Interviewing Worksheet

In this article, you’ll find various self-guided resources and activities you can use to prepare for interviews.

Free Self-Guided Interview Resources

Job Interview Skills Training Course (1.5 hour video)
Short 'Career Tips' Video Library (Access Code: 04HVsb)
Elevator Pitch Video (10 minute video)
Google's Interview Warmup

Brag Sheet Activity

When you’re going through the interview process, it’s important to highlight your top qualities. Talking about yourself can feel uncomfortable because you might not be used to it. This activity will help you to get more comfortable with “bragging” about yourself.

Create a list of things you’ve done well at home, school, or work. Don’t be afraid to write down anything and everything that comes to mind. If you get stuck, ask a family member, friend, or coworker to help you brainstorm.
Pick your top 3 accomplishments and come up with specific examples. Practice talking about them with someone until you feel more confident in yourself.
[Optional] Gather more information for your brag sheet by asking family members, friends, and/or coworkers these specific questions:
- What do I bring to the table that is unique to me?
- How do I appear to be doing it? Be specific.
- When I'm at my best, what do you notice that I am exceptionally good at?
- Describe the impact it has on you (i.e. Expectations are clear, I feel safe around you, I am inspired)

General Interview Questions

“Tell me about yourself” is a common interview question. It might sound like they’re asking to hear about your favorite hobbies and TV shows, but they’re not. They’re not asking to hear personal details about where you were born and raised, where you went to school, or about your family either. They’re expecting to hear how your previous experiences led you to applying for this job, and how you’re drawn to the work and mission of the organization. You get to tell them the story of yourself! Read our “Tell Me About Yourself” article to help you prepare your answer.

Behavioral Interview Questions

Behavioral interview questions are questions about how you have behaved in the past in specific scenarios, which can help your interviewer understand how you might act in the future. You’ll be asked “Give an example of a time when…” and the interviewer is looking for you to come up with a specific example that demonstrates your positive behavior—your great qualities and the kind of things you did that they would want their future employee to do. It’s okay if you have to weave two stories together or slightly alter the story to make it make sense. The important thing is that the main part of the story and its key elements are true/authentic.

Generally, you want to:

Give yourself time to think about your answer, and don’t be afraid of the silence.
- Silence can last 10-15 seconds and it will seem long to you but not as long to them!
- It’s important to know what you’re going to say before you start speaking.
Set the scene by giving a summary of your answer
Describe a story that shows why you’d be a good employee, with as much detail as possible
End the story with a clear statement of what you learned/took away from the situation. Wrap up your story with a big bow.

The STAR method is a format you can use to frame your thoughts when answering a behavioral interview question. STAR stands for:

Situation: Set the scene and give the necessary details of your example
Task: Describe what your responsibility was in that situation
Action: Explain exactly what steps you took to address it
Result: Share what outcomes your actions achieved

Here is an example of how to use the STAR method to answer the question, “Tell me about a time you had to learn something new quickly”:

Behavioral Interview Question:

What skill are they looking for?

Situation:

What was the context and details of the scenario?

Task:

What were you asked to do? What was your responsibility?

Action:

What steps did you take?

Result:

What was the outcome? What did you achieve?

Tell me about a time you had to learn something new quickly.

They want to hire someone who is proactive about learning and is willing to use multiple learning tools in a systematic way.

There was a time I was asked to make a presentation, but I had never used Powerpoint before.

I needed to learn Powerpoint quickly.

In order to make this happen I watched online tutorials, identified a few areas that I still needed help with, and asked a coworker to help me practice them.

As a result, I had mastered the basics necessary for the presentation, and I’m now in the process of learning more about the program for next time.

Practice the STAR method by answering one or more of the following questions. Feel free to use the table below to organize your thoughts.

What is a time you showed leadership?
What is a time you dealt with conflict?
What is a time you felt very engaged?
What is a time you were working on a team?
What is a time you were criticized for something you did?
What is a time you led a project independently?
What is a time you juggled multiple responsibilities (stayed organized)?
What is a time you persuaded someone to agree to an idea of yours?