Financial Administrator

Get to the bottom of why this finance candidate truly deserves your attention. It could be their precise role-related experience, achievements within the industry, or even their unique personality. This question is also important for testing your candidate’s level of confidence — is it too much or just right?

I work with others in my company’s leadership team to outline the company’s financial and business goals, both for the coming year and in the long term. I base my budget on these goals as well as on the company’s current financial situation and projections for short- and long-term expenditures and revenues. A large part of coming up with a suitable budget is working with all departments in order to have comprehensive and accurate information.

Finance jobs demand the ability to work well under pressure. The interviewer wants to know whether you are able to perform under stress and cope with difficult situations. Show that you can stay calm and are able to plan to reduce stress.

Zeroing in on how others perceive your interviewee is essential to finding out whether they’re a match for the position and your company as a whole. Jot down what your candidate shares with you and follow-up with their references to see if the descriptions match.

Provide an interview answer that demonstrates your self awareness and insight. Use the list of strengths and weaknesses to help formulate your answer.

What would that professor say about you? These two questions will allow you to dig deeper into the potential weaknesses and challenges of your finance candidates. You’ll also be able to take a closer look at how well they handled this situation. While they may have hated their creative writing class, would their professor say they put their best foot forward in spite of it all?

Discuss a relevant achievement, the challenges you faced in getting there and what made you successful. Discuss why it was important to you, making the reasons relevant to the finance job you are interviewing for. Emphasize how your achievement can be translated into success in this position. Find sample answers to this interview question at employer interview questions

After I recuperated from the shock both times, it made me feel stronger. It’s true that I was fired twice, but I managed to bounce back both times and land jobs that gave me more responsibility, paid me more money, and were at better firms.

The morale here is very high. I’ve been exposed to the “seamy underbelly” of this business, but I’m still passionate about working in it.

I come from a long line of healthy, hardy, mentally active types, and so I confess that I never even think about “peaking” in my career. That having been said, I do think it’s important to have some self-knowledge, and to recognize when one is past one’s prime.

This financial interview question explores your ability to communicate information or alternatives in a manner that gains agreement and acceptance. Show how you are able to look at the position of others, present alternatives and reach an agreement that is positive for all parties.

This should be a no-brainer for candidates who are truly passionate about the role. Any hesitation in answering this question should lead you to question them further.

Depending on the available position and the company culture, it may be necessary for your potential finance hire to work late to ensure their responsibilities are completed. Their answer to this question will reveal if they’re dedicated and passionate about the role.

I think that it’s more important to be lucky, although being very skilled can help to create more opportunities. Certainly, [at my former job, my boss’] confidence in me inspired the decision makers at our firm to trust that I could do the job. But clearly, I also happened to be in the right place at the right time.

If you aren’t good at “managing up,” you rarely get the opportunity to “manage down.” Fortunately, I’ve always been quite good at self-management. I’ve never had a deadline that I didn’t meet.

If a competitive spirit is crucial for thriving in the role you’re interviewing for, this question will do the trick. Playing sports, whether currently or previously, is a great way to determine whether your finance candidates have a competitive nature.

When the person doing the confiding has shared the fact that she was doing something unethical — and if I felt that I might be able to stop her behavior by telling someone else about it.

This is one the few industry-specific questions that will give you a better sense of your candidate. Are they a risk-taker, or do they play it safe?

For some finance candidates, the answer may be related to a specific project they undertook or an award they received. If they don’t share insightful details about why they feel this was their greatest achievement, be sure to question further. Ask yourself: Is this relevant to the role they’re interviewing for?

Finance interview questions that examine your motivation are designed to assess whether you will be a good motivational fit with the job opportunity and the company. Make your motivation relevant to what the finance job provides. Most finance positions require self-motivated people whose motivators include managing a challenge, getting the required results, achievement and recognition.

This is your chance to detect what drives your finance candidates. Dig further to find out whether it’s about the money or the finance industry itself. Keep in mind, the desire to make money doesn’t necessarily equate to a sufficient drive to succeed or real passion for the business. It often comes with limitations.