How to Prepare for a Professional Services Interview 

Landing a job in professional services requires more than just showing up and answering a few questions. Interviews for roles in IT, finance, project management, and similar fields often involve three distinct components: You’ll face behavioral questions that explore how you handle situations and work with others. Technical assessments test your actual skills and problem-solving abilities. Presentation-based interviews ask you to demonstrate how you communicate complex ideas to stakeholders.  

Each format evaluates different competencies that matter for professional services roles. This article helps you prepare for all three types so you walk into your professional services interview ready to impress and increase your chances of landing the job. 

Behavioral Professional Services Interview Questions 

Employers use behavioral questions to understand how you’ve handled real situations in the past. According to Forbes, behavioral assessment helps leaders predict how well candidates will perform in new roles.1 These questions reveal how you approach challenges, work with teams, manage conflict, and respond to pressure.   

How to prepare for behavioral questions? 

• Start by identifying stories from your work history that demonstrate key competencies. Most behavioral questions follow the “Tell me about a time when…” format. You need specific examples ready to share. 

• Review the job description carefully and note which skills appear most important. Common themes include leadership, problem-solving, and teamwork. For each theme, identify at least one concrete example from your experience. 

• Use the STAR method to structure your examples: 

• • Situation: Set the context for your story 

• • Task: Explain what you needed to accomplish 

• • Action: Describe the specific steps you took 

• • Result: Share the outcome and what you learned 

• Practice telling these stories out loud before your interview. Rambling or forgetting key details makes even strong examples fall flat. Your answers should be clear and concise while still providing enough detail to show your thought process. 

Pro Tips: 

Choose examples that show measurable impact. 

Don’t just describe what you did. Explain what changed because of your actions. Did you reduce processing time by 30 percent? Resolve a conflict that was blocking a project? 

Match your examples to the company’s priorities.  

If the role emphasizes client management, highlight stories about building relationships and solving customer problems. If innovation matters most, share examples of process improvements or creative solutions. Tailoring your examples to what matters for this specific role shows you understand what they need. 

Technical Assessments 

Technical assessments cut time-to-hire by up to 30 percent while helping employers verify whether you can actually do the work the role requires.2 They separate candidates who truly have the required expertise from those who only talk a good game. 

How to prepare for technical assessments? 

• Research what types of technical assessments your target company typically uses. Check sites like Glassdoor where candidates often share interview experiences. Reach out to your network to see if anyone has interviewed there before.  

• Review the technical skills mentioned in the job description. Whether they want SQL expertise or financial modeling knowledge, you need to show your capabilities. 

• Practice under realistic conditions. If the assessment will be timed, practice with a timer. Meanwhile, if you’ll need to present your work, practice explaining your approach out loud.   

Pro Tips: 

Refresh your knowledge on fundamentals.  

Even if you use basic skills daily, it’s ideal to refresh fundamentals. It’s easy to forget terminology or best practices when you’re working quickly. A quick review of core concepts ensures you can articulate your approach clearly during the assessment. 

Show your work and explain your reasoning.  

Don’t just present a final answer. Walk through how you arrived at your solution. Explain which approaches you considered and why you chose the one you did. This demonstrates depth of knowledge and strategic thinking. 

Read more: Why Your Career Strategy Should Start Before January 1st 

Presentation-Based Interviews 

Presentation-based interviews assess your ability to communicate complex information clearly to different audiences. Professional services roles require explaining technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders, presenting recommendations to executives, or pitching solutions to clients. Employers need to see that you can distill information and deliver it persuasively. 

How to prepare for presentation-based interviews? 

• If you’re given a topic in advance, treat it like a real client deliverable. Research thoroughly, organize your thoughts logically, and create clean visuals that support your points without overwhelming the audience. 

• Structure your presentation with a clear beginning, middle, and end.  

• Start with the key takeaway or recommendation. 

• Provide supporting evidence and analysis in the middle. 

• Close with next steps or implications. 

This structure keeps audiences engaged and makes your message stick. 

• Practice your delivery multiple times. Record yourself if possible so you can identify verbal fillers, pacing issues, or unclear explanations. Time yourself to ensure you stay within any limits provided. 

• Prepare for questions. Think about what concerns or objections your audience might raise. Have data or examples ready to address common pushback. Being able to think on your feet during Q&A demonstrates real expertise. 

Pro Tips:  

Design slides for clarity, not decoration. 

Keep slides simple with one main idea per slide. Use visuals to illustrate points rather than walls of text. Your audience should be listening to you, not reading paragraphs on a screen. 

Show enthusiasm for the topic. 

Energy matters in presentations. Even if the topic is dry, your delivery shouldn’t be. Speak with confidence and conviction. Make eye contact. Use natural gestures. Engaged presenters create engaged audiences. 

Read more: Setting Goals That Get Results 

Get interview-ready with expert support. 

A great interview can change your career. Masis helps professional services candidates prepare for tough questions and present themselves with confidence. We coach you through behavioral prep, technical skill verification, and presentation strategies so you show up to your professional services interview ready to succeed.  

Let’s get you interview-ready. Contact us today! 

References 

1. “5 Hiring Advantages You Can Gain With Behavioral Assessments.” Forbes, 4 Aug. 2023, www.forbes.com/councils/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2023/08/04/5-hiring-advantages-you-can-gain-with-behavioral-assessments/. 
2. “Why Technical Assessment Tests Are Your Best Hiring Tool in 2026.” SkillSauce, 1 Dec. 2025, skillsauce.io/resources/blogs/why-technical-assessment-tests-are-your-best-hiring-tool-in-2026.