1. Tell us about a time when your work has been
criticised.
With this question, think of something (not something
terrible) and then immediately tell them how you put it right and how you
learnt from it / took steps to make it right in the future. This is about
showing growth. Not only in your ability to make mistakes and move on but also
in your maturity to deal with (hopefully) positive criticism and handle it in a
professional manner. It can be difficult to hear your work criticised but most
people at some stage in their career will hear some negative feedback and there
are both good and bad ways of dealing with it. Show you have maturity,
commitment, an approachable nature and are someone who wants to become better
at their job.
2. Tell us about your most difficult working
relationship. What was it and how did you personally deal with it?
You could use examples of people who aren’t
delivering their part of the workload or people with a difficult or
uncompromising attitude. Make sure that you explain how you deal with these
types of people –i.e. talk to them diplomatically, try not to take it
personally, agree a compromise and so on- but if the situation is extreme and
everything else has failed you may have to raise with a manager. But do
demonstrate how you took every sensible and reasonable step to handle the
situation yourself in a professional manner focusing on a solution.
3. How would you deal with two demands on you at the
same time?
Establish what is the priority . If two people
demanding at the same time, speak to them, explain your situation and determine
what the real deadlines are. Can one be done first? You are only one person, so
perhaps you could look to delegate to another team member. Try to avoid saying
things like you would just stay really late to get them both finished.
Employers want to see you are committed, but that you have a life outside of
work! Demonstrate your excellent planning skills and organisational ability and
how you always try and factor in time for the unexpected in your work load.
4. What would you do if a team member wasn’t
contributing and it was impacting on your work?
Try talking to them – if there is something wrong try
to determine if it’s a one-off. Maybe offer to help them if they are overloaded
and you have capacity ( this is also an example of good teamwork). If they are
just not pulling their weight and don’t respond to your chat, then maybe a
manager or a more senior team member needs to know about it. It could simply be
the person is struggling and needs support rather than being wilfully difficult
but equally you need to be able to do your own job as well as possible too.
5. How would you go about setting up an important
event/meeting?
Think about all steps – they want to see how you
would go about planning. Budget, number of people, date, invites, meeting
rooms, catering, facilities, speak to appropriate person to determine specific
details/extras/special request. This
is a question that is looking for details in the answer, so do give details!
Show you have a good eye and are accurate and precise when you need to be.
6. Tell us about a time you have gone over and above
the call of duty.
Think of a time when you have done something beyond
your job spec – this could be helping a team member when you see they are struggling
or staying late to help set up an event. It also could simply be an example of
being very flexible and just doing something that you really didn’t have to but
which is beneficial to the team and/or the business. The main thing with this
question is to get across that you are very flexible, willing to roll up your
sleeves and do what it takes to get the job done well!
7. Tell us about at time when you have used your
initiative to solve a problem
Think about a genuine problem you have encountered,
ideally at work. Whether it’s using some spare time to sort out a filing system
or something bigger. Show where you personally have come up with an idea, how
you championed it and sold your idea to team members/managers. Use this
question as an opportunity to show what a wonderful asset to the company you
would be! We all have skills and interests outside of work and it could be one
of those experiences that helps you to come up with a solution to a difficult
problem. For example if you are studying and working at the same time it could
be that skills you use/gain in your studies- meticulous research, organisation
and planning, presenting and public speaking or idea and knowledge sharing can
be transferred to your job and help you and your colleagues perform better.
Here are a further selection of sample questions I
can help you with:
Strengths and weaknesses
What do you think makes you a strong team player?
What do you think makes a good team?
How do you like to be managed?
When have you had to deal with a difficult customer / client and what
did you do?
I have many more sample interview questions and will
work through with you to practice competent answers. Many questions are a variation
of the same thing and looking for the same skills (interpersonal, technical
or work orientated). Once you have thought of examples that relate to all these
areas, you will be prepared for whatever they throw at you and more than ready
to get that job!
