What Are Common Internship Interview Questions?

There are many internship interview questions an internship candidate can expect to answer. Among the most common are those intended to reveal why the candidate wants to work for the company and how well he usually gets along with other people. Many interviewers also ask questions about a candidate's methods of dealing with pressure. In all of these cases, an interviewer wants a well-thought-out answer that helps him decide whether or not the candidate is a good choice for the position.

One of the most commonly asked internship interview questions is, "Why do you want to work here?" Often, an internship candidate's first thought is to say he wants to work at a particular site to gain experience that can help him in his career. In most cases, however, employers who ask this question are hoping for a more thorough answer. They usually want to know that the interviewee has spent time researching the company and the industry and can provide an answer that shows the depth of his understanding. An employer will usually want to hear why the internship candidate feels the particular company is the right place for him as well.

Often, internship interview questions also include those meant to determine how well a candidate gets along with others. This is important, as an intern frequently has to work as a subordinate of another person or group of people, or may even be expected to work as a member of a team. Since it is easy for a person to simply state that he gets along with others, some interviewers may make this question more complex. For example, an interviewer may make up a challenging scenario and ask the interviewee to describe how he would deal with it. Alternatively, an interviewer may ask a candidate to give examples of tense situations he's dealt with and how he worked to resolve them.

Though an intern may not have as much responsibility as a person who is hired as a full-time employee, he may still face deadlines and situations in which he must work under pressure. As such, many interviewers ask internship interview questions designed to determine how a candidate reacts under pressure. In such a case, an interviewer may ask for an example of pressure the candidate has experienced in school or on the job and how he dealt with it. As with questions about getting along well with others, an interviewer may create example scenarios involving on-the-job pressure and ask the candidate how he would handle them.