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&lt;p&gt;Since December, Vault has been asking accounting professionals across the U.S. to tell us what it&#39;s like to work for their firms. So far, we&#39;ve surveyed about 6,000 accounting professionals, and one of the questions we&#39;ve been asking has to do with interviews. Specifically, we&#39;ve been asking accountants to tell us the questions that they were asked during interviews with their firms.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;And, to that end, below you&#39;ll find 49 common interview questions that top accounting firms ask. You&#39;ll see that we&#39;ve grouped the questions into two categories: (1) &quot;Tell me about a time when …&quot; questions (sometimes called situational or behavioral questions), and (2) &quot;Why you? Why us? Why accounting&quot; questions (which test candidates&#39; knowledge of themselves, the firm, and the public accounting industry).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;em style=&quot;font-size: 10px;&quot;&gt;&#160;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Note: If you work for EY, CBIZ, or another top accounting firm and haven&#39;t yet taken Vault&#39;s 2015 Accounting Survey, there&#39;s still time to do so &lt;a href=&quot;http://vault.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2reQ8iVxo9H7dpH&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tell me about a time when you …&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;1) … disagreed with an authority figure and how you handled it.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;2) … received feedback and what did you do with that feedback to be better in the future.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;3) … did something at work or school that helped build enthusiasm in others.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;4) … exceeded expectations while under a time constraint.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;5) … overcame a challenge.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;6) … disagreed with a coworker.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;7) … dealt with a difficult team member and how you resolved the conflict.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;8) … made a sacrifice in your personal life for work or school.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;9) … showed leadership.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;10) … sought additional information that broadened your perspective and changed your initial opinion regarding a decision.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;11) ... succeeded in achieving results even though you were part of a team that was difficult to motivate.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;12) …&#160; exceeded the expectations in the delivery of a task or project by using your listening skills.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;13) … made an informed decision based on your research of a particular topic.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;14) … led a team.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;15) … adjusted your negotiating position mid-process in order to achieve an objective.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;16) … went above and beyond the expectations to deliver on something that was not asked of you.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;17) … diffused a tense client or team member conflict. What caused it and what was your response?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;18) … failed at something and what you learned from that experience.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;19) … overcame a situation when the outlook looked unattainable from the beginning.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;20) … managed several projects at once.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;21) … used your communication skills to resolve an issue at work.&#160;&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;22) … had a different style from another member. How did you work together?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;23) … solved a significant problem.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why you? Why us? Why accounting?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;24) Where do you see yourself in five years?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;25) How would your previous supervisor describe you to me?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;26) What&#39;s something you&#39;d like to share that&#39;s not on your resume?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;27) What motivates you to work hard and achieve your goals?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;28) What was your biggest regret from college?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;29) What are your flaws?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;30) What&#39;s your biggest weakness and how do you try and develop yourself to improve in that area?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;31) What are the top three things you&#39;re most proud of?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;32) What unique attributes would you bring to the firm?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;33) What distinguishes you from the dozens of other candidates we&#39;re considering?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;34) Who&#39;s your hero?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;35) What makes you want to work with us?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;36) Tell us what you know about our firm.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;37) Describe your ideal employer.&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;38) What kind of firm culture are you looking for?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;39) What areas of accounting (tax, forensics, auditing, etc.) are you most interested in and why?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;40) What&#39;s your understanding of busy season hours and commitments?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;41) How did you decide to study accounting?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;42) What was your favorite accounting course and why?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;43) What motivates you to want to be in public accounting?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;44) How have your previous jobs prepared you for an entry-level position at a public accounting firm?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;45) What do you know about CPA firms?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;46) How would working for us fit into your overall career goals?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;47) What are you looking to achieve professionally from your career with us?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;48) How are your Excel skills and knowledge of accounting software?&lt;span&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;49) Why did you choose to be an accountant?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span&gt;Follow us &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/vaultfinance&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;@VaultFinance&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read More:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/blog/salary-and-benefits/10-best-perks-the-big-4-offers&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;10 Best Perks the Big 4 Offer&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/blog/interviewing/101-interview-questions-top-internship-programs-ask/&quot;&gt;101 Interview Questions Top Internship Programs Ask&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/blog/interviewing/how-to-answer-difficult-situational-interview-questions/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;How to Answer Difficult Situational Interview Questions&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;/blog/interviewing/yahoo-chairman-maynard-webb-to-job-candidates-dudes-wheres-your-self-awareness/&quot;&gt;Yahoo Chairman Maynard Webb to Job Candidates: &quot;Dudes, Where&#39;s Your Self-Awareness?&quot;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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