Hi, over the next few weeks I will be publishing regular advice on how to ace your job / university / MBA, or PhD interview. If you would like to book a lesson with me, I will provide you with a 28 page document that I have written with some sample questions and advice on how to answer them. In these articles that I am publishing, you will find a group of questions and the appropriate advice on how to answer them, and in some cases you will even find some sample answers. During a lesson, I will go through the questions with you, let you answer as if you were in an interview environment and then I will check, and if necessary, correct the content of your answer. I hope you find the following information useful and I really look forward to seeing you online if you choose a class with me! I am also offering a 20% discount for any new students for ANY of my lessons. 

Lesson link:

https://cafetalk.com/lessons/detail/?id=11273&key=ec0e3f840eb8c5a75b04f6306f25dd66

·       Give me an example of a time when you took the time to share a co-worker's or supervisor's achievements with others?

The interviewer will want to know that you value the achievements of others and are not afraid of letting other people take the credit for something only they deserve. This is especially important if you are in a people-management role as this type of behaviour by you breeds loyalty and increases employees’ job satisfaction and motivation levels. A good example is given below where ‘Dan’ received adulation from his manager through feedback given about his performance from one of Dan’s peers to his boss:

“At my most recent position, one of my co-workers, Dan, did an outstanding job of calming an irate customer, solving the customer's problem and completing a sale. When our boss asked me how things were going, I told him everything was going fine and that Dan had just completed calming an irate customer and closing a sale. It was a win-win-win- for our boss, Dan and the customer”.

·       Tell me about a time that you didn't work well with a supervisor. What was the outcome and how would you have changed the outcome?

At work, it is inevitable that there will be times when you and your manger disagree over certain things. The interviewer is looking to see how you react to situations where you do not have a good relationship with one of your superiors and what actions you took to resolve the issue(s). In your answer, it is important that you maintained respect for your superior and acted in a calm and professional manner. If your supervisor had an inflammatory personality where most of the department had problems with him/her then it is important to state this in your answer. However, what is most important is that YOU made an effort to resolve the issues and that the outcome was positive. Your manager is only human and so may be going through some tough personal issues. The answer below is a good example of this type of manager where the outcome with her employee was successful:

“Early in my career, I had a supervisor (Judy) who was always in a fairly good mood on a Monday, but it deteriorated each day until by Friday, she was finding fault with everything I did. I didn't realise, until I left that position, that I had been a contributor to the decline in her mood. Judy would ask me how my weekend was (on Monday) and during the week she would ask how it was going. I would tell her how much fun I was having (I was single) and how much I was looking forward to my plans at the weekend. After I left, I realised my life was in complete contrast to hers and I reminded her of it almost daily. When she asked the questions, I should have given her a quick answer, and then asked her how she was doing!!!!”

·       Have you worked with someone you didn't like? If so, how did you handle it?

In a large (or even small) team, there will always be a mixture of personalities, ages, and genders, and it would be very unusual for every team member to ‘get on’ with one another. Sometimes, we should accept personal differences and focus on the issue at hand. It is important to say that you made an effort to get on with the person you choose as an example and say what steps you took to ensure that it didn’t affect your or their work. The answer below demonstrates a professional attitude focusing on the person’s ability to do their job rather than any personal differences:

“Yes, I've worked with someone whom I found difficult to like as a person. However, when I focused on the skills they brought to the job, their ability to solve problems and the two things about them I did appreciate, slowly my attitude towards them changed. We were never friends, but we did work well together”.

·       Tell me about a time that you helped someone.

An important aspect of teamwork is helping others, which is after all, the reason a team is brought together in the first place. Some team members may lack the experience or skills that you may possess and so part of your ‘value’ as a team member is to assist others to achieve a common goal. It is important that you demonstrate your willingness to help others in times of need and the answer below gives an example where some useful advice was given to a new team member which was gratefully received:

“Recently, we had a new hire (Paul) whom was really struggling with getting to work on time, and I knew the boss (Harry) was getting irritated. Over lunch one day I explained to Paul how important it was to our boss for everyone to be there at least 10 minutes early. It was personal with the Harry, but you could really get on his bad side when you were frequently late. The new employee was grateful for the advice. At his previous employment, the boss was only concerned about the work getting done on time; he/she did not ‘watch the clock’ “.

·       Tell me about a time that you misjudged a person.

First impressions are important, but not always correct. It is important that you acknowledge times when you have been ‘wrong’ about someone and what steps you took to correct your misconceptions. Below is an example of a person who misjudged someone else’s behaviour towards him as being unique to him only. Sometimes you just have to accept others’ character traits whether they are positive or negative and deal with them accordingly:

“There was a long-time employee (George) at my second company who was very rude when he spoke to me. At first, I went out of my way to win George's approval, but then I realised that this was compounding the problem. So, I observed how he interacted with other employees and discovered I wasn't alone- he was rude to most people! I gave up trying to win his approval and, in the process, discovered he'd learned his behaviour from a former boss whom he used to admire”.