Let’s say there are two kinds of tech workers: the innovators and the executors. Which of these categories do you fit into?

Overview

Interviewers ask this question to evaluate your career goals and match them to what they feel the ideal candidate needs to be. More than culture fit, this could be a way to gauge fit for this role or other roles that may be open.

Answer framework

Here are some tips on answering this question:

Feel free to ask questions

You should ask if the company feels engineers can be either innovators or executors—but not both. Another follow-up question could be whether the company believes that an engineer can alternate between those roles.

Frame the choice in terms of culture and role

It is easiest to work backwards from what makes the role successful. Anchor the answer in the success metrics, use the company culture as a foundation, and describe your own working style as the guide.

Make a case for what you want

The answer to this question depends on your current level of experience and what you’re seeing for yourself in your next role. Whether you are a strategic thinker who prefers cross-functional alignment, or conversely if you prefer brass tacks executions, use this opportunity to share your thoughts.

Sample answers

I believe that engineers need to have a sense of the larger product vision. Additionally, they also need to understand what it takes to execute and get an idea from 0 to 1. At present, I still want to stay close to the execution since I enjoy the thrill of iterating on a product, getting smaller features out, receiving feedback, and finally getting an MVP out the door to push growth and revenue. Eventually, I want to lead a suite of products that will help our strategic vision of creating a connected workforce and establish a track record of delivering products that will set me up for success. I feel like I can help your company accomplish its product roadmap and boost my own career in the process. Why this answer worked well:The candidate co-opted both approaches and still made an explicit choice.It explained why one approach was chosen over the other.The candidate framed the choice as part of a larger career journey rather than a random choice.

Tips

Pause for a few moments and understand what the choices presented mean to you.
Explain how the choices will impact the role.
Explain how your approach will set you and the company up for success.

Tell me about yourself.

What is your greatest strength?

What is your greatest weakness?

Why should we hire you?

Why do you want to work here?

Tell me about a time you showed leadership.

Tell me about a time you were successful on a team.

What would your co-workers say about you?

Why do you want to leave your current role?

Describe your most challenging project.

Tell me about something you’ve accomplished that you are proud of.

Can you explain your employment gap?

What are your salary expectations?

What do you like to do outside of work?

Tell me about a time you had to manage conflicting priorities.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Describe your leadership style.

Tell me about a time you failed or made a mistake.

Tell me about a time you worked with a difficult person.

Tell me about a time you had to persuade someone.

Tell me about a time you disagreed with someone.

Tell me about a time you created a goal and achieved it.

Tell me about a time you surpassed people’s expectations.

Tell me about a time you had to handle pressure.

Tell me about a time you had to learn something quickly.

Do you have any questions for me?

What do you consider to be the essential skills for an accountant to add value to their organization?

What criteria do you use to assess the reliability of the financial information you receive?

Offer an example of how you would explain a complex accounting process or finance data to someone working in a non-financial role such as HR, tech support or another team.

What do you think of recent updates in the accounting standards?

How do you define big data, and why is it important for Accounting teams to have expertise in it?

How would you evaluate whether to invest in a major piece of equipment?

A senior leader is evaluating a project that will take 2 years to complete and would offer the company 5 to 8 years of profits for the company. What would you recommend?

Imagine that for the past 2 years, an accounting manager has been expensing transactions that you believe should be capitalized. Why is this relevant, and is the manager in the wrong?

Your CEO and CFO are evaluating a new initiative and need your help to understand if it will deliver positive results for the company. What should you provide to confirm their position?

When you buy a piece of equipment for a company, what is the impact on the three financial statements?

Your analysis shows that in the past few months the receivables turnover ratio steadily decreased. What does this mean and what would you do to resolve it?

Tell me about a time you made an accounting error. How did you handle it?

What are you looking for from this company?

Why do you want to work in sales?

Walk me through your sales background.

How did you prepare for and hit your quota goal?

How do you deal with customer rejections?

Where would you research a prospect before you reach out?

How do you address common objections when you are selling?

What kinds of techniques do you use to close a sale?

How do you handle yourself in the face of angry customers?

How do you manage many relationships across many accounts?

How do you retain customers when they complain about the price?

Describe a time you had to deal with a difficult client.

How did you overcome a difficult sales project?

What do you say to a client when you under-deliver?

How do you handle a question when you don't know the answer?

Walk me through your prospecting strategy.

What steps do you take to convert a non responsive customer?

How do you manage (or fire) a toxic client?

Tell me about a deal you lost and what you'd do differently.

What would your clients say about you?

How to approach a product demo.

Let's role play interacting with an angry customer.

What are your most effective ways to partner with your executive?

How do you safeguard confidential information?

What are your best methods for dealing with difficult people?

What projects have you managed?

How have you implemented or refined processes and what was the overall impact?

How do you approach tasks or projects that you do not know or feel comfortable with?

What are your most noteworthy skills that you use to conserve your executive’s time?

How does this position fit into your career goals?

Do you have a daily to do list? How do you manage your daily tasks to ensure they are completed in a timely manner?

Describe what you do to mitigate mistakes in your work.

How do you improve your current skills and when is the last time you participated in professional development?

What do you consider to be your strongest technical skills?

What kind of operational support have you provided to a leadership team?

What team-building strategies can you introduce to improve relationships within the department/organization?

How do you work to maintain positive morale in your office environment?

How do you communicate a complex concept, process, or quantitative data? Please take an example you know well, and explain it to me.

Tell me about a time you disagreed with leadership. How did you convince a manager or stakeholder to change their strategy or course of action?

Tell me about a time you disagreed with your collaborators. How did you work through it?

Tell me about a time you had to explain complex quantitative data to a stakeholder who’d never seen the data before. How did you approach the situation?

What tools do you use most in your current role? How and when do you apply those tools?