43

Unique Study Abroad Interview Questions | Page 1

Give me a real experience dealing with health/safety crisis.

Tell me about your communication style.

How is your closet organized and what does that say about
you?
Describe a situation that you have experienced where you
lacked intercultural knowledge to deal with the situation.
How did you handle the situation?

What motivates you to do this sort of work?

Is there an answer that you have ready to give us, but we

have not asked the question?

How is the intersection of student affairs and academic

affairs important when advising for study abroad?

What is your funniest cross-cultural experience?

What are the major issues you see impacting the field of
education abroad?
If you were a fruit, what would you be and why?

Review our website and provide ideas on reorganizing and
redesigning it.

Why should we NOT hire you?

What would your mother say about you in a job reference?

How would your best friend describe you?

What super power would you want to have?

How might you respond to an overseas crisis?

How do you use technology to solve problems?

How would you handle a situation where a faculty member

came to you and said that he or she felt that another staff
member was a weak team member?
What is your personal leadership philosophy and how does
it apply to your interaction with students?

What did you do to prepare for this interview today?

Here is a list of things you must accomplish in a given day -

rank them in the order of importance.

Provide an example of something that went wrong and

describe how it was resolved.

How would you calm down a very anxious parent of a

student who is having a problem in one of your programs?

What book are you reading right now?

43 Unique Study Abroad Interview Questions | Page 2

You are on a sinking ship next to a deserted island. What

three things do you grab to take with you?
What was the best criticism you ever received from a
previous supervisor or co-worker?
How might the skills you have learned at your previous
place of employment be used in the job you are applying
currently applying for?
If you were to design a billboard about yourself, what would
it look like? What would it say?
Describe a time when you had a disagreement with a direct
supervisor and explain how the situation was handled.
What is a pet peeve of yours and why? Please explain the
reason this peeves you.
How soon can you pack up all your belongings and move?

If offered this position, how would transition to small town

(or big city) life?

Why should I not hire you?

What has been your favorite and least favorite travel

experience and how they would have prepared a student to
have those experiences.

What would you do if one of your students were involved in

a terrorist act?

Can you give an example of a situation where you had to

deal with a high level of ambiguity and how you went about
handling it?

Can you tell your boss no?

Do you consider yourself a lucky person?

How would you handle the crisis if a terrorist attack

happened in the city where you were leading a faculty-led
program?

What is your philosophy regarding study abroad

administration?

What makes you laugh?

If you could describe yourself as an animal, which animal

would it be and why?

What is the biggest mistake you have ever made on the job?
Why did you make it and how did you fix it?

43 Unique Study Abroad Interview Questions | Page 3

Questions? Comments? Wed love to hear from you!

Cate Brubaker
Founder, Small Planet Studio
http://ww.smallplanetstudio.com
Skype: cate.brubaker
Email:
smallplanetstudio@gmail.com

Missy Gluckmann
Founder, Melibee Global Education Consulting
http://www.melibeeglobal.com
Skype: missyg77
Email: info@melibeeglobal.com

All contents copyright 2011 by Small Planet Studio

and Melibee Global Education Consulting. All rights
reserved. No part of this document may be
reproduced or redistributed in any form, by any
means (electronic, photocopying, or otherwise)
without the prior written permission of the
publishers.