Interview questions at Aspen Dental
We analyzed 204 interview reviews for Aspen Dental from various job sites, social network groups and forums.
Here are the most frequent job interview questions asked by HR managers during initial phone or onsite interviews. This list does not include technical or factual questions.
10 frequent non-technical questions at Aspen Dental:
According to our research, hiring managers at Aspen Dental ask soft skills interview questions 2.2x more than at other companies.
1. Tell me about yourself top question
How to answer
Most job candidates expect this to be one of the first interview questions and probably think of it as an “icebreaker” to get the interview started. It is much more than that! It is your opportunity to show the interviewer your relevance for the job. You want the employer to know that you are qualified to do the job, you are interested in doing the job and capable of getting it done.
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About Yourself
What is your current occupation? Define yourself professionally in one statement.
Pick 3 key skills that make you great at your work (your Key Selling Points). How have you applied these skills?
Try to give some numbers to support your statement.
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About The Company
Your first step is to Research the company to find out as much as you can about what they do and their approach to their business and their employees.
Based on what you know about the company and the job description, why are you interested in the position you are applying for?
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About The Fit
Now is the right time to show the fit between your skills and the company's requirements. Your answer works best if you emphasize your relevance. How do you do this? You will have already researched the company, studied the job description to identify their needs and possible pain points and prepared the relevant Star Stories that show how you addressed similar issues in the past. Your next step is to develop your Present-Past-Present approach.
Start with the Present. Focus on the skills and experience from your most recent positions. What has enabled you to get the job done successfully and how this relates to what the employer is looking to accomplish.
Next go back to the Past. Here is where your Star story comes in. Explain how you were able to use your skills and experience to accomplish a task that relates to an area of concern for the employer.
Finally come back to the Present – summarizing the lessons you learned and how they shaped your response and approach today.
Remember, the whole conversation is about the present, not the past. Just one sentence can summarize why your approach works, and its applicability and relevance to this position.
Pro Tip
You can also end with a question like:
“Do you know what the current needs in the company/department are, where my skills and experience can help?”
That can help you learn more about the company and the job, turn the “interrogation” into a conversation and will allow you to relax some tension.
Read our blog post to learn more about how to answer this question.
Statistics
This question is asked 5% more frequently at Aspen Dental than at other companies.
2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
How to answer
This question belongs to a family of behavioral, or even more precisely, reflective questions.
The interviewer wants to learn two things about you by asking this question.
- They want to know what you think about the job you are applying for. Remember, they are interviewing you for the job that's open right now. Are you a good fit and will you do a good job for them?
- Just as important, they want to get an idea of your ambitions and goals for yourself and if your goals align with their needs, especially going into the future.
In this way the employer should see how you see yourself today, and whether you are ambitious and strive to grow as a professional, and whether you like to learn and develop your skills.
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About Yourself
What challenges do you like overcoming? Where are you starting from and where might you be going?
For example, let's say the position you are applying for is junior accountant. It includes a wide range of tasks such as basic bookkeeping, financial analysis, and reporting. If accounting is your chosen field, then you would most likely want to move in the direction of obtaining your CPA so that you might step up to more responsibility as an accounting manager or senior auditor within the next 5 years. Your responses should make sense in how you see yourself growing in your professional career.
However, at this point, if you are happy just where you are and want to further your current skills, that is also fine as long as there is a growth path for you that can be imagined and described.
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About The Company
Research the company to learn what career opportunities may be available in the department you are applying to, and what the trends are in the company in general.
- Is the business expanding, are they opening new locations, or starting new projects?
- Or are they heavily automating and cutting staff?
Let’s say you are applying for a UX designer position for a brand-new product.
In the future, if the product becomes a success - which is what the company hopes for - the company will hire more designers and you may become a lead designer, or you may become a product manager.
On a side note: If you train your mind to be open to opportunities you will be amazed at how much this world has to offer to you!
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About The Fit
And, of course, try to see where the perfect fit lies between your own potential and aspirations, and the company’s trends and hopes.
However, beware of the risk of showing too much excitement for future opportunities compared to your attitude towards the current position.
As we said earlier, you must show interest and enthusiasm for the position you are applying for. If the interviewer senses that you are more enthusiastic about future growth than about the current position, they may conclude that you are not the right person for the job at hand.
Pro Tip
This question gives you a good opportunity to showcase your Key Selling Points (e.g. “As I am very good at delegating tasks, I can easily see myself leading a team of software testers in the future…”), and end your statement by asking about current initiatives and goals at the company.
In thinking about the possibilities that may lie ahead, you also might want to consider taking a personality test (I recommend 16Personalities which is based on the Myers-Briggs test), research the internet on what career paths are possible with your skills and current job.
It is generally NOT a good idea to say something like:
“Oh, I cannot imagine what happens to me tomorrow, let alone in 5 years”.
This will show you as a person who is unimaginative and not forward-thinking enough to grow with and be a good fit for the company.
Statistics
This question is asked 51% more frequently at Aspen Dental than at other companies.
3. What are your long-term goals?
How to answer
Even in this age of the so-called Gig Economy, employers are always looking for people who can become their strong and loyal “soldiers,” a part of their “army” to help them conquer their market share against their competitors.
So, even if at this moment this job may be a temporary contract, you never know what opportunities may present themselves to you in this company.
Trust me, your hiring manager doesn’t know either!
So, be open to opportunities and use this question to emphasize how your personal goals correspond with those of the company.
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About Yourself
Start with honestly assessing yourself. (At this moment, you are not sharing these thoughts with anyone, so be as open as you can).
Imagine that you have all the resources in the world and that all roads are open for you.
- How would you use them?
- Which road(s) would you choose?
- What do you see on the horizon in that direction?
Be audacious and don’t limit yourself. There is no longer a perspective than “long-term,” so be as futuristic as you possibly can.
List a few “road” options that you would be enthusiastic about going down.
For example, this list may be as broad as the following:
• writer
• choir director
• software engineer and architect
• CEO of a unicorn startup company,
• entrepreneur.As William Shakespeare once said, “We know what we are, but we know not what we may be.”
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About The Company
Now, look at the company.
- What is the industry they operate in?
- What is the position you are applying for, and what are potential career growth possibilities within the department, company, and industry?
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About The Fit
Which of your “road” options correspond best with the opportunities presented by this company?
Highlight this option and focus on it. Imagine, in as much detail as you can, going down this road.
What would be the major milestones for you, in order to move towards your goal?
Describe the chosen option by focusing on the first 1-2 milestones, and by presenting it in light of company goals and current initiatives.
For example, if you are applying for a project manager position in a corporation engaged in the education industry, and your “road” option is “CEO,” your next career step may be a program manager, or an innovations and research manager.
Explain why you are enthusiastic about reaching these goals, and what makes you think you have the necessary traits and skills to reach them.
How can the company benefit from these traits and skills of yours already today, in the current role you are applying for?
Pro Tip
Framing your answer in the same terms used by the company will help ensure the interviewer can easily understand your language and help both of you to be “on the same page.”
The easier you make it for the interviewer, the better are your chances they will “vote” for you over other candidates.
Statistics
This question is asked 3.8x more frequently at Aspen Dental than at other companies.
4. What is your greatest weakness?
How to answer
This question ranks as the most challenging for many people. Fortunately, Mr. Simon is here to help!
Interviewers are not out to trick or trap you! They ask this question to gauge your level of self-awareness, your honesty and openness, and your capability for self-improvement.
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About Yourself
No one is perfect and your interviewer doesn't expect you to be perfect either.
While it is good to be honest and open, it will not help you to put yourself down.
What's important is to find a weakness that you have overcome. How you turned what might be considered a negative into a positive.
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About The Company
Research the company (website, social media, etc) to learn about the company culture.
What personal and professional qualities do they value?
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About The Fit
This is the time to clearly state a true weakness that you have overcome.
Be as specific as possible and stay away from vague cliches like “I work too hard.” It would be difficult for anyone to try and explain how they overcame a weakness like that
Mr. Simon emphasizes the Present-Past-Present method of responding to behavioral questions. When you are asked about your greatest weakness, you should be able to successfully use this approach as well. Here is an example of how someone might answer this question.
Present - "I have always had a fear of public speaking, and believe this may have held me back in my career, especially when having to make presentations to management."
Past - "Last year I learned about Toastmasters International and decided to join this group to help me gain confidence in myself and improve my ability to present to others in just about any situation."
Present - "By overcoming this weakness I believe that it has made me a much stronger candidate for this position, someone you can count on to make presentations to management, conduct training and communicate at a high level."
It's important to show how well you've overcome a weakness by motivating yourself and learning a new skill to grow professionally.
Pro Tip
Use this question to sell yourself!
Statistics
This question is asked 20% less frequently at Aspen Dental than at other companies.
5. What experience do you have in this field?
How to answer
This question may help you convince the interviewer how smoothly you would fit into the position to which you are applying. It's your chance to WOW them! Be sure to focus on the experience that is relevant to the company and position.
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About Yourself
Start with defining your Key Selling Points you want to emphasize for this position.
- What job experiences brought you to those points?
- What were the job titles and the most relevant responsibilities?
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About The Company
Do your research of the company and the requirements for the position.
- What is the company looking for in terms of experiences and qualifications?
- What problems are they trying to solve with this position?
Most importantly, make sure you are able to highlight and speak about at least 3-5 of your key experiences that match up with the requirements listed in the job description.
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About The Fit
Using the Present-Past-Present method is a perfect way to answer this question.
Starting with the Present, speak about your experience as it relates to one of the key requirements in the job description. You might say "I noted that the job description requires experience in employee training and this is an area in which I have a great deal of knowledge and skill."
Then go back to the Past to describe how you improved overall training of staff from 82% to over 97% within your first year on the job. Senior leadership took note of this accomplishment for which you received a company commendation.
Finally, come back to the Present to describe how you will help ensure that the company maintains the highest possible compliance with all employee training requirements.
Nowadays, every hiring manager wants results, so think in terms of specific achievements and try to structure your example accordingly.
Pro Tip
When telling your story, remember to talk about your STARs!
S - What was the Situation?
T - What was your Task?
A - What Action did you take?
R - Talk about the Results.
Statistics
This question is asked 2.3x more frequently at Aspen Dental than at other companies.
6. How would you handle a customer with difficult behavior?
How to answer
People skills are highly valued in every company, especially in a company that occasionally deals with difficult customers. It is important to show how you can manage difficult personalities.
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About Yourself
Look back on your experience. Have you dealt with a difficult or disruptive customer? Remember how you diffused the situation and how you turned things around.
- Do you have certain principles, or methodology, to deal with difficult people?
- Do you have strong people skills, are you good at conflict resolution?
- Are you high on emotional intelligence? Can you give an example?
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About The Company
- What have you found about the company and its culture?
- What have you learned about how the employees value each other?
- How do they treat their customers?
- Knowing their line of business or industry, what can be some examples of difficult customers?
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About The Fit
When a question like this asked in an interview, it is an indication that you will probably encounter difficult customers, or other difficult stakeholders while working for this company.
This would be an excellent opportunity to use the Present-Past-Present approach to respond to this question.
Start with the Present. Speak about your “conflict resolution” skills and how you apply these today.
Next go back to a Past situation - remember your Star Stories to relate a relevant situation that happened in a previous job where you resolved a problem for a difficult customer.
Finally, come back to the Present, summarizing what you learned from past experiences and how you will apply them to the job you are interviewing for today.
If you can give an example of how you handled a difficult person in the past in a situation similar to what this company may require from you, this will strongly increase your chances of showing yourself as a good fit.
Pro Tip
One methodology for diffusing a difficult situation is called “the triple A” approach:
- Acknowledge - what the other person is feeling,
- Apologize - for the way the other person is feeling,
- Admit - that there was an issue that you are working on to get it resolved.
If the difficult situation involves a customer, it would add that extra touch if you added another "A" to your approach by Asking for the customer's contact information so you can update them of any progress on their issue.
Statistics
This question is asked 0% less frequently at Aspen Dental than at other companies.
7. How do you deal with working under pressure?
How to answer
Many jobs involve moments when, for varied reasons, unexpected situations occur and a quick decision is needed.
The ability to work under pressure is an extremely valuable quality. It is a skill highly sought after by employers. They want to know they’re hiring someone who can coolly evaluate situations, stay focused, take charge and simply get the job done.
Giving a good response to this question may increase your chances of being hired.
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About Yourself
Even if you are confident about your ability to work under pressure, the goal of your answer is to convince your interviewer of that.
Emphasize your best qualities, such as quick decision-making, organizational and time management skills, the ability to stay calm, focus on the job at hand, think logically, act correctly and employ your problem-solving abilities.
Also mention the methods you use to manage workplace stress. It can set you apart from other candidates.
Think of a previous professional situation in which you displayed excellent ability under pressure.
Use the STAR method to describe that scenario during the interview, and explain the actions you took to diffuse the situation.
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About The Company
Do your research about the company you are aiming for.
- What are the company’s plans, for example, will there be a degree of pressure like hitting targets, meeting deadlines or managing multiple tasks at once?
- How might this impact you and how you deal with pressure?
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About The Fit
Performing well under pressure is both a personal and professional quality and can make a difference between an average employee and an excellent one.
Try to think of ways in which you can use the truth to your advantage. It will help you to gain the interviewers' trust and help them feel confident that the rest of your answers are also truthful.
Even if you sometime might struggle under pressure, calmly acknowledging that and mentioning that you are actively trying to improve in this area can leave a positive impression on the hiring manager.
Pro Tip
While answering the question, be sure you DON’T:
- Speak of a time when the stress or the pressure was caused by your own mistake
- Bring emotions into the conversation thereby letting the interviewer know that you did not handle the pressure very well
- Speak about an incident where you couldn’t handle the pressure, where for instance the pressure caused you to fail at a task as this will reflect negatively on you
- Speak about the type of situation that stresses you out, especially if you are expecting to encounter a similar scenario in your future job.
Statistics
This question is asked 7.9x more frequently at Aspen Dental than at other companies.
8. What did you like or dislike about your last job?
How to answer
Your answer to this question will show the interviewer your overall perspective (positive or negative) of your prior role and your approach to what you liked (or didn’t like) about that aspect of your work. While answering such a question remember that diplomacy is the key to corporate success.
The answer you give to this question can say a lot about you, for example:
- Can you handle situations professionally when you deal with pressure?
- What strong qualities (your Key Selling Points) can you emphasize answering the question?
- Are you a positive person, and not someone who complains, holds grudges or badmouths their co-workers or boss?
- Do you exhibit loyalty, enthusiasm, dedication, and energy?
- Are you easy to work with?
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About Yourself
Reflect on yourself; stick to the facts and don’t go into emotions.
List the things you were responsible for in your last job.
- Which of them did you like most? Why?
- What were the responsibilities you liked less? Why?
- Was there anything you consider completely unacceptable?
If you feel that your answer will not be complete without a nod toward the negative aspects, then keep it focused on tasks, situations, or company structure, and not on people. The overall tone must be positive and friendly.
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About The Company
- What does your research tell you about the company you are applying to?
- Will there be situations like those in your former job you don't want to get into again?
- What are the requirements for the position?
- What challenges will you face there?
- What responsibilities will you be tasked with?
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About The Fit
Which of the responsibilities you liked will also be part of your future responsibilities in your new role? Don’t forget to show your excitement while telling about these.
If there were responsibilities you disliked that are not part of the job description, don’t bring them up.
By asking about your feelings toward a previous job the interviewers often aren’t that interested in the list of actual likes or dislikes you can provide. Rather, they’re trying to judge your character by listening to the tone and **attitude **with which you respond to a tricky question.
However, details of your likes and dislikes can also reveal whether you'll be a good fit culturally at the company at hand. Showing excitement about responsibilities that will most likely be included in the role you are applying for can help strengthen your position as a fit.
Mentioning that you are ready for more challenges and opportunities, that the position you are applying for is a great match for your skillset and that you feel you would be an asset to the company or department is often a safe way to show your excitement.
Pro Tip
Telling your stories, use the “sandwich method”: start off by mentioning a positive, then mention the negative, and try to pivot back around to something positive.
You can do that by talking about how you managed the aspect you disliked, or by making a connection to the job you're interviewing for.
Statistics
This question is asked 3.8x more frequently at Aspen Dental than at other companies.
9. What are the most difficult decisions you have had to make?
How to answer
Employers ask this question because they want to see that when you face a difficult decision or situation you’re able to handle it.
They also want to see what kind of decisions you consider difficult.
For sure, they are looking for a reply that relates to your career or education.
This question is designed to discover how you have managed certain situations and how you behaved in the past, to help predict what you’ll do in the future.
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About Yourself
Refresh your memory and reflect on some specific situations you have dealt with or projects you have worked on.
- Are you confident and capable when making big decisions?
- What is your approach to decision-making?
- Can you stay calm and rational?
- How strong are your critical thinking skills?
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About The Company
Research the company and its culture, and try to find out what kind of challenges they are facing.
Search for online reviews and any other useful resources.
- What will your responsibilities be?
- What problems and obstacles can you expect to face with this position?
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About The Fit
This is a great opportunity to show exactly how you would perform as an employee under a new boss and to highlight your Key Selling Points!
Make sure that your approaches meet the standards of the company you are applying to.
If you know that the quality is important for the company – show how your decisions worked for quality; if it is the speed – give examples of how quickly you could solve these problems; if it is about independent decision-making - emphasize how you made the correct decision by yourself.
Answering this question, give one or two concrete examples of difficult situations you have actually faced at work.
Then discuss what decisions you made to remedy the situations.
Use examples such as changing majors in university, quitting a job, leaving the family business, terminating an employee, relocating to a new city for better opportunities, or even starting a venture.
Be sure to highlight how things have worked out for you since making this challenging decision.
Using the STAR method will help you to make your story concise and logical.
Pro Tip
Avoid examples that make you seem indecisive or uncertain.
Be specific. Itemize what you did, how you did it, and how your difficult decision ultimately benefited you, your team and your employer.
You can end your answer with this question:
“And do you know what principles the company uses in decision-making?"
It can help you learn more about the company’s priorities, turn the "interrogation" into a conversation and let the interviewer see you have strong intentions to work for them.
Statistics
This question is asked 15.7x more frequently at Aspen Dental than at other companies.
10. Tell me about your greatest professional accomplishment
How to answer
Of all your accomplishments (and I am sure you’ve had a great many of them!), you should choose the one most relevant to this job position.
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About Yourself
In preparation for answering this question, list the top 3 professional accomplishments that you are most proud of. No need for lengthy descriptions, just a sentence or two for each one to help you recall each situation.
Write down your Key Selling Points - your top 3-5 skills that make you a strong professional.
Make sure you have developed the story behind each accomplishment and have a strong command of the details of what happened so that you can tell the story clearly and distinctly.
Along with each accomplishment, mark which of your Key Selling Points they showcase. How exactly?
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About The Company
Based on your research of the company, what are their current needs?
- What are the major projects going on?
- What are the expectations for the position you are applying for?
- Think about which of your accomplishment stories best fit their needs and expectations?
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About The Fit
Once you have decided on the appropriate accomplishment story, think how you will relate it in an interview and how you will make it relevant to the the job you are seeking. One approach is to use the Present-Past-Present technique.
Let's say that the accomplishment was leading your team in installing a new billing system and bringing it in on time and under budget.
You might start off in the Present by talking about the importance of having good leadership skills.
Then move to the Past to relate your story about how you successfully lead your team in accomplishing the objective.
Finally, come back to the Present to address how you will be able to help them reach their goals (the ones you learned about when researching the company) going forward.
Be sure to keep practicing your accomplishment story until it flows naturally and convincingly.
Pro Tip
Most enterprises are now going through major transformations, often called Digital Transformation.
Do your research on what it means and what is often involved, to get a better idea of the current goals and environments in companies. But one thing that definitely characterizes this transformation is striving for agility.
Whether the prospective employer is a long-established company or a startup, they are looking for people who demonstrate qualities like agility and adaptability, which are generally considered to be both helpful and quite a safe choice in most circumstances today.
Statistics
This question is asked 50% more frequently at Aspen Dental than at other companies.
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This page has been updated on February 23, 2024.
