Interview Questions: Tell me about a time when... (consulting, jobs, career)
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Does anyone else struggle with these questions? Going on 25, I don't have a ton of experience to draw upon, but it seems very unnatural to consciously file away past experiences just so you can bring them up in a future job interview.
It has helped me to write down certain experiences before going to an interview, but some of these questions still catch me off guard. Maybe I just have a short-term memory and I choose to forget about "times where I had to deal with a difficult customer" or when "I missed a deadline".
Dealing with difficult customers should be easy to answer by 25 unless you never worked with customers for whatever reason. Most jobs that someone under 25 are retail or call center related and with these jobs, you are bound to run into someone difficult. If anything I would as if I can use a difficult team member if I do not have a difficult customer. Similarly with missing a deadline, if you cannot think of one, think of a time you had to crash the project for the deadline.
Awesome. We get you don't like "behavioral" questions MSChemist, but in some roles, determining how people handle conflict or failure can give you an idea of their thinking or training. not all of it is HR quackery, and in many jobs, there aren't just flat-out assessment tests you can give to rank people with.
That said, stuff like "what kind of tree would you be" is worthless.
Does anyone else struggle with these questions? Going on 25, I don't have a ton of experience to draw upon, but it seems very unnatural to consciously file away past experiences just so you can bring them up in a future job interview.
It has helped me to write down certain experiences before going to an interview, but some of these questions still catch me off guard. Maybe I just have a short-term memory and I choose to forget about "times where I had to deal with a difficult customer" or when "I missed a deadline".
Change your mindset. That will come with time, and experience. It did for me, anyway.
Given sufficient time, and experience, you'll have a half dozen anecdotes for any possible interview occasion. I don't memorize any, I think about the interviewer's question and think for a minute of an analogous situation. Many situations out of the ordinary are easy to remember, or at least are for me. It's the routine that isn't notable.
Key points:
- Clearly and concisely outline a simple (or complicated, if within context of the question) scenario.
- Bring in elements of the conflict, within parameters of the question: personnel, situations, the dilemma or issue.
- Your initial reaction, and your later reaction given more clarifying information, that will...
- ...lead to how you resolved it in a manner that was 1) productive for the company 2) team 3) you as an individual.
- Summarize with lessons-learned, by taking a step back and looking at the "situation" objectively.
The first interviews I did struggle, but once you have practice you can really draw from many places for your answers. I may not have a work experience, but could relate it back to volunteering or something that happened outside of work. Research typical questions, think of answers, soon it will feel much easier.
I can remember answers I gave to such questions when I was your age. My answers were so idiotic. I mean, if it is a job for consulting/investment banking, then maybe such answers can help separate candidates, but otherwise ... stupid.
Entry level hires should be based on GPA and/or how well they researched the company/position.
I cannot understand the vendetta some people seem to have against behavioral interview questions. How are interviewers supposed to get a sense of the ways in which you handle complicated or difficult situations unless they ask you about it?
I cannot understand the vendetta some people seem to have against behavioral interview questions. How are interviewers supposed to get a sense of the ways in which you handle complicated or difficult situations unless they ask you about it?
If you would like me to be completely honest, the bulk of interviews are kind of useless.
My work ethic has not been 'consistent' throughout my career and earlier on, some of my best interviews coincided with some of my most incompetent periods.
What you need to glean is if that person has experience doing what needs to be done. Do they know the rules and regulations they will be working with? The software? Do they have experience dealing with certain clients, etc?
I cannot understand the vendetta some people seem to have against behavioral interview questions. How are interviewers supposed to get a sense of the ways in which you handle complicated or difficult situations unless they ask you about it?
Maybe because they are expecting someone to remember a situation on the spot which can be hard sometimes
I can remember answers I gave to such questions when I was your age. My answers were so idiotic. I mean, if it is a job for consulting/investment banking, then maybe such answers can help separate candidates, but otherwise ... stupid.
Entry level hires should be based on GPA and/or how well they researched the company/position.
The issue is the is no true entry level jobs anymore. Even entry level look for experience due to the fact there are enough applicants to do that with.
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