1. Behavioral Tax Officer Interview Questions:
☛ Have you ever faced an ethical dilemma at work? If so, how did you manage it?
☛ Describe a time you helped a company minimize its tax obligations.
☛ How do you stay up-to-date with changes in finance law? For example, do you read any job-related forums or magazines?
☛ How do you manage deadlines when working for different clients at the same time?
2. Operational and Situational Tax Officer Interview Questions:
☛ What data would you collect to forecast next year's tax returns?
☛ What would you do if you found significant numerical errors in a tax estimation only after you sent your report to a client?
☛ How would you check the accuracy of an accountant's work?
☛ How would you present in simple terms the tax risks a client would face by making an investment?
3. Role-specific Tax Officer Interview Questions:
☛ What are the main differences between state and federal taxes?
☛ What kind of accounting software have you used?
☛ How do you organize physical records of important paperwork?
☛ How do you manage foreign affiliate returns?
☛ Do you have experience with employee performance? How do you give feedback to your team members?
4. Basic Senior Tax Officer Job Interview Questions:
☛ How does your job fit in to your department and company?
☛ What do you enjoy about this industry?
☛ Give an example of when you have worked under pressure.
☛ What kinds of people do you like working with?
☛ Give me an example of when your work was criticised.
☛ Give me an example of when you have felt anger at work. How did you cope and did you still perform a good job?
☛ What kind of people do you find it difficult to work with?
☛ Give me an example of when you have had to face a conflict of interest at work.
☛ Tell me about the last time you disagreed with your boss.
☛ Give me an example of when you haven't got on with others.
☛ Do you prefer to work alone or in a group? Why?
☛ This organisation is very different to your current employer - how do you think you are going to fit in?
☛ What are you looking for in a company?
☛ How do you measure your own performance?
☛ What kind of pressures have you encountered at work?
☛ Are you a self-starter? Give me examples to demonstrate this?
☛ What changes in the workplace have caused you difficulty and why?
☛ How do you feel about working long hours and/or weekends?
☛ Give me an example of when you have been out of your depth.
☛ What have you failed to achieve to date?
☛ What can you bring to this organisation?
5. Explain what negative thing would your last boss say about you?
"He/She wouldn't say anything bad, but he/she may point out I could improve in a certain area, and I've taken steps to become better at those skills"
6. Can you tell us what is your greatest fear?
We all have fears. It's okay to discuss them. Just don't dive too deeply into them. Discuss how you would work to overcome your fears. You don't want to seem weak. You want to acknowledge it's out there but that you'll be able to work through it.
7. Explain me how do you prioritize your work initiatives?
Discuss how you prioritize your work initiatives based on the company initiatives. For example, if you're in customer service discuss how you're focused on providing the best customer experience.
8. Tell us what are the reasons behind your decision to leave your current employer?
The golden rule when answering this question is not to be negative about your current employer, as this can imply disloyalty – a trait few employers seek to inherit. Simply mention all the positive reasons for why you want to move on, whether they are more responsibility, greater career prospects or a change in direction. Stay away from referring to money as the main reason for the move.
9. Tell us how do you think I rate as an interviewer?
Don't insult them. If they're asking you good questions, they're a good interviewer - let them know that. If they're asking you bad / ridiculous questions that don't relate to the job role or you then suggest a few areas of improvement in a courteous way.
10. Tell us what were the responsibilities of your last position?
Describe your responsibilities but discuss the results/metrics that show how you made an impact on the company in that role. This way it shows you hold yourself accountable.
11. What is your greatest weakness as Senior Tax Officer?
A common mistake is to say you don't have one, as this can lead to a number of other questions. There are two ways that we suggest you can tackle this; either talk about a weakness that is not a key area for the job or a weakness that you have recognised in yourself and how you have worked to overcome it.
12. Can you tell us what do you like about your present job?
This is a straightforward question. All you have to do is make sure that your 'likes' correspond to the skills required for the job on offer. Be enthusiastic; describe your job as interesting and diverse but do not overdo it - after all, you are looking to leave.
13. Explain me what a "lot of work" looks like to you?
Ideally you'd like to state that you can take on a lot of work - this shows your work ethic, but at the same time it's okay to tell them that you value work and life balance.
14. Tell me what do you know about this department?
One good way to find out about the department is to try to "informally" interview the existing employees over coffee (outside of the office) if possible. It's hard if you don't have any connections there, but if you do a great way to learn about it. Other than that, it's often hard to learn about the department so you can turn the table back on them by asking questions to learn about it.
15. Please explain what is it that you like about your current role?
Always try to relate your ‘likes' to the skills that are needed for the position. Be aware of the balancing act required when answering this question; you need to appear to be positive about your current job while making it clear why you are looking for a new role.What is it that you dislike about your current role? In your answer it is key that you get across to the interviewer that you are able to tackle problems and frustrations as part of your job. You can also use this to demonstrate why you are interested in their role, for example if one of your frustrations is a lack of management responsibility, and they are offering a Manager role.
16. Explain what motivates you to perform to the best of your abilities?
What motivates me the most is becoming the best in my field, and as a result having the opportunity to make an impact on a greater scale and contribute to the company's long-term success. For instance, with this position, what motivates me the most is the opportunity to (X newly acquired duties that will enable you to help the company be more successful, as per the job posting).
17. Can you tell us why do you want to leave your current employer?
State how you are looking for a new challenge, more responsibility, experience and a change of environment. Do not be negative in your reasons for leaving. It is rarely appropriate to cite salary as your primary motivator.
18. Tell me what general trends do you see in our industry as Tax Officer?
Examine what's happened in the industry in the last 5 - 10 years and how it's evolved and then look at what both the company and analysts are saying about the future of that industry in which that company competes in. Read trade magazines / online sources in that industry as well to make sure you stay up to date on trends.
19. Tell us what have you done to prepare yourself to be a supervisor?
☛ 1. Learn from current supervisors (best practices)
☛ 2. Mentor others
☛ 3. Be exceptionally good at your current job so that it builds your credibility
☛ 4. Have a high emotional IQ
20. What are the goals you've set for yourself as Tax Officer?
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.
The purpose of this question is to find out what your definition of difficult is and whether you can show a logical approach to problem solving. In order to show yourself in a positive light, select a difficult work situation which was not caused by you and which can be quickly explained in a few sentences. Explain how you defined the problem, what the options were, why you selected the one you did and what the outcome was. Always end on a positive note.
22. Tell me how do you handle stressful situations as Senior Tax Officer?
I always remain calm and look for ways to be more efficient. For instance, if there is an unexpected deadline, I will determine what can be done to ensure the deadline can be met, I will write down the steps to take to ensure successful completion and will delegate a few tasks if necessary. In brief, I am always ready to adjust my approach because stressful situations are bound to occur in a professional environment.
23. Tell us what is it about this role that interests you?
They have asked this question to explore whether the role suits you and fits in with both your medium and long-term goals.
24. Tell us what's the last book you read?
Try to talk about a book related to the industry, for example, if you're applying for a role related to business, cite a business book.
25. Tell us what are you most proud of?
You should be proud of all your achievements! We just don't have time to hear them all as interviewers most likely. Focus on 1 really good achievement that showcases characteristics like the following: Integrity, competitiveness, resourcefulness, intelligence, persistence, and so forth.
26. Explain me a time where you had to make a hard decision?
Hard decisions are hard for a reason. It could dramatically effect the company. It could affect other workers. So if you have a story about how you made a hard decision and had a good outcome, share that. If you have one where the outcome wasn't great, explain how you would have changed the way you approached the decision to show you learned how to improve.
27. Can you tell me are you happy with your career-to-date?
This question is really about your self-esteem, confidence and career aspirations. The answer must be 'yes', followed by a brief explanation as to what it is about your career so far that's made you happy. If you have hit a career plateau, or you feel you are moving too slowly, then you must qualify your answer.
28. Tell me about your professional qualifications?
I pursued a Bachelor's degree in X at [X university] and upon graduation I worked as an Intern for [X company] where I was responsible for [X tax management duties ]. Since this internship, I have gained considerable tax management experience working for [X company] where I managed [X tax management duties] and for [X company] where I was responsible for [X tax management duties]. These are some of the reasons I believe I am a perfect fit for your position.
29. Explain me about a difficult situation that you have been in at work and how you overcame it?
Employers use this question to try to gauge what you view as a ‘difficult situation' and if you are able to show a logical approach in how you go about solving problems. Always aim toshow yourself in a positive light. We would normally advise that you choose a difficult situation that was not caused by you, remembering to:
☛ 1. Define the problem
☛ 2. Discuss the options available
☛ 3. Give your final decision and reasons for your choice
☛ 4. The final outcome, always try to end on a positive note
30. Tell us how do you motivate employees?
☛ 1. Understand their goals
☛ 2. Understand what they're good / not good at
☛ 3. Align their personal goals to the company goals and then utilize their strengths to achieve it
☛ 4. Inspire them through coaching and pep talks
31. Tell us what's your salary history?
Be prepared to share your salary history and also the documentation to back it up. This is a common request from companies, especially if you're trying to negotiate a higher salary than what they're offering.
32. Tell us who was your favorite manager and why?
Describe the attributes you liked about your favorite manager, typically attributes discussed are: Great at coaching, inspiring, motivating, empowering, trusting, delegating, leading, etc.
33. Tell us how well do you multi-task?
Multi-tasking is an important part of most jobs. You want to show that you're good at it but not overwhelmed with it. So discuss just a few things you can multi-task well on - for example: "I'm good at multi tasking between work email and working on projects and the reason it because I'm good at prioritizing my work emails.
34. Tell us what do you dislike about your present job?
Be cautious with this answer. Do not be too specific as you may draw attention to weaknesses that will leave you open to further problems. One approach is to choose a characteristic of your present company, such as its size or slow decision-making processes etc. Give your answer with the air of someone who takes problems and frustrations in your stride as part of the job.
35. Can you tell us what have your achievements been to date?
Select an achievement that is work-related and fairly recent. Identify the skills you used in the achievement and quantify the benefit it had to the company. For example, 'my greatest achievement has been to design and implement a new sales ledger system, bringing it in ahead of time and improving our debtors' position significantly, saving the company £50,000 a month in interest'.
