This blog documents my MBA student life at Ryerson University, Canada (2010-2012). It was an attempt to demystify the MBA experience, help understand MBA topics & encourage MBA wannabes. I have a Pre-MBA blog about B-School application process (and a few other blogs) as well. I used to blog actively in the past and interact with readers regularly, but life got very busy after my MBA. Good luck. Take care. Cheers! Gerry.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Examples of Skills & Abilities in a Resume
From the link: http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-678-Cover-Letters-and-Resumes-Basic-Skills-Resume/?ArticleID=678&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=403f73c71bc346718945e0007357d274-316307806-RN-4&ns_siteid=ns_ca_g_customer_service_skil_
Here is how you can write something about your Skills and Abilities
Communications -- Good written and verbal presentation skills. Use proper grammar and have a good speaking voice.
Interpersonal Skills -- Able to get along well with co-workers and accept supervision. Received positive evaluations from previous supervisors.
Flexible -- Willing to try new things and am interested in improving efficiency on assigned tasks.
Attention to Detail -- Concerned with quality. Produce work that is orderly and attractive. Ensure tasks are completed correctly and on time.
Hard-working -- Throughout high school, worked long hours in strenuous activities while attending school full-time. Often managed as many as 65 hours a week in school and other structured activities while maintaining above-average grades.
Customer Service -- Routinely handled as many as 500 customer contacts a day (10,000 per month) in a busy retail outlet. Averaged lower than a .001 percent complaint rate and was given the "Employee of the Month" award in second month of employment. Received two merit increases.
Cash Sales -- Handled more than $2,000 a day ($40,000 a month) in cash sales. Balanced register and prepared daily sales summary and deposits.
Reliable -- Excellent attendance record; trusted to deliver daily cash deposits totaling more than $40,000 a month.
Here is how you can write something about your Skills and Abilities
Situational Interviews and Stress Interviews: What to Make of Them and How to Succeed in Them
From the link: http://www.quintcareers.com/situational_stress_interviews.html
The best job-seekers not only prepare answers to typical interview questions, but also prepare for the type of interview expected. There are all sorts of job interviews: screening, traditional, behavioral, telephone, case, and panel. And two of the trends in interviewing are the use of situational interviewing and stress interviewing.
Situational Job Interviews
In situational interviewing, job-seekers are asked to respond to a specific situation they may face on the job, and some aspects of it are similar to behavioral interviews. These types of questions are designed to draw out more of your analytical and problem-solving skills, as well as how you handle problems with short notice and minimal preparation.
Situational interviews are similar to behavioral interviews, except while behavioral focus on a past experience, situational interviews focus on a hypothetical situation. For example, in a behavioral interview, the interviewer might start a question with, "Tell me about a time you had to deal with..." In a situational interview, the interviewer asks, "How would you handle..."
The key to preparation and success in situational interviews is simply to review your past work experiences and review the steps you took to resolve problems and make corrections. You should also have short stories of some of these past experiences so you can also incorporate them into your answers to show that you have experience handling similar situations.
Here's one way an interviewer might ask an applicant for a customer service manager position: "How would you handle an angry customer who was promised delivery of the product on a certain date, but because of manufacturing delays, the company was not able to deliver on a timely basis? The customer is demanding some kind of compensation for the unexpected delay."
Or, for a management position, a job-seeker might be asked: "How do you handle a disgruntled employee in your department who has made a habit of arriving late to work and causing minor disruptions during the day, as well as a declining morale among the rest of the staff?"
Stress Job Interviews
The stress interviewing technique is typically used only for positions in which the job-seeker will be facing stress on the job, and the interviewer wants to see how well you can handle the pressure. The key to surviving stress interviews is to remain calm, keep a sense of humor, and avoid getting angry or defensive.
The interviewer may try to stress you in one of several ways, such as asking four or five questions in a row, acting rude or sarcastic, disagreeing with you, or simply keeping you waiting for a long period.
Don't take any of these actions personally. Simply stick to your agenda and showcase your skills and accomplishments calmly. Better, try taking back control of the interview by ignoring the stress. Some experts suggest even getting up and walking around the room so that you take control by being the only person standing. And if there is a board or flip chart in the room, another option is to get up and draw or diagram parts of your answers.
Most job-seekers will not encounter such interviews, but it is important to know they exist, and know how to handle yourself if you are faced with such an interview style.
Final Thoughts
Remember that the most important thing job-seekers can do to succeed in job interviews is prepare. And preparation begins with conducting research so that you know what type(s) of interview styles you will be facing. Preparation also includes reviewing common questions you may face as a job-seeker and preparing narratives that illustrate a key point that each question is seeking.
The best job-seekers not only prepare answers to typical interview questions, but also prepare for the type of interview expected. There are all sorts of job interviews: screening, traditional, behavioral, telephone, case, and panel. And two of the trends in interviewing are the use of situational interviewing and stress interviewing.
Situational Job Interviews
In situational interviewing, job-seekers are asked to respond to a specific situation they may face on the job, and some aspects of it are similar to behavioral interviews. These types of questions are designed to draw out more of your analytical and problem-solving skills, as well as how you handle problems with short notice and minimal preparation.
Situational interviews are similar to behavioral interviews, except while behavioral focus on a past experience, situational interviews focus on a hypothetical situation. For example, in a behavioral interview, the interviewer might start a question with, "Tell me about a time you had to deal with..." In a situational interview, the interviewer asks, "How would you handle..."
The key to preparation and success in situational interviews is simply to review your past work experiences and review the steps you took to resolve problems and make corrections. You should also have short stories of some of these past experiences so you can also incorporate them into your answers to show that you have experience handling similar situations.
Here's one way an interviewer might ask an applicant for a customer service manager position: "How would you handle an angry customer who was promised delivery of the product on a certain date, but because of manufacturing delays, the company was not able to deliver on a timely basis? The customer is demanding some kind of compensation for the unexpected delay."
Or, for a management position, a job-seeker might be asked: "How do you handle a disgruntled employee in your department who has made a habit of arriving late to work and causing minor disruptions during the day, as well as a declining morale among the rest of the staff?"
Stress Job Interviews
The stress interviewing technique is typically used only for positions in which the job-seeker will be facing stress on the job, and the interviewer wants to see how well you can handle the pressure. The key to surviving stress interviews is to remain calm, keep a sense of humor, and avoid getting angry or defensive.
The interviewer may try to stress you in one of several ways, such as asking four or five questions in a row, acting rude or sarcastic, disagreeing with you, or simply keeping you waiting for a long period.
Don't take any of these actions personally. Simply stick to your agenda and showcase your skills and accomplishments calmly. Better, try taking back control of the interview by ignoring the stress. Some experts suggest even getting up and walking around the room so that you take control by being the only person standing. And if there is a board or flip chart in the room, another option is to get up and draw or diagram parts of your answers.
Most job-seekers will not encounter such interviews, but it is important to know they exist, and know how to handle yourself if you are faced with such an interview style.
Final Thoughts
Remember that the most important thing job-seekers can do to succeed in job interviews is prepare. And preparation begins with conducting research so that you know what type(s) of interview styles you will be facing. Preparation also includes reviewing common questions you may face as a job-seeker and preparing narratives that illustrate a key point that each question is seeking.
Another MUST READ article for MBAs ---> Situational Interview Questions & Excellent Sample Responses
From the link: http://www.quintcareers.com/interview_question_database/situational_interview_questions.html
1. What would you do if the work of a subordinate or team member was not up to expectations?
2. A co-worker tells you in confidence that she plans to call in sick while actually taking a week's vacation. What would you do and why?
10. You disagree with the way your supervisor says to handle a problem. What would you do?
12. When would it be appropriate to bring in your supervisor while dealing with an angry customer?
15. How would you organize the steps or methods you'd take to define/identify a vision for your team or your personal job function?
16. How would you react if two teammates were embroiled in a conflict that kept the team from completing its task?
18. As a supervisor, you've made an unpopular decision. What action would you take so that morale in the department is not negatively affected?
20. You been placed in charge of a project team for a new project. What are your first steps to get the team going and complete the project?
1. What would you do if the work of a subordinate or team member was not up to expectations?
Sample excellent response:
Luckily, I have quite a bit of previous team experience, and have faced this situation a few times in the past -- so let me tell you how I've learned to handle the issue. The most important first step in dealing with an underperforming subordinate or team member is honest communications -- talking with the person can lead to some surprising discoveries, such as the person not understanding the assigned tasks to being overwhelmed with the assignment. Once I discovered the problem, I could then forge a solution that usually solved the problem and allowed the work to move forward. So often in situations like this, the problem is some combination of miscommunications and unrealistic expectations.
2. A co-worker tells you in confidence that she plans to call in sick while actually taking a week's vacation. What would you do and why?
Sample excellent response:3. Describe how you would handle the situation if you met resistance when introducing a new idea or policy to a team or work group.
I would tell this co-worker that being dishonest in her job to her boss as well as her co-workers, is not wise and being dishonest in her job is wrong. I would say how we all want more vacation time, but we have to earn it -- and that by taking this extra time, it's hurting everyone in the department because the person's absence will affect productivity.
Sample excellent response:4. What would you do if the priorities on a project you were working on changed suddenly?
The best way to convince people is to be able to understand where they are coming from and address their questions and concerns about the new idea directly. It is also important to stay confident and believe in yourself because if you don't buy it no one else will either.
Sample excellent response:5. 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?
I would notify everyone working on the project of the changes. I would then want to know why the priorities have changed, and if there is risk of them changing again in the future. I would hen meet with everyone involved with a new strategy to address the new priorities.
Sample excellent response:6. In a training session, you find that the trainer has a thick accent, and you can't understand what's being said. What would you do?
I would continue to explain why the recommendation was good, giving concrete examples what the benefits of my recommendation could be. Ultimately if my co-workers continue to resist my recommendation I would have to let it go and move on.
Sample excellent response:7. List the steps that you would take to make an important decision on the job.
Certainly not call the trainer out on it. I would try my best to understand what the trainer is saying, ask many questions to clarify any unclear parts about the session and compare notes with someone in the session afterwards. This way I could make sure that I understand what was being explained and discussing it afterwards would help reinforce the things I learned in the session.
Sample excellent response:8. What would you do if you realized at deadline time that a report you wrote for your boss or professor was not up to par?
1. How would the company benefit from this?
2. How does it relate to the company's values and beliefs?
3. What are the negative and positive impacts this decision has on the company?
Sample excellent response:9. How would you deal with a colleague at work with whom you seem to be unable to build a successful working relationship?
Hopefully this would never happen to me since I always make sure to plan my time properly to ensure that my work is always done. If it ever did happen I would meet with my boss and explain the situation and request an extension. I would also evaluate my actions and identify what I did wrong to not complete my work and make sure that it did not happen again.
Sample excellent response:
This situation would certainly be unique to me. Ever since I can remember, I've had a knack for finding something in everyone that then becomes common ground for a friendship and/or good working relationship. Certainly there are all types of people, some less motivated to work in teams or simply unhappy in their jobs, but we're all people when you strip away titles and such -- and it's at that base level in which I find a connection that results in some degree of rapport -- even when few others can do so. For example, in my senior year of college, I was placed onto a team that had one member that the rest of the team disliked. This team member was kind of an outcast, but I knew we needed this full commitment to make the project work. Even though I was not the team leader, I took it upon myself to forge a connection -- and discovered we had a mutual passion for horses. We did not end best friends or anything, but through our common interest, I was able to build enough rapport to connect and engage him as a key team member. There is always something that bonds us all together -- it is just harder to find with some people than with others.
10. You disagree with the way your supervisor says to handle a problem. What would you do?
Sample excellent response:11. Who would you talk to if you discovered that a co-worker was disclosing confidential information that should not be divulged?
I would evaluate why I disagreed with my supervisor and come up with a different way that I think the situation should be handled. I would then sit down with my supervisor -- in private -- and discuss with him what I had a problem with and how I think it should have been done.
Sample excellent response:
I would first sit down privately with my co-worker and let him or her know what is happening. I would make it a dialogue rather than a lecture -- with the goal of helping the co-worker realize what a serious mistake he or she is making and how it could impact both the company and their personal life -- and the lives of their family and friends. If nothing comes of the meeting -- either the co-worker is defensive and denies it -- or does not agree to stop doing the disclosure, then I would be forced to go directly to my manager with the proof that I have of the illegal activities.
12. When would it be appropriate to bring in your supervisor while dealing with an angry customer?
Sample excellent response:13. How would you attempt to make changes in the process if you felt a policy of your organization was hurting its members/workers?
As an employee it is my job to explore all the possible options to satisfy customer demands. However, if I see the customer is angry with me personally it is better to bring in a supervisor because they are more likely to listen to my supervisor than me. Also it is important to stay friendly and always stay respectful and polite when dealing with customers even if they are frustrated.
Sample excellent response:14. What would a good manager do to build team spirit?
I would ask my co-workers if they felt the same way. I would want to make sure that I am not the only employee that feels like the policy is hurting members/workers. If others agreed with me, I would try to set up a meeting with a supervisor or someone who is in control of changing the policy and explain my concerns. I would then develop an alternative solution and present the problem with my developed alternative solution to the head of the organization.
Sample excellent response:
Most importantly, any plan to build team spirit has to be authentic. We've all seen -- or experienced -- work environments like in Office Space or The Office. Anything less than authenticity will be seen as simply rah-rah -- or going through the motions. A good manager brings the team together -- perhaps even a retreat -- to foster communications and develop common goals and objectives. During this meeting, the manager should also show how all the team members play a role in making the team successful -- and that only by working together and respecting each other can the team fully succeed.
Sometimes, too, when the team is from different departments or backgrounds, it's important for the manager address this issue from day one -- if possible. I was once put in a team with a mix of marketers and accountants and the manager sat us all down and told us a story of a successful competitor and how their accounting team thought like marketers and how their marketers understood the importance of return on investment for new marketing initiatives. By using the story of a successful competitor, it helped us realize that we had more in common than we had differences and that we could come together as a team and be successful.
15. How would you organize the steps or methods you'd take to define/identify a vision for your team or your personal job function?
Sample excellent response:
I believe a good team vision starts first with a strong understanding of the organization's mission. So, my steps would be as follows. First, review my organization's vision.
Second, develop some rough ideas of how I would word a team vision statement in preparation for a team meeting to discuss the issue.
Third, I would call a meeting of the team and have a discussion of what we do best, how what we do fits with the organization. Then I would discuss the organization's vision and ask for ideas and suggestions for the team's mission. If asked, I would mention some of my thoughts on our team vision.
Fourth, following the meeting, I would craft a vision statement -- perhaps with the help of one or two other team members -- and then distribute it to the team and ask for feedback.
Fifth, I would finalize the vision statement from the comments and feedback from the team... and then post our vision statement in places where all the team members could see it on a regular basis.
16. How would you react if two teammates were embroiled in a conflict that kept the team from completing its task?
Sample excellent response:17. 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?
To build team spirit, it would be important that all team members are on the same page and agree on a common goal. Team building exercises bring a team closer together and strengthen team spirit. For example, there's an exercise called "Hammeroid" that involves comparing a hammer, string, ruler, and table to work style preferences. Participants are tasked with bringing a team in conflict into harmony by perfectly balancing the hammer, string, and ruler on the table. Team members should also be made to feel like their opinion matters and their input/ideas are valued by their manager.
Sample excellent response:
This is a great question because in all my work experience, I have never faced this issue. Whenever I'm given a new task to accomplish, I immediately seek to understand its importance and priority given my other projects and assignments. So, my first inclination would be that I would sit down and review all the projects and examine a couple of key issues -- things like deadlines, potential impacts, and involvement of others. Obviously projects that are mission-critical and have the shortest deadlines need to be addressed first.
If I was still stumped -- and my manager and team members were truly unavailable -- rather than sitting there paralyzed, I would probably consult a mentor within the organization and seek his or her advice -- more as a sounding board for my own thoughts than seeking a solution from them.
18. As a supervisor, you've made an unpopular decision. What action would you take so that morale in the department is not negatively affected?
Sample excellent response:19. 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. How do you handle the situation?
I would call for a meeting to let my employees know that their opinions about my decision are valued, however I would also explain to them why the decision needed to be made. Sometimes people are more empathetic once they know the reasons for a certain action. I would also ensure employees that positives are to come from this decision and reinforce that their opinions and ideas are valued, but that this was a decision that needed to be made.
Sample excellent response:
Too often something like this happens when an individual feels his or her opinions or ideas are not being heard, so rather than assume the person is simply trying to make some sort of power play or make you look bad to your boss, you first need to get the details of the situation. Sometimes someone does deliberately does go over your head, but sometimes these things happen because of a chance meeting between the person and your supervisor, and the conversation is spontaneous, not malicious. If you discover the discussion was in fact a planned action, the first thing you need to do is evaluate how you -- and your team -- have treated this person. Next, I would call a private meeting with the person and simply have a conversation about the situation and how and why it happened -- and how this person can get his or her voice back within the team so that the situation will not repeat itself.
Finally, if it turns out the person is simply a disgruntled employee and there is little that can be done to change his or her future actions, and you've exhausted all options to bring the person back into the team and the organization, then you need to meet again with your boss and then with the person and have a discussion about possible consequences of future occurrences.
20. You been placed in charge of a project team for a new project. What are your first steps to get the team going and complete the project?
Sample excellent response:
I would call the team together for an initial meet and greet -- and make sure we all know each other on some basic level -- and to set some initial expectations for the team. Once the team has been established, I would move ahead with the project in these basic steps: * First, make sure we fully understand the problem and task at hand. We need to define the problem that will be solved by the project.
* Second, we need to brainstorm possible solutions to accomplish the project.
* Third, we get back together and choose the best path/process to completing the project.
* Fourth, we divide the process into smaller parts and assign individual team members parts to complete -- based on their individual skill sets -- assigning deadlines and budgets.
* Fifth, we execute the plan and deal with any circumstances that arise as we move forward toward completion.
* Sixth, we complete the project -- as planned, on deadline and budget (hopefully) -- and meet as a team one final time to discuss any unanticipated problems or issues that arose and how we can prepare and better address them in the future.
Interviews: Turn Your Weaknesses Into Strengths
From the link: http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2009/01/26/interviews-turn-your-weaknesses-into-strengths/
By Wetfeet.com
Sometimes, interviewers will pelt you with questions that require you to analyze your weaker traits. The types of questions you are likely to encounter in this style of interviewing include:
"Do you find it difficult to work with some people?"
Indicate that you get along well with people and work hard to understand other points of view. You can name one or two traits that disturb you, but make sure they're not overly broad, and give preference to those that a manager would also find hard to accept -- such as dishonesty, incessant talking or unreliability.
"What are your weaknesses?"
You can say you don't know of any that would prevent you from doing an excellent job in the position you are discussing. If pressed, you can turn this into an opportunity to talk about the kind of workplace you hope to enter. You might say that you prefer not to work in an environment where there's no teamwork or where you don't have a sense of why your work matters. Another good answer along those lines, which turns your "weaknesses" into strengths: "I work better in a team environment, despite the fact that I'm a self-starter and think well independently."
If you're asked to name your strengths as well as weaknesses, follow the same principles:
Good answer: "I think my strengths are in my ability to understand the intent of a project, master the details, and organize and pursue a well-developed project plan. My weakness might be that I can be a little impatient with people who don't keep their commitments, although I'm learning that I get better results by being tactful and persistent in asking questions, rather than making demands." (Shows coherence and a learning attitude; turns a weakness into another strength.)
Pretty good answer: "I'm a good detail person. I do what needs to be done, and I get it done on time. I don't know of anything that would prevent my doing a good job." (Less compelling, but fairly believable.)
"What would your most recent boss say about you?"
> Say that you believe he or she would confirm whatever you have claimed as your strengths or your accomplishments
"Has your work ever been criticized, or have you been told to improve your performance?"
If you say no, be prepared to back it up with a statement such as "I've always received excellent reviews." (And be sure your references will confirm this, or you will lose credibility completely.) If you can't say this confidently, answer honestly -- but it's best to choose a situation in which your idea was criticized, not your behavior. All the better if you can explain why the idea made sense to you.
Good answer: "I received some criticism when I introduced the idea of a customer satisfaction survey in the placement agency where I worked last year. It wasn't a popular idea with my boss, who feared the results. But I felt that if we were ever to correct our shortfalls, it would be important to know what mattered most to our customers."
"What would you do if you were asked to do something that didn't make sense to you?"
Indicate that you would say something like "Perhaps I'm missing something, but I'm not immediately seeing why that would be the best way to handle the situation. Could you help me understand?" If you can, provide an example of how you faced such as situation and successfully resolved it.
Good answer: "That happened to me when I was working on a cruise ship and the activities director wanted me to shut down the entertainment early to save money. I felt that the several passengers still in the lounge and all the others had paid their fares and deserved their full value. When I realized that I wasn't able to influence her, I took it on myself to find a dignified solution. I explained to the passengers that the band really wanted to rest up for the tremendous party I had planned for the next evening, and I hoped they would plan to be there, because I would see that they got special treatment. I offered, instead, to play a terrific video that none of them had seen. All was accepted in good spirits, and my boss was grateful that I handled the situation well." (Shows resourcefulness in finding a solution that had integrity without undermining management.)
"What kinds of work do you find difficult to do?"
Mention things that would run contrary to your values or your employer's best interests. For example: "I'd find it difficult to promote a product that I knew had flaws that weren't disclosed" or "I wouldn't want to do anything that I thought could harm the company --although, of course, I'd try to be sure I really understood the situation." Don't say something like "I really hate clerical work." Though that may be true, it makes you sound like a prima donna.
"If you encountered an unreasonable deadline, what would you do?"
Good answer: "I'd prioritize, then seek out best methods to employ, communicate with the manager about what was going on, and go all out to achieve everything that was agreed to be feasible-and more, if possible."
Pretty good answer: "I'd try to get my manager to set the priorities, because I'd want to be sure the most important work got done."
Bad answer: "I'd tell my manager the deadline was impossible to meet and would have to be changed." (Shows unwillingness to work hard or seek solutions.)
"What else should we know about you?"
Here's your final chance for a sales pitch. Don't waste it on talking about your pet parakeet or your passion for limericks. This is a good place, however, to talk about some traits that would be valuable in the workplace: You have always been a person others have come to for advice, or people seem to like your ability to deal with stress using humor. For example, you could say "I'm the person who goes out at 5 a.m. to get a watermelon when we're pulling an all-nighter." Or if you know of the interviewer's interest in model trains, for example, this could be the place to reveal that you're an enthusiast yourself.
If this is the close of your interview, however, you should use the opportunity to make your closing statement to summarize your qualifications and ability to add value in the position you've been discussing and then inquire about the next steps in the process.
By Wetfeet.com
Sometimes, interviewers will pelt you with questions that require you to analyze your weaker traits. The types of questions you are likely to encounter in this style of interviewing include:
"Do you find it difficult to work with some people?"
Indicate that you get along well with people and work hard to understand other points of view. You can name one or two traits that disturb you, but make sure they're not overly broad, and give preference to those that a manager would also find hard to accept -- such as dishonesty, incessant talking or unreliability.
"What are your weaknesses?"
You can say you don't know of any that would prevent you from doing an excellent job in the position you are discussing. If pressed, you can turn this into an opportunity to talk about the kind of workplace you hope to enter. You might say that you prefer not to work in an environment where there's no teamwork or where you don't have a sense of why your work matters. Another good answer along those lines, which turns your "weaknesses" into strengths: "I work better in a team environment, despite the fact that I'm a self-starter and think well independently."
If you're asked to name your strengths as well as weaknesses, follow the same principles:
Good answer: "I think my strengths are in my ability to understand the intent of a project, master the details, and organize and pursue a well-developed project plan. My weakness might be that I can be a little impatient with people who don't keep their commitments, although I'm learning that I get better results by being tactful and persistent in asking questions, rather than making demands." (Shows coherence and a learning attitude; turns a weakness into another strength.)
Pretty good answer: "I'm a good detail person. I do what needs to be done, and I get it done on time. I don't know of anything that would prevent my doing a good job." (Less compelling, but fairly believable.)
"What would your most recent boss say about you?"
> Say that you believe he or she would confirm whatever you have claimed as your strengths or your accomplishments
"Has your work ever been criticized, or have you been told to improve your performance?"
If you say no, be prepared to back it up with a statement such as "I've always received excellent reviews." (And be sure your references will confirm this, or you will lose credibility completely.) If you can't say this confidently, answer honestly -- but it's best to choose a situation in which your idea was criticized, not your behavior. All the better if you can explain why the idea made sense to you.
Good answer: "I received some criticism when I introduced the idea of a customer satisfaction survey in the placement agency where I worked last year. It wasn't a popular idea with my boss, who feared the results. But I felt that if we were ever to correct our shortfalls, it would be important to know what mattered most to our customers."
"What would you do if you were asked to do something that didn't make sense to you?"
Indicate that you would say something like "Perhaps I'm missing something, but I'm not immediately seeing why that would be the best way to handle the situation. Could you help me understand?" If you can, provide an example of how you faced such as situation and successfully resolved it.
Good answer: "That happened to me when I was working on a cruise ship and the activities director wanted me to shut down the entertainment early to save money. I felt that the several passengers still in the lounge and all the others had paid their fares and deserved their full value. When I realized that I wasn't able to influence her, I took it on myself to find a dignified solution. I explained to the passengers that the band really wanted to rest up for the tremendous party I had planned for the next evening, and I hoped they would plan to be there, because I would see that they got special treatment. I offered, instead, to play a terrific video that none of them had seen. All was accepted in good spirits, and my boss was grateful that I handled the situation well." (Shows resourcefulness in finding a solution that had integrity without undermining management.)
"What kinds of work do you find difficult to do?"
Mention things that would run contrary to your values or your employer's best interests. For example: "I'd find it difficult to promote a product that I knew had flaws that weren't disclosed" or "I wouldn't want to do anything that I thought could harm the company --although, of course, I'd try to be sure I really understood the situation." Don't say something like "I really hate clerical work." Though that may be true, it makes you sound like a prima donna.
"If you encountered an unreasonable deadline, what would you do?"
Good answer: "I'd prioritize, then seek out best methods to employ, communicate with the manager about what was going on, and go all out to achieve everything that was agreed to be feasible-and more, if possible."
Pretty good answer: "I'd try to get my manager to set the priorities, because I'd want to be sure the most important work got done."
Bad answer: "I'd tell my manager the deadline was impossible to meet and would have to be changed." (Shows unwillingness to work hard or seek solutions.)
"What else should we know about you?"
Here's your final chance for a sales pitch. Don't waste it on talking about your pet parakeet or your passion for limericks. This is a good place, however, to talk about some traits that would be valuable in the workplace: You have always been a person others have come to for advice, or people seem to like your ability to deal with stress using humor. For example, you could say "I'm the person who goes out at 5 a.m. to get a watermelon when we're pulling an all-nighter." Or if you know of the interviewer's interest in model trains, for example, this could be the place to reveal that you're an enthusiast yourself.
If this is the close of your interview, however, you should use the opportunity to make your closing statement to summarize your qualifications and ability to add value in the position you've been discussing and then inquire about the next steps in the process.
MUST READ ARTICLE for MBAs !!! ---> A long and exhaustive list of Behavioral Interview Questions
From the link: http://blog.emurse.com/2007/05/21/complete-list-of-behavioral-interview-questions/
List of Behavioral Interview Questions
Adaptability
Describe a major change that occurred in a job that you held. How did you adapt to this change?
Tell us about a situation in which you had to adjust to changes over which you had no control. How did you handle it?
Tell us about a time that you had to adapt to a difficult situation.
What do you do when priorities change quickly? Give one example of when this happened.
Ambition
Describe a project or idea that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role? What was the outcome?
Describe a time when you made a suggestion to improve the work in your organization.
Give an example of an important goal that you set in the past. Tell about your success in reaching it.
Give two examples of things you've done in previous jobs t hat demonstrate your willingness to work hard.
How many hours a day do you put into your work? What were your study patterns at school?
Tell us about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.
Tell us about a time when a job had to be completed and you were able to focus your attention and efforts to get it done.
Tell us about a time when you were particularly effective on prioritizing tasks and completing a project on schedule.
Tell us about the last time that you undertook a project that demanded a lot of initiative.
Tell us how you keep your job knowledge current with the on going changes in the industry.
There are times when we work without close supervision or support to get the job done. Tell us about a time when you found yourself in such a situation and how things turned out.
What impact did you have in your last job?
What is the most competitive work situation you have experienced? How did you handle it? What was the result?
What is the riskiest decision you have made? What was the situation? What happened?
What kinds of challenges did you face on your last job? Give an example of how you handled them.
What projects have you started on your own recently? What prompted you to get started?
What sorts of things have you done to become better qualified for your career?
What was the best idea that you came up with in your career? How did you apply it?
When you disagree with your manager, what do you do? Give an example.
When you have a lot of work to do, how do you get it all done? Give an example?
Analytical Thinking
Describe the project or situation which best demonstrates your analytical abilities. What was your role?
Developing and using a detailed procedure is often very important in a job. Tell about a time when you needed to develop and use a detailed procedure to successfully complete a project.
Give a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and login in solving a problem.
Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.
Give me an example of when you took a risk to achieve a goal. What was the outcome?
How did you go about making the changes (step by step)? Answer in depth or detail such as "What were you thinking at that point?" or "Tell me more about meeting with that person", or "Lead me through your decision process".
Relate a specific instance when you found it necessary to be precise in your in order to complete the job.
Tell us about a job or setting where great precision to detail was required to complete a task. How did you handle that situation?
Tell us about a time when you had to analyze information and make a recommendation. What kind of thought process did you go through? What was your reasoning behind your decision?
Tell us about your experience in past jobs that required you to be especially alert to details while doing the task involved.
Building Relationships
Give a specific example of a time when you had to address an angry customer. What was the problem and what was the outcome? How would you asses your role in diffusing the situation?
It is very important to build good relationships at work but sometimes it doesn't always work. If you can, tell about a time when you were not able to build a successful relationship with a difficult person.
Tell us about a time when you built rapport quickly with someone under difficult conditions.
What, in your opinion, are the key ingredients in guiding and maintaining successful business relationships? Give examples of how you made these work for you.
Business Systems Thinking
Describe how your position contributes to your organization's/unit's goals. What are the unit's goals/mission?
Tell us about a politically complex work situation in which you worked.
Caution
Have you ever worked in a situation where the rules and guidelines were not clear? Tell me about it. How did you feel about it? How did you react?
Some people consider themselves to be "big picture people" and others are "detail oriented". Which are you? Give an example of a time when you displayed this.
Tell us me about a situation when it was important for you to pay attention to details. How did you handle it?
Tell us me about a time when you demonstrated too much initiative?
Communication
Describe a situation in which you were able to effectively "read" another person and guide your actions by your understanding of their individual needs or values.
Describe a situation when you were able to strengthen a relationship by communicating effectively. What made your communication effective?
Describe a situation where you felt you had not communicated well. How did you correct the situation?
Describe a time when you were able to effectively communicate a difficult or unpleasant idea to a superior.
Describe the most significant written document, report or presentation which you had to complete.
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.
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.
Have you ever had to "sell" an idea to your co-workers or group? How did you do it? Did they "buy" it?
Have you had to "sell" an idea to your co-workers, classmates or group? How did you do it? Did they "buy" it?
How do you keep subordinates informed about information that affects their jobs?
How do you keep your manager informed about what is being done in your work area?
How do you go about explaining a complex technical problem to a person who does not understand technical jargon?What approach do you take in communicating with people?
What kinds of communication situations cause you difficulty? Give an example.
Tell us about a recent successful experience in making a speech or presentation. How did you prepare? What obstacles did you face? How did you handle them?
Tell us about a time when you and your current/previous supervisor disagreed but you still found a way to get your point across.
Tell us about a time when you had to present complex information. How did you ensure that the other person understood?
Tell us about a time when you had to use your verbal communication skills in order to get a point across that was important to you.
Tell us about a time when you were particularly effective in a talk you gave or a seminar you taught.
Tell us about an experience in which you had to speak up in order to be sure that other people knew what you thought or felt.
Tell us me about a situation when you had to speak up (be assertive) in order to get a point across that was important to you.
Tell us me about a time in which you had to use your written communication skills in order to get an important point across.
What challenges have occurred while you were coordinating work with other units, departments, and/or divisions?
What have you done to improve your verbal communication skills?
How have you persuaded people through a document you prepared?
What are the most challenging documents you have done? What kinds of proposals have your written?
What kinds of writing have you done? How do you prepare written communications?
Conflict Resolution
Describe a time when you took personal accountability for a conflict and initiated contact with the individual(s) involved to explain your actions.
Customer Orientation
How do you handle problems with customers? Give an example.
How do you go about establishing rapport with a customer? What have you done to gain their confidence? Give an example.
What have you done to improve relations with your customers?
Decision Making
Discuss an important decision you have made regarding a task or project at work. What factors influenced your decision?
Everyone has made some poor decisions or has done something that just did not turn out right. Has this happened to you? What happened?
Give an example of a time in which you had to be relatively quick in coming to a decision.
Give an example of a time in which you had to keep from speaking or not finish a task because you did not have enough information to come to a good decision. Give an example of a time when there was a decision to be made and procedures were not in place?
Give an example of a time when you had to be relatively quick in coming to a decision.
Give me an example of a time when you had to keep from speaking or making a decision because you did not have enough information.
How did you go about deciding what strategy to employ when dealing with a difficult customer?
How do you go about developing I information to make a decision? Give an example.
How do you involve your manager and/or others when you make a decision?
How have you gone about making important decisions?
How quickly do you make decisions? Give an example.
In a current job task, what steps do you go through to ensure your decisions are correct/effective?
Tell us about a time when you had to defend a decision you made even though other important people were opposed to your decision.
What kind of decisions do you make rapidly? What kind takes more time? Give examples.
What kinds of problems have you had coordinating technical projects? How did you solve t hem?
What was your most difficult decision in the last 6 months? What made it difficult?
When you have to make a highly technical decision, how do you go about doing it?
Delegation
Do you consider yourself a macro or micro manager? How do you delegate?
How do you make the decision to delegate work?
Tell us how you go about delegating work?
What was the biggest mistake you have had when delegating work? The biggest success?
Detail-Oriented
Describe a situation where you had the option to leave the details to others or you could take care of them yourself.
Do prefer to work with the "big picture" or the "details" of a situation? Give me an example of an experience that illustrates your preference.
Have the jobs you held in the past required little attention, moderate attention, or a great deal of attention to detail? Give me an example of a situation that illustrates this requirement.
Tell us about a difficult experience you had in working with details.
Tell us about a situation where attention to detail was either important or unimportant in accomplishing an assigned task.
Employee Development
Tell us about a training program that you have developed or enhanced.
Evaluating Alternatives
Have you ever had a situation where you had a number of alternatives to choose from? How did you go about choosing one?
How did you assemble the information?
How did you review the information? What process did you follow to reach a conclusion?
What alternatives did you develop?
What are some of the major decisions you have made over the past (6, 12, 18) months?
What kinds of decisions are most difficult for you? Describe one?
Who made the decision?
Flexibility
Have you ever had a subordinate whose performance was consistently marginal? What did you do?
How have you adjusted your style when it was not meeting the objectives and/or people were not responding correctly?
What do you do when you are faced with an obstacle to an important project? Give an example.
When you have difficulty persuading someone to your point of view, what do you do? Give an example.
Follow-up and Control
How did you keep track of delegated assignments?
How do you evaluate the productivity/effectiveness of your subordinates?
How do you get data for performance reviews?
How do you keep track of what your subordinates are doing?
What administrative paperwork do you have? Is it useful? Why/why not?
Initiative
Give me an example of when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.
Give me examples of projects/tasks you started on your own.
Give some instances in which you anticipated problems and were able to influence a new direction.
How did you get work assignments at your most recent employer?
What changes did you develop at your most recent employer?
What kinds of things really get your excited?
What sorts of projects did you generate that required you to go beyond your job description?
What sorts of things did you do at school that were beyond expectations?
Interpersonal Skills
Describe a recent unpopular decision you made and what the result was.
Describe a recent unpopular decision you made and what the result was.
Describe a situation in which you were able to effectively "read" another person and guide your actions by your understanding of their needs and values.
Tell us about the most difficult or frustrating individual that you've ever had to work with, and how you managed to work with them.
What have you done in past situations to contribute toward a teamwork environment?
What have you done in the past to contribute toward a teamwork environment?
Innovation
Can you think of a situation where innovation was required at work? What did you do in this situation?
Describe a situation when you demonstrated initiative and took action without waiting for direction. What was the outcome?
Describe a time when you came up with a creative solution/idea/project/report to a problem in your past work.
Describe something that you have implemented at work. What were the steps used to implement this?
Describe the most creative work-related project which you have carried out.
Give me an example of when you took a risk to achieve a goal. What was the outcome?
Sometimes it is essential that we break out of the routine, standardized way of doing things in order to complete the task. Give an example of when you were able to successfully develop such a new approach.
Tell us about a problem that you solved in a unique or unusual way. What was the outcome? Were you satisfied with it?
Tell us about a suggestion you made to improve the way job processes/operations worked. What was the result?
There are many jobs in which well-established methods are typically followed. Give a specific example of a time when you tried some other method to do the job.
There are many jobs that require creative or innovative thinking. Give an example of when you had such a job and how you handled it.
What have been some of your most creative ideas?
What innovative procedures have you developed? How did you develop them? Who was involved? Where did the ideas come from?
What new or unusual ideas have you developed on your job? How did you develop them? What was the result? Did you implement them?
When was the last time that you thought "outside of the box" and how did you do it?
Integrity
Describe a time when you were asked to keep information confidential.
Give examples of how you have acted with integrity in your job/work relationship.
If you can, tell about a time when your trustworthiness was challenged. How did you react/respond?
On occasion we are confronted by dishonesty in the workplace. Tell about such an occurrence and how you handled it.
Tell us about a specific time when you had to handle a tough problem which challenged fairness or ethnical issues.
Trust requires personal accountability. Can you tell about a time when you chose to trust someone? What was the outcome?
Introducing Change
Have you ever had to introduce a policy change to your work group? How did you do it?
Have you ever met resistance when implementing a new idea or policy to a work group? How did you deal with it? What happened?
When is the last time you had to introduce a new idea or procedure to people on this job? How did you do it?
Leadership
Give an example of a time in which you felt you were able to build motivation in your co-workers or subordinates at work.
Give an example of your ability to build motivation in your co-workers, classmates, and even if on a volunteer committee.
Have you ever had difficulty getting others to accept your ideas? What was your approach? Did it work?
Have you ever been a member of a group where two of the members did not work well together? What did you do to get them to do so?
What is the toughest group that you have had to get cooperation from?
What is the toughest group that you have had to get cooperation from? Describe how you handled it. What was the outcome?
Listening
Give an example of a time when you made a mistake because you did not listen well to what someone had to say.
How often do you have to rely on information you have gathered from others when talking to them? What kinds of problems have you had? What happened?
What do you do to show people that you are listing to them?
When is listening important on your job? When is listening difficult?
Motivating Others
Have you ever had a subordinate whose work was always marginal? How did you deal with that person? What happened?
How do you deal with people whose work exceeds your expectations?
How do you get subordinates to produce at a high level? Give an example.
How do you get subordinates to work at their peak potential? Give an example.
How do you manage cross-functional teams?
Motivation
Describe a situation when you were able to have a positive influence on the actions of others.
Give an example of a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty.
Give me an example of a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty.
How would you define "success" for someone in your chosen career?
Tell us me about an important goal that you set in the past. Were you successful? Why?
Negotiating
Describe the most challenging negotiation in which you were involved. What did you do? What were the results for you? What were the results for the other party?
Have you ever been in a situation where you had to bargain with someone? How did you feel about this? What did you do? Give an example.
How did you prepare for it?
How did you present your position?
How did you resolve it?
Tell us about the last time you had to negotiate with someone.
What was the most difficult part?
Organizational
Describe a time when you had to make a difficult choice between your personal and professional life.
Give me an example of a project that best describes your organizational skills.
How do you decide what gets top priority when scheduling your time?
What do you do when your schedule is suddenly interrupted? Give an example.
Performance Management
Give an example of a time when you helped a staff member accept change and make the necessary adjustments to move forward. What were the change/transition skills that you used.
Give an example of how you have been successful at empowering either a person or a group of people into accomplishing a task.
How do you handle a subordinate whose work is not up to expectations?
How do you coach a subordinate to develop a new skill?
How do you handle performance reviews? Tell me about a difficult one.
How often do you discuss a subordinate's performance with him/her? Give an example.
Tell us about a specific development plan that you created and carried out with one or more of your employees. What was the specific situation? What were the components of the development plan? What was the outcome?
Tell us about a time when you had to take disciplinary action with someone you supervised.
Tell us about a time when you had to tell a staff member that you were dissatisfied with his or her work.
Tell us about a time when you had to use your authority to get something done. Where there any negative consequences?
There are times when people need extra help. Give an example of when you were able to provide that support to a person with whom you worked.
What have you done to develop the skills of your staff?
When do you give positive feedback to people? Tell me about the last time you did. Give an example of how you handle the need for constructive criticism with a subordinate or peer.
Personal Effectiveness
Give an example of a situation where others were intense but you were able to maintain your composure.
It is important to maintain a positive attitude at work when you have other things on your mind. Give a specific example of when you were able to do that.
Keeping others informed of your progress/actions helps them fell comfortable. Tell your methods for keeping your supervisor advised of the status on projects.
Tell us about a recent job or experience that you would describe as a real learning experience? What did you learn from the job or experience?
Tell us about a time when you took responsibility for an error and were held personally accountable.
Tell us about a time when your supervisor criticized your work. How did you respond?
Tell us about some demanding situations in which you managed to remain calm and composed.
There are times when we are placed under extreme pressure on the job. Tell about a time when you were under such pressure and how you handled it.
What have you done to further your own professional development in the past 5 years.
When you have been made aware of, or have discovered for yourself, a problem in your work performance, what was your course of action? Can you give an example?
Persuasion
Describe a situation in which you were able to positively influence the actions of others in a desired direction.
Describe a situation where you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way.
Describe a time when you were able to convince a skeptical or resistant customer to purchase a project or utilize your services.
Have you ever had to persuade a group to accept a proposal or idea? How did you go about doing it? What was the result?
Have you ever had to persuade a peer or manager to accept an idea that you knew they would not like? Describe the resistance you met and how you overcame it.
How do you get a peer or colleague to accept one of your ideas?
In selling an idea, it is sometimes useful to use metaphors, analogies, or stories to make your point. Give a recent example of when you were able to successfully do that.
Tell us about a time when you had to convince someone in authority about your ideas. How did it work out?
Tell us about a time when you used facts and reason to persuade someone to accept your recommendation.
Tell us about a time when you used your leadership ability to gain support for what initially had strong opposition.
Tell us about a time when you were able to successfully influence another person.
Planning and Organization
Describe how you develop a project team's goals and project plan?
How do you schedule your time? Set priorities? How do you handle doing twenty things at once?
What do you do when your time schedule or project plan is upset by unforeseen circumstances? Give an example.
What have you done in order to be effective with your organization and planning?
Presentation
How do you prepare for a presentation to a group of technical experts in your field?
How would you describe your presentation style?
Tell us about the most effective presentation you have made. What was the topic? What made it difficult? How did you handle it?
What kinds of oral presentations have you made? How did you prepare for them? What challenges did you have?
Problem Solving
Describe the most difficult working relationship you've had with an individual. What specific actions did you take to improve the relationship? What was the outcome?
Give me an example of a situation where you had difficulties with a team member. What, if anything, did you do to resolve the difficulties?
Problems Solving
Have you ever been caught unaware by a problem or obstacles that you had not foreseen? What happened?
Tell us about a time when you did something completely different from the plan and/or assignment. Why? What happened?
What are some of the problems you have faced; such as between business development and project leaders, between one department and another, between you and your peers? How did you recognize that they were there?
When was the last time something came up in a meeting that was not covered in the plan? What did you do? What were the results of your judgment?
Problem Resolution
Describe a situation where you had a conflict with another individual, and how you dealt with it. What was the outcome? How do you feel about it?
Describe a time in which you were faced with problems or stresses which tested your coping skills. What did you do?
Describe a time when you facilitated a creative solution to a problem between two employees.
Give a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.
Give an example of a problem which you faced on any job that you have had and tell how you went about solving it.
Give an example of when you "went to the source" to address a conflict. Do you feel trust levels were improved as a result?
Problems occur in almost all work relationships. Describe a time when you had to cope with the resentment or hostility of a subordinate or co-worker.
Some problems require developing a unique approach. Tell about a time when you were able to develop a different problem-solving approach.
Sometimes the only way to resolve a defense or conflict is through negotiation and compromise. Tell about a time when you were able to resolve a difficult situation by finding some common ground.
Sometimes we need to remain calm on the outside when we are really upset on the inside. Give an example of a time that this happened to you.
Tell us about a recent success you had with an especially difficult employee/co-worker.
Tell us about a situation in which you had to separate the person from the issue when working to resolve issues.
Tell us about a time when you identified a potential problem and resolved the situation before it became serious.
There is more than one way to solve a problem. Give an example from your recent work experience that would illustrate this.
Project Management
Tell us about a time when you influenced the outcome of a project by taking a leadership role.
Using a specific example of a project, tell how you kept those involved informed of the progress.
Relate Well
Describe a situation where you had to use conflict management skills.
Describe a situation where you had to use confrontation skills.
Give me an example of a time when a company policy or action hurt people. What, if anything, did you do to mitigate the negative consequences to people?
How do you typically deal with conflict? Can you give me an example?
Tell us about a time when you were forced to make an unpopular decision.
What would your co-workers (or staff) stay is the most frustrating thing about your communications with them?
Removing Obstacles
Have you ever dealt with a situation where communications were poor? Where there was a lack of cooperation? Lack of trust? How did you handle these situations?
What do you do when a subordinate comes to you with a challenge?
What have you done to help your subordinates to be more productive?
What have you done to make sure that your subordinates can be productive? Give an example.
Resolving Conflict
Have you ever been in a situation where you had to settle an argument between two friends (or people you knew)? What did you do? What was the result?
Have you ever had to settle conflict between two people on the job? What was the situation and what did you do?
Tell us about a time when you had to help two peers settle a dispute. How did you go about identifying the issues? What did you do? What was the result?
Resource Management
Tell us about a time when you organized or planned an event that was very successful.
Sales
Describe how you prepare for a sales call for a new client.
How do you go about making cold calls?
How have your sales skills improved over the past three years.
Tell us about your most difficult sales experience.
Tell us about your sales volume over the past three years. What have you done to influence it?
Scheduling
Describe the most difficult scheduling problem you have faced.
How did you assign priorities to jobs?
How did you go about making job assignments?
When all have been over-loaded, how do your people meet job assignments?
Self Assessment
Can you recall a time when you were less than pleased with your performance?
Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way.
Give me a specific occasion in which you conformed to a policy with which you did not agree.
Give me an example of an important goal that you h ad set in the past and tell me about your success in reaching it.
If there were one area you've always wanted to improve upon, what would that be?
In what ways are you trying to improve yourself?
Tell us about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.
What do you consider to be your professional strengths? Give me a specific example using this attribute in the workplace.
What goal have you set for yourself that you have successfully achieved?
What was the most useful criticism you ever received?
Selecting and Developing People
How do you coach an employee in completing a new assignment?
What have you done to develop your subordinates? Give an example.
What have you done to improve the skills of your subordinates?
What was your biggest mistake in hiring someone? What happened? How did you deal with the situation?
What was your biggest success in hiring someone? What did you do?
Setting Goals
Did you have a strategic plan? How was it developed? How did you communicate it to the rest of your staff?
How do you communicate goals to subordinates? Give an example.
How do you involve people in developing your unit's goals? Give an example.
What company plans have you developed? Which ones have you reached? How did you reach them? Which have you missed? Why did you miss them?
What goals did you miss? Why did you miss them?
What goals have you met? What did you do to meet them?
What were your annual goals at your most current employer? How did you develop these goals?
What were your long-range plans at your most recent employer? What was our role in developing them?
Setting Performance Standards
How do you go about setting goals with subordinates? How do you involve them in this process?
How do you let subordinates know what you expect of them?
What performance standards do you have for your unit? How have you communicated them to your subordinates?
Setting Priorities
Have you ever been overloaded with work? How do you keep track of work so that it gets done on time?
How do you manage your time?
How do you schedule your time?
When given an important assignment, how do you approach it?
Sound Judgment
Describe a situation when you had to exercise a significant amount of self-control.
Give me an example of a time in which you had to be relatively quick in coming to a decision.
Give me an example of when you were able to meet the personal and professional demands in your life yet still maintained a healthy balance.
Give me an example of when you were responsible for an error or mistake. What was the outcome? What, if anything, would you do differently?
If you were interviewing for this position what would you be looking for in the applicants?
We work with a great deal of confidential information. Describe how you would have handled sensitive information in a past work experience. What strategies would you utilize to maintain confidentiality when pressured by others?
When have you had to produce results without sufficient guidelines? Give an example.
Strategic Planning
Describe what steps/methods you have used to define/identify a vision for your unit/position.
How do you see your job relating to the overall goals of the organization?
In your current or former position, what were your long and short-term goals?
Tell us about a time when you anticipated the future and made changes to current responsibilities/operations to meet future needs.
Stress Management
How did you react when faced with constant time pressure? Give an example.
People react differently when job demands are constantly changing; how do you react?
What kind of events cause you stress on the job?
What was the most stressful situation you have faced? How did you deal with it?
Teamwork
Describe a situation in which you had to arrive at a compromise or help others to compromise. What was your role? What steps did you take? What was the end result?
Describe a team experience you found disappointing. What would you have done to prevent this?
Describe a team experience you found rewarding.
Describe the types of teams you've been involved with. What were your roles?
Describe your leadership style and give an example of a situation when you successfully led a group.
Give an example of how you have been successful at empowering a group of people in accomplishing a task.
Give an example of how you worked effectively with people to accomplish an important result.
Have you ever been a project leader? Give examples of problems you experienced and how you reacted.
Have you ever been in a position where you had to lead a group of peers? How did you handle it?
Have you ever participated in a task group? What was your role? How did you contribute?
Please give your best example of working cooperatively as a team member to accomplish an important goal. What was the goal or objective? To what extent did you interact with others on this project?
Some people work best as part of a group - others prefer the role of individual contributor. How would you describe yourself? Give an example of a situation where you felt you were most effective.
Tell us about a time that you had to work on a team that did not get along. What happened? What role did you take? What was the result?
Tell us about a work experience where you had to work closely with others. How did it go? How did you overcome any difficulties?
Tell us about the most difficult challenge you faced in trying to work cooperatively with someone who did not share the same ideas? What was your role in achieving the work objective?
Tell us about the most difficult situation you have had when leading a team. What happened and what did you do? Was it successful? Emphasize the "single" most important thing you did?
Tell us about the most effective contribution you have made as part of a task group or special project team.
Think about the times you have been a team leader. What could you have done to be more effective?
What is the difficult part of being a member, not leader, of a team? How did you handle this?
What role have you typically played as a member of a team? How did you interact with other members of the team?
When is the last time you had a disagreement with a peer? How did you resolve the situation?
When working on a team project have you ever had an experience where there was strong disagreement among team members? What did you do?
Time Management Schedule
Describe a situation that required you to do a number of things at the same time. How did you handle it? What was the result?
How do you determine priorities in scheduling your time? Give an example.
How do you typically plan your day to manage your time effectively?
Of your current assignments, which do you consider to have required the greatest amount of effort with regard to planning/organization? How have you accomplished this assignment? How would you asses your effectiveness?
Toughness
On many occasions, managers have to make tough decisions. What was the most difficult one you have had to make?
Tell us about setbacks you have faced. How did you deal with them?
What has been your major work related disappointment? What happened and what did you do?
What is the most competitive situation you have experienced? How did you handle it? What was the result?
What was your major disappointment?
Variety
How many projects do you work on at once? Please describe.
When was the last time you made a key decision on the spur of the moment? What was the reason and result?
When was the last time you were in a crises? What was the situation? How did you react?
Which of your jobs had the most rapid change? How did you feel about it?
Values Diversity
Give a specific example of how you have helped create an environment where differences are valued, encouraged and supported.
Tell us about a time that you successfully adapted to a culturally different environment.
Tell us about a time when you had to adapt to a wide variety of people by accepting/understanding their perspective.
Tell us about a time when you made an intentional effort to get to know someone from another culture.
What have you done to further your knowledge/understanding about diversity? How have you demonstrated your learning?
What have you done to support diversity in your unit?
What measures have you taken to make someone feel comfortable in an environment that was obviously uncomfortable with his or her presence?
(source: Kansas Department of Administration)
List of Behavioral Interview Questions
Adaptability
Describe a major change that occurred in a job that you held. How did you adapt to this change?
Tell us about a situation in which you had to adjust to changes over which you had no control. How did you handle it?
Tell us about a time that you had to adapt to a difficult situation.
What do you do when priorities change quickly? Give one example of when this happened.
Ambition
Describe a project or idea that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role? What was the outcome?
Describe a time when you made a suggestion to improve the work in your organization.
Give an example of an important goal that you set in the past. Tell about your success in reaching it.
Give two examples of things you've done in previous jobs t hat demonstrate your willingness to work hard.
How many hours a day do you put into your work? What were your study patterns at school?
Tell us about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.
Tell us about a time when a job had to be completed and you were able to focus your attention and efforts to get it done.
Tell us about a time when you were particularly effective on prioritizing tasks and completing a project on schedule.
Tell us about the last time that you undertook a project that demanded a lot of initiative.
Tell us how you keep your job knowledge current with the on going changes in the industry.
There are times when we work without close supervision or support to get the job done. Tell us about a time when you found yourself in such a situation and how things turned out.
What impact did you have in your last job?
What is the most competitive work situation you have experienced? How did you handle it? What was the result?
What is the riskiest decision you have made? What was the situation? What happened?
What kinds of challenges did you face on your last job? Give an example of how you handled them.
What projects have you started on your own recently? What prompted you to get started?
What sorts of things have you done to become better qualified for your career?
What was the best idea that you came up with in your career? How did you apply it?
When you disagree with your manager, what do you do? Give an example.
When you have a lot of work to do, how do you get it all done? Give an example?
Analytical Thinking
Describe the project or situation which best demonstrates your analytical abilities. What was your role?
Developing and using a detailed procedure is often very important in a job. Tell about a time when you needed to develop and use a detailed procedure to successfully complete a project.
Give a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and login in solving a problem.
Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.
Give me an example of when you took a risk to achieve a goal. What was the outcome?
How did you go about making the changes (step by step)? Answer in depth or detail such as "What were you thinking at that point?" or "Tell me more about meeting with that person", or "Lead me through your decision process".
Relate a specific instance when you found it necessary to be precise in your in order to complete the job.
Tell us about a job or setting where great precision to detail was required to complete a task. How did you handle that situation?
Tell us about a time when you had to analyze information and make a recommendation. What kind of thought process did you go through? What was your reasoning behind your decision?
Tell us about your experience in past jobs that required you to be especially alert to details while doing the task involved.
Building Relationships
Give a specific example of a time when you had to address an angry customer. What was the problem and what was the outcome? How would you asses your role in diffusing the situation?
It is very important to build good relationships at work but sometimes it doesn't always work. If you can, tell about a time when you were not able to build a successful relationship with a difficult person.
Tell us about a time when you built rapport quickly with someone under difficult conditions.
What, in your opinion, are the key ingredients in guiding and maintaining successful business relationships? Give examples of how you made these work for you.
Business Systems Thinking
Describe how your position contributes to your organization's/unit's goals. What are the unit's goals/mission?
Tell us about a politically complex work situation in which you worked.
Caution
Have you ever worked in a situation where the rules and guidelines were not clear? Tell me about it. How did you feel about it? How did you react?
Some people consider themselves to be "big picture people" and others are "detail oriented". Which are you? Give an example of a time when you displayed this.
Tell us me about a situation when it was important for you to pay attention to details. How did you handle it?
Tell us me about a time when you demonstrated too much initiative?
Communication
Describe a situation in which you were able to effectively "read" another person and guide your actions by your understanding of their individual needs or values.
Describe a situation when you were able to strengthen a relationship by communicating effectively. What made your communication effective?
Describe a situation where you felt you had not communicated well. How did you correct the situation?
Describe a time when you were able to effectively communicate a difficult or unpleasant idea to a superior.
Describe the most significant written document, report or presentation which you had to complete.
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.
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.
Have you ever had to "sell" an idea to your co-workers or group? How did you do it? Did they "buy" it?
Have you had to "sell" an idea to your co-workers, classmates or group? How did you do it? Did they "buy" it?
How do you keep subordinates informed about information that affects their jobs?
How do you keep your manager informed about what is being done in your work area?
How do you go about explaining a complex technical problem to a person who does not understand technical jargon?What approach do you take in communicating with people?
What kinds of communication situations cause you difficulty? Give an example.
Tell us about a recent successful experience in making a speech or presentation. How did you prepare? What obstacles did you face? How did you handle them?
Tell us about a time when you and your current/previous supervisor disagreed but you still found a way to get your point across.
Tell us about a time when you had to present complex information. How did you ensure that the other person understood?
Tell us about a time when you had to use your verbal communication skills in order to get a point across that was important to you.
Tell us about a time when you were particularly effective in a talk you gave or a seminar you taught.
Tell us about an experience in which you had to speak up in order to be sure that other people knew what you thought or felt.
Tell us me about a situation when you had to speak up (be assertive) in order to get a point across that was important to you.
Tell us me about a time in which you had to use your written communication skills in order to get an important point across.
What challenges have occurred while you were coordinating work with other units, departments, and/or divisions?
What have you done to improve your verbal communication skills?
How have you persuaded people through a document you prepared?
What are the most challenging documents you have done? What kinds of proposals have your written?
What kinds of writing have you done? How do you prepare written communications?
Conflict Resolution
Describe a time when you took personal accountability for a conflict and initiated contact with the individual(s) involved to explain your actions.
Customer Orientation
How do you handle problems with customers? Give an example.
How do you go about establishing rapport with a customer? What have you done to gain their confidence? Give an example.
What have you done to improve relations with your customers?
Decision Making
Discuss an important decision you have made regarding a task or project at work. What factors influenced your decision?
Everyone has made some poor decisions or has done something that just did not turn out right. Has this happened to you? What happened?
Give an example of a time in which you had to be relatively quick in coming to a decision.
Give an example of a time in which you had to keep from speaking or not finish a task because you did not have enough information to come to a good decision. Give an example of a time when there was a decision to be made and procedures were not in place?
Give an example of a time when you had to be relatively quick in coming to a decision.
Give me an example of a time when you had to keep from speaking or making a decision because you did not have enough information.
How did you go about deciding what strategy to employ when dealing with a difficult customer?
How do you go about developing I information to make a decision? Give an example.
How do you involve your manager and/or others when you make a decision?
How have you gone about making important decisions?
How quickly do you make decisions? Give an example.
In a current job task, what steps do you go through to ensure your decisions are correct/effective?
Tell us about a time when you had to defend a decision you made even though other important people were opposed to your decision.
What kind of decisions do you make rapidly? What kind takes more time? Give examples.
What kinds of problems have you had coordinating technical projects? How did you solve t hem?
What was your most difficult decision in the last 6 months? What made it difficult?
When you have to make a highly technical decision, how do you go about doing it?
Delegation
Do you consider yourself a macro or micro manager? How do you delegate?
How do you make the decision to delegate work?
Tell us how you go about delegating work?
What was the biggest mistake you have had when delegating work? The biggest success?
Detail-Oriented
Describe a situation where you had the option to leave the details to others or you could take care of them yourself.
Do prefer to work with the "big picture" or the "details" of a situation? Give me an example of an experience that illustrates your preference.
Have the jobs you held in the past required little attention, moderate attention, or a great deal of attention to detail? Give me an example of a situation that illustrates this requirement.
Tell us about a difficult experience you had in working with details.
Tell us about a situation where attention to detail was either important or unimportant in accomplishing an assigned task.
Employee Development
Tell us about a training program that you have developed or enhanced.
Evaluating Alternatives
Have you ever had a situation where you had a number of alternatives to choose from? How did you go about choosing one?
How did you assemble the information?
How did you review the information? What process did you follow to reach a conclusion?
What alternatives did you develop?
What are some of the major decisions you have made over the past (6, 12, 18) months?
What kinds of decisions are most difficult for you? Describe one?
Who made the decision?
Flexibility
Have you ever had a subordinate whose performance was consistently marginal? What did you do?
How have you adjusted your style when it was not meeting the objectives and/or people were not responding correctly?
What do you do when you are faced with an obstacle to an important project? Give an example.
When you have difficulty persuading someone to your point of view, what do you do? Give an example.
Follow-up and Control
How did you keep track of delegated assignments?
How do you evaluate the productivity/effectiveness of your subordinates?
How do you get data for performance reviews?
How do you keep track of what your subordinates are doing?
What administrative paperwork do you have? Is it useful? Why/why not?
Initiative
Give me an example of when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.
Give me examples of projects/tasks you started on your own.
Give some instances in which you anticipated problems and were able to influence a new direction.
How did you get work assignments at your most recent employer?
What changes did you develop at your most recent employer?
What kinds of things really get your excited?
What sorts of projects did you generate that required you to go beyond your job description?
What sorts of things did you do at school that were beyond expectations?
Interpersonal Skills
Describe a recent unpopular decision you made and what the result was.
Describe a recent unpopular decision you made and what the result was.
Describe a situation in which you were able to effectively "read" another person and guide your actions by your understanding of their needs and values.
Tell us about the most difficult or frustrating individual that you've ever had to work with, and how you managed to work with them.
What have you done in past situations to contribute toward a teamwork environment?
What have you done in the past to contribute toward a teamwork environment?
Innovation
Can you think of a situation where innovation was required at work? What did you do in this situation?
Describe a situation when you demonstrated initiative and took action without waiting for direction. What was the outcome?
Describe a time when you came up with a creative solution/idea/project/report to a problem in your past work.
Describe something that you have implemented at work. What were the steps used to implement this?
Describe the most creative work-related project which you have carried out.
Give me an example of when you took a risk to achieve a goal. What was the outcome?
Sometimes it is essential that we break out of the routine, standardized way of doing things in order to complete the task. Give an example of when you were able to successfully develop such a new approach.
Tell us about a problem that you solved in a unique or unusual way. What was the outcome? Were you satisfied with it?
Tell us about a suggestion you made to improve the way job processes/operations worked. What was the result?
There are many jobs in which well-established methods are typically followed. Give a specific example of a time when you tried some other method to do the job.
There are many jobs that require creative or innovative thinking. Give an example of when you had such a job and how you handled it.
What have been some of your most creative ideas?
What innovative procedures have you developed? How did you develop them? Who was involved? Where did the ideas come from?
What new or unusual ideas have you developed on your job? How did you develop them? What was the result? Did you implement them?
When was the last time that you thought "outside of the box" and how did you do it?
Integrity
Describe a time when you were asked to keep information confidential.
Give examples of how you have acted with integrity in your job/work relationship.
If you can, tell about a time when your trustworthiness was challenged. How did you react/respond?
On occasion we are confronted by dishonesty in the workplace. Tell about such an occurrence and how you handled it.
Tell us about a specific time when you had to handle a tough problem which challenged fairness or ethnical issues.
Trust requires personal accountability. Can you tell about a time when you chose to trust someone? What was the outcome?
Introducing Change
Have you ever had to introduce a policy change to your work group? How did you do it?
Have you ever met resistance when implementing a new idea or policy to a work group? How did you deal with it? What happened?
When is the last time you had to introduce a new idea or procedure to people on this job? How did you do it?
Leadership
Give an example of a time in which you felt you were able to build motivation in your co-workers or subordinates at work.
Give an example of your ability to build motivation in your co-workers, classmates, and even if on a volunteer committee.
Have you ever had difficulty getting others to accept your ideas? What was your approach? Did it work?
Have you ever been a member of a group where two of the members did not work well together? What did you do to get them to do so?
What is the toughest group that you have had to get cooperation from?
What is the toughest group that you have had to get cooperation from? Describe how you handled it. What was the outcome?
Listening
Give an example of a time when you made a mistake because you did not listen well to what someone had to say.
How often do you have to rely on information you have gathered from others when talking to them? What kinds of problems have you had? What happened?
What do you do to show people that you are listing to them?
When is listening important on your job? When is listening difficult?
Motivating Others
Have you ever had a subordinate whose work was always marginal? How did you deal with that person? What happened?
How do you deal with people whose work exceeds your expectations?
How do you get subordinates to produce at a high level? Give an example.
How do you get subordinates to work at their peak potential? Give an example.
How do you manage cross-functional teams?
Motivation
Describe a situation when you were able to have a positive influence on the actions of others.
Give an example of a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty.
Give me an example of a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty.
How would you define "success" for someone in your chosen career?
Tell us me about an important goal that you set in the past. Were you successful? Why?
Negotiating
Describe the most challenging negotiation in which you were involved. What did you do? What were the results for you? What were the results for the other party?
Have you ever been in a situation where you had to bargain with someone? How did you feel about this? What did you do? Give an example.
How did you prepare for it?
How did you present your position?
How did you resolve it?
Tell us about the last time you had to negotiate with someone.
What was the most difficult part?
Organizational
Describe a time when you had to make a difficult choice between your personal and professional life.
Give me an example of a project that best describes your organizational skills.
How do you decide what gets top priority when scheduling your time?
What do you do when your schedule is suddenly interrupted? Give an example.
Performance Management
Give an example of a time when you helped a staff member accept change and make the necessary adjustments to move forward. What were the change/transition skills that you used.
Give an example of how you have been successful at empowering either a person or a group of people into accomplishing a task.
How do you handle a subordinate whose work is not up to expectations?
How do you coach a subordinate to develop a new skill?
How do you handle performance reviews? Tell me about a difficult one.
How often do you discuss a subordinate's performance with him/her? Give an example.
Tell us about a specific development plan that you created and carried out with one or more of your employees. What was the specific situation? What were the components of the development plan? What was the outcome?
Tell us about a time when you had to take disciplinary action with someone you supervised.
Tell us about a time when you had to tell a staff member that you were dissatisfied with his or her work.
Tell us about a time when you had to use your authority to get something done. Where there any negative consequences?
There are times when people need extra help. Give an example of when you were able to provide that support to a person with whom you worked.
What have you done to develop the skills of your staff?
When do you give positive feedback to people? Tell me about the last time you did. Give an example of how you handle the need for constructive criticism with a subordinate or peer.
Personal Effectiveness
Give an example of a situation where others were intense but you were able to maintain your composure.
It is important to maintain a positive attitude at work when you have other things on your mind. Give a specific example of when you were able to do that.
Keeping others informed of your progress/actions helps them fell comfortable. Tell your methods for keeping your supervisor advised of the status on projects.
Tell us about a recent job or experience that you would describe as a real learning experience? What did you learn from the job or experience?
Tell us about a time when you took responsibility for an error and were held personally accountable.
Tell us about a time when your supervisor criticized your work. How did you respond?
Tell us about some demanding situations in which you managed to remain calm and composed.
There are times when we are placed under extreme pressure on the job. Tell about a time when you were under such pressure and how you handled it.
What have you done to further your own professional development in the past 5 years.
When you have been made aware of, or have discovered for yourself, a problem in your work performance, what was your course of action? Can you give an example?
Persuasion
Describe a situation in which you were able to positively influence the actions of others in a desired direction.
Describe a situation where you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way.
Describe a time when you were able to convince a skeptical or resistant customer to purchase a project or utilize your services.
Have you ever had to persuade a group to accept a proposal or idea? How did you go about doing it? What was the result?
Have you ever had to persuade a peer or manager to accept an idea that you knew they would not like? Describe the resistance you met and how you overcame it.
How do you get a peer or colleague to accept one of your ideas?
In selling an idea, it is sometimes useful to use metaphors, analogies, or stories to make your point. Give a recent example of when you were able to successfully do that.
Tell us about a time when you had to convince someone in authority about your ideas. How did it work out?
Tell us about a time when you used facts and reason to persuade someone to accept your recommendation.
Tell us about a time when you used your leadership ability to gain support for what initially had strong opposition.
Tell us about a time when you were able to successfully influence another person.
Planning and Organization
Describe how you develop a project team's goals and project plan?
How do you schedule your time? Set priorities? How do you handle doing twenty things at once?
What do you do when your time schedule or project plan is upset by unforeseen circumstances? Give an example.
What have you done in order to be effective with your organization and planning?
Presentation
How do you prepare for a presentation to a group of technical experts in your field?
How would you describe your presentation style?
Tell us about the most effective presentation you have made. What was the topic? What made it difficult? How did you handle it?
What kinds of oral presentations have you made? How did you prepare for them? What challenges did you have?
Problem Solving
Describe the most difficult working relationship you've had with an individual. What specific actions did you take to improve the relationship? What was the outcome?
Give me an example of a situation where you had difficulties with a team member. What, if anything, did you do to resolve the difficulties?
Problems Solving
Have you ever been caught unaware by a problem or obstacles that you had not foreseen? What happened?
Tell us about a time when you did something completely different from the plan and/or assignment. Why? What happened?
What are some of the problems you have faced; such as between business development and project leaders, between one department and another, between you and your peers? How did you recognize that they were there?
When was the last time something came up in a meeting that was not covered in the plan? What did you do? What were the results of your judgment?
Problem Resolution
Describe a situation where you had a conflict with another individual, and how you dealt with it. What was the outcome? How do you feel about it?
Describe a time in which you were faced with problems or stresses which tested your coping skills. What did you do?
Describe a time when you facilitated a creative solution to a problem between two employees.
Give a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.
Give an example of a problem which you faced on any job that you have had and tell how you went about solving it.
Give an example of when you "went to the source" to address a conflict. Do you feel trust levels were improved as a result?
Problems occur in almost all work relationships. Describe a time when you had to cope with the resentment or hostility of a subordinate or co-worker.
Some problems require developing a unique approach. Tell about a time when you were able to develop a different problem-solving approach.
Sometimes the only way to resolve a defense or conflict is through negotiation and compromise. Tell about a time when you were able to resolve a difficult situation by finding some common ground.
Sometimes we need to remain calm on the outside when we are really upset on the inside. Give an example of a time that this happened to you.
Tell us about a recent success you had with an especially difficult employee/co-worker.
Tell us about a situation in which you had to separate the person from the issue when working to resolve issues.
Tell us about a time when you identified a potential problem and resolved the situation before it became serious.
There is more than one way to solve a problem. Give an example from your recent work experience that would illustrate this.
Project Management
Tell us about a time when you influenced the outcome of a project by taking a leadership role.
Using a specific example of a project, tell how you kept those involved informed of the progress.
Relate Well
Describe a situation where you had to use conflict management skills.
Describe a situation where you had to use confrontation skills.
Give me an example of a time when a company policy or action hurt people. What, if anything, did you do to mitigate the negative consequences to people?
How do you typically deal with conflict? Can you give me an example?
Tell us about a time when you were forced to make an unpopular decision.
What would your co-workers (or staff) stay is the most frustrating thing about your communications with them?
Removing Obstacles
Have you ever dealt with a situation where communications were poor? Where there was a lack of cooperation? Lack of trust? How did you handle these situations?
What do you do when a subordinate comes to you with a challenge?
What have you done to help your subordinates to be more productive?
What have you done to make sure that your subordinates can be productive? Give an example.
Resolving Conflict
Have you ever been in a situation where you had to settle an argument between two friends (or people you knew)? What did you do? What was the result?
Have you ever had to settle conflict between two people on the job? What was the situation and what did you do?
Tell us about a time when you had to help two peers settle a dispute. How did you go about identifying the issues? What did you do? What was the result?
Resource Management
Tell us about a time when you organized or planned an event that was very successful.
Sales
Describe how you prepare for a sales call for a new client.
How do you go about making cold calls?
How have your sales skills improved over the past three years.
Tell us about your most difficult sales experience.
Tell us about your sales volume over the past three years. What have you done to influence it?
Scheduling
Describe the most difficult scheduling problem you have faced.
How did you assign priorities to jobs?
How did you go about making job assignments?
When all have been over-loaded, how do your people meet job assignments?
Self Assessment
Can you recall a time when you were less than pleased with your performance?
Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way.
Give me a specific occasion in which you conformed to a policy with which you did not agree.
Give me an example of an important goal that you h ad set in the past and tell me about your success in reaching it.
If there were one area you've always wanted to improve upon, what would that be?
In what ways are you trying to improve yourself?
Tell us about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.
What do you consider to be your professional strengths? Give me a specific example using this attribute in the workplace.
What goal have you set for yourself that you have successfully achieved?
What was the most useful criticism you ever received?
Selecting and Developing People
How do you coach an employee in completing a new assignment?
What have you done to develop your subordinates? Give an example.
What have you done to improve the skills of your subordinates?
What was your biggest mistake in hiring someone? What happened? How did you deal with the situation?
What was your biggest success in hiring someone? What did you do?
Setting Goals
Did you have a strategic plan? How was it developed? How did you communicate it to the rest of your staff?
How do you communicate goals to subordinates? Give an example.
How do you involve people in developing your unit's goals? Give an example.
What company plans have you developed? Which ones have you reached? How did you reach them? Which have you missed? Why did you miss them?
What goals did you miss? Why did you miss them?
What goals have you met? What did you do to meet them?
What were your annual goals at your most current employer? How did you develop these goals?
What were your long-range plans at your most recent employer? What was our role in developing them?
Setting Performance Standards
How do you go about setting goals with subordinates? How do you involve them in this process?
How do you let subordinates know what you expect of them?
What performance standards do you have for your unit? How have you communicated them to your subordinates?
Setting Priorities
Have you ever been overloaded with work? How do you keep track of work so that it gets done on time?
How do you manage your time?
How do you schedule your time?
When given an important assignment, how do you approach it?
Sound Judgment
Describe a situation when you had to exercise a significant amount of self-control.
Give me an example of a time in which you had to be relatively quick in coming to a decision.
Give me an example of when you were able to meet the personal and professional demands in your life yet still maintained a healthy balance.
Give me an example of when you were responsible for an error or mistake. What was the outcome? What, if anything, would you do differently?
If you were interviewing for this position what would you be looking for in the applicants?
We work with a great deal of confidential information. Describe how you would have handled sensitive information in a past work experience. What strategies would you utilize to maintain confidentiality when pressured by others?
When have you had to produce results without sufficient guidelines? Give an example.
Strategic Planning
Describe what steps/methods you have used to define/identify a vision for your unit/position.
How do you see your job relating to the overall goals of the organization?
In your current or former position, what were your long and short-term goals?
Tell us about a time when you anticipated the future and made changes to current responsibilities/operations to meet future needs.
Stress Management
How did you react when faced with constant time pressure? Give an example.
People react differently when job demands are constantly changing; how do you react?
What kind of events cause you stress on the job?
What was the most stressful situation you have faced? How did you deal with it?
Teamwork
Describe a situation in which you had to arrive at a compromise or help others to compromise. What was your role? What steps did you take? What was the end result?
Describe a team experience you found disappointing. What would you have done to prevent this?
Describe a team experience you found rewarding.
Describe the types of teams you've been involved with. What were your roles?
Describe your leadership style and give an example of a situation when you successfully led a group.
Give an example of how you have been successful at empowering a group of people in accomplishing a task.
Give an example of how you worked effectively with people to accomplish an important result.
Have you ever been a project leader? Give examples of problems you experienced and how you reacted.
Have you ever been in a position where you had to lead a group of peers? How did you handle it?
Have you ever participated in a task group? What was your role? How did you contribute?
Please give your best example of working cooperatively as a team member to accomplish an important goal. What was the goal or objective? To what extent did you interact with others on this project?
Some people work best as part of a group - others prefer the role of individual contributor. How would you describe yourself? Give an example of a situation where you felt you were most effective.
Tell us about a time that you had to work on a team that did not get along. What happened? What role did you take? What was the result?
Tell us about a work experience where you had to work closely with others. How did it go? How did you overcome any difficulties?
Tell us about the most difficult challenge you faced in trying to work cooperatively with someone who did not share the same ideas? What was your role in achieving the work objective?
Tell us about the most difficult situation you have had when leading a team. What happened and what did you do? Was it successful? Emphasize the "single" most important thing you did?
Tell us about the most effective contribution you have made as part of a task group or special project team.
Think about the times you have been a team leader. What could you have done to be more effective?
What is the difficult part of being a member, not leader, of a team? How did you handle this?
What role have you typically played as a member of a team? How did you interact with other members of the team?
When is the last time you had a disagreement with a peer? How did you resolve the situation?
When working on a team project have you ever had an experience where there was strong disagreement among team members? What did you do?
Time Management Schedule
Describe a situation that required you to do a number of things at the same time. How did you handle it? What was the result?
How do you determine priorities in scheduling your time? Give an example.
How do you typically plan your day to manage your time effectively?
Of your current assignments, which do you consider to have required the greatest amount of effort with regard to planning/organization? How have you accomplished this assignment? How would you asses your effectiveness?
Toughness
On many occasions, managers have to make tough decisions. What was the most difficult one you have had to make?
Tell us about setbacks you have faced. How did you deal with them?
What has been your major work related disappointment? What happened and what did you do?
What is the most competitive situation you have experienced? How did you handle it? What was the result?
What was your major disappointment?
Variety
How many projects do you work on at once? Please describe.
When was the last time you made a key decision on the spur of the moment? What was the reason and result?
When was the last time you were in a crises? What was the situation? How did you react?
Which of your jobs had the most rapid change? How did you feel about it?
Values Diversity
Give a specific example of how you have helped create an environment where differences are valued, encouraged and supported.
Tell us about a time that you successfully adapted to a culturally different environment.
Tell us about a time when you had to adapt to a wide variety of people by accepting/understanding their perspective.
Tell us about a time when you made an intentional effort to get to know someone from another culture.
What have you done to further your knowledge/understanding about diversity? How have you demonstrated your learning?
What have you done to support diversity in your unit?
What measures have you taken to make someone feel comfortable in an environment that was obviously uncomfortable with his or her presence?
(source: Kansas Department of Administration)
The best predictor of FUTURE behavior is your PAST behavior !!! ---> Behavioral Interview Questions ---> Here is some help!
From the link: http://blog.emurse.com/2007/05/17/how-to-answer-behavioral-interview-questions/
In the 1980's, industrial psychologist Dr. Tom Janz introduced a method of interviewing called the "Behavioral Interview." Research shows that this interviewing style is extremely effective, and as such, it has rapidly increased in popularity. The premise is that the best predictor of future behavior is your past behavior.
Whether you are on a job hunt, or are planning to interview someone, it is important to know how to accurate prepare for answering behavioral questions. This guide is designed to teach you the basic structure for answering these increasingly common interview questions.
Behavioral Interview Tips and Tactics
When developing a behavioral interview, employers consider the types of soft skills that will be needed for the position. When preparing for this type of interview, a job seeker should consider all these skills as well. By keeping these important traits in mind, a candidate can successfully prepare for any amount of questioning. Preparing for behavior interviews will also help you answer more tradition interview questions.
To properly answer a behavioral interview question, there is a three step process referred to as "STAR".
1. The Situation or Task you were in
2. Action that you took
3. Result of that action
Behavioral Interview Example
Question: "Describe a situation where you have had to deal with a difficult person."
Answer: "I was transfered to a new project at my previous company to replace a beloved member of the team. My new team leader exhibited hostility towards me and I found myself left out of vital communications and meetings. After a few weeks, I was able to talk her into a one on one meeting. When laid out all of the key objectives for the team, the previous employees role in meeting those objectives, and then discussed goals that I could set to make sure I was able to serve as a quality replacement. In our discussion, we also identified a few underlying issues with management that she had been carrying around with her. In uncovering all of these sentiments, she was able to clearly define her situation and achieve an understanding with her supervisors. In the end, the entire team morale improved, I was able to exceed my goals and the company itself became more profitable from our teams increased performance."
In the 1980's, industrial psychologist Dr. Tom Janz introduced a method of interviewing called the "Behavioral Interview." Research shows that this interviewing style is extremely effective, and as such, it has rapidly increased in popularity. The premise is that the best predictor of future behavior is your past behavior.
Whether you are on a job hunt, or are planning to interview someone, it is important to know how to accurate prepare for answering behavioral questions. This guide is designed to teach you the basic structure for answering these increasingly common interview questions.
Behavioral Interview Tips and Tactics
When developing a behavioral interview, employers consider the types of soft skills that will be needed for the position. When preparing for this type of interview, a job seeker should consider all these skills as well. By keeping these important traits in mind, a candidate can successfully prepare for any amount of questioning. Preparing for behavior interviews will also help you answer more tradition interview questions.
To properly answer a behavioral interview question, there is a three step process referred to as "STAR".
1. The Situation or Task you were in
2. Action that you took
3. Result of that action
Behavioral Interview Example
Question: "Describe a situation where you have had to deal with a difficult person."
Answer: "I was transfered to a new project at my previous company to replace a beloved member of the team. My new team leader exhibited hostility towards me and I found myself left out of vital communications and meetings. After a few weeks, I was able to talk her into a one on one meeting. When laid out all of the key objectives for the team, the previous employees role in meeting those objectives, and then discussed goals that I could set to make sure I was able to serve as a quality replacement. In our discussion, we also identified a few underlying issues with management that she had been carrying around with her. In uncovering all of these sentiments, she was able to clearly define her situation and achieve an understanding with her supervisors. In the end, the entire team morale improved, I was able to exceed my goals and the company itself became more profitable from our teams increased performance."
Amazing Marketing technique ---> Use of Word Play !
Here is an example of how you can use words / play with words to market a concept or a service:
Words at a shoe repair shop:
I will HEEL you,
I will save your SOLE,
I will even DYE for you !
Words at a shoe repair shop:
I will HEEL you,
I will save your SOLE,
I will even DYE for you !
When you start a new business, you need to STAY IN CONTROL of the baby. Here is some insight. See how Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook stays in control.
It is so easy to lose control of a business afrter you have started it. If the founders do not have the proper focus and the ability to envision the company years down the road, then, it is possible that the investors may hijack the project and it may transform into something unintended. Here is how Mark Z stayed in control of his baby from the start. He ensured that he had enough voting rights and shares of the company. He has the vision and knew from the start that his project would be a success - such was his confidence. Some may consider this dictatorial and being in charge of some one else's money, but perhaps this was the right thing for Facebook to reach the heights that it has reached now.
From the New York Times link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/03/technology/from-earliest-days-zuckerberg-focused-on-controlling-facebook.html?_r=1
From the New York Times link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/03/technology/from-earliest-days-zuckerberg-focused-on-controlling-facebook.html?_r=1
NET IMPACT - Rotman CSR Case Competition - January 28th 2012
From the link: https://www.facebook.com/RotmanCSRCaseComp
Business Schools from Canada participated in the Rotman CSR Case Competition on Jan 18th, 2012. There were a few teams from Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University. The winner was Schulich School of Business of York University.
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