STAR Questions

What are the top three things you look for in a job or company?

1) Reputation - I want to work somewhere that has a track record of success. A company that takes care of their customers and does business the right way. 2) Growth - It is important to me to find a place where I can see myself sticking around for the long haul. This means ideally that there would be growth opportunities with the ability to specialize and find your area of expertise, to stay challenged and stimulated. 3) Giving Back - It's extremely important to me that the company I work for gives back to the community that it operates within. To me, if you are able to run a successful business within an area, it's only fair that you do whatever you can to give back to the area that you operate from within.

Tell me about a time where you disagreed with a manager/supervisor and what you did to turn it around to have a better relationship going forward.

A situation that comes to mind was during my time working at the dining hall while attending CSU. When signing up for the next semester of work, you could pick your top three preferred stations to work if you had worked there the previous semester. Despite my requests, the manager had me bussing tables all five of my shifts all semester, which was one of less preferred jobs. I spoke with him in private and asked if there was a reason for this happening. To my surprise, he said he placed me there because I was so much faster than other students and it saved them money in labor. I suggested that I could swap a couple shifts with another students and teach them a few tricks that helped increase efficiency. My manager agreed and switched three of my shifts to jobs at other stations. Moving forward, the communication between the student manager and I was much more clear and we became closer from working through the process in a civilized way.

Tell me about a time where you had to make a decision without all the relevant information. What did you do and what was the result?

A time that comes to mind was during college while doing a group project in a Corporate Finance class regarding valuing the company GoDaddy before its IPO. The difficulty of this was that a lot of the information necessary was not publicly available since it was a privately held company. The valuation was largely dependent on future cash flows, which is difficult to project when you don't have much information. We decided to look at industry comparables that were publicly held to get an idea of the valuation multiples, decided which companies were the most similar to GoDaddy and assigned similar multiples. In the end, our numbers were a bit off, but within the same ballpark. But as they say, pricing IPOs is almost more of an art than a science.

Tell me about a time you had to deal with an unhappy client, how did you deal with it?

A time that comes to mind was when a customer was back when I worked a shift in the grocery department at Albertsons. A customer came up to me and was very angry that we had made the decision to stop selling a certain brand of gluten free oatmeal, which she had for breakfast every day. She claimed that this oatmeal was the only reason that she shopped here and that she would never come back, and continued to yell at me. I recognized that I heard out her concerns and was very sorry that we didn't supply her favorite oatmeal any more. I told her that we would be happy to set up a special order and get her as many as she wanted along with our next shipment available. After filling out her special request, she was very appreciative of my help and reassured me that she would continue to come back as long as we would be able to help her out.

Why should we hire you over any other applicants?

By hiring me, you'd be getting someone who truly cares about the customers interests. I have a strong ability to empathize with their situation and would be able to provide them with excellent support. I love to learn, so I am excited by the prospect of learning the ins and outs of the workers compensation industry, then eventually finding my niche within Pinnacol.

What do you consider doing your job?

I consider "doing my job" not just meeting, but exceeding the expectations set by management. I've never been satisfied with providing an average performance, so I take great pride in going above and beyond what is called upon me.

What are some of your quirks?

I'm a little bit OCD about some things. I always like to have the volume on an even number and stuff like that.

Why are you interested in Pinnacol?

I'm interested in Pinnacol for a lot of reasons. First off, I appreciate their mission: to provide compassionate care for injured workers and cover all who walk through the doors. I think in a position like this you get a chance to provide service for all of the people who make Colorado the great state it is. They have a reputation for giving back to the community through Volunteering and various foundations. Also, I appreciate that there are so many areas to specialize and grow within the company. It's an under appreciated industry.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

In five years I see myself finding the path that I would like to specialize in and moving forward into that. Claims and Underwriting have been some areas I have been initially looking into, but I think this role would give me a great opportunity to see what it's like in each of those departments. I could see myself in a leadership position within one of these specialized areas.

Describe a situation in which you suggested changes to your organization and they were implemented.

In my current part-time job, my job is to survey people in the area of a location that is applying for a liquor license. I knock on houses door to door and get an unbiased opinion if they are in favor or against it. My boss had been making a habit of texting me the day she needed my help and giving me no warning before hand. I was happy to work but having to constantly break my plans was frustrating. I talked with her on my next job, asking if she wouldn't mind giving me more notice. She apologized and said that she had mixed up some days over phone calls and thought she had coverage when she didn't. I recommended that we start doing a weekly group message to state our availability that would be able to be used for reference for the employees and for her. Ever since, she has been using group messaging and I haven't been called in last minute any more.

How does your experience on the resume correlate with this job description?

My experience would correlate quite well. From working at the national park service I have familiarized myself with computer work, attention to detail and working in a traditional office setting. From retail experiences I have learned the right way to interact with customers and treat them right. Then from an education standpoint, I have a degree in finance, which is closely related to insurance.

Tell me about a time in which you had to solve a difficult problem.

One difficult problem that comes to mind is when I was trying to insert a document into a database working for the National Park Service. The pdf was of awful quality from the scanning process, so I wasn't able to find all the necessary information to list it. I took a sentence from the document that was readable, put quotes around it and searched it on google. From here, I found another database that had the citation information that I needed along with a free copy of the abstract. The result of this was that I was able to properly cite the document and give the external link to the site so people would be able to read it, rather than the poor quality original.

Describe a time where you had to deal with a difficult situation. What did you do to overcome it and what was the result?

One difficult situation I can recall goes back to when I worked at Albertsons. Someone had called in sick at the Butcher Block and they sent me back to help since the one person was getting swamped with orders. The main job there is to take the customer's order, weigh the food, then print out a tag to stick on the package. Most of the job was pretty simple, but I noticed that none of the products were labeled with the product number to type in when you need to print out a label. There was a book, but the book had over a hundred items, many of which we didn't have! So during the first break in customers, I grabbed a dry erase marker and labeled each product on the glass door with a code, so I wouldn't have to constantly ask the manager for help. That helped me get through the day much more easily. In the end, the manager was so impressed that she had me transferred over to help out permanently!

Tell me about a time you built a rapport with a client.

One experience that stands out is when I was working doing my resale side business. Basically what I would do was go to garage sales and thrift stores, purchase items that were underpriced, then flip them on eBay or Craigslist to make a profit. I had purchased a retro video game at a sale that I listed on Craigslist. The man I sold the game to was very excited to finally get the game after looking for an affordable copy of it for a long time. I asked him if he was a video game collector and he explained that he had all the old consoles and collected all types of games. I explained to him that I ran into games like this all the time, and asked him if there were any other games he specifically was looking for. He ended up emailing me a long list of games to look out for. As a result, I ended up finding four more of the games he was looking for. This allowed me to have quick and reliable sales, and allowed him to beef up his collection without paying as much as they charged at the stores.

Describe a time that you set a goal for something. What did you do to make sure you stayed on track and what was the result?

One goal I had this last year was to run a half-marathon. I knew this wasn't the type of thing you could jump in and do without training, so I set up a plan. I was pretty out of shape beforehand, so I started doing a mile six days a week, then ramping it up a mile every week. Once I started to get pretty far along, I would only do the full distance twice a week, then doing five miles the other days. This was because it was getting closer to the race day and running so far can be hard on your body. In the end, I successfully ran the half-marathon and had one of the better times in my age group!

Tell me about a time you witnessed an act of cheating/rule breaking, and what did you do?

One situation that comes to mind brings me back to when I was a cashier at Albertsons. We had a program where if you bought $50 or more in gift cards, then you would get a free $10 credit for groceries. This wasn't advertised near the cashiers, so many of the people buying the cards weren't aware of it. I noticed her grabbing one of the coupons, glancing around, then quickly stashing it in her pocket. During my next break, I told my manager what I thought I had seen and said you might want to keep an eye on her. Sure enough, they caught her doing it again. She had been in trouble recently quite a bit so she ended up getting fired over it. I felt bad, but she was stealing from the company and the customer so I don't regret telling my manager at all.

Describe when you had to work in a team environment.

One situation that comes to mind is while working my job at the National Park Service. I worked along with scientists that have written a series of reports about climate change, who needed these to be posted and organized on the database. In working with them, they were able to provide me with specific scientific information that I didn't specialize in that would help me organize it and make it more searchable within the database to everyday users. This ended up being much more efficient than working independently, because many times I have to do research on these documents because I don't understand them as well.

When is a time that you received criticism for the work you were doing. How did it affect you?

One situation that comes to mind was actually during a business to business mock sales call in my Professional Selling Class. I was explaining all the features and benefits to the "client" and thought I was doing a great job. At the end, my teacher told me that I wasn't asking enough questions and wasting time telling features and benefits of the product that weren't relevant to their situation. If I instead would have asked questions to uncover their needs, from their I could explain how the product would fit their needs in a much more effective way. Going forward, during the next simulation I adjusted my strategy, tried to ask more questions and make it more conversational. I was able to close the sale this time!

Tell me about a time where you had a conflict within the group. What did you do? What was the outcome?

One situation that comes to mind was during a group project in my Strategic Management class doing an analysis on the company LuluLemon. We had decided that each group member would do a certain section (ie. Background, SWOT Analysis, Finances). I said I would do finances since I was the only finance member in the group. I email the group leader my slides for the presentation, and noticed when I got the final copy of the presentation back mine was completely changed. The leader was a bit of a control freak. So I talked to him privately and asked why he changed mine. He said my presentation had too much finance lingo that the other business students wouldn't understand. I had planned to explain it in a way that everybody could understand, but he wanted it even simpler. So I decided that we could compromise and have the multiples and such that I had included, but then we could include a slide afterword a much simpler and generalized description that people without much financial knowledge could understand. It would have been better if he mentioned this to me before changing my presentation completely, but in the end it worked out well.

Tell me about a time where you showed leadership.

One situation that comes to mind would be when working in a group with a portfolio investment project. We had each specialized in a different area in the stock market, so I volunteered to take lead and compile a powerpoint presentation if they each emailed me a section. They were extremely busy with work, so I met up with each member individually to make sure I had effectively communicated in the group powerpoint what they had in mind, and by collaborating with them, we ended up making some really great changes and having some great ideas. So I think in this situation, meeting up with everyone individually was a good solution and allowed us to come up with some unique ideas that we wouldn't have been able to alone.

Describe a situation in which you had to deal with a difficult person at work.

One situation that sticks out to me was when I worked as a cashier back at Albertsons. One thing I've always tried to pride myself in is coming to work with a positive attitude and making the most of the day. Another cashier that I worked with was ALWAYS a downer. They were very dramatic about how they can't wait to quit and how working at this dump was awful, how underpaid they were and complaining that time was going SOOOO slowly. What I found was best was fighting the negativity with positivity! If they complained about how late we had to work, I'd come back that at least we don't have to work overnight like the night crew! After a while of doing this she asked me why I seemed to be so happy working such an awful job. To that I responded that it may be a repitiive job, but I've found if you come into it with a positive attitude then time goes faster and you enjoy yourself a lot more. She thought that was interesting, and afterwards I noticed that she didn't complain quite as much.

Tell me about a time that you failed. What did you learn from it?

One time that I failed was when applying for a summer finance internship with a local advisor in Fort Collins. I had passed the initial screening interview and when I came in to talk to the advisor, it was very casual. From there, I started to let my guard down and taking the interview less seriously, since I thought I pretty much had the job. A week later, I was extremely surprised to get an email that I would not be offered the job. From this, I learned to always take an interview very seriously no matter what your odds are, and to better showcase my skillset and show why they should hire you rather than the other applicant.

Tell me about a time that you had to think outside of the box.

One time that I had to think outside the box was when I was a cashier at Albertsons. I had rung up an order for a lady, to which she slid her card and entered her pin number. The system briefly went down, which caused the order to be stopped while processing. I asked the woman if she would mind swiping the card again, but she refused, saying she would be double charged. She was creating a big commotion so I had to think quickly. I noticed she had a smartphone in her hand, so I asked if she had a mobile banking app. I explained that if it had gone through, her debit charge would appear on her statement. She checked, and it did not appear so she was happy to swipe her card again.

Tell me about a time you had to work with a difficult coworker. What did you do to turn it around?

One time that comes to mind was while working for the National Park Service. This coworker was working on a tedious filing and documentation project with me and was convinced they could do it on their own and were acting a bit standoffish. He was very quiet and we hadn't ever talked much, so I decided to invite him to coffee club, thinking that maybe he would be easier to work with if we got to know each other. By chatting at coffee club I got to know him a bit better, then mentioned some reasons I thought the project would be easier if we did it together. He agreed that I had a good point and going forward we ended up working on the project together and getting it done more efficiently. Plus I ended up making a friend in the process.

When have you ever had to sell something?

So I haven't held what you would call a "sales" job. But, a job I've been doing now part-time has a lot of similar aspects to sales. What I do is part of the process of getting a liquor license. So to get a liquor license, you are required to survey a certain amount of people in the area and in an unbiased way get them to share if they are for the company getting their liquor license or not. I'm not selling a yes or no, I am selling the fact that they should sign their name and share their opinion. So what I have to do is knock on doors in the area to do this. Generally, you have a very short time to give them your elevator pitch with all the important information, before they assume you are a salesperson and slam the door in your face.

Which accomplishment are you most proud of and why?

This may be a typical answer but I'm really proud of being able to pay my way through college. It took a lot of work and a lot of hours outside of school working part time jobs to cover expenses. But in the end I was able to graduate in four years with very little student debt and a great degree!

What does good customer service mean to you?

To me, good customer service is the ability to supply the customers' wants and needs. As a starting point, friendliness and professionalism are very important. Also, in the financial services industry, the client may not even know what they want or need, but it is the employee's job to ask the right questions to uncover what is best suited for their situation. Once you've helped them, the final part of the process is to follow up with the client.