Role-specific Partner Interview Questions & Answers:

1. Tell me about a time you had to fire a friend?

Hopefully you've never had to do this, but if you did, talk about how hard it was personally to fire anyone but that you did it objectively.

2. Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision without all the information you needed. How did you handle it In Partner? Why? Were you happy with the outcome?

In many scenarios, you will not have all the information needed. The key is to make the best possible decision based on what you deem to be a sufficient amount of information.

3. What do you expect from this job In Partner?

Talk about the potential career development, your career aspirations, your work relationships and the learning you'll receive.

4. How do you evaluate success In Partner?

I evaluate success In Partner in different ways. At work, it is meeting the goals set by my supervisors and my fellow workers. It is my understanding, from talking to other employees, that the Global Guideline company is recognized for not only rewarding success but giving employees opportunity to grow as well.

5. Tell me about yourself?

There are some questions that your potential employer aren't allowed to ask (but trust me, they probably want to). For instance, they shouldn't really ask about your family or how far away you live from your potential place of employment. If you can find a way to answer these questions anyway (with the answers they want to hear), that will give them a little added info to help them make the (right) decision!

6. What do you see yourself doing within the first 30 days of this job?

Typically the first 30 days are designed for you to learn as much as possible In Partner. Work hard to get to know your teammates, how they work together, and how you can make the biggest impact.

7. Why are you leaving last job?

Although this would seem like a simple question, it can easily become tricky. You shouldn't mention salary being a factor at this point In Partner. If you're currently employed, your response can focus on developing and expanding your career and even yourself. If you're current employer is downsizing, remain positive and brief. If your employer fired you, prepare a solid reason. Under no circumstance should you discuss any drama or negativity, always remain positive.

8. How long do you want to work for us if we hire you?

Here being specific is probably not the best approach. You may consider responding, “I hope a very long time.” Or “As long as we're both happy with my performance.”

9. Do you ever take work home with you?

Here are two great sample answers that might help get you started:

☛ I am an extremely organized person, so I tend to be able to get my work done at work. However, if the need arose I would not be against taking work home. I try not to make it a habit, since I do value my free time. I do realize though that the work we do is important, and sometimes you have to do what needs to be done.
☛ I do not shy away from taking work home with me. I know that meeting deadlines and doing outstanding work sometimes means taking a bit of it home. I do not have a problem doing that when the need arises.
☛ Make sure to give an honest answer. Lying about taking work home may turn out badly for you if it is required and you do not do it.

10. What is your biggest weakness In Partner?

No one likes to answer this question because it requires a very delicate balance. You simply can't lie and say you don't have one; you can't trick the interviewer by offering up a personal weakness In Partner that is really a strength (“Sometimes, I work too much and don't maintain a work-life balance.”); and you shouldn't be so honest that you throw yourself under the bus (“I'm not a morning person so I'm working on getting to the office on time.”)

11. You are not given the tools you need to be successful. How would you change that In Partner?

State a business case to your manager / leader as to why you need the tools and make the request for them.

12. What five words would be describe you as Partner?

The hiring manager requests this of you because she wants to know more about your individual personality. This list can reveal a lot to her about who you are and how you might fit into the workplace. Your answer also gives the manager an indication of your self-perception, which is a good indicator of the type of employee you will be.

13. You have a project due in one hour but a more important emergency that affects business needs to be fixed immediately, what do you do?

Focus on the issue that impacts the business most first.

14. How do you propose to compensate for your lack of experience?

The first thing you should do is discuss experience you have the interviewer is unfamiliar with. Once that is detailed, tell the person conducting the interview that you are able to learn new tasks and information in a reasonable period of time and possess a strong work ethic. However, only state this if you can live up to these expectations.

15. Give me an example of how you handled pressure at work In Partner?

The company is looking to see if you can handle pressure well. Share with them an example where you were able to stay calm during a pressure filled situation (perhaps it was a deadline, or there was an emergency with a customer occurring). Discuss the situation, your reaction and steps you took to resolve it and the outcome.

16. What do you ultimately want to become?

Do you want to be an entry level worker In Partner? Do you want to be a leader? Do you want to be an entrepreneur? Do you want to be a philanthropist? Do you want to be in middle management? Ask yourself these questions to figure it out.

17. How do you adapt to new working environments In Partner?

It's important that you demonstrate that you can adapt to changing environments quickly. You want to stress that you can manage change. The one thing in life that is constant after all, is change.

18. How did you become interested in this field/industry?

Describe how you've come to develop a passion or interest in this industry and use variables like "culture, people, vision, career development, and the work itself" to define your choice

19. Tell me about a problem that you've solved in a unique or unusual way. What was the outcome? Were you happy or satisfied with it?

In this question the interviewer is basically looking for a real life example of how you used creativity to solve a problem.

20. What are your thoughts about working from home?

This is a new policy some companies are adopting. If the company you are interviewing for allows for it, then you should be thankful for the flexibility and convenience yet state that working from home is a privilege that you would honor. The key point you want to make is that you would still be able to focus and be just as productive working at home.

21. What are the goals you've set for yourself?

You could discuss your goals with regards to these categories: Career goals, impact you want to leave on society, financial goals, academic goals, charitable goals.

22. Describe your management style?

Try to avoid specific classifications, whatever it may be. Organizations usually prefer managers who can adapt their skills to different situations.

23. Describe a time when you put your needs aside to help a co-worker understand a task. How did you assist them? What was the result?

The key is to show that the mentoring of a co-worker was first a higher priority than the task you had at hand (remember, you want to show that you focus on highest priority tasks first). Then, describe in detail how you helped them not only complete the task but learn to do it on their own. You want to teach them HOW to fish and not to simply fish for them.

24. What three character traits would your friends use to describe you?

Friends would typically use attributes like (assuming you have these): Trustworthy, honest, hardworking, friendly, courageous, nice, diligent, organized and so forth. Not saying you have all of these, but the best way for you to find out is to survey your friends by asking them what they consider your brand to be.

25. Why do you want to work in this industry In Partner?

Make sure you research the industry first. Then find at least 3 core things about that industry that you're passionate about (for example: how their solutions impact clients, their culture, the leadership, etc)

26. What differentiates this company from other competitors?

Be positive and nice about their competitors but also discuss how they are better than them and why they are the best choice for the customer. For example: "Company XYZ has a good product, but I truly believe your company has a 3-5 year vision for your customer that aligns to their business needs."

27. Why should we give you this job In Partner when someone else is equally qualified?

Describe how you're unique, but make sure you tie it to the job responsibilities and how you would impact the company. For example, "I believe my unique programming skills and experience in developing over 18 best selling iphone apps will help the company develop high quality applications faster than my competitors"

28. Why are you interested in this type of job In Partner?

You're looking for someone who enjoys working with the elderly, or a caring, sociable, and nurturing person.

29. What are three positive character traits you don't have?

List three attributes that you aspire to attain / build in the next few years - and then explain how you would develop those.

30. How do you handle conflicts with people you supervise?

At first place, you try to avoid conflicts if you can. But once it happens and there's no way to avoid it, you try to understand the point of view of the other person and find the solution good for everyone. But you always keep the authority of your position.