25 MORE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH DOS AND DONTS 25 MORE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH DOS AND DONTS Here are 25 more questions and answers to help you thrive in your next interview. 26. “Please tell me about an occasion when you had to analyse a large amount of complex information which led to you identifying an improvement in service delivery or cost.” Here your interviewer is testing your ability to analyse data. An ideal answer will clearly outline the problem you were faced with, the information you extracted from the data and the changes you subsequently made to improve. For example: Problem:The appliance-delivery company I work for was getting consistently low ratings on its delivery service. Action:I looked at all of the online feedback forms and personally phoned customers who had rated our service 0. Findings:I found that the majority of our unhappy customers hated waiting in all day for their items to be delivered. Solution:I piloted a new system where the delivery driver phoned the customer an hour before their item was due to be delivered. This stopped our customers from having to hang around the house all day waiting for their delivery. Outcome:During the trial period, we saw a marked increase in our customer satisfaction ratings and the new system soon became standard practice. 27. “Please outline and describe your current targets and KPIs – How do you ensure you achieve these?” Here your interviewer is checking that you are capable of working consistently towards your targets. In an ideal answer you will outline what your current targets are, then follow this up with a discussion about how you break these targets down into weekly objectives to ensure that you are consistently working towards your annual goals. 28. “How do you ensure that your department’s goals are in line with the overall company goals?” This question helps your interviewer to gauge whether you understand your role in your current job, and how your efforts contribute to the goals of the organisation. For example: The company I currently work for publishes an annual report of KPIs relating to the goals they hope to achieve that year. I extract the company goals that are relevant to my department and break them down into weekly objectives. I then use these objectives to ensure that my team is constantly contributing to the overall goals of the organisation. 29. “Describe a situation in which you inspired trust and respect in your team.” It’s important to think of and talk about a situation that’s relevant for the position you’re interviewing for. Ideally this will have had a positive outcome. By doing this you will help the interviewers to understand why you are a great fit for their team. With thanks to Capita’s Internal Recruitment Team 30. “How did you recognise the level of trust or respect your team held for you and how did you ensure this continued?” Only you will know if your team really trusts and respects you. Respectful employees will usually make you coffee, hold a door open for you, properly carry out tasks assigned to them and rarely undermine your judgement. To maintain this level of respect, you should make time to recognise your employees’ efforts, occasionally explain how you reached a solution to a problem (this can help with buy-in for larger changes or projects) and do your best to be consistently level-headed and successful in your judgement – as it only takes one slip-up to undermine your credibility. 31. “Discuss your current role and your reasons for applying to the organisation.” Before your interview, you should have researched the company and seen a full job description. This information will be key to how you answer this question and show that you have made a considered application. You need to try and align the experience gained from your current role to some of the challenges or responsibilities of the role you are applying for. Keep it to a few clear bullet points where you can. Also think about where you are at your happiest or best. The role you are applying for may be in a new field or industry, but you may already have many of the transferable skills required. You then need to be able to concisely explain what you can bring to the role and demonstrate how some of the skills you have (making passing reference to some of the experience you have just mentioned) would make you a good fit for this role. With thanks to Michelle Ansell, Douglas Jackson 32. “What is your greatest success and achievement to date?” Here your interviewer wants to see that you will bring something to their company and not just fade into the background. Whilst this question does open the floor for you to recite how you once doubled your team’s sales figures, employers are equally interested in hearing about how you have developed and maintained a strong professional network, or how you pride yourself on your reputation for being reliable and hard working. Whatever you end up talking about, try to keep it short. You don’t want your ego to get in the way of you being offered the job. 33. “How would you measure the success of you and your team over a 3, 6 and 12 month period?” This question requires you to understand the benefits of setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound) objectives and developing action plans. For example: In line with the over-arching goals of the company, I would set personal goals for myself and my team which I would subsequently break down into weekly SMART objectives. I would monitor these closely through general in-office communicationanda series of team meetings, as well as through scheduling individual appraisal meetings at 3, 6 and 12 month intervals. 34. “If successful in joining the organisation, what do you envisage your biggest challenge will be in joining it as a sales team leader?” The answer to this really depends on the job/company you’re interviewing for. However, it’s a good idea to discuss your understanding of the company, processes, products, clients and the marketplace. As a sales team leader, you’ll also be expected to deliver strong results against your personal sales and team targets. With thanks to Capita’s Internal Recruitment Team 35. “How would you manage your time and objectives in your role?” This is your opportunity to assure your potential employer that you are capable of working in line with your objectives and getting the job done on time. For example: In my current role, I break down my objectives into daily targets and outline periods of the day when I am going to focus on achieving them. I find this system works well for me and I expect to carry it into my next job. 36. “How do you keep yourself motivated?” This is your opportunity to tell your potential employer what keeps you focused. Possible answers include: • Breaking your workload up into daily or hourly targets to ensure that the next small success is never too far away. • Living a healthy life-style. Eating the right foods and drinking lots of water in the office can have a big impact on your concentration levels. • Motivating others and promoting a positive atmosphere in the office. 37. “What key factors drive you?” Tread carefully with this question. Whilst the truth may be that you only get out of bed every morning in order to pay your rent, this is not what your potential employer wants to hear. This question gives you an opportunity to discuss what has attracted you to this line of work and what inspires you to persevere through the tough times. In a sales role, this could be the adrenaline rush of meeting daily targets, whilst in a customer-service role, this could be the personal satisfaction you gain through helping people. 38. “What attracts you to the position?” This is an opportunity for you to show off your research on the role and company. Talk about the benefits the company has to offer and how they suit you at this point in your career. For example, if you are joining the company as a graduate, discuss how you plan to utilise their highly-structured training scheme. Also comment on the company’s reputation and try to make reference to a recent success you have seen on their website. 39. “How often do you challenge the way your current company does things or challenge something that you feel needs to change?” This is a bit of a tricky question to answer, as how you answer can determine whether your interviewer thinks you are too strong-minded or, worse, too sheep-like in your approach to work. An ideal answer will show a degree of balance. For example: Throughout my term of employment, I keep a constant note of any areas that I feel can be improved. But I only present these concerns to my boss when I have developed in-depth and realistic solutions. The frequency of these meetings is determined by how stable the company is. If the company implements several changes throughout the course of the year, I am more inclined to provide regular feedback to my boss. 40. “How creative are you in comparison to your colleagues, i.e. in managing, developing, encouraging and motivating your team?” This question is asked to determine whether or not you are going to bring something to the team. In an ideal answer you will confirm that you are creative in your job role, and markedly so compared to some of your colleagues. You should then proceed to give examples which demonstrate this. This question gives you the opportunity to tell the interviewer about how you developed a Monday-morning prize-giving incentive to get your team fired up for the week. Or how you introduced daily staff meetings to keep your team engaged with the goals of the organisation. Or implemented a buddy-up training programme to help your new recruits settle in faster. 41. “How do you measure the success of your incentives?” An ideal answer to this question will demonstrate that you are capable of monitoring a situation as it evolves. For example: Whilst working in a call centre as a supervisor, I introduced ‘Sugar Fridays’ – giving my team sweets and treats to get them through the Friday slog. Prior to introducing the incentive, I compiled a backlog of sales figures from previous Fridays. I then introduced the incentive on a trial period, continued collecting data and cross-compared the results. There was an obvious peak in sales figures and so the incentive became permanent. 42. “How have you utilised customer feedback to ensure business excellence?” This question is set to test your ability to identify and analyse customer insight, trends and data, and drive continuous improvement, by identifying and understanding the root cause. The interviewer will be looking for an example of where you have taken this insight and subsequently developed, implemented and improved your sales process. This could be through the introduction of training, post-sale procedures, a change in marketing communications, or other process improvements, to ensure that the cause of any future complaint is eradicated. With thanks to Michelle Ansell, Douglas Jackson 43. “How have you utilised customer complaint feedback to improve how your team are selling?” This question is especially important if you are applying for a management position. An ideal answer will demonstrate that you are capable of assessing a situation and implementing improvements. For example: I started to notice that a lot of customers were complaining about feeling patronised by my agents. In response to this, I listened to the calls these complaints stemmed from and realised that words such as ‘wonderful’ were being over used. I then had a meeting with the worst offenders in my team and suggested changes that they could make to correct this behaviour. After this meeting, customer complaints reduced and sales increased. 44. “What is your experience of the whole end-to-end feedback process (talk through this process) and how do you ensure this feedback improves the service to customers?” The answer to this will depend on the job you’re interviewing for and your experience. I would recommend thinking about a specific instance and then discussing this in detail. Outline the process stage by stage and, if there are areas that need improvement, focus your answers on the solutions instead of the problems. With thanks to Capita’s Internal Recruitment Team 45. “How have you educated your front-line agents to ensure excellent customer feedback?” As a leader or manager charged with delivering excellent customer feedback, you will know how important it is that customer feedback and insight are monitored, measured and acted upon, whenever appropriate or necessary. But how about your agents? This question is very much aligned to your engagement, coaching and development skills. You need to think about the culture, communication and interactions you have with your agents. Discuss how you impart your knowledge and experience to your agents and how you ensure that they can continue to develop the confidence, skills, knowledge and habits that will drive excellent customer feedback with every interaction. With thanks to Michelle Ansell, Douglas Jackson 46. “Give an example of when you have been really stretched for a deadline, and how you made sure you completed your work on time.” In asking this question, your potential employer is looking to see that you are prepared to go above and beyond the call of duty when the company needs you. But you have to be careful when answering, as it is easy to fall into the trap of slagging off your current employer or seeming disorganised. Your interviewer does not want to hear how your current boss failed to provide you with resources or that you once pulled an all-nighter to meet a university deadline. An ideal answer will centre round the busiest time of your company’s year (i.e. the Christmas rush in retail). In your example you should outline the reason for your stretched deadline and say what you did to ensure that you met it. For example: Whilst working in retail over the Christmas period, there was dramatic increase in stock which needed processing. To ensure that I continued to complete my daily tasks over this time period, I frequently started work at 5am rather than 7am. 47. “How do you manage time and priorities?” Here your potential employer wants to know that you are capable of organising yourself properly and ensuring that nothing gets forgotten. Do you keep a diary? Use Google Calender? Write daily to-do lists? Use wall planners to keep track of out-of-office appointments? Whatever you do, now is your opportunity to tell them! 48. “Give an example of an occasion where you have given constructive criticism to a member of your peer group.” No matter what level we operate at, we are all able to lend our experience of success to our peers – we just have to be careful not to patronise or undermine them in the process. When answering this question, make sure that you give an example that is truly constructive and had a positive outcome. This will show your interviewer that you understand how to help improve your colleagues’ performance without hurting their feelings. 49. “Give an example of a time when things happened in work to dampen your enthusiasm. How did you motivate yourself and your team?” This question is a test of character and is especially important if you are being interviewed for a management role. An ideal answer will demonstrate that you are able to support your team, even when things don’t go according to plan. For example: Whilst I was working in a fast-food restaurant, an unexpected coachload of football supporters came through the door. What followed was a hectic half-hour as the few staff we had on struggled to serve the high influx of customers. To motivate my team, I came out of the back office and signed onto a till in the middle of the counter. From that position, I could support my team either side of me with phrases like ‘you’re doing well, Kelly’ whilst helping to offset the work load. When the rush was over, I congratulated everyone on their efforts and brought chocolates in for my team the next day. 50. “How do you deal with work issues? Would anyone know you were having a bad day or would you keep it to yourself?” Morale is infectious – whether positive or negative – and, when working in a team-orientated environment like a call centre, it’s important that there is always an air of positivity around. It’s therefore vitally important to ensure that if you’re having a bad day, you contain this and don’t let it influence the morale levels of the team, and in turn the productivity and efficiency of the overall operation. DO.S AND DONTS As thousands of new graduates pour into the job market, a recent report uncovers the new interview and workplace do’s and don’ts in post-recession Britain. These days traditional interview do’s like a firm handshake and asking lots of questions rate lower than a show of confidence and good grooming, according to HR Directors polled for the ‘SureMen Maximum Protection Workplace Report’ *. “With job candidates more nervous than ever according to employers**, it’s important for interviewees to come across as calm, in control and confident of their abilities in an interview,” says former Apprentice contestant James McQuillan. Looking scruffy and poorly groomed tops the list of today’s top interview mistakes, according to two thirds of HR Directors polled (67%), rating higher than being late and a lack of preparation and research. Top 10 interview clangers 1. Poor grooming and looking scruffy 2. Swearing 3. Being late 4. Over-familiarity 5. Being hung-over 6. Using a mobile 7. Over-confidence 8. Lack of eye contact 9. Lack of research and preparation 10. Sweat patches and bad BO And whatever you do, save the jokes for down the pub. While a good sense of humour amongst staff is valued by 61% of employers, telling jokes during an interview was rated a big no-no by almost all HR Directors polled (96%). “For anyone who saw my demise on The Apprentice in the interview round, you’ll recall that I was fired for not taking it seriously. While a sense of humour is an important asset, the interview is not the time or place to share your humour” comments James McQuillan. Top interview tips 1. Invest in a good quality dark suit and a sharp white shirt or blouse. Men need to make sure you shave, polish your shoes and wear a conservative tie. Interviews are neither the time nor the place for cartoon ties! 2. Practise your body language and be aware of how you’re coming across. Your body language says everything about you and gives messages about your character to people looking at you. Sit up straight, keep eye contact and respond to your interviewer to show you are listening. 3. Sounds obvious, but don’t be late. Plan your route and get there early. If needed, do a dummy run beforehand. Modern office complexes can be quite a maze and if you’re running late for an interview, you’ll arrive hot, sweaty, flustered and out of breath. But avoid getting there so early that you spend an hour and a half killing time making yourself even more nervous than you probably already are. 4. Never go into an interview unprepared. In the 45 or so minutes that you have to sell yourself, you need to let the interviewer know you know your onions. So do your homework on the company, read their annual report, do a news search on them and drop into conversation that you were impressed by their shrewdness in opening a branch in Kuala Lumpur. 5. Never lie. People who get caught lying on their CV never get the job (well, apart from the guy who won The Apprentice a few years ago…). I once interviewed a candidate for a job who told me that he had planned a pan-European telecoms network for one of our rivals. Imagine his horror when one of my co-interviewers said: “No you didn’t, because it was me who did”. 6. Don’t criticise your existing employer. If you get asked “Why do you want to work here?”, then the reason is not “I hate my boss”. By putting down your existing employer it makes you look like you’re a whinger, and no one ever achieved anything by moaning. Getting ahead at work Once you’ve landed the job, you won’t impress your boss by working long hours anymore. Four in five employers questioned (87%) said coming in early or staying late was no longer a reflection of a good work ethic. “Today it’s about showing your employer you’re in control of your work load. You’re not giving that impression if you constantly have to put in long hours,” comments James McQuillan. In today’s workplace the top qualities valued by employers in their staff are coping with sensitive issues (62%), having a good sense of humour (61%) and keeping calm under pressure (58%), a far cry from pre-recession times when the focus was more on high achievers and making money. “The Report shows that times are definitely changing, with companies across the board now looking to hire staff who can adapt to new people and situations, and are calm and controlled. Recent graduates need to acknowledge this if they want to succeed in finding a job in what remains a tough market”, says James McQuillan.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 15:36:53 +0000
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