help build character in others?

    Belonging


    • BYU’s statement on belonging says, “We strive to create a community of belonging composed of students, faculty, and staff whose hearts are knit together in love.” What does this statement mean to you?
    • Why is belonging important in the workplace?
    • Why is belonging important at BYU?
    • What characteristics contribute to a culture of belonging?
    • What would you do to create an atmosphere (culture) of belonging within your workplace?
    • Tell me about a time when you contributed to belonging in your workplace.

    Opening Questions


    • Could you start by sharing an overview of your professional background, and then explain how your experience aligns with this role?
    • Why have you applied for this specific position?
    • What are some positive aspects of your last employment or employer? What are some negative aspects?
    • What do you think makes a “good” organization? What makes a company be described as “one of the best businesses” or “best places to work” by a community?
    • How would you describe your ideal work environment or what does your “perfect job” look like?
    • What is the best book you read this year? Please take a minute and tell us what you liked about it.

    Communication


    • Tell me about a time you had to communicate something that someone strongly disagreed with. How did you handle it?
    • If I asked your last manager how you communicate under pressure, what would they say?
    • Tell me about a time when effective listening skills helped you in a problematic situation.
    • Tell me about a time when you had to tailor your communication style for different audiences. What changed, and how did you decide what approach to take?

    Collaboration


    • When you are in a new social or work situation, do others tend to reach out to you or do you reach out to them?
    • Tell me about a time when you had to work closely with a coworker who was difficult.  How did you handle it?
    • Recall an occasion when you had to work with people from different divisions to accomplish a single goal.
    • Are you most productive working alone or in a team? Why?
    • Describe a time when you were instrumental in creating or improving a good relationship with another department within your company.
    • Tell me about a time when you were a part of a great team. What was your part in making the team effective?

    Customer Focus


    • Describe a time when you exceeded a customer's expectations. What did you do, why did you choose that approach, and what was the result?
    • Tell me about a time when you had trouble working with a demanding customer. How did you handle the situation, and what was the outcome?
    • Tell me about a time when you realized you might not meet a customer's expectations or timeline. How did you communicate the issue, and what was the outcome?
    • Describe an experience when you went out of your way to give great service to a customer.
    • Tell me about a time when you identified a recurring customer issue and helped improve the process or experience.
    • Describe a time when you had to balance a customer’s request with organizational policies or limitations.
    • Describe a time when you identified a way to improve a customer process, service, or experience.

    Dependability


      • Describe a time when others relied heavily on you to complete something important. What made the situation challenging, and what was the outcome?
      • Describe a time when your reliability or follow-through made a significant difference to your team or customer.
      • Describe how you organize your work to ensure you consistently meet commitments and deadlines.
      • Describe a situation where your team depended on you to deliver something critical. How did you ensure you followed through

      Detail-oriented


      • Give me an example of a time when you thought you had "it all nailed down" but a detail you missed fell through the cracks. What happened?

      Supervision


      • How many people have you supervised at one time? How many were Part-time? Full-time? How long were you their supervisor?
      • Did you have the sole responsibility of hiring/firing these people? Did your supervisor have any say in who was hired/fired?
      • Give me an example of a time when you handled an employee grievance that resulted in better working relationships.
      • Give me an example of a time when you handled a grievance that did not result in better working relationships. What would you have done differently?
      • What have you done to motivate your employees? Were they motivated? Give me a time when they were or were not.
      • What kind of management style do you take with your employees? How do you treat your employees? How do you resolve discipline problems?
      • What would your employees say about you as a manager? Were you an example of what you expected from others?
      • How did you elicit cooperation from your employees? Give me an example of a time when an employee would not do what was asked. How did you handle this?
      • What is required of a good leader? Which of these skills are you better at? What skills would your supervisor say that you would need to improve upon to be a better leader/supervisor?

      Takes Direction/Correction


      • Tell me about some difficult feedback that you received from a supervisor in the past.  How did you handle that?
      • Have you ever been in a situation where you thought you needed to adjust or modify your behavior?  How did you know?
      • Do you tend to take things personally?  Are you able to deal with challenges without becoming emotional?
      • Describe the best boss you’ve ever had.  What did he/she do that made him/her exceptional?

      Work with Little Supervision


      • Give me an example of a time when you were able to complete a project without immediate supervision. Was this normal? Did your supervisor often give you tasks to do which did not require direct supervision?
      • Give me an example of the kind of tasks or projects your supervisor would closely supervise.
      • Did your job require direct supervision? Or were you able to complete most things on your own?
      • What would your supervisor say about your abilities to complete tasks as assigned? What kind of a recommendation would this supervisor give me?
      • Do you prefer working alone, or with others?
      • In this regard, what job has given you the most job satisfaction in relationships with other employees? With customers? With your supervisor?
      • Would you rather be closely supervised and given good direction, or work out the solutions for yourself?

      Closing Questions


      • Is there anything else you'd like to tell us that you would like us to know about you that will aid us in making our decision.
      • Do you have any questions for us?
      • Now that you’ve learned more about our company and this role, what concerns or hesitations—if any—might you have about accepting an offer?