Job interview questions

Tell me about yourself.

Common first question. Answer: talk about your work background, skills, and interests and relate them to how well they fit the job.

Why do you want to work here?

You will always be asked this in one form or another. Be prepared with a convincing answer. Never mention money.

What is your greatest strength?

Very common question. Highlight qualities that they want from the job ad: i.e. good communicator, etc. Mention multiple things, not just one.

What is your greatest weakness?

You will almost always be asked this. The correct answer of course is a weakness that is not really a weakness - I tend to use that I'm such a perfectionist that sometimes I find it hard to delegate, but I've learned that when I do I often learn new and better ways to do things.

What are the five best words to describe you?

I've also been asked for five adjectives, which makes it harder. Be prepared with five words and examples because this is a hard question to answer on the spot. Don't just list the words, but say "Leader - I often find that I will take the lead on collaborative projects" etc.

Why are you the right person for this job?

Another chance to highlight how well your skills fit the job, as well as your knowledge of the job duties.

If you were hiring a person for this position, what would you look for?

Again, demonstrate your knowledge of the skills/characteristics needed to do the job well.

Tell me about a goal you set that you did not reach.

Or: "tell me about a time you failed at something." This is another tricky one, because you need to turn it into something positive and preferably job-related.

Describe your work ethic.

Dedicated, hard worker, want to do meaningful work, etc.

Give an example of a time you worked as a team.

Very common to be asked teamwork/collaboration questions. Be prepared for these with examples of team projects from previous work experience.

Give me an example of a time when you showed good communication skills.

You will almost certainly be asked something about communication. Have examples.

What is your communication style?

Open, honest, direct, respectful, good listener, good at understanding different points of view, use multiple methods of communication - i.e., verbal but follow-up with email, etc.

Tell us about a time you used creativity to solve a problem.

Problem-solving questions often come up. Be prepared with examples.

How do you pay attention to detail?

Libraries often care about attention to detail. Be prepared to give examples of highly detail-oriented work and how successful you were.

What system for prioritizing your work do you think works best?

I've gotten this many times in library interviews, since library jobs generally require multi-tasking. Be prepared with examples of times you had to manage lots of priorities at once.

Tell me about a situation where you had to solve a difficult problem.

Be prepared with specific examples.

Give me an example of a time when you motivated others.

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Tell me about the most difficult customer service experience you've ever had to handle.

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Tell me about a time when you were forced to make an unpopular decision.

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What do co-workers say about you?

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What have you learned from mistakes on the job?

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Give me a recent example of a situation you have faced where you were under pressure.

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Do you prefer working independently or as a team?

The correct answer is of course both, and give examples of projects you've done that you've enjoyed, and why teamwork is sometimes good, but working on your own is also good.

What is your typical way of dealing with conflict? Give me an example.

If you are interviewing for a front desk job, be prepared for these kinds of customer-service questions.

What is the busiest recent work situation you have had? When did it become too busy? How did you cope?

Front desk jobs especially can become very busy, so be prepared to talk about how you triage situations where you have people standing in line, you are on the phone and another phone is ringing, etc.

What does "service" mean to you in this job?

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What have you done when you have "downtime" at work?

Clearly you want to show that you have initiative and could find useful things to do. My standard answer is that one of the reasons I love working in libraries is that I don't like being bored and there is always something to do in a library - if nothing else, there is always shelf-reading, which I actually enjoy. That always gets a chuckle.

What is your supervisory style?

Very common question for any supervisory job. Empowering employees, being respectful, giving them personal responsibility, being approachable and available, providing excellent training/documentation, etc.

How would you approach disciplining or terminating an employee?

Document, document, document.

Describe your previous supervisory experience.

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How do you approach training?

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Give me an example of a time you had to discipline a student employee.

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Tell me about a time, as a supervisor, when you resolved a dispute between two people.

Good words: mediation, compromise, facilitating communication, etc.

Give me a specific example of a time you had to conform to a policy with which you did not agree.

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Tell me about how you address patron confidentiality.

For a front-desk job. Be familiar with the law on this, talk about training student employees.

Describe a situation where you had to deal with a difficult patron.

You will almost certainly get this question for a front desk job. Sometimes they give an example of an actual situation that occurred in their library and ask what you would have done.

Tell me about your previous library experience.

If you don't have any, you have to deftly side step and explain how your job experience relates to library work.

Tell me about your reference and instruction experience.

If it is a reference desk job.

Give us an example of a difficult reference question and how you handled it.

Reference desk job.

Tell us about your knowledge of library databases, e-resources, and print resources.

Be able to demonstrate knowledge of the resources in their library - do your homework and find out which ones they use. Don't neglect print resources, especially if there are older librarians on the search committee. Some nostalgia for the old print indexes might go over well, but make sure you come across as up-to-date and knowledgeable about recent e-resources.

Tell us about your experience with LibGuides.

If this is in the job ad, be prepared to talk about Guides you've made.

Tell us about your experience managing the circulation desk/reserves

Or any other specific job duty that is in the job ad.

Tell us about your experience with [the libraries ILS]

Fill in whichever one they use. If you have no experience, at least be familiar with the user interface, and be able to relate it to other software you've used. "While I've never used X, I'm very familiar with Y, and I'm sure I would be able to pick up X quickly..."

Give an example of a time you resolved a technical problem quickly.

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What technology experience do you have that is relevant to this position?

Be prepared for questions about your technology knowledge generally. All jobs are asking about this these days. Be sure to let them know how comfortable you are with new technologies.

Tell us about your experience with ILLiad

Or any other specific library software that is mentioned in the ad.

Tell us about your experience with interlibrary loan.

If it is an ILL job.

Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?

A common question, and kind of tricky if it is a low-level clerical job. You want them to know you are a go-getter and ambitious, but also that you don't plan on leaving any time soon.

How soon could you start if hired?

Say you are flexible, but of course out of respect to your current employer you would want to give at least two weeks notice. That makes you sound like a responsible employee.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Be prepared for this. If there are any skills/qualities/examples you had prepared that you didn't get to talk about, this is your chance to sell yourself.

Do you have any questions for us?

Be prepared for this and have thoughtful questions. Never ask about salary or benefits. Try to get them talking about what it is like to work there. This is your chance to find out what the job would really be like.