Questions at WellCare interviews
We analyzed 215 interview reviews for WellCare 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 WellCare:
According to our research, hiring managers at WellCare ask soft skills interview questions 45% 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 34% more frequently at WellCare than at other companies.
2. 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 16% more frequently at WellCare than at other companies.
3. Tell me about a stressful situation and how you dealt with it
How to answer
Stress on the job comes in many forms and from many sources including tight (perhaps impossible) deadlines, difficult bosses and co-workers, family issues, hard-to-please customers and clients and numerous other causes. There are also levels of stress ranging from the ones that are so common that we consider them normal, up to those that can really skyrocket.
Your future employer wants to know how you will behave in such times, whether you will be a helping hand or a burden.
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About Yourself
In order to form a response to this question, think back to a time when you encountered a stressful situation at work, and answer the following questions.
- Was the situation a challenge just to you personally or to your entire team?
- What was your approach to the problem and how did you handle it?
- What role if any did emotions play in the process of dealing with this situation?
- What was the outcome, was it successful?
- Did the outcome meet the company’s expectations as well as your own?
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About The Company
- What do you know about the company, where you may encounter a stressful situation?
- Are they working on a major project which is approaching a due date?
- Are they going through what appears to be a difficult time where cost-saving is a top priority? Perhaps the company culture is full of negativity and mistrust, or they have gone through massive layoffs. Is there any chance that customers are being neglected?
Any of these situations may lead to stressful times at the company, and you should try to know more about their expectations, and how realistic those expectations are.
Or, are they just a dynamic, highly agile company run by smart and creative folks, which may work excellently for some people and be confusing and mind-blowing for others?
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About The Fit
Once you have determined which STAR story will best answer this question, use the Present-Past-Present method for your response. The following is an example of how someone might apply this method.
The candidate started with the Present by telling the interviewer that she is able to rise to the challenge of the situation regardless of the level of stress that may come with an assignment.
She then went back to the Past to describe when she and her team had to hit a tight timeline for a customer that depended on the outcome of her team's work. It was an emotional time in which the team worked long, hard hours with lots of overtime. As hard as it was at the time, in the end they successfully completed the assignment and the customer was so pleased with the results that it increased its business with her company.
Finally, the candidate came back to the Present to explain how much she enjoys taking on challenges because they help her grow as a professional and she knows that she can successfully complete assignments for the company, no matter how stressful or difficult.
Pro Tip
Think of your ideal workplace environment.
- Does this company feel like it would be ideal for you?
- Do you feel excited and enthusiastic about taking on the kinds of stress you may encounter here?
- Would you prefer to work in an environment where the stress levels were lower or at least more manageable?
If you feel compatible with this company culture and enthusiastic about the challenges you expect here, this is a good chance to mention it and to show your excitement.
Explain your approach or rationale when you give your example from the past.
If you cannot remember any stressful situation with a positive outcome, you can use one with a less than positive outcome but it must be accompanied by your lessons learned and how you were able to use the lessons to help you move on.
Statistics
This question is asked 3.1x more frequently at WellCare than at other companies.
4. Tell me about a time when you've resolved a problem for a frustrated customer
How to answer
Customers are the lifeblood of any business. How you handle a disgruntled customer can make the difference between closing a sale and failing to do so. Or perhaps even worse the difference between keeping or losing a good customer.
It takes good people skills to handle such situations, and this question is a good opportunity to demonstrate your people skills.
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About Yourself
Think of a time when, as a customer, you had a problem with a company.
- How did you feel?
- How did you want to be treated?
- Was the situation resolved to your satisfaction? If so what was done to resolve it?
- If not, what went wrong?
Have you had experience in the past where you helped a frustrated customer? When you were on the serving side of the table, what did you do to make a real difference to the customer and their experience?
When considering this question, focus on your principles and your approach. You know that when customers are made to feel neglected and unimportant, they tend to get frustrated. You want to demonstrate to the hiring manager that you have the capacity to understand the customer’s problems and issues and can come up with a solution that best addresses their concerns.
Of course, this may not always be possible in your line of business or profession, but I guess you see what I mean - showing full attention greatly improves your chances of mitigating the situation.
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About The Company
Every company relies on customers.
Research the company you are applying to and try to find out what their standards of customer relationship or service are, as well as try to find out some real cases where the customers complained about the company, and what the company did to mitigate the situations (a possible source might be Yelp! or another social media platform).
Based on your research, how does the company treat customers? How do they resolve customer issues?
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About The Fit
How do you demonstrate to the interviewer that you can WOW the customer by making their situation better for them as well as helping the company maintain good customer relations? Mr. Simon recommends using the Present-Past-Present method.
There are many ways to apply this approach. For example you can start with the Present emphasizing that your approach to good customer service always starts with your great listening skills that enable you to fully understand the customer’s situation.
Next go back to the Past for an example of just how you were able to resolve a frustrating situation for a customer. Focus on a situation in which you listened to and understood the problem and were able to resolve it and prevent the loss of the customer’s business.
Finally come back to the Present to discuss how your skills and experience in handling frustrated customers will be a real asset to the company going forward.
Pro Tip
A disgruntled customer generally just needs someone to listen to them.
The three A’s of customer service can help diffuse the difficult situation:
- 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.
Add the extra “A” - Ask for the customer's contact information so you can update them on any progress on their issue.
Statistics
This question is asked 40% more frequently at WellCare than at other companies.
5. Tell me about a successful project you were involved in. What was your role? What was the result?
How to answer
At first glance you might think that this question is only asked of project managers. That is clearly not the case. In the modern business environment, work is often organized in the form of projects across multiple disciplines involving many people at many different levels.
Projects allow companies to plan objectives and milestones in order to reach their goals, to monitor progress and performance, to clearly define deliverables and success.
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About Yourself
Think about a few projects you have been involved in, regardless of your level of participation. These might range from small projects like organizing a party to large-scale multinational projects with participants and teams across the globe, million-dollar budgets and high risk and reward stakes.
Develop one or two project-based STAR stories.
Remember, all project-based STAR stories should start with the following descriptive elements:
- Project name
- Its purpose and goal
- Your role in it
- The duration of the project or its phases (in case only some phases were successful)
- The approximate number of people or stakeholders involved in it.
Once you have establish the base facts, its time to describe the challenges and results:
- What were the top 3 challenges?
- What was the end result?
- How did the company (or other stakeholders) benefit from the results?
- How can you define your contribution in 3-5 key phrases?
If you received any praise for your efforts from your boss, peers or clients, what did they say exactly?
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About The Company
Based on the research you did on the company, what kinds of projects can you expect here?
- What do you know about the goals they are trying to achieve?
- What do you know about their current challenges?
- Can you imagine what success will look like for the projects in this company?
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About The Fit
Once you decide which project best fits this question, use the Present-Past-Present approach to answer it.
Start with the Present by explaining your thinking on what you believe makes a project successful. You might say that your approach to all new projects is to set up the right project framework and tools before you begin, to help ensure that you get off to a good start.
Next go back to a Past situation in which you and your team took on a project and used your method of clarification to ensure that everyone knew their assignment and through hard work and focus, brought it to a successful conclusion.
Finally, come back to the Present to show how you will use your approach to help the employer tackle projects going forward.
Practice telling your story, using the STAR method.
Pro Tip
End your answer by asking the interviewer how they define success for the role you are applying for.
This will provide you with an insight into the company's environment and expectations for this role, as well as helping to transform the “interrogation” into a conversation as the interview continues.
Statistics
This question is asked 5.2x more frequently at WellCare 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 1% less frequently at WellCare than at other companies.
7. Describe a time when you resolved a conflict with a colleague in your past role
How to answer
Wherever you go, you will always have to work with people and this means that there is always going to be a chance for conflict. Employers ask this question to gauge how well you handle disagreements and how you resolve contentious issues with your coworkers. Remember, if conflcts are not properly handled they may cause disruption in the running of the department or even the entire organization.
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About Yourself
Think of the times you had to deal with conflict.
- What were the different ways you were able to address the situation?
- If you were the cause of the conflict, how did you handle it and what role did the other person play in helping to resolve the conflict?
- What were the key lessons you learned through your experience?
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About The Company
Research the company and its culture.
- What do they value?
- Is there anything that you can find about how they deal with conflict resolution?
- Do sites such as Glassdoor give any indication of the kinds of conflicts that might occur and how they are handled?
Reading comments on the company's social media posts often prove helpful to see how they react to customers' complaints.
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About The Fit
Consider the Present-Past-Present method to tell a story of how you addressed conflict and how it turned a negative into a positive.
Start with the Present to expain to the hiring manager how you always ask questions and listen carefully to your coworkers perspective to understand both sides of an issue and apply your sense of fairness when it comes to resolving potential conflicts with others.
Then go back to the Past using the STAR method to frame your story. Here is an example of how someone might relate just such a story:
"My coworker, who started with the company about 6 months before me explained the process the department used for tracking certain data metrics. In my "wisdom" I thought I had a better way. Without telling my colleague what I was doing I went ahead and tried my own way. Unfortunately my way did not quite do the job and as a result we had to start again. He was naturally upset but I brought out my best listening skills to understand his perspective and we agreed to start again with the next reports. I learned a lesson and we have worked together very well since that time."
Finally, come back to the Present to explain how you skills at listening to and doing your best to understand the other person's point of view is a valuable asset and makes you a strong candidate for the position.
Pro Tip
A key to addressing conflict is listening, communication and emotional intelligence. Highlight these skills.
If you're able to, turn the question around and ask the interviewer if they have experienced the same thing. This will start a conversation, which is the goal of an interview.
Statistics
This question is asked 4.9x more frequently at WellCare than at other companies.
8. Why were you successful in your last role? Give a supporting example
How to answer
Questions about your successes allow an employer to learn more about your work ethic and your previous accomplishments.
It helps the interviewer to determine whether you will be driven to achieve such results in the future.
This question also allows to understand how you define success, and what milestones in your career you consider important.
It’s the numbers and the facts that most accurately describe you as a good candidate.
Examples of your successes will be summarized in your resume and you should be ready to elaborate on them in the interview.
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About Yourself
Think of the question as an invitation to discuss the professional characteristics that you're proud of or a particular achievement in your last job.
- What steps did you take to become successful?
- What personal and professional qualities did you use to reach your goals at work?
- How did your actions help your team and the company to succeed?
- What challenges did you overcome to become successful?
- What are your lessons learned?
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About The Company
Research the requirements of the company you applying to and review the job listing. Make a list of job qualifications and skills that match the preferred qualifications of the ideal candidate.
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About The Fit
Explain your most important achievements at work, using the STAR method to provide specific examples of how your past work and achievements show how you will be an asset to the organization you're interviewing with.
It’s your chance to tell about your Key Selling Points – skills that make you a successful employee.
Emphasize the 3-5 strongest of them that helped you to achieve results at work to answer the question.
It's important to provide the interviewer with evidence of how you achieved success in the workplace.
For example, if you are in publishing, tell your story about how you ensured the timely release of 20 issues of the magazine, despite any problems you faced.
The role of such an achievement for the company was particularly important and demonstrates how your work contributed to the business. Difficulties and ways to overcome them, new ideas, daily work, and its results will help the interviewer to assess your experience correctly.
Pro Tip
Do not be afraid of blowing your trumpet and making yourself look good.
If you are a good employee, then make sure you tell them so.
Try to show a high level of ambition.
Your goal is to demonstrate your determination and willingness to take on challenges and achieve results.
Statistics
This question is asked 9.8x more frequently at WellCare than at other companies.
9. Why did you choose your major?
How to answer
Everyone has his/her reasons to pick a major.
There are hundreds and hundreds of careers to choose from and most people pick a major that will give them a background in the career they want to pursue.
When you come to a job interview you will be definitely asked this question.
The interviewers are seeking to understand your underlying motivations for selecting this career.
It is also a good question for them to learn how much planning and thought actually went into your career selection. It is a window into your personality and interests.
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About Yourself
This is your chance to highlight your strengths and how your major prepared you for your future plans.
Your answer to this question should reflect your passion and interest in the field you chose. Be genuine.
There’s every reason to display your passions and interest in your major. They will give interviewers a sense of who you really are.
Think about who or what influenced your career choice and include the positive influences, not the negative ones.
- How does this tie into your major?
- How will you bring your passion and unique knowledge to the new company?
Emphasize your strong people skills and excellent communication skills, allowing you to connect with others.
Think of the skills and experiences you gained through your major, think back to assignments and projects from your studies, internships and previous jobs. Consider the skills you developed working on those projects.
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About The Company
Write down a list of skills and experiences you gained through your major studies.
Then, look at the job listing itself.
Match up any of your skills and experiences that relate to the requirements of the job. How can you apply them to your new position, as well as the future?
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About The Fit
Use this question as an opportunity to mention a few skills related to your chosen major that would also be relevant in the workplace.
Point to a good culture fit.
Be positive, showing your enthusiasm. Let them know you're excited to be where you are.
Discuss what you enjoy about the industry you’re considering and why you could see yourself working in it. Even if your major is not directly related to the job, you can likely find connections between the two.
This is also a chance to explain other ways you have developed skills that will fulfill the role you're applying for.
For example, perhaps you were a biology major who is applying for a job in computer programming. You might explain that you took a number of online and extracurricular classes on programming to develop the skills needed for the job.
Pro Tip
Let your past decisions and accomplishments shine through. Once you nail your interview, you'll be on your way to a successful career path.
Statistics
This question is asked 3.4x more frequently at WellCare than at other companies.
10. 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 68% less frequently at WellCare than at other companies.
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This page has been updated on February 23, 2024.
