Here’s a quick rundown of this week’s episode…

• First, Isaiah explains the structure of a typical interview for an industry position
• Next, Isaiah gives some examples of credibility questions and discusses the best way to answer them
• Finally, Isaiah gives some examples of opinion questions and discusses the best way to answer them

Employers typically start their interviews with the more basic question types, i.e., Credibility Questions and Opinion Questions. These employers will spend about five minutes asking Credibility Questions and five to ten minutes asking Opinion Questions.

For interviews early in the interview funnel, such as initial phone screens, employers may spend more of the interview time on these types of questions, as much as 50 to 80 percent.

The Behavioral and Competency Questions are leveraged more during the later interview stages, including video, panel, and site visit interviews.

Credibility Questions about your experience and credentials are perhaps the easiest to prepare for because they can be anticipated.

One credibility question that is almost always asked during an interview, usually at the very beginning, is: “Can you tell me a little about yourself?”

Other credibility questions might include:

• What grades did you get in … ?
• How long did you work at … ?
• What did you do at … ?
• Can you please explain the results you achieved at … ?

The goal of asking this question type is to get a greater understanding of your breadth of experience (or lack thereof) and what you have been doing to date.

Credibility questions can also clarify points on your resume and determine whether you are suitable for the job. As a PhD, these questions will likely focus on your technical skills, prompting you to validate your qualifications and technical experience.

Opinion Questions are often focused on situations. These questions are designed to assess your suitability to work in the company by looking at how you see different difficult situations.

Opinion questions are often used to determine your fit in the company’s organizational culture. They are also used to assess your transferable skills and, more generally, how you see yourself.

Some opinion questions could be:

• What do you see as your biggest professional success to date?
• What’s your preferred management style? 
• What would you do if faced with this type of situation?

You should leverage and highlight your transferable skills when answering Opinion Questions.

As I mentioned earlier, both Credibility and Opinion Questions are commonly asked early in the interview and are designed to get you talking.

If you’re ready to start your transition into industry, you can apply to book a free Transition Call with our founder Isaiah Hankel, PhD or one of our Transition Specialists. Apply to book a Transition Call here.

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