Behavorial Interview Questions

Describe a time when you used logic to solve a problem.

Accounting requires logic on a day to day basis. Accounting functions require balancing - so if I make an increase to my expenses I have to decrease my revenue. Usually most transactions aren't quite this simple, but when performing a transaction I always have to take time to think about what I'm doing, rationalize it, and make sure it balances and is accounted for correctly.

Why are you leaving your current role?

All Public Schools are struggling but I have long term concern about the stability of my district. We ended the year in 2.3 millions dollars in defecit and our saving grace this year was Inkster Schools. However they are building a charter school in Inkster which will likely pull students away. Also, the airport has expansion plans that will eat away an entire neighborhood.

Describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult situation and how you resolved it?

At my last job I had to deal with a disgruntled client that one of my member service reps needed help dealing with. Although it took a lot of hard work, I was able to fix what was wrong by listening to the customer carefully and making sure that we delivered exactly what was expected of us. In the beginning his initial statement was that he wanted to close the account but after I asked questions and showed him my care and concern, I was able to rescue the relationship with this important client and he kept his account open with us. Does that answer your question or would you like me to elaborate more on the issue he was having? More detail: He had written a check and also had some debit card transactions post to his account and also had a pending direct deposit that morning. No understanding the way our system works he assumed his direct deposit would hit first and then his transactions in the order he made them. However, direct deposits are batched by the accounting department at a certain time in the morning and any debit card transactions will hit your account generally after you do them. This resulted in numerous NSF charges to his account. His immediate response was that he was unhappy; he made an assumption that we were unreasonable and wanted to close his account. I reviewed his account, saw that he was a long time member and that he had never had an NSF returned in the past and did see that at one point in time he had had to pay one. I returned his fees and thoroughly explained how the process works so that he would know how to account for this in the future. He was pleased with my solution and was thankful that I took the time to be thorough with him and showed that I valued his long standing relationship with us.

Describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer and how you handled it.

CU member to close account and restored relationship.

Describe a time when you went above and beyond your job duties.

Created new payroll system to save time -or - We hired a new transportation director and within her first year of employment subcontracted our transportation department. There was also a secretary vacancy in that department, knowing she was already overwhelmed I offered to help with processing payroll because I had previously worked in the transportation department and knew how to process payroll. So for the first three months until she had time to transition and they appointed a secretary, I helped process payroll.

How do you like working for your current supervisor?

Currently we have an interim supervisor but we work well together. We communicate well and we each perform our job duties to the best of our ability.

What contributions can you make to this position?

Disciplined; improve; save time Example & Skill

Why should we hire you?

Disciplined; improve; save time Example & Skill

Why do you want to work in this industry?

I have learned a lot about public school finance from being in my current position. I also just obtained my BOS certificate through MEIM. I feel it would be unfortunate for me to take all the knowledge I have gained and be unable to use it in my job function.

Describe a decision you made that wasn't popular and how you handled implementing it.

Each year we are audited by an external firm and they presented concern regarding our depositing process. To add additional security measures, I suggested that deposits taken in by buildings be verifed by two individuals in order to reduce the risk of fraud. This decision was not popular to the staff because it created an additional step in their procedures. We explanied to the staff the necessity and made it a formal requirement in our written Cash Handling procedures guide. Employees saw security measures for themselves meaning not held responsible for errors.

Describe a situation when someone didn't like you and how you handeled it.

Faced opposition at Credit Union - young manager promoted above those with more seniority. One particular employee who had been there ten years, I had been there one and I was promoted above her. Time and professionalism is what made our situation resolve - in time she saw my work ethic and why I was promoted and she gained respect for me.

What did you like least about your last job?

Filing; mundane

Give an example of how you set goals and achieve them.

First I asses what jobs need to be completed. Then I prioritze making sure that I handle the most important first. In some situations I will work on multiple projects at one time ensuring that the most important is completed first and that all goal are completed on time. Many times I make physical tasks list and I use these to track my progess and keep me on schedule.

Tell me about a time when you encountered a problem and the steps you took to solve it.

For our budget, our business manager keeps an excel file containing all of the accounts and the original and amended budget. When updates need to be made, she will send me the file and I will do an import into Smart. However, since were changing thousands of accounts ever time I would do a budget amendment the grand total would be off. Initially it would be very laborious to try to determine where the difference was. Seeing that this was a problem and knowing how important accuracy was, I decided to try to find a solution. The excel file was broken down by building/department. So she would subtotal the elementary school, special education, etc. So I took advantage of the "responsibility code" function in SMART and assigned each expense a responsibility code. This would allow me to go into T/A after the budget adjustment and compare the subtotals for each department to find the discrepancy more quickly.

What have you learned from your mistakes?

From all mistakes you can take away a lesson of improvement. I have learned the importance of double checking my work. Double checking work prevents having to make corrections in the future and saves time. It also avoids the embarassment of appearing unprofessional by having a mistake. Many process improvements can be learned from making mistakes such as the importance of communication. An EXAMPLE to this would be when I didn't communicate with A/P on pending expenditures and completed a report early.

What are your long-term career objectives?

Fully acclimated; I would like to make a definite contribution to this company's goals - increase customer satisfaction, improve performance levels and efficiency. Long range: retiring from the public school system.

Describe to me you ideal manager.

GEM QR One who supports growth, leads by example, motivates, has an open door for questions, and gives recognition when due. I think it's important that in the relationship between a manager and employee that each understand their roles. As a support person my job is to make my mangers job easier.

What do you like/dislike about your current manager?

I LIKE the fact that I have a lot of freedom and room to be creative. Throughout my career I have developed many forms and updated many processes. As an example I updated transportation payroll. I DISKLIKE that we have different working styles. I prefer to get reports done immediately and early and she doesn't mind waiting until the day they are do. Although at the end of the day everything always gets done we do have different working styles.

What are your qualifications/skills/strengths?

I have good people skills, I communicate well with my supervisor and coworkers, I have technical skills, I am a quick learner and I am very passionate and dedicated.

Discuss your current roles and your reason for applying to this organization?

I currently preform all of the accounting functions for my district. Financial reporting such as the FID, Medicaid Quarterly, MAER, Sales Use and Witholding, Grant and Lunch Claim, Fixed Assets, Year end close, etc. I am also the fringe benefits administrator for the district processing enrollments, changes, COBRA, and posting expense to the GL and processing payments.

What is your greatest failure and what did you learn from it?

I don't necessarily consider anything a complete failures, more learning experiences. In high school, I was an all A student, but received one A- which impacted my GPA. If I had to do it over again I would certainly try to bring that grade up as I ended up graduating 3rd in my class even though I had straight A's.

Describe a time when you did not get along with a coworker.

I had a former coworker who I found it difficult to work with. I had to rely on her for certain data for reporting purposes and it was hard to get her to comply with the deadlines that I needed the data by. To solve the issue I actually told her earlier deadlines and kindly reminded her of them.

Describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult employee.

I had an employee that was laid off Oct 31st and her last check would be received on Nov 15th. I had to send her a notice that her insurance premium would increase and would be taken out off the remainder of her checks including the Nov 15th check but that her insurance would still cease on Oct 31st. The reason for this was our district chose to allocate the insurance premiums between 20 pays instead of 26. So if an employee terminates early they will have a balance owed in premium. I received a very nasty phone message indicating the employee would be in at noon. To prepare for her arrival, I printed a document showing the cost for insurance for Sept-Oct and another document showing how much she had deducted. This helped her see that she had a balance due. When she arrived I allowed her to vent, and rather than react I didn't take her anger personally and I tried to relate to her situation being that she had just lost her job and was notified of a cost increase. When she saw my compassion and saw the information on the paper that I tried to break down for her in a way that made logical sense, she accepted the explanation and the issue was resolved.

Describe a time when you faced a problem/obstacle on the job and how you overcame it.

I have six primary account that I reconcile on a monthly basis and I was struggling to balance the primary operating account. I had felt as if I had spent enough time on it and had decided to put it to the side and look at it with a pair of fresh eyes the next day. This would allow me not to waist any further time on it and to be productive in some other area. I found that when I came to it the next day I was able to balance it within a half hour. Although that may not be the most complicated issue, sometimes a resolution to a problem can be that simple.

Give an example of a time when you helped a coworker and it wasn't your responsibility.

I helped the new transportation manager process payroll.

We all make decisions that turn out to be a mistake please describe a work decision that you regret making?

I receive the notice that my FID FER report was open and due in two months. I decided to complete the report which I did, having to pull and export data from two fiscal years. Because it was still early, I decided to not officially submit the report. I then discovered that there were encumbered expenses not put into the system which changed my values and caused me not to make adjustments. I learned that although its good to complete things early, I needed to remember to communicate with A/P to determine if there are outstanding items.

Tell us about yourself.

I started my working career at CVS Pharmacy and was promoted to supervisor within a year of employment at age 17. To develop more experience and skill I accepted the position with Co-op Credit Union where I was first hired as teller, after a year I was promoted to Assistant Manager. I learned many skills while working at the Credit Union, in particular cash handling, leadership, problem solving, and customer service. From there I was hired to a more senior position as the Head Bookkeeper/Accountant which is where I've really developed my financial and data entry skills. I handle all of the districts accounting functions - FID, MAER, SE-4094, Sales Use, Grant Claims, Fixed Assets, Year End Close, etc.

What would you consdier an ideal work environment?

I think an ideal work environment would be one where people are treated as fairly as possible, recognition is given when its due and people really care about their work and the opportunities for advancement are there.

What do you do when someone doesn't agree with your ideas?

I try to put myself in their shoes and see where they are coming from. I try to determine where the real disagreement is stemming from. Ego? Unclear? Clarify? Then determine how I can reach a compromise. EXAMPLE Wanted to divide insurance premium contribution among 20 pays but I recommended an amount from every pay, initially I was told no until I explained my reasoning which then made sense.

Describe a time when you had difficulty working with your supervisor.

I usually get along with everyone but in the event a conflict or disagreement arises I try to stay focused on the issue and not allow emotions to get involved. Usually if someone is upset or a situation is made difficult there is a reason behind it. When I worked for the Credit Union I would fill in at other branches when another assistant was off work, because I worked at the Main Branch there were certain procedures or ideas I would suggest implementing to increase productivity. My opinions were not taken into consideration mostly because I believe the managers had their own way of doing things.

Give an example of a goal you reached and tell me how you achieved it.

I wanted to be able to lessen the amount of time it spent for me to complete our bank reconcillations. When I first started it would take me around three days - we have 9 accounts I have to reconcile. After time and improvements in my excel spreadsheets, I now am able to complete all 9 of my bank reconcillations in one day.

Deadlines cannot always be met, tell me about a time when you missed a deadline on a project and the results.

I was approached by the superintendent to help complete a large project. This project was to be performed in addition to my regular work duties. I could tell that he was eager to get the project put together so I indicated I would have the project completed the following week. I underestimated the time it would take me to complete as I had a major unforeseen work issue come up that took a lot of my time. I learned when projecting deadlines to take into account the unforeseen.

How do you deal with job interruptions?

I was moved mid-year during my initial employment to an elementary school as a secretary to fill a temporary vacancy. Being at an elementary school there were constant interruptions, mostly from students and for what would be considered unimportant issues in relation to my workflow. However, it was part of the job. I had to fulfill the needs and requests of the students in a professional and positive manner and also make sure my workflow did not get interrupted. This came by being diligent, setting goals, and staying focused.

What is the most difficult or challenging experience you have encountered on the job?

I would definitely say the day I was helping out in transportation and the student went missing. I received a call from a panicked parent indicating that her child did not return home from school. I confirmed with the driver the student was on the bus, I asked the parent to check with the neighbors. I called the school and had them check the building. I called the parent back after no progress and she indicated he still had not been found. At that point I called management to make them aware of the situation and they sent someone back to assist me. We took the bus stop log which had a list of students on the bus and we began calling each household to try to get information. About 2 hours into the situation the parent finally called with news he had been found and was at a neighbors house.

Describe a time when you went beyond your job requirements to achieve an objective.

I'm always looking for ways to improve and sharpen my skills. I took it upon myself to improve the payroll process for the transportation department. It was a very antiquated and manual system that would take the secretary aprox 25 hours a week to do. I converted it to an electronic system via excel and cut down on at least 15 man hours per week.

What salary are you looking for?

I'm more interested in the role itself than the pay. That said, I'd like to be paid the appropriate amount for this role based on my experience. I have five years experience and I am the highest step level in my grade.

What motivates you?

I've always been motiveated by meeting a deadline. One of my best assest is my organization which keeps me efficient. My job is very fast paced and deadline-driven so it suits my personality very well.

What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?

I've never been comfortable with public speaking. Certain times throughout the year I would have to present information on health benefits. I realized a key to public speaking is preparation. When I took time to thoroughly prepare my documents and practiced relaying the information I was presenting I found that public speaking became much easier. Strength would be my ability to adapt and learn quickly. Our finance system is continuously generating new tools that can be utilized to try to improve our job functions, these tools are options but I know our system pretty well so I enjoy learning these new things and finding ways to make my job easier and to make my reports run quicker and look more professional.

What role did you play in your companys latest success?

Inkster powerpoint

CLOSING STATEMENT

It's very difficult through a series of random questions to display to you why I would make the best candidate for this position. I feel very strongly that my resume is the best testament to what kind of worker I am. With every company I worked for, I have been promoted. I believe that this is due to my level of determination, my work ethic, and my ability to adapt and learn. I am very eager to be a part of your team and just want to assure you that I will work extremely hard to make this a smooth transition. I believe you will get the biggest return on your investment with me as I have many years to dedicate to this position. I've proven my ability to handle a high level of responsibility. I very much appreciate your time and consideration of me.

What is the hardest decision you've had to make?

Leaving the Credit Union.

Describe a time when you had to influence someones opinion?

Management was offering us the ability to work 4 10 hour shifts in the summer. This would save the district on energy costs. In order for us to work the 4 tens it had to be voted on and approved by our union. At the union meeting there were some people that opposed it. I was for it, so I had to present the benefits I felt we would gain from it. It ended up passing.

How would your friends describe you?

My friends would say that I am very open minded and adventurous. I enjoy doing new things like indoor rock climbing and traveling. They would also say that I am reliable and trustworthy.

What do you think of your previous boss?

My last boss taught me the importance of time management - she didn't pull any punches and was extremely deadline-driven. She provided a great example of how to excel and be dedicated.

Give an example of how you worked on a team.

Orphanage or Millage Team

What does S.T.A.R stand for?

Situation, Task, Action, Results - this is how I need to respond.

What do you do if you disagree with someone at work?

Situations will always arise in the work environment when there are disagreements. Sometimes they are procedural and sometimes just mere personality differences. I think the main key is to keep focus on being productive and always keeping the big picture at hand. You cannot allow your differences to effect your productivity. If you disagree you have to resolve the difference, sometimes that requires stepping back and accepting the other individuals opinion and sometimes it requires a bit of agressive but friendly persuasion. It really depends on what the issue is but the key again is to remain producitve and professional. FOR EXAMPLE:Had to work with someone on generating a flyer for hiring. I suggested the flyer be printed on bright paper but my coworker disagreed and used generic. We had a low turn out to the meeting, only about 25%. I thought possibly more people would have noticed had the flyer been printed differently.

Tell me about how you worked effectively under pressure?

Stress and pressure in my job can sometimes be a daily challenge. There are always circumstances that require pressue - like deadlines and employee request. I've learned over the years how to effectively deal with stress by responding to it and not reacting to it. Prioritizing is key. A specific example would probably be just recently having my FID report due to the State of Michigan. Its the largest report of the year and generally takes an entire month to complete. This year our audit was pushed back giving me two weeks less to work on the FID report. Rather than getting stressed out, I stayed focused worked on a certain aspect of the FID report each day, performing the most difficult parts first so that the easier past would be done quicker.

You may be overqualifed.

Strong companies need strong people. I am a strong candidate and I truly want this job and I plan to be dedicated and to commit to staying here. I think you will get a faster return on investment from me than a less experienced candidate. I am very interested in a long-term position here, I really want this job.

Think about a job that you had that required high attention to small detail. How satisfied or dissatisfied were you with the job and explain why.

The majority of reports I complete require you to pay attention to small detail. An example to this would be the Medicaid quarterly report. I have to export the data from the pay profile, subtotal and delete the account functions that are disallowed expenses such as teacher stipends or grant salaries. If I fail to remove these expenses then I am over claiming expenditures and can face repercussions if my report is ever audited.

When were you most satisfied in your job?

The times in which I made a significant contribution or found that I had given 100% of my efforts towards my work. Contribution to Inkster Powerpoint presentation

How do you handle a challenge? Give me an example.

There are always challenges on the job and they come in various forms. Sometimes they are technical issues like balancing a bank requisition and sometimes they are relational issue, like differences with a coworker. I handle challenge with an open mind. I take my time to be objective and consider the possible solutions then work towards what I feel would be the best resolution with the best outcome. Recently, we've been experiencing financial difficulty at the Schools due to decreased revenue. This has resulted in bill payments being delayed. I have successfully negotiated repayment schedules with multiple vendors to keep our accounts in good standing until we get through this time of transition.

How do you adapt to change?

There are constant changes in the work environment. Sometimes they are technical and sometimes informational changes such as law reform. I adapt well to change and take on the challenges with an open mind as an opportunity to improve myself. An example to adapting to major change would be when my CU went through a system conversion and transitioned their operating system from an antiquated DOS......

Describe what you have done in the past to monitor the progress of projects and assignments. Please provide specific examples.

There are varied projects that I have to work on. When I am working alone, I take time to analyze my personal project in relation to my deadline. If I'm working in group on an assignment, I make sure and meet regularly to ensure that we are on task. Many times I use outlook to keep my duties on schedule. For example, in preparing audit schedules, I will break them down by week assigning a certain number for me to concentrate on per week.

Have you ever made a mistake? How did you handle it?

There is always human error on the job. Occasionally I do make mistakes, I do try to double check my work to avoid that. Because my duties are primarily accounting in nature there is a monthly reconciliation process that I do which helps catch any errors. Biggest mistake: When I worked at the credit union I made an error when cutting a cashiers check. I cut the check for more than the balance in the account. The system we had at the time would not stop you but it would assume the difference was provided in cash. When I balanced my drawer at the end of the night, I was short by that dollar amount. After I reviewed my transactions, I located the error and contacted the member by phone. I explained what happened and asked if she could please return the check so I could make the correction. She did return the following day and because I felt terrible for inconveniencing her, I purchased a $25 visa gift card with my own money for her having to drive and return for my mistake. She was very sweet about the situation.

What would your last boss say about you?

Valued team member. The most important would be that she could rely on me to follow through and do what I said I was going to do.

Describe a situation that you had to accept or reject a recommendation what you decided and what happened?

We recently had to start charging employee premiums for healthcare. It was suggested by our payroll clerk to divide the annual premium between 20 pays instead of the full 26 pay spread. I rejected this recommendation because if an employee didn't work a full year or a new employee was hired there would be a difference in monthly premium.

Do you prefer to work on a team or alone?

Well I certainly can work independently and stay motivated with little supervision and direction. The position I am in is relatively singular but requires self-motivation and diligence to stay on task, if I wasn't keeping up with my workload you could quickly tell. I also enjoy working with others, it allows me to bounce ideas off them and gain comradely. I recently worked with a team to facilitate an open house for the new Inkster students we were gaining. I enjoyed being part of a team and working with other employees towards a goal, it was very self rewarding.

Share an example of how you were able to motivate employees or co-workers.

When I worked for the Credit Union our staff, including myself had certain sales quotas that we had to meet each month. In addition we would receive member survey results based on the level of customer service we provided. Sometimes these requirements can be a burden rather than a positive goal. As a manager it was my job to not only enforce these quotas but to motiviate the staff so that they would do it in an effective way that produced results. To motivate staff, I held weekly staff meetings each morning before opening. We would highlight a particular product to increase staff knowledge on the benefit and we would share success stories. I made it a point to acknowledge staff members sucess on a sale from the prior week this would provide motiviation. When they would receive that public acknowledgement of their hardwork they knew their efforts were appreciated and it helped motiviate them to continue working hard.

Tell me about a time when a coworker was not following policy.

When processing transportation payroll I was noticing that some drivers were not being honest with their payroll. They were adding 5 min here or there, which 5 min may not seem like much but 5 min per day times 280 days a year equates to a lot. I left a message for the drivers to see me so I could discuss it with them. I wanted to make sure that there wasn't something I was missing, maybe they did have an acceptable explanation but also I wanted to discuss it so they were aware that it was being looked at. I found in most situations that they did not have a reasonable explanation.

Are you competivie?

Yes I am competitive, I am not afraid of competition. In fact I am competing for this position and I certainly want to win! I have clear goals and I think competition when taken in the right way promotes motivation and drives a company towards results.