Group Home Counselor Interview Preparation Guide

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.

This can be a very tricky question as the individual asking it is probably digging for something other than a simple answer to the question. We recommend that you don't immediately respond to the question directly. Instead, say something like, “That a difficult question. What is range for this position?” More often than not the interviewer will tell you. If the interviewer insists on direct answer you may want say that it depends on the details of the job - then give a wide salary range.

You always want to make sure that you're pretty familiar with the company that you're interviewing with. Nothing looks worse than a candidate who knows nothing about the company they say they're interested in working for. Find out everything you can about the company, its culture and its goals. You will also want to know how the company is positioned in its market as well as who its major competitors are.

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!

We all have difficult decisions in our lives. Show how you were able to arrive at it and then how you decisively acted.

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.

Some jobs require employees to work under stress, and some interviewers just like to see how applicants handle stressful questions.

There are many questions designed for putting the interviewee into an awkward situation, or throwing them off, to see how they do under stress. Here are some samples.

1. How do you feel this interview is going As Group Home Counselor?

2. How would you handle undeserved criticism from a superior?

3. How many other jobs are you applying for?

4. What would you do if you saw a colleague stealing supplies or equipment?

5. What did you do when you had a boss you didn’t get along with?

6. What would you do if a colleague took credit for your idea, and got a promotion?

7. Was the stress of your previous job too much for you?

8. What would you do if a colleague admitted to lying on their resume to get the job?

9. What would you do if a customer verbally insulted you in front of co-workers?

10. What would you change about the design of a baseball hat?

11. Why were you fired from your previous job As Group Home Counselor?

12. How successful do you think you've been so far?

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

Be proud of your achievement, discuss the results, and explain why you feel most proud of this one. Was it the extra work? Was it the leadership you exhibited? Was it the impact it had?

Situational interviews As Group Home Counselor are similar to behavioral interview questions - but they are focused on the future, and ask hypothetical questions, whereas behavioral interview questions look at the past.

The advantage is that employers can put all candidates in the same hypothetical situations, and compare their answers.


1. What would you do if you made a strong recommendation in a meeting, but your colleagues decided against it?

2. How you would handle it if your team resisted a new idea or policy you introduced?

3. How would you handle it if the priorities for a project you were working on were suddenly changed?

4. What would you do if the work of an employee you managed didn't meet expectations?

5. What would you do if an important task was not up to standard, but the deadline to complete it had passed?

6. What steps would you take to make an important decision on the job As Group Home Counselor?

7. How would you handle a colleague you were unable to form a positive relationship with?

8. What would you do if you disagreed with the way a manager wanted you to handle a problem?

9. What would you do if you were assigned to work with a difficult client As Group Home Counselor?

10. What would you do if you worked hard on a solution to a problem, and your solution was criticized by your team?

11. How would you handle working closely with a colleague who was very different from you?

12. You're working on a key project that you can't complete, because you're waiting on work from a colleague. What do you do?

13. You realize that an early mistake in a project is going to put you behind deadline. What do you do?

Do not claim to be comfortable with a specific role if you in are in fact not comfortable with it. However, if you have no problem working in certain roles or situations, be sure to discuss this with the interviewer.

No matter your previous job experience or educational background, be sure to tell the interviewer you have the knowledge and skills to successfully execute the job responsibilities.

You want to first understand why the policy was put into effect. From there, if you truly disagree with it, explain your position to your management. If they don't change it, then you must accept their decision and continue to work or the alternative decision would be to find a new job.

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

Again, this question could get you in trouble so tread carefully. Some good answers might be that your previous job didn't provide any room for growth, that you were laid off due to a mandatory reduction in staff, that they closed their office in your state and required you to relocate, etc. Make sure not to mention anything negative about the people you worked with, the company in general or the job itself.

Before you answer, consider how you best contribute to a team:

☛ Do you get along easily with people?
☛ Are you an effective collaborator?
☛ Can you communicate with people from various backgrounds and with different personalities?
☛ Can you motivate people?
☛ Do you know how to push back tactfully?
☛ Can you mediate conflicts?
☛ Can you deal with difficult personalities?

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

Red flags: This is the peanut butter to the previous question’s jelly. Again, everyone should expect it, so it's a bad sign if someone seems totally unprepared, or gives a stock answer like, "I'm a perfectionist." Also, of course, candidates crazy enough to blurt out some horrible personality trait should go in the red flagged pile.

Good answer: Candidates should talk about a real weakness they've been working on improving. For instance, they're not good at public speaking, but they've been taking a course to help them improve. Or maybe they feel that they're easily distracted when working online, but have installed software that helps them stay on task. Answers like these show a desire for improvement, self awareness and discipline.

When answering this question, we recommends being accurate (share your true strengths, not those you think the interviewer wants to hear); relevant (choose your strengths that are most targeted to this particular position As Group Home Counselor); and specific (for example, instead of “people skills,” choose “persuasive communication” or “relationship building”). Then, follow up with an example of how you've demonstrated these traits in a professional setting.

Ideally, you want to take on the role you're interviewing for, but you want to be flexible with your responsibilities As Group Home Counselor if there are any changes.

Bad Answer: They don't have a good reason, or provide a generic answer, "I think it represents a great opportunity."

Good answer: One that shows they've done research on the company, and are truly excited about specific things they can do at the job. This not only shows enthusiasm for the work and basic preparation skills, gives you clues about the cultural fit.

The only time this might matter is if the job requires a certain type of car because of the responsibilities. For example, if you need to load a lot of construction materials into your car, you'll probably need a truck.

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

Discuss how you stay up to date by reading industry specific sites, magazines, and Google / yahoo news. Also make sure you stay up to date by reading the current news on the company's website.

if the first one is one color (say, white), and the second one is the other color (black), then the third one, no matter what the color, will make a matching pair. (Sometimes you're not supposed to think that hard.)

Describe honestly the regretful action / situation you were in but then discuss how you proactively fixed / improved it and how that helped you to improve as a person/worker.

People usually choose their major based on their passions or the career path they want to head towards.

Dedicate myself to learn everything about the new company that I can, look for ways and ideas that could improve, processes, safety, removing obstacles from the associates, I want to advance within the company.

Show how you were able to over the "overwhelmed" feeling - by delegating tasks, getting people on your team to help you out, or by prioritizing your work and focusing on the most important issues first As Group Home Counselor.

Describe your ideal working environment. Do you like flexibility with work hours? Do you like working in a cubicle or independently? Do you like to be micro managed or empowered? Do you like to work on your own or in a team? Do you like being driven by metrics in your role? How much responsibility do you want?