CRA Interview Questions – A Worksheet

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CRA Interview Questions

Many CRA interview questions are the same regardless of the experience level of the CRA. And of course, CRAs at all experience levels find themselves in an extremely competitive job market.

While the hard skills associated with the Clinical Research Associate position are easier to quantify in an interview, studies prove that 85% of job success comes from soft skills, while only 15% comes from technical skills.  Therefore, being able to successfully express strong soft skills in an interview is extremely important.

We have compiled a list of questions that can be used by both job seekers and hiring managers when it comes to assessing the soft skills of CRAs at any level. Note that many of these questions will fit multiple categories…and your responses may answer multiple questions. The point of this prep sheet is to enable you to think of these scenarios ahead of your CRA interview in order to have a more effective conversation with the interviewer.

The following chart is also provided in downloadable format.

Time Management and Organizational Skills

Strong time management and organizational skills are a must in most roles, but they are particularly crucial when it comes to being an effective CRA. Use the following questions to practice answering questions related to this soft skill competency.

Tell me about a large project you were responsible for completing.

The unasked portion of this question is: Include how you structured your tasks in order to complete the project on time. Most hiring managers look for you to showcase your ability to break down large projects into more manageable, bite-sized tasks.

Entry Level or Junior CRAs: Even if you are fresh out of college you should be able to come up with a scenario that describes your time management and organizational capabilities. Hiring managers will learn a lot just by listening to how you were able to break down that large project into manageable tasks.

It is also important to show how you prioritized those tasks in order to perform the duties needed to meet your timeline.

Experienced CRAs: Be sure to use a real and relevant example. Consider discussing how you organize yourself when assigned to a new study. In other words, how do you take a large, multi-site study and organize yourself in order to successfully execute your monitoring responsibilities?

Feel free to discuss tools that you use such as trackers and definitely outline how you prioritize the day-to-day functions related to the project.

Tell me about a time when you missed a deadline.

Before you start thinking too hard on this one, let me state that everyone has missed a deadline.

Everyone. 

You have forgotten your mother’s (your brother’s, your sister’s, your father’s) birthday. Almost everyone has been late for a doctor’s appointment. You have absolutely hit the snooze too many times and overslept. Or perhaps you got stuck in traffic and didn’t arrive somewhere on time. The point of the question isn’t necessarily to describe a serious situation where you caused the earth to stop spinning.

The point of the question is to highlight your professionalism in dealing with a missed deadline such as how you communicated (hopefully proactively) that you were going to be late.

You should also discuss how you reprioritized your workload in order to address the most urgent or most important tasks. Or – if you were overwhelmed with tasks and all of them were urgent or important, how you asked for help or delegated to someone else.

And the most important point is to explain what you learned from the missed deadline. Said differently, what have you put into place to ensure you don’t make the same mistake again?

While the entry-level candidate may not have a specific work-related example, anyone with work experience should be prepared with a real work-related example rather than a personal one.

A side note from Ang: When someone tells me they have never missed a deadline, it leaves me with the impression that either they don’t commit, they don’t worry about missing a commitment, or they don’t self-assess. Everyone has missed a deadline (everyone).

How do you determine priorities when scheduling your time?

While similar to the first question on how you organize a big project, this one is different in that it focuses on time management rather than organizational skills.

Speak to the tools you use such as your calendar, task lists, or trackers. Make sure you also address how you reprioritize your workload when priorities change.

A side note from Ang: It is absolutely appropriate to discuss how you prioritize in a balanced way…family, personal, and work priorities.

Describe a time when you had too many projects or assignments due at the same time.

The unasked portion of this question is: How did you handle it? As with some of the other questions, the interviewer is going to be looking at your abilities in the following areas:

    • How you reprioritize on the fly.
    • Your method to poll leadership to understand the most urgent tasks…especially if it isn’t clear to you which are most important, and you know you can’t do everything on your task or project list.
    • How you delegate or ask for help with the workload.
    • And how you communicate when you know you are going to miss a due date.

A side note from Ang: The best answer isn’t that you just worked more. Pulling all-nighters may work in college, but it isn’t going to sustain you as a professional for long. Think of problem-solving, delegating, communicating, and working smarter rather than just working longer hours.

How do you prepare for a visit?

Hiring managers want to feel confident that you have a methodology. Answer this question with the standard step-by-step process that you employ every time you prepare to conduct a visit.

A side note from Ang: You may use a different methodology for remote visits versus onsite visits.  Consider pointing out any differences per visit type during this discussion.

Please provide a real example of when you prepared to conduct a visit, but once you started the visit, you realized there had been a crisis that wasn’t dealt with properly.

Examples to jog your memory may include things like you finding that the drug wasn’t kept at the proper temperature or there has been an unreported SAE or AE.

Behavioral interview questions are telling, and many candidates fail when answering ‘tell me about a time’ circumstance questions because they answer in hypotheticals.  A weak answer would simply be a statement on how you think you would handle the situation rather than describing a real and relevant example.

Instead, consider answering this question in this way:

    • Describe a specific situation where you experienced this scenario.
    • Detail the behavior or the actions you took to resolve the situation.
    • Share the outcome or the results of the situation.
    • Be sure to use terms like “I” instead of “We” because you want to be clear about your personal role in the resolution of the issue.

A side note from Ang: For more information on how to prepare for Behavioral Interviews including several example questions that will help with your preparation, check out this resource.

Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills

CRAs need to be able to ask probing questions, analyze the responses, and then make strong decisions based on the data. To prove to a potential hiring manager that you will be effective as a Clinical Research Associate, you must exhibit critical thinking and problem-solving skills during the interview.

Even candidates with limited work experience can provide evidence of critical thinking and problem-solving when answering CRA interview questions. For those of you who are CRAs, consider describing examples from current or recent projects.

Tell me about a time when you were working on a project and an unexpected problem occurred.

The interviewer is looking for how you initially reacted, how you proceeded to handle the problem, and what the final outcome was. Even if the hiring manager doesn’t ask this question, preparing for it will make you a much stronger interviewer because it will enable you to have examples that will articulate the following skills on how you:

    • Handle difficult situations.
    • Prioritize or reprioritize on the fly.
    • Solve problems despite the situation presented.
    • Communicate and escalate.
    • Delegate or ask for help.
    • And in some cases, how you learn. Meaning, is there anything you will be able to proactively do on future projects to avoid a similar situation?

Tell me about a difficult decision you’ve made this year.

I like this question because it helps me to understand what my candidate considers ‘difficult’. Be prepared to discuss how you came to the decision, how you communicated the decision, and what the ultimate outcome was.

Explain the most difficult project you have ever worked on.

Be sure to describe what made it difficult.  I would also state that it is important to understand the intention of the question. Is the interviewer looking for your competency (i.e., what is the most complex protocol you have worked on), or a general question (i.e., the project team or project circumstances are what made the project difficult)?

When I worked with IBM, I was interviewing interns for an upcoming Hardware Engineering program. The program was intended for senior-level students within computer and electrical engineering university programs. Some of the responses I received to this question were phenomenal. Folks had built robots for competitions, and set up intranets in school settings…they knocked my socks off.

One candidate, however, answered that his most difficult project had been setting up his sister’s home computer. In the whole scheme of things, his ‘difficult project’ just didn’t seem to measure up when compared to other students’ examples.

Maybe what made this project difficult for him was working with his sister. The problem was that he didn’t articulate that to me…and at the time, I was a novice interviewer and didn’t think to ask.

A side note from Ang: Always (always always) explain what made the project difficult and how you tackled it anyway.

Communication and Conflict Resolution Skills

While the interviewer’s perception of your communication skills can be partly determined by how well you listen and respond throughout the interview, the interviewer will also understand you are on your best behavior. Meaning, you will be guarded during that interview.

Individuals who become successful CRAs know how difficult the clinical research environment can be. Being able to show that you have the ability to deal with tough situations will translate into your ability to maneuver high-touch sites, missing-in-action investigators or key stakeholders, and demanding sponsors.

What is your typical way of dealing with conflict?  Give me an example.

Use a real example.  I know that I have repeated this statement multiple times…but it is critically important to use real examples. Explain the example first. It could be as simple as an argument that you have had with a family member. Then describe how you dealt with it. Be clear on your role in coming up with the solution, using terms like “I” instead of “We”.

Tell me about a time you disagreed with a friend or colleague on an important topic. How did you approach this person and resolve the dispute?

Slightly different than the first question because not only will the answer to this question exhibit how you handle difficult situations, but it will also show your natural leadership abilities.

Also importantly, this response will show how you communicated your concerns.  Were you too passive?  Too aggressive?  Or maybe too passive/aggressive (ha)?

A side note from Ang: This answer will also exhibit your negotiation as well as your critical thinking and problem-solving skills!

Give me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa).

Several years ago, I was a CAD programmer for a manufacturing company.  I seriously disliked my manager. And she disliked me.  But I hung in there because I knew that the experience I was gaining in that job would further my career.

Provide that type of example. Be sure to discuss how you specifically handled the situation. Note any obstacles or difficulties you had to face and how you dealt with them.

What is your definition of proactive communication and how would you employ this practice in your position as a CRA?

Depending on the interviewer’s role, the term ‘proactive communication’ may mean different things.  In general terms, proactive communication is about getting in front of a situation before…well…the situation happens.

For example, as a CRA perhaps you notice a certain trend of issues at several of your sites.  You may therefore consider proactively communicating your findings to other sites in order to help them avoid the same issue. These are the types of examples you want to write out in preparation for this question.

Describe a time when you were working with others on a project who disagreed with your approach, solutions, or ideas.

For the experienced CRA, consider using an example where you had to adapt to a Coordinator or Investigator’s personality or working style.

CRAs at all levels can also use examples of adapting to your manager’s working or management style.

In all cases, the interviewer is looking for you to be thoughtful in your approach.  Were you adaptable?  Flexible? Did you consider the other team members’ motivations? Or did you take the disagreement personally? Were you able to keep focused on the project including what needed to be done in order to meet the project’s objectives?

Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation skills to influence someone’s opinion.

For the experienced CRA, this may be an example where you used the protocol, GCP, or ICH guidelines to explain the ‘why’ behind a finding.

And for the entry-level candidate, any situation where you have leveraged facts to help sway someone’s opinion will translate nicely.

Additional Logistical Thoughts

We have a wealth of information on interviewing tips available on our blog but I want to call out a couple of very important logistical details all candidates should consider.

For Phone Screens

For Video Interviews

For Presentation Interviews

More and more we are seeing clients request candidates to create and deliver a presentation as part of their interview process.  Here are some details on how to prepare.

For Face-to-Face Interviews

My last thought…

Be you. An interview shouldn’t be a dog-and-pony show. Every hiring manager we work with cares about their team members.  They care about their company and their company’s mission. And, they care about this industry.

And don’t you care too? The interview is the perfect opportunity to show your prospective new employer that you love this industry, you have passion, you are ambitious, and that you are super excited to work on their projects.

And if you need us, we are here.  Our resources:

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