Fresh Senior Tax Officer Interview Questions & Answers:

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.