Chief Resident Interview Preparation Guide
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60 Chief Resident Questions and Answers:

1 :: Do you consider yourself successful?

You should always answer yes to this question. Briefly explain why without going on and on. If you communicate that you're more successful than you really are you may come off as arrogant or unrealistic. A goof explanation is that you have set professional goals and that you have met some of these goals and are on track to meet more in the near future.

2 :: Top 17 Behavioral Interview Questions As Chief Resident:

Behavioral interviews As Chief Resident where popularized by industrial psychologists in the 1970s, and have been used at big companies like AT&T. The idea behind them is that past responses to situations are the best predictor of how candidates will respond in the future.


1. Tell me about a time you faced a conflict while working as part of a team.

2. Talk about a goal you set for yourself. What did you do to make sure you met the goal?

3. Give an example of a time when you had to work with someone with a very different personality from yours.

4. Talk about an instance where you wish you’d handled a situation differently with a team member.

5. What’s the most difficult problem you have had to solve As Chief Resident?

6. Give an example of how you handled a situation where you needed information from a colleague who wasn’t responsive.

7. Talk about a time when you had problems building a relationship with a key team member. What did you do?

8. Tell me about an instance when it was important to make a great impression on a client. What did you do?

9. Tell me about a situation where you had to work with a difficult client.

10. Tell me about a situation where you disappointed a client, and how you tried to fix it.

11. Talk about a time when you had to strategize to meet all your obligations.

12. Talk about a time when you failed at something. How did you react?

13. Talk about a time you took on a leadership role.

14. Tell me about a long-term project you oversaw. How did you keep it focused and on schedule?

15. Talk about a time when you were under a lot of stress. What caused it, and how did you manage?

16. Do you prefer to work alone or with others As Chief Resident?

17. Tell me about a time when you were overwhelmed by the amount of work on your agenda. How did you handle it?

3 :: Describe some problems you encountered in your most recent position As Chief Resident and how you resolved them?

Discuss your work experiences. The key is to show you're calm under pressure and can handle sensitive situations with a clear train of thought.

4 :: Your coworker highlights your mistakes in front of everyone, how do you handle the situation?

Admit to the mistake without being emotional, but then discuss how you are being proactive in getting it fixed. Lastly, pull the co-worker aside later on to tell them that you'd appreciate it if they gave you the feedback 1:1 first before throwing you under the bus.

5 :: Who has been an inspiration for you?

Cite your role models (possible examples could be your parents, people successful in the industry, world leaders, etc)

6 :: Did you consider yourself a team player?

Of course you're a team player - who isn't. But a simple yes probably isn't the response the interviewer is looking for. Be ready to provide specific example of how you've worked as part of a cohesive team to get things accomplished and how you've focus on team performance rather than individual performance. Make sure not to brag as this will make it appear as that you're more concerned about your own performance and accomplishments than those of the team.

7 :: You notice there are too many non productive internal meetings being held, what do you do?

Reach out to your boss and let him know that first you value his leadership and organization but that you are being overwhelmed with the amount of non productive internal meetings.

8 :: What type of people do you not work well with?

Be very careful answering this question as most organization employ professionals with an array of personalities and characteristics. You don't want to give the impression that you're going to have problems working with anyone currently employed at the organization. If you through out anything trivial you're going to look like a whiner. Only disloyalty to the organization or lawbreaking should be on your list of personal characteristics of people you can't work with.

9 :: What kind of work interests you the least As Chief Resident?

What bores you? What fails to challenge you? What fails to excite you?

10 :: 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.

11 :: What are your strengths As Chief Resident?

This is one of the most common questions you will be asked. Give an answer relevant to the skills and qualities relevant to the position you are applying to. The interviewer is trying to find if your strengths match the job. For example, if you are applying for a job As Chief Resident where accuracy is an important issue, one of your strengths could be that you have an eye for detail. It may useful to find different words to describe similar attributes and qualities in order to avoid repetition.

12 :: How much are you willing to sacrifice to be successful at work As Chief Resident?

With anything comes sacrifice. The questions is how much of it are you willing to sacrifice with regards to work life balance, stress, etc?

13 :: What motivates you at the work place?

Keep your answer simple, direct and positive. Some good answers may be the ability to achieve, recognition or challenging assignments.

14 :: What do you consider to be your greatest strength?

There isn't any right answer. Just make sure to make your response positive and true. A few good examples include: Your ability to solve complex problems, Your ability to work well on a team, Your ability to shine under pressure, Your ability to focus in chaotic situations, Your ability to prioritize and organize, Your ability to cut through the fluff to identify the real issues, Your ability to influence other positively. If your strength relates to the position in question that will be more beneficial - but again be honest, don't create a strength for yourself just because you think it will sound good.

15 :: What have you learned from mistakes on the job?

Candidates without specific examples often do not seem credible. However, the example shared should be fairly inconsequential, unintentional, and a learned lesson should be gleaned from it. Moving ahead without group assistance while assigned to a group project meant to be collaborative is a good example.

16 :: What is your philosophy towards work?

This is typically a straightforward question that merits a straightforward answer. Do you have strong worth ethic? Will you do whatever it takes to make sure the job gets done? Just say so in your response. Keep it short, direct and positive.

17 :: 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.

18 :: 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.

19 :: Explain me what do you know about our company?

Bad Answer: They don't know much about the company. If a candidate is serious and enthusiastic, they should have done some basic research.

Good answer: An answer that shows they've really done their homework and know what the company does, any important current events that involve the company, and the work culture.

20 :: How do you adapt to new working environments As Chief Resident?

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.

21 :: How well do you know this industry?

Two things businesses need to pay attention to in their industries are what their competition is doing and the customers. You may not always agree with your competitors but it is important to be aware of what changes they are making. Very well. I have been in the industry for over 6 years.

22 :: How do you imagine a typical day of an employee in our company As Chief Resident?

Just do not say that you imagine to only walk and watch what people do. Rather try to show them your attention to details and proactive attitude to job. Mention that you would try to observe the problems, weaknesses as well as opportunities to improve the results and take measures according to it.

23 :: What does success mean to you?

I am punctual, I always have excellent attendance on any job As Chief Resident, I have a keen eye for both large and small details, and I am always finding ways to improve a process and shorten the length of time it takes to complete a project.

24 :: How do you deal with conflict in the workplace As Chief Resident?

When people work together, conflict is often unavoidable because of differences in work goals and personal styles. Follow these guidelines for handling conflict in the workplace.

☛ 1. Talk with the other person.
☛ 2. Focus on behavior and events, not on personalities.
☛ 3. Listen carefully.
☛ 4. Identify points of agreement and disagreement.
☛ 5. Prioritize the areas of conflict.
☛ 6. Develop a plan to work on each conflict.
☛ 7. Follow through on your plan.
☛ 8. Build on your success.

25 :: What do you already know about our company?

Good reputation of a large home grown company that has various departments and product.

26 :: Tell me about the last time you missed a goal or deadline?

Unless you're a completely perfect person, chances are you've messed up before on a goal/deadline. If so, discuss how you fell short and what you would have done in retrospect to achieve it.

27 :: What are your salary requirements As Chief Resident?

The #1 rule of answering this question is doing your research on what you should be paid by using site like Global Guideline. You’ll likely come up with a range, and we recommend stating the highest number in that range that applies, based on your experience, education, and skills. Then, make sure the hiring manager knows that you're flexible. You're communicating that you know your skills are valuable, but that you want the job and are willing to negotiate.

28 :: Did the salary we offer attract you to this job?

The interviewer could be asking you this question for a number of reasons. Obviously, the salary is an important factor to your interest in this job, but it should not be the overriding reason for your interest. A good answer to this question is, “The salary was very attractive, but the job itself is what was most attractive to me.”

29 :: What classes did you enjoy most in college and why?

Think back to the classes that either resonated with your passion or truly helped you to develop skills that you believe will help you in your career. Talk about those.

30 :: What is the most important lesson / skill you've learned from school?

Think of lessons learned in extra curricular activities, in clubs, in classes that had a profound impact on your personal development. For example, I had to lead a team of 5 people on a school project and learned to get people with drastically different personalities to work together as a team to achieve our objective.