Residence Life Graduate and Entry-Level Staff Interview Question Bank

The following question bank includes questions drawn from interviews for graduate and entry-level positions in housing and residence life.

The goals of this question bank are twofold:

To provide language and idea starters for departments to use to improve their own interview questions.
To provide potential job candidates examples of questions they may need to be prepared to answer in an interview.

Any question bank such as this is necessarily incomplete. Many schools utilize rubrics for scoring and other forms of interview techniques beyond the straight question-and-answer method. This question bank is also devoid of context behind why questions were chosen, how they are worded, and who is asking them. Nevertheless, seeing examples can sometimes help one’s own thinking. We hope this question bank does that for you.

Questions were collected from multiple schools and are randomized and anonymized. Institution-specific and position-specific questions were removed. Next, the questions were organized by general theme.

If you’d like to help your fellow colleagues and candidates contribute to the question bank, send us an email with your interview documents attached. We will anonymize them and randomly distribute them in the question bank

Good luck interviewing!

Tell us a little bit about yourself, why you’re interested in this position, and what type of professional growth you anticipate gaining from this position.
How have your experiences up to this point prepared you for this position?
How have you grown in your current position?
What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?
What do you hope to learn or gain from this position?
When you review the full position description what excites you about this position? What aspects leave you feeling apprehensive?
What skills would you bring to our department?
What kinds of qualities are you looking for in your next institution/department?
In what type of work environment would you thrive?
What should we know about you that would help you succeed in this role?
What’s something in your life you’re really excited about?
What are some of your short term and long term goals?
What are the needs of students living in Housing?
What is your favorite aspect of working with college students?

Administration, Organization, and Time Management Questions

What do you believe are important components for running an effective meeting?
This position requires a high level of attention to detail and the ability to manage complex processes. Please share a project you’ve managed or worked on which required you to display a high attention to detail and how you managed that work.
What strategies do you use stay on top of administrative responsibilities?
What are your strategies for staying on top of less enjoyable aspects of the position (i.e. paperwork, administrative tasks)?
What do you do to stay organized and on top of multiple responsibilities from competing sources?
Have you ever made recommendations for how to improve a process or operating procedure? If so, please explain the issue you saw and how you went about giving the recommendation(s). If not, please explain what steps you would take if you noticed an area of potential improvement in a work process.
Please describe a situation where you made suggestions for improvements in a work process. Why did you think these changes were necessary and what was your approach for offering feedback?
Tell us about your previous experiences working with databases, reports, and/or billing.
Please describe your experience working on a detail-oriented project or process. How do you manage work that requires a high attention to detail?
Along with your current busy workload, you are tasked with creating/implementing a new initiative or project with limited resources and a short time frame. How do you approach this task?
Tell us about a time you failed to meet a deadline? What contributed to that, and what did you learn from that experience?
How have you organized and prioritized your work when you have had to balance multiple projects with competing deadlines at the same time?
Please provide an example of a time where your schedule was interrupted and how did you balance your responsibilities?
How do you prioritize your day? Tell us about a time where you had to choose between multiple high priority responsibilities.

Teamwork and Culture Questions

What are important indicators to you of a healthy and supportive departmental culture? What steps have you taken, or would you take, to cultivate a culture like you have described?
What kind of work environment do you thrive in?
What do you need from a department, peers, and supervisor to support your success in this position?
Could you tell us about a time you had to work in a changing environment?
What kind of relationship are you looking for with your colleagues?
How do you maintain healthy working relationships with your peers, supervisor, and student staff members?
Could share with us the role you take on a team?
Tell me about one of your favorite experiences working with a team. Why was it your favorite and what were the contributions you made?
Describe your ideal working relationship with your colleague group.
What is the best team you’ve been on, and why? What role did you play?
What strategies would you employ to establish strong working relationship with the Residence Life staff, especially with those individuals you don’t directly supervise?
What is your approach to peer relationships and collaboration? Due to the nature of living where we work, what is your approach to navigating peer relationships?
Describe a time when you collaborated with a team. Include the situation, the role you played, and the outcome.
What would you expect from the other Resident Directors as your colleagues?
Describe your ideal coworker.
How would you describe your personality and how does your personality fit into group work?
Share a time when you were a part of an organization or group where you promoted learning amongst your peers.
Describe a time you tried to improve the effectiveness of a team or work group.
Describe a time when the only way to achieve your individual goals was to ask for help from others.
What do you need from a peer to be successful? How do you support your peers?
We have a relatively small res ed staff. Everyone is highly involved in curriculum development and other team projects. How do you hold yourself and a team to high standards?
Could you share with us a time you had to create buy-in?
Could you tell us about a time you built trust amongst people you work with?
Tell us about a time you led a group through a difficult situation.
Describe the type of personality of someone you find difficult, and how you work with that type of person.
Could you tell us about a colleague you found difficult to work with?
How do you maintain a relationship with a peer/coworker who has a diﬀerent working style? Describe a time when you needed to work cooperatively with someone that did not share the same ideas as you. Describe the situation, the actions you took, and the outcome.
Tell us about a time you experienced conflict on a team. What were the issues at hand and how did you address them?
What are your strategies for approaching conflict? Give a specific example of a time when you disagreed with one of your colleagues and how you resolved the disagreement.
Tell us about a conflict you have experienced while working on a team. What was the situation and how did you work through it?
Describe a time you had a disagreement with another staff member and what you learned from that experience.
Provide an example of a time that you had to provide feedback to a professional staff colleague; share how you approached it and what the result was.
Describe a situation where you disagreed with a supervisor or co-worker’s decision or policy? How did you handle the situation?
Describe a personality type that you enjoy working with and one that you struggle to work with.

Campus Partnership Questions

Describe some ways you’ve fostered positive relationships with people and offices outside your immediate department.
Tell me about a successful experience you’ve had implementing something across organizational boundaries.
A core value of the Division of Student Affairs is “actively building collaborative relationships.” Tell us about a time you have collaborated with other departments to serve the needs of students.
Share an example of when you’ve collaborated and/or developed partnerships with other campus or community departments or programs?
Please provide an example of a time when you or your team successfully collaborated with another office or department to accomplish a goal.
Considering the responsibilities described in the position description for this role: What campus partnerships do you think will be helpful or critical to the person assuming this role, and how have you managed partnerships like these in your previous professional experiences?
Could you provide an example of a time you had to manage and respond to competing interests and priorities from various stakeholders and partners?

Leadership, Initiative, and Personal Qualities Questions

What are three personal and/or professional values you have and how are they demonstrated by your approach to your work and your working relationships?
What motivates you in your work?
How do you learn best?
What would your supervisor say you do particularly well? Can you give an example of when you implemented one of these skills?
How do you anticipate your skillset enhancing our team? What skills do you expect to enhance in this position?
We would like to know a little more about your work style. Describe a work environment that allows you to be effective.
Describe a way you have been particularly creative and innovative in your work, especially as it relates to staff development and/or educational efforts in the community.
Could you tell us about a project you lead? What was successful? Any challenges overcome?
Tell us about a time you were responsible for planning and executing an event. What did you do to make sure everyone had all of the information they needed?
Can you tell us about a time when you completed a project with little to no direct supervision?
Tell us about a time you went above and beyond in a role or project you were working on.
Tell us about a time you didn’t have all of the information you needed to start or finish a task. What steps did you take to gather the necessary information? Is that the process you usually use?
Tell us about a time when you were challenged to motivate a group.
Describe an unpopular decision you had to enforce. How did you deal with the response? What did you learn from the experience?
What is the most helpful piece of constructive feedback you have received? How did you utilize that feedback?
Tell us about a time you provided direct feedback to a peer or supervisor. What were the issues and how did you navigate the situation?
Could you tell us about a time where you received feedback that you did not agree with?
Tell us about a time when it was difficult for you to remain open-minded?
Tell us about a time your supervisor was unavailable when a problem arose. How did you handle the situation?
Tell us about the biggest change you have had to deal with? How did you adapt to that change?
Recall a time you made a mistake while working with others and had to make it right.
Tell me about a time when you were asked to do something you thought was unethical.
Tell me about a time you were asked to disclose something that someone asked you to keep secret.

Stress Management and Self Care Questions

What do you need to succeed in a residential life position?
Living where you work, how will you practice self-care and balancing the position with your life outside of work?
What are your professional/personal boundaries when approaching this position?
Please describe the boundaries you would establish with your colleagues, and with student staff and other students.
A staff member asks for your assistance after hours. How would you handle this situation and what is your general philosophy on work-life balance?
What are your strategies for maintaining work-life harmony as a live-in staff member?
What do you like to do for fun outside of work? What do you do for self-care?
How do you know when you’re getting stressed or overwhelmed?
Could you share with us an experience where you felt overwhelmed?
How do you process or recharge after a challenging duty/crisis incident(s)?
How would your colleagues or your supervisor know if you were stressed?

Helping and Advising Skills Questions

What do you think are the most pressing issues related to student mental, physical, and emotional health and wellbeing?
What tactics would you use to follow up with a student who is not succeeding in college (academically, socially, etc.)?
Could you share an example of an initiative you developed directed toward student retention or academic success?
Tell us about a time you helped a student who was struggling academically.
If you had found out a student had earned a low GPA for the semester, what steps would you take to assist or help the student?
What strategies would you use to guide the in-hall staff to support their residents academically?
Can you share an example of when you facilitated a teaching moment when holding someone accountable?

Tell us about a time you acted as a mentor to a student organization (formally or informally). What were effective ways you helped them?
Resident Directors also take on the role of advisor to their Hall Council. What is your approach to advising versus supervising student leaders?
Another aspect of this role would be advising the Hall Council. What differences or similarities do you see between advising and supervising?
What ideas do you have for developing an active, engaged Hall Council?

Residential Curriculum/Curricular Approach Questions

How do you ensure when creating an educational experience that you are outcome-focused?
Our residential curriculum’s educational priority is X. What do you see as your role in achieving this educational priority and helping your student staff achieve this educational priority within their communities?
One of the four learning goals of our residential curriculum is Wellness Practices. Please give us an example of how you’ve implemented a wellness-related educational plan for students or student staﬀ. If you haven’t, what would you like to implement?
We sent you some materials about our learning model. What did you think of the curriculum model in general? Do you have any questions about our educational goals? How do you see yourself working within this model?
Our division has launched a curricular model for framing our work in educating students; can you share either your experience with a curricular approach or what excites you about the curricular approach?
How would you define a curricular approach? What does support for the residential curriculum look like coming into this role?
How would you ensure the staff members you supervise are confident and knowledgeable about the curricular approach?

Resident Development, Learning, and Engagement Questions

What would you consider to be the essential pieces or components of a quality residential experience?
What do you believe students can learn and/or gain from living in the residence halls?
We expect the residence life staff to integrate theory into practice. Can you tell us how you would fulfill this expectation in this position?
What student development theory do you use the most often to guide your practice?
Can you share an example of a time you successfully used a theory in student development, leadership, identity development or community development to inform your work?
Choose a student learning or development theory and tell us how you would apply it in this role.
Could you share an example of how you have utilized research, literature, and/or theory in your practice?
How do you teach self-advocacy to students?
Could you provide an example of an administrative interaction that you would make educational?
What are two things you would teach students? Without using programming as an examples, how would you teach them?
What are some issues that first year residents may face and what are the needs of that population?
This position would be responsible for serving either ﬁrst year or sophomore students. What needs do these students have? What are some ways you would help meet those needs?
Tell us about a personal interaction you have had with a student in which you were working towards a significant goal or outcome- how did you make a difference for this student?
How would you create an engaging residential experience for your students?
How would you motivate professional staff and RA staff to engage students?
We hear from RAs that is “residents don’t wat to talk to them” and that it’s “hard to get them to attend events.” How would you challenge this perception and lead your student and professional staff to continue evolve the experience for our first-year residents?
What experience do you have with assessment and what ideas do you have for integrating assessment into your practice?
Student affairs professionals have to justify their work through data. Please provide an example of a time that you used assessment methods to measure the effectiveness of an educational experience. Did you accomplish the learning outcomes?
Share with us how you create a learning environment in your residential community which supports academic success.
Tell us a little about your experience with residential education: working with faculty, living learning communities, or specific programs/services in housing that promote and support student success.
What experiences have you had collaborating with faculty members or working with living/learning programs?
Please describe your experience managing or supporting student-centered programming and events. Do you have an example of a program or event you were involved in that you’re particularly proud of?
How would you assist your student leaders with programming and other community engagement strategies within the residence halls? How would you recognize their efforts?

Community Development Questions

How would you encourage a sense of community in your area?
What strategies would you employ for building relationships with residents?
If we asked students in your previous community about you, what would they say?
Are there particular groups or kinds of students with whom you are especially good at building community or rapport?
Could you share with us your experience building a learning community?
What experience have you had building positive communities? Follow up: Not all community building is successful. How would you support student staff who feel like they have a difficult community?
Tell us about a time when you supported a student who was experiencing a mental health crisis? Follow up: How does the mental health of our students relate to community development?
Tell us about a community engagement initiative that you were involved in and are proud of. What impact did the initiative have on your community? How would you impart the skills and experiences you have gained to your student staff?
What strategies would you utilize to motivate Resident Assistants to develop creative and impactful community engagement initiatives?

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Questions

Could you share with us how you have learned about identities outside of your own?
What areas of social justice are you most comfortable with? What areas would you like to explore more?
What barriers do you think exist for underrepresented students in a college setting? Follow-up: How would you support students experiencing these barriers?
Describe a situation when you were with individuals from different cultures.
Tell me about a time when you overcame a stereotype you had formed.
What is your personal commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion? What expectations would you have for Resident Assistants and residents as it relates to a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion?
What have you done in the last year to enhance your current knowledge about people or identities that are diﬀerent from your own?
Please identify one area of diversity that you are most competent in, and one aspect of diversity that you would like additional training in and why?
Give an example when you were challenged to learn more about a diversity-related issue or topic. What steps did you take to learn more?
Tell us about your experience working with students from diverse backgrounds.
How will you continue to develop your own personal DEI competence? How will you encourage your staff to do the same?
What role does Residence Life play in diversity education?
How do you encourage students to learn about social justice issues and diversity?
An important priority for our institution is creating an inclusive environment for all members of our community. What do you do, specifically, to make sure anyone can be comfortable in your space?
How would you advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion with students, colleagues, or staﬀ who don’t understand its importance?
What are some specific things you have done on your campus to promote social justice and diversity?
Share an example of how you create an inclusive climate within the residential community?
In this position, what ways can you promote the understanding of identity and inclusion?
Please tell us about a time when you showed leadership or a commitment to inclusion or equity in your work.
How would you help your staff to develop inclusive residential communities?
How would you approach diversity, equity, and inclusion education with your student staff? With your residential community?
How would you work to foster the diversity awareness within your staff; to make it more than a training topic?
What have you done to challenge yourself, residents, and student staff around diversity/inclusion? What initiatives would you employ to help residents see individuals who differ from themselves?
What are some innovative solutions to make students from different backgrounds feel welcomed and accepted in a residential community?
How would you attempt to facilitate the participation of underrepresented populations in residential engagement? Have you implemented these types of initiatives in the past? If so, were they successful? If not, what would you do differently?
Tell us about a time when you served as an ally for an underrepresented group.
How would you address an act of intolerance in your community?
Tell us about a conflict you have addressed surrounding the topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion?

Supervision Questions

How would you describe your supervisory style?
Describe the type of supervisory relationship or style your supervisee(s) could expect from you.
Please discuss characteristics you’d like to emulate from a current or previous supervisor.
Describe your supervision style and give an example of when you have used it in the past.
Can you share an example of when you were at your best as a supervisor and an example of when you learned how to be a better supervisor?
If you have supervised student staff before, please tell us about your supervision style. If you have not supervised student staff before, please tell us about some things that would be important to you as you develop your supervision style.
Have you ever supervised anyone? If so, what is your philosophy of supervision? If not, what do you believe are the most important traits and behaviors of an effective supervisor?
Please describe any experience you have supervising student staff. What worked well, and what didn’t?
What approach do you take to supervising student staff? Share with us an example of a time you had a significant impact on a member of your staff or your staff as a whole.
In what ways do you account for identity when supervising?
We value consistency in staff supervision. How would you contribute to and support an environment that values consistency in supervision?
What role does consistency between colleagues play in supervision of student staff members?
Give an example of a time when you delegated an important task successfully.
What has been the most challenging supervisory issue that you have dealt with and what did you learn from that experience?
What is a piece of constructive feedback you have received about your supervisory style and how did you incorporate that feedback into your practice?
Could you share with us a time where you facilitated the learning of RAs or student staff members?
In working with a staff team consisting of different student staff positions what do you believe are essential components of staff development and why?
How would you go about assessing the skill set and developmental needs of a supervisee?
Outside of department level training, what techniques have you utilized to develop your student staﬀ? What do you do to help your team achieve their goals?
What experience do you have planning and implementing a training program for employees? What would you identify as the 3-4 most important learning outcomes or objectives for a training program for student workers in a university housing department?
How would you approach working with student staff members that you didn’t select or previously supervise?
How would you supervise a staff that you did not select and may have a better understanding of the university/department?
How do you motivate the team that you directly supervise?
The RA job can be stressful. How can you support your RA staff when they are feeling overwhelmed or burned out?
How would you support an RA going through crisis?
What are some challenges that live-in staff face in working with students in crisis, and how would you work to ensure your supervisees and the student staff you work with feel supported in this area of their work?
Some of your student staff will be high flyers, and some will need a more hands-on approach. How would you balance supervising this wide-range of working styles?
What are your expectations for student staff members regarding administrative work and what corrective actions do you take when staff members are not meeting those expectations?
How would you respond to an undergraduate staff member who lacks motivation and is accomplishing minimal work; but continues to envision themselves as a high achiever?
Tell us about a time when a student you were supervising was not meeting expectations. How did you handle the situation?
How would you address an RA on your team who was underperforming?
How would you ensure that our graduate assistants have a meaningful experience in their graduate assistantship?
What unique needs do graduate staff have, and as a supervisor what ways would you address those needs?
How would your approach to supervising undergraduate RAs be similar to or different from your approach to supervising an Assistant Community Director (graduate student)?
What type of relationship would you hope to establish with your graduate assistant? What strategies would you employ for establishing this relationship?

Supervisory Relationship Questions

What are some characteristics you look for in a supervisor?
What skills and characteristics do you expect in a supervisor? Describe a supervisory relationship or experience you have had that impacted your development.
Describe your ideal supervisory relationship and what do you see as your responsibility in creating the supervisory relationship?
What kind of supervision helps you thrive?
How would we know if you need help?
What is the most important thing you would like me to know about you, as a professional, as your potential supervisor?
What do you need from your supervisor to be successful in a new role?
What do you expect from a supervisor in order to be successful? What can a supervisor expect from you?
Please describe the relationship you have had with a supervisor or colleagues. What was the most recent constructive feedback you received, and how did you handle it?
What are some team-building strategies you either have implemented or plan to implement in your role as a supervisor and professional staff member?
Describe a situation in which you disagreed with your supervisor. How did you handle it and what was the resolution?
What are some areas for development your supervisor would identify? How are you working towards improvement in these areas?
Could you share with us about a time you provided feedback to a supervisor?
In what ways do you like to be recognized?

Policy and Student Conduct Questions

What is your philosophy on student conduct?
How do you approach a conversation with a student about a policy violation?
Please tell us about your philosophy for student conduct and your experience, if any, putting that philosophy into practice.
What role do you think the disciplinary process plays in a student’s development?
What role does student conduct play in building a responsible residential community and accountability?
What is your current experience with student conduct? If possible, can you give an example of a time you were fair and flexible in the sanctioning process?
How would you educate your community about the student conduct process?
You may serve as an adjudicator for policy violations. What do you feel are the important components that should be included in a conduct meeting with a student?
First, what steps have you taken in your previous experience to ensure compliance with laws and regulations applicable to higher education (for example Title IX, the Clery Act, FERPA or ADA)? Next, can you share an example of how you were able to successfully train employees on the processes you, or your office, implemented?
Please provide an example of a time where you proactively addressed student behavior in your community.
Please tell us about a challenging conduct meeting. How did you handle the situation and what was the outcome?
Tell us about a time when you haven’t approved of a policy or a decision, especially when it wasn’t congruent with your own values or expectations, how did you handle the situation?

Conflict, Crisis, and Emergency Response Questions

Please share a difficult situation that you have encountered involving a crisis or conflict. How did you handle it and what did you learn from the experience?
Could you please share with us about a time you worked with a student in crisis?
What prior experience do you have with mental health crisis response? Please describe a situation you handled, what steps you took, and any resources you utilized.
What prior experience do you have with mental health crisis response? Please describe a situation you handled, what steps you took, and any resources you utilized.
Describe a student crisis situation you have handled and what you learned from that experience.
Give an example of a student crisis situation you had to take the lead on responding to. How did you follow-up to ensure the student was adjusting after the crisis?
Tell us about a time when you were involved in a crisis situation. Include what your role was in the situation, how it turned out, and if you would do anything differently if it happened again.
Can you share with us a summary of a crisis situation you have managed, including the relevant details and the resolution? Looking back, can you share at least one thing you would do differently?
Tell us about a time you had to respond to an emergency. What was it? How did you handle it?
Please provide an example of a time when you had to mediate a conflict between two students or staff members.
Tell us about a time you deescalated a conflict and how you helped the students reach a resolution.

Facilities, Operations, and Customer Service Questions

What is your philosophy on the role of customer service in higher education?
What do you believe are the key components of exceptional customer service? How would you train others on providing exceptional customer service?
This position is the main point of contact for students, parents/families, and other campus offices. Tell us about your customer service philosophy.
Please share an experience where you either showcased or experienced exceptional customer service. What did you learn from that?
What makes you exceptional at providing student centered service?
Tell me about a time you created a new service, process, or product based on student feedback.
Tell me about a time when you found a customer/student problem especially difficult to deal with.
Can you share an example of how you advocated for the facilities needs of a residential community?
Can you share with us any experience you have running a front desk, information desk or mailroom operation, including the hiring, training and management of staff members? What role does customer service play in higher education?

Student Advocacy Questions

Could you tell us about a time you advocated for a student/student group?
Describe a time in which you were an advocate for a student.
In your experience, what challenges do students experience within the residence halls? From your perspective, how does a Resident Director assist students in navigating these challenges?
We most often interact with students through leadership roles, conduct meetings, or crisis intervention. How do you engage students outside of these realms and facilitate learning in a non-classroom environment?
Who is a mentor to you and how do you plan on mentoring students?

Miscellaneous Questions

What is one thing you feel sets you apart from other candidates for this position?
What should we remember about your candidacy? Why should hire you for this position?
What makes you an exceptional student affairs professional?
What does learning look like for you after graduating from your master’s program?
Tell us about an issue you are passionate about and why? What have you learned from your experiences with this issue?
Describe a project in which you were excited to participate.
From your perspective and experience, what is one thing you would change about the Higher Education field and why?
What do you think are the most relevant challenges students are facing on college campuses? How might you address one of these challenges in the position?
What factors need to be considered when designing a residence hall environment in order to make it conducive to the needs of college students? Next, can you share with us an example of a time in which you altered an environment to improve it for students?
How would you demonstrate your approachability, availability, and visibility to the students and staff that you work with?
Please provide an example of a time in which you had a positive impact on someone.
Our institution is a mission driven institution. What aspects of the mission resonate with you, and how would you incorporate them into your work?
What are some areas you feel you are strong in, and what are some areas you would hope to grow in if you were in this position?
What aspects of this position do you anticipate will be the biggest challenge for you and what aspects do you believe you would excel in from day one?
Could you tell us about a time you failed at something?
Could you share with us about a time you failed to meet a professional commitment?
What is the most helpful piece of constructive feedback you have received from a colleague? How did you utilize that feedback?
Give us an example of a time when you had to make a difficult work-related decision. What process did you use to come to your decision, and how did you communicate your decision with others?

Thank you to: Arkansas Tech University, Central Washington University, Central Washington University, Concordia College, CSU Long Beach, Florida International University, Indiana University Southeast, Michigan Tech, Northern Illinois University, Oregon State University, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Texas Woman’s University, The College of New Jersey, University of Pittsburgh, University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Idaho, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Wilson College