Interview questions 2

What is your greatest accomplishment?

"I have several notable accomplishments in my career. Probably the most notable accomplishment was the completion of St Paul the Apostle school. In this situation my Project Manager had a heart attack. He had to have a pace maker put in so he was not able to perform his duties for some time. Because I worked with him so closely I felt that I oulsd step up and take the lead of the project. We had 5 months to complete the upgrade of the campus wide electrical systems and exterior lighting. I had a team of 25 guys to work with. I took the lead making sure materials were ordered , contrators were scheduled and permits were pulled and ready for inspection. We were racing against a giant clock tp meet a tight deadline. The school thought they wouldn't be able to open and I assured them we would make the deadline by working long hours. Not only did we make the deadline but we finished two days ahead of schedule. They were so happy that they awarded us two other contracts. St Paul Hospital and Mt St Joseph church. By prioritizing tasks, setting personal deadlines, and communicating with my project team members about when I was going to get back to them, we got it all done on time.

Give an example of a time when you failed to meet a deadline.

"I was managing a project for one of our biggest clients in my previous company, and I was so eager to please them that I told them we could finish the project within 2 weeks. I thought this was doable, but it ended up taking 3 weeks and they were not happy. Looking back, I realized I should have been more conservative in my estimate to the client. I realized that a client isn't going to be upset if you're clear about the timeline in advance, but they are going to be disappointed if you promise something and then don't deliver. So I took this experience and used it to become much better at managing expectations of clients during projects I oversee. For example, on the next project with a different client, I told them it'd take 4 weeks and we finished in 3. They were very happy about this."

How do you handle conflict with a co-worker?

A co-worker and I were assigned a project together, and I soon realized that our communication styles with the client were very different. I like to follow up with the client via email every few days, along with a phone call once a week to give updates, I considered it building rapor and letting the client know we were always there and on top of things. while my co-worker saw it as being a nuisance to the client. . Instead of allowing this to create conflict, I had a conversation with my co-worker. We compromised by following up with the client every two weeks, as opposed to every week, which resulted in a smoother collaboration.

Have you ever had conflict with a co-worker?

A co-worker and I were assigned a project together, and I soon realized that our communication styles with the client were very different. I like to follow up with the client via email every few days, along with a phone call once a week to give updates, while my co-worker prefers communicating less often. Instead of allowing this to create conflict, I had a conversation with my co-worker. We compromised by following up with the client every two weeks, as opposed to every week, which resulted in a smoother collaboration.

Tell me a time when you went above and beyond?

A recent goal I had was to implement a new software to be used companywide. We had 25 days to achieve this goal. The former system was very inefficient. Each department had a different program and a lot of things were falling trough the cracks. I had to find a single software that could be utilized in every department. I had 25 days to find and implement this software before the contract for the previous software renewed. The owner loved the idea of having a user friendly program that linked all departments and I was pivotal in the scheduling of training of all departments. (A representive of ESC did 5 hour training for 3 days) (the project department was able to input their project the estimator and accounting were able to see everything as well) We were able to bill faster and generate more revenue.

Have you ever had conflict with a boss?

Although rare I have had a conflict with my boss. In my previous job we had to prepare various kickoff reports. The way my boss wanted me to do it made it a much heavier workload and took a lot of time away from me completing other tasks. I wanted to work more efficiently but he was stuck on the way he had always done things in the past. I did it his way and patiently waited for a time he was more receptive to hearing my idea. In the end he saw how we could be more efficient and saw the benefits of my methods.

What descensions are the most difficult for you to make?

Decision making is a requirement of almost every professional role. So take a difficult decision you had to make which was positively resolved in the end. Walk the interviewer through the specific example about what made it a difficult decision and how it was eventually resolved. While you should choose a difficult decision example, you should select an example where your decision was correct in the end. If you are at a management level, you can usually answer about people decisions, since these are usually the most difficult to make and with the greatest number of unpredicted variables.

What interests you most about the job?

Every day is different and I get to interact with such a varied groups/people. It means I am always learning.

How do you define success?

I define success as delivering more than is expected of me.

What kind of reports have you prepared for clients and management teams?

I have prepared various forms of reports throughout my career. With being you I prepared both primary and secondary marketing research reports. In my time with watertree health part of my duties included preparing sales reports. And with Intelectric I provided the company with status update reports for various projects.

What's your approach if you don't know how to do something?

I would first get as many details as possible to make sure I had a clear understanding of what was needed. Then if it was a relatively straightforward task, I would do a quick internet search for a tutorial. If that wasn't easy to find, in order to not waste time, I would ask either the person who assigned the task or another coworker for help

What motivates you?

I'm motivated by several things in my work. Doing meaningful work, accomplishing daily goals, recognition and having the tools to be successful are the most important motivators for me

How do you persuade people to your point of view?

In my current position, my department had been continuing to work with a specific vendor for many years simply due to inertia. It was easiest to simply renew the vendor's contract each year, rather than consider other alternatives. While my manager initially objected to considering alternatives, I explained that I would like to take time to evaluate the top vendors in the field and present the alternatives. It would still be her final decision on who to work with over the long term. We considered a total of five vendors, including the incumbent. The end result was the selection of a new vendor with better features and functionality for our department at a savings.

Tell me a time when you had too much to do and how did you prioritize your tasks?

In this line of work there is always a lot to do and strict timelinesregarding every project. I worked out an important/urgent scale for rating tasks so that it is clear what takes the highest priority. If something is both important and urgent, it gets highest priority. Important but not urgent is next and urgent but not important is next, then not important and not urgent is last. My boss knows the rating system and even codes request as IU, INU, UNI and NINU when sending them to me

What's most important to you in a job?

It's important for me to be productive in my role. I am known for delivering quality results in a timely manner.

What would your boss say about you?

My boss would say that I was reliable and one of the most productive individuals on the team and that I was key to helping our team achieve our goals for the year.

Describe a time when you had to give a client bad news about a project

No one wants to ever give bad news to a client but it does happen from time to time. There was an instance where I had to tell a client that the cost for their project went up due the the unexpected rise in material. They were unhappy with the situation but they were happy that I brought ideas in where we could shave off costs in other areas.

What is your biggest regret?

Probably my biggest regret has been not focusing on my chosen career earlier. As you can see from my resume, my Bachelor's degree is in Science. At that point in my life, I didn't have a clear idea of what I wanted to do in my career. However, my career path has led me to what I truly love to do.

Describe a situation when you had to request assistance on a project.

There was a situation when I was handed a lot of work thrown on me with a short amount of time to complete it. Certain forms needed information that were not readily available and would take a lot of time to research and find. I had two choices available to me. Try to find everything myself and not meet the deadline or delegate and make it a team effort. I enlisted some co-workers that were available and willing to help. Together they helped me finish the paperwork way ahead of schedule.