MockQuestions

CBSA Mock Interview

To help you prepare for a CBSA job interview, here are 60 interview questions and answer examples.

CBSA was updated by on July 31st, 2022. Learn more here.

Question 1 of 60

Canada Border Services Agency includes 'integrity' in its core values. Talk about a time that you acted with integrity.

Canada Border Services Agency's core values are Respect, Integrity and professionalism. The agency looks for candidates who embody these values in principle and conduct at all times. For the CBSA, integrity means, 'we exercise our authority in an honest, open, and fair manner. We accept responsibility for our actions in order to build and maintain a reputation of trustworthiness and accountability.' Talk about what integrity means to you and how you have exercised integrity in your work and personal life. Offer an example of when you put this to the test. What made you choose to do the right thing in the end, and how did it make you feel?

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60 CBSA Interview Questions & Answers

Below is a list of our CBSA interview questions. Click on any interview question to view our answer advice and answer examples. You may view six answer examples before our paywall loads. Afterwards, you'll be asked to upgrade to view the rest of our answers.

  • Behavioral

    1. Canada Border Services Agency includes 'integrity' in its core values. Talk about a time that you acted with integrity.

  • Behavioral

    2. Canada Border Services Agency has a firm stance on 'Respect' as a core value, which includes respect for democracy and respect for people. How do you plan to support these efforts?

  • Behavioral

    3. Canada Border Services Agency does not tolerate violence or harassment in the workplace. How often have you lost your temper or failed to control your emotions?

  • Behavioral

    4. Canada Border Services Agency considers the use of prohibited substances a severe matter. Have you ever used, possessed, sold, or distributed illegal drugs?

  • Behavioral

    5. Every CBSA employee is required to disclose misconduct immediately. How have you approached reporting the actions of others?

  • Behavioral

    6. How do you deal with uncomfortable situations?

  • Behavioral

    7. Working for the Canada Border Services Agency can be exceedingly stressful. How will you cope with this intensity on and off the job?

  • Behavioral

    8. What do you know about the Public Sector Values of the CBSA?

  • Behavioral

    9. Canada Border Services Agency offers a diverse workplace community. Tell us about a time you adapted to serve others of different cultures?

  • Behavioral

    10. Describe what teamwork means to you.

  • Behavioral

    11. Answer with complete honesty. Have you ever committed a crime, participated in any illegal activity, or maintained inappropriate criminal affiliation by association?

  • Behavioral

    12. Describe a time you took the initiative to take on more work than usual?

  • Behavioral

    13. Tell me about a time you had to make a difficult decision on the job.

  • Career Goals

    14. Why are you pursuing a career with Canada Border Services Agency? Talk about your most significant motivating factors.

  • Career Goals

    15. Canada Border Services Agency has land, air, and marine monitoring capabilities. Which division is of most considerable interest to you? Explain why.

  • Communication

    16. What is a 'pandemic,' and what part do you believe Canada Border Services Agency plays in such an event?

  • Discovery

    17. Are you willing to consent to the rigorous medical testing required to join the Canada Border Services Agency?

  • Discovery

    18. Tell us about yourself and why you want to work for the CBSA?

  • Education

    19. What do you know about the history of the Canada Border Services Agency?

  • Education

    20. Walk us through your post-secondary education and how the knowledge you gained will benefit your career with CBSA.

  • Education

    21. We want to hire employees with a keen interest in public protection and law enforcement. How do you stay up to date on current events that may impact Customs, Immigration, and Border Protection?

  • Education

    22. To qualify for specific roles, CBSA agents must be bi-lingual in English and French. Do you have any special linguistic skills to mention?

  • Experience

    23. On a typical day, the Canada Border Services Agency seizes thousands of pounds of illegal drugs and makes hundreds of apprehensions. How will you best support your colleagues while managing a perpetually heavy workload?

  • Experience

    24. What has been your experience with agency paperwork and how do you feel about it?

  • Experience

    25. How familiar are you with international trade laws and regulations?

  • Experience

    26. How have you trained and prepared yourself for a role with Canada Border Services Agency?

  • Experience

    27. Agents with the Canada Border Services Agency ensure Canada's security and prosperity by facilitating and overseeing international travel and trade across Canada's border. How will you meet the mental demands of this job?

  • Experience

    28. Canada Border Services Agency safeguard our borders. How will your expertise, character, and dedication to our mission be of benefit to our agency?

  • Experience

    29. In addition to border agents, CBSA employs forensic scientists, international trade specialists, public affairs officers, and other specialists. Talk to us about the unique skills you will bring to our agency.

  • Experience

    30. Have you carefully reviewed the CBSA Code of Conduct? Are there any points of ethical conduct and responsibilities you feel unable to fulfill?

  • Experience

    31. All CBSA employees must maintain high standards of honesty, integrity, and character to gain and maintain the trust of the public. How will you exude this commitment in every interaction with the public?

  • Experience

    32. Canada Border Services Agency maintains a profoundly stringent hiring process. Why should we hire you?

  • Experience

    33. Certain employee conduct, on and off duty, may be subject to disciplinary action. What actions do you understand to be impermissible?

  • Leadership

    34. Talk about the ways you exhibit leadership qualities even when you are not in a leadership role.

  • Role-Play

    35. You have recently been promoted to the manager of your team over Sarah, and as a result, she’s considering moving over to your competitor. Persuade Sarah to stay without damaging the reputation of the company.

  • Role-Play

    36. In a team-leadership role, you discover that a team member has gone “over your head” to propose an idea or complain about an issue without talking to you first. You’ve asked to talk to them for a minute and they agree...

  • Role-Play

    37. In a training session, you find that the trainer has a thick accent, and you can't understand what's being said...

  • Role-Play

    38. You are a security guard working at a large toy store. You notice a commotion where a parent is agitated and you learn their kid is missing...

  • Role-Play

    39. Your boss is not in the office and there is an irate customer waiting in the waiting room. The secretary asks for your help...

  • Role-Play

    40. Two teammates are embroiled in a conflict over how to proceed on a team project. They’re raising their voices and the conflict seems to be escalating. There are no other supervisors present and you are walking into the situation cold...

  • Role-Play

    41. You are working in the customer support team of a retail firm. A customer who bought a ginger beer from one of your stores discovered that it had a dead snail in it after drinking and is now threatening to call the consumer watchdog...

  • Role-Play

    42. An aggressive person you don't ever recall meeting before accuses you of inappropriate conduct in front of others...

  • Role-Play

    43. You are a sports club manager. You spot a person posting signs where they shouldn't hung. You approach this person.

  • Role-Play

    44. You are in a meeting. Your manager blames you for underperforming in front of everyone attending the meeting. You disagree with their assessment and their approach. Concerned for your reputation, you ask to talk to them in private… 

  • Situational

    45. How would you handle it if you believed strongly in a recommendation you made in a meeting, but most of your co-workers shot it down?

  • Situational

    46. How would you organize the steps or methods you'd take to define/identify a vision for your team?

  • Situational

    47. You don't have the information you need to prioritize your projects. Your co-workers and supervisor are unavailable for you to ask for assistance. How do you handle the situation?

  • Situational

    48. You're in charge of a project team for a new project. What are your first steps to get the team going and complete the project?

  • Situational

    49. Morale is low, and you consider yourself a good manager. What do you do to build team spirit?

  • Situational

    50. If you felt a policy was causing more harm than good, how would you suggest making changes to that policy?

  • Situational

    51. When would it be appropriate to request your supervisor’s help while dealing with an angry customer?

  • Situational

    52. Who would you talk to if you discovered that a co-worker was disclosing confidential information that should not be divulged?

  • Situational

    53. You disagree with the way your supervisor suggests handling a problem. What would you do?

  • Situational

    54. How would you deal with a colleague at work with whom you seem to be unable to build a successful working relationship?

  • Situational

    55. What would you do if you realized at deadline time a report you wrote for your boss would not meet your standard or their expectations?

  • Situational

    56. A co-worker tells you in confidence that they intend to call in sick while actually taking a week's vacation. What would you do and why?

  • Situational

    57. What would you do if the work of a fellow team member was not meeting expectations and was slowing down productivity?

  • Situational

    58. As the team lead for your unit, you’re responsible for a team of three. One of the member of your team is not meeting expectations and is unperforming. This is interfering with the work goals of the unit. How would you handle this situation?

  • Situational

    59. An angry client comes in with scrapes and bruises and explains they tripped over the parking space dividers in the parking lot and they want to know what you are going to do about it? How do you approach this situation?

  • Situational

    60. You are on the job, and a member of the public calls you a racial slur or derogatory term. What do you do?