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Interview Questions Flashcards

1
Q

Tell me about yourself

A
  • final yr philosophy student
  • particular interest in ethics
  • studying part time alongside work as a proofreader
  • volunteered for local charity bookshop for homelessness for many years as a valuer of antique books.
  • throughout all of this I’ve enjoyed the analytical and numerical aspects the most, so I’m looking for a job which tests my abilities in these areas.
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2
Q

How would you describe yourself?

A

Analytical: I’ve always done well in, and really enjoy both qualitative and quantitative problem solving e.g. philosophy, logic, Math AL.

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3
Q

How might philosophy help you in accounting?

A
  • analytical - checking for misstatements
  • sceptical mindset
  • communication - explaining complex ideas in simple terms.
  • collaboration - getting others perspectives
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4
Q

Why part time philosophy?

A

I had some health issues when I started, needed to give myself time to fully recover.

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5
Q

Who’s your favourite philosopher?

A

Diogenes the cynic (lived in a barrel, walked through the market holding a lantern proclaiming to be looking for an honest man)

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6
Q

What is your main philosophical interest?

A

ethics, like reading about how people live radically different lives as a result of differing beliefs (e.g. ancient schools),
also effective altruism, assessing charities for their effectiveness, if that’s possible to do in a value-neutral way.

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7
Q

Why not pursue philosophy further?

A

I want to build a professional career thats focussed on more practical problems.

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8
Q

What is your main weakness?
What is your worst trait/fault?
Tell me your biggest failing.
What is one thing you wish you could change about yourself?

A

I get anxious in certain situations, like presentations and interviews, I’m working on this by taking any chances I get to expose myself to those situations.

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9
Q

What is your main strength?

Follow up: Second and third strengths.

A
  1. analytical: qualitative in philosophy (methodical, cautious, lateral thinking), quantitative in logic, econ, maths. applicability to audit.

Second: communication

Third: enjoy teamwork and working with other people to solve problems.

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10
Q

What makes you unique?

A

Combination of quantitative and qualitative abilities and a strong interest in both. just as interested in writing as solving quantitative, numerical problems.

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11
Q

What motivates you?

A
  1. self-improvement: enjoy getting better at whatever I’m doing.
  2. helping others.
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12
Q

How do you handle pressure & stress?

A
  • If stress is from struggling with a problem, talking with other people, seeking for their perspectives on how they might solve a problem in a different way.
  • short-term stress: cognitive tools
  • If stress is from workload, prioritisation, time management e.g. setting deadlines, prioritising.
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13
Q

Why a degree in philosophy?

A

I’m interested in ethics, and looking at assumptions that come up in various subjects.

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14
Q

Why did you drop out of your first degree?

A

health issues at the time.

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15
Q

Why so many A Levels?

A

My teachers encouraged me.

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16
Q

Why did you take three years to do your A Levels?

A

health issues.

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17
Q

Can you expand on EAS Strategies?

A

Consultants who provide regulatory advice on the food, nutrition and health markets to companies and governments. I’ve help them by acting as an editor and proofreader for any official documents for clients, and I’ve also done projects researching trends in those markets and collecting relevant data.

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18
Q

How did you get the EAS job?

A

Family relation

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19
Q

How many hours do you work for EAS?

A

project based, so some weeks not much, lots other weeks, maybe 1-2 days on average.

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20
Q

How do you think your EAS role will help you with accounting?

A
  • proofreading has strengthened concentration and attention to detail - help with auditing when working through large amounts of data looking for any omissions or errors
  • more broadly, balancing work & education will help me succeed on a training contract, as I’ve had to learn how to study alongside full time projects so that I keep continous progress with educational deadlines
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21
Q

How do you analyse data in Excel for EAS?

A

Using various basic functions to make the data useful e.g. combining if function & conditional highlighting to illustrate vitamin or mineral levels in a supplement that are high or low compared to some benchmark. pivot tables to make data more presentable.

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22
Q

What are your goals for the future?

A
  • Like to do a qualification
  • eventually, I’d like to become an expert in NFP audit
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23
Q

Why do you want this audit job?

A
  1. company bc expertise in NFP
  2. audit bc interest in how businesses operate & good fit for analytical & collaborative skill-set.
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24
Q

Why does honesty / integrity matter to you? How have you showcased the company’s “honesty” / “integrity” value in your past roles?

A
  • naturally an honest person, feel uncomfortable being dishonest
  • also big motive is wanting to help others, can’t if dishonest
  • specifically to audit, profession’s job is to provide honest assurance that company’s statements are free from misstatement, so auditor would be failing at their job if they were dishonest and bring reputational risks to the company.
  • philosophy essays - I’ve score top of my class - big reason is academic honesty plays a huge role in how I write, don’t brush problems with my arguments but fully acknowledge and discuss them and potential solutions, appreciated by markers when students often try and make their arguments as strong as possible by being dishonest in their arguments.
  • in job as proofreader, occasionally I get documents that cannot be fixed by simple edits and need a complete re-write. it’s key to my job that I’m honest in those situations even though I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, as sending documents to clients poses reputational risks.
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25
Q

Why do you value impartiality / objectivity? How have you showcased the company’s “impartiality” / “objectivity” value in your past roles?

A
  • I enjoy problem solving and know that you’re more likely to reach a false conclusion if you don’t take an impartial perspective e.g. philosophy, can’t let your own biases influence your argument
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26
Q

Why do you value “making a difference” / “caring”? How have you showcased the company’s “making a difference” / “caring” value in your past roles?

A

One of my biggest motivators is helping others, making a difference in society. made a difference at bookshop:
- changing types and location of books in shop
- suggested an overhaul of the pricing team’s structure
- suggested to benchmark threshold for online selling against book inflation.

or helping logic student

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27
Q

Why do you value “working together” / “collaboration” / “teamwork”? How have you showcased the company’s “work together” value in your past roles?

A
  • really enjoy working with other people, one of my favourite aspects of work and study.
  • STAR: floating at tamago
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28
Q

Why do you value reimagining the possible? How have you showcased the company’s “reimagine the possible” value in your past roles?

A
  • helps solve problems
  • fun, attracted me to philosophy
  • question assumption that Phil son needs to be academic.
  • made it fun and accessible (practical activities, collaborations).
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29
Q

What’s the toughest challenge you’ve faced?

Tell me a time about a challenge you’ve faced and how you overcame it.

A

S: two philosophy committee members stopped attending regularly.
T: took over their responsibilities (communication, debate facilitation, reading groups).
A: prioritised core society jobs, found someone in reading group to take lead.
R: couldn’t replace their unique energy, but managed to keep society running smoothly for rest of year.

or overcoming anxiety with presentations

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30
Q

Tell me about a stressful situation and how you dealt with it?

A

“One of the most stressful situations I faced was when I had a philosophy essay deadline alongside an unexpected time-sensitive project at work, both due on the same day. To manage the pressure, I created a detailed schedule that broke down each task into smaller, manageable steps. I prioritized the most urgent tasks and allocated specific time blocks to both the essay and the work project. By staying organized and focused, I was able to make steady progress on both. I also communicated with my manager about the workload to ensure expectations were aligned. In the end, I met both deadlines, and the situation taught me the importance of time management, adaptability, and clear communication under pressure.

31
Q

Tell me about a time where you had to deal with conflict in a team?

A

S: phil soc struggling, wanted to make it accessible, but k didnt.
T: compromise
A: technical for guest speakers, accessible for informal disccusions.
R: went well

32
Q

Tell me about a time you had to explain something complex

A
  • Frequently do this in philosophy
  • S: phil soc free will debate
  • T: introduce debate starting point, make it accessible to non-philosophers
  • A: avoided use of jargon, explained jargon that i needed to use, used examples to illustrate concepts.
  • R: everyone understood and was able to contribute, useful for audit when needing to obtain complex info from firm.
33
Q

Tell us what has been your best work achievement to this point in your career. What made this achievement important?

A

achievements that matter to me are ones where i’m improving on weaknesses or helping others:
- self-improvement: presentations
- helping others: logic friend

34
Q

What does diversity mean to you?

A
  1. differing perspectives / ideas on problems
  2. differing methods and creative approaches.

These build resilience as more likely to spot and overcome problems (e.g. people from different academic backgrounds).

35
Q

Which adjectives would you use to describe yourself?

A

Analytical, empathetic, collaborative.

36
Q

Give example of determined

A

presentations are something that i get anxious about, keep taking opportunities to get exposure to then

37
Q

Give an example of a time you’ve been collaborative

A

S: short-staffed at restaurant, busy shift.
T: trained in front & back - offered to work both roles.
A: From experience knew when bottlenecks would occur, switched accordingly to ensure both colleagues felt supported.
R: Restaurant functioned smoothly despite shortage, positive customers experience.

38
Q

Why do you want to work for us?

A
  • expertise in NFP sector
  • basis in Southeast
  • positive things about company? (mentoring?)
39
Q

Why should I hire you?

A
  • strengths.
  • interest in role.
  • interest in company.
40
Q

what past accomplishments gave you satisfaction?

A
  • self improvement (presentations STAR)
  • helping others (logic friend help STAR)
41
Q

What makes you want to work hard?

A
  • self-improvement
  • helping others
42
Q

What type of work environment do you like best?

A

A mixture of collaboration and independent work. Supportive atmosphere.

43
Q

Where do you see yourself in 5/10/15 years from now?

A
  • I’d like to achieve official qualifications.
  • I’d like to become an expert in NFP audit
44
Q

What qualifies you for audit?

A
  • skill-set
  • motivators
  • interest
45
Q

How do you prioritise tasks?

A

flexibility, importance, time

46
Q

Describe a major change that occurred over which you had no control. How did you adapt to this change?

A

S: Chef suddenly taken ill and rushed to hospital.
T: No chef, I’d been trained in role (interest in cuisine), so was able to step in.
A: Prepared the dishes, following the protocols I’d been trained with.
R: Customers were not affected by sudden staff shortage, we didn’t have to turn them out.

47
Q

Describe a project or idea that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role? What was the outcome?

A

S: valuing team, backlog and bottlenecks.
T: nobody had solutions, thought outside box to solve issue.
A: realised we weren’t questioning our operating structure. Too specialised for part-time volunteers, creating bottlenecks at each stage. Proposed a more generalised approach, each volunteer sees whole process through. Also proposed increasing online selling threshold with inflation to reduce less-profitable workload.
R: more enjoyable, enriching roles for volunteers.

48
Q

Give an example of an important goal that you set in the past. Tell about your success in reaching it.

A

S: presentations, anxious, script
T: get better
A: broke it into steps: 1) put script on slides; 2) add improvised examples; 3) expand improvising.
R: Comfortable improvising to a medium extent, still got a way to go before its at professional level but proud of progress.

49
Q

Tell us how you keep your job knowledge current with the ongoing changes in the industry.

A
  • keep up to date with financial news (particular interest?)
  • follow trends in AI looking at how that could improve my job?
  • subscribed to newsletters from regulatory bodies (relevant one for audit?)
50
Q

Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.

A

S: valuing team, backlog and bottlenecks.
T: nobody had solutions, thought outside box to solve issue.
A: realised we weren’t questioning our operating structure. Too specialised for part-time volunteers, creating bottlenecks at each stage. Proposed a more generalised approach, each volunteer sees whole process through. Also proposed increasing online selling threshold with inflation to reduce less-profitable workload.
R: more enjoyable, enriching roles for volunteers.

51
Q

It is very important to build good relationships at work but sometimes it doesn’t always work. If you can, tell about a time when you were not able to build a successful relationship with a difficult person.

A

S: philosophy committee two members were semi-absentees, reneged on responsibilities.
T: had to take on their responsibilities (student engagement, debates facilitator, reading groups).
A: anticipated this (part of reason i decided to be events organiser). did not have time to take on all their responsibilities (communication, debate facilitator, reading groups), prioritised communication & facilitator roles. gave me opportunity to practice public speaking more.
R: phil soc continued successfully without it affecting my workload too much.

52
Q

Have you ever worked in a situation where the rules and guidelines were not clear? Tell me about it. How did you feel about it? How did you react?

A

When I first started doing research for EAS, I wasn’t given much guidance. So rather than sinking a lot of time into it, I did some brief research and then got their feedback to see if this was the kind of thing they wanted? If yes, then I knew I should sink more time in, sometimes no, then I asked for more guidance and changed tack accordingly.

53
Q

Describe a situation when you were able to strengthen a relationship by communicating effectively. What made your communication effective?

A
  • Customers who apprehensive about japanese food
  • find out why
  • tailor my suggestions around those apprehensions, ask chef to avoid foods they dislike
  • customers usually really appreciate it.
  • personalisation and listening is effective

or philosophy presentation, making it accessible.

54
Q

When you have difficulty persuading someone to your point of view, what do you do? Give an example.

A
  • assess assumptions (both persons and mine)
  • introspect
  • phil soc: kit wants academic, you want accessible, introspected, realised my assumption that academic would still occur may be false with current plans. compromised
55
Q

Describe a time when you realised you were deficient in a specific skill and took action to improve your capabilities in that area.

A

presentation skills are weak, so sought presentation opportunities to practice. still needs work but getting better.

56
Q

Describe a problem you encountered that required you to use unfamiliar or creative methods to solve.

A
  • no budget, so no conventions, external speakers
  • philosophy walks, fun practical activities e.g. trying to be ancient sceptics.
  • contacted current and recent PhD students, enthusiastic
57
Q

What’s the best book you’ve found at the bookshop?

A

19th century Japanese book of flowers you had to translate

58
Q

What excites you the most about audit? How does that align with your goals?

A

Collaboration - enjoy working with other people, solve problems better/quicker

Aligns with goal to become an expert in audit. Learn quicker.

59
Q

How will you ensure you use your time efficiently to attend all priorities in training contract?

A

Small amounts of study everyday throughout work deadlines (e.g. flashcards on commute). Quantity, not quality of knowledge for ACA.

60
Q

Would you describe yourself as someone who enjoys being given a lot of responsibility?

A

Yes - self-improvement (e.g. training as chef in kitchen)

61
Q

How do you feel about incorporating new tech/data analytics into the audit process? How might the role benefit?

A

Excited - self-improvement, focus more on deeper, challenging work. Less on basic decision-making & info collection/processing.

62
Q

If you got this position, what would challenge you?

A
  • Understanding complex regulations and new software - will take time, first few audits will be challenge, but excited for it.
  • training contract
63
Q

What would a good day at work look like for you?

A

Collaboration, deep analytical work.

64
Q

What do you know about audit (why do you want to work in audit)?

A
  • analytical
  • collaborative
65
Q

Tell me about something recently that you’re really proud of.

A
  1. Getting better at presentations

(Back-up: helping friend pass logic).

66
Q

What do you know about this company (why do you want to work for us)?

A
  • strong NFP team
  • values collaboration
67
Q

Give an example of trends you have researched for EAS

A

EC drafting max levels of V&Ms, EAS got leak and asked me to review whether V&M levels in Ireland would be affected (a more liberal market). took a sample of most popular supplements in a few categories (multivit, pregnancy, old age), used averages and conditional formatting to illustrate which V&M levels would be affected by new legislation. Info passed on to deloitte for more thorough impact assessment.

68
Q

What would you say is your second weakness (other than anxiety)?

A

Knowing when to stop / attempting too much e.g. philosophy

69
Q

What’s your biggest life achievement to date?

A

not sure, perhaps overcoming fear of presentations

70
Q

what is something challenging you have worked on?

A

overcoming fear of presentations

71
Q

What did you think of the budget?

A

NI changes will be tough for businesses that employ lots of part-time staff, although small (<100k) should be ok due to inc in employer allowance.

72
Q

tell me about a time you made a mistake

A

S: early on at restaurant I occasionally forgot to prepare drinks, bad customer service
T: thought about why.
A: realised lack of ticket organisation was cause. put all tickets in same place and didn’t dispose of them until prep was complete.
R: minimal mistakes since then.

73
Q

Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your boss / shown courage

A

S: boss convinced foreign students target market (consequences: adverts at uni, no menu online, only ig).
T: disagreed, did research.
A: told them my findings.
R: it’s ongoing.

74
Q

Tell me about a time you overcame an unexpected analytical challenge

A

Overcoming an unexpected (analytical) challenge.
S: Assignment on problem of demandingness, surprisingly hard to pin down.
T: Explain exactly what the problem is in layman’s terms.
A: Tather than glossing over the ambiguity, I centered my assignment on analyzing and challenging different interpretations.
R: lecturer loved it, gave me the highest marks realistically possible in undergrad philosophy.

Employment (2 decks)

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