Displaying Interview Questions 57-64

57. Give me a specific occasion in which you conformed to a policy with which you did not agree.

Sample excellent response:
When I worked at Home Depot as an assistant manager, I was always looking for way to boost my employees' morale. Unloading trucks is a very routine and physical job and can become very boring and exhausting, so to improve the unloaders' attitude toward their duties and make the best of the situation, I put a radio in the receiving dock. It worked; however, the district manager did not approve of the radio in the workplace even though it did not interfere with any set policy of company objectives. The radio was also out of any areas where customers would hear the music. I did not agree with my DMs decision to remove the radio; however, I understood his point of view once he explained it to me and promptly complied to his request. The employees were not happy that their radio was gone, so I found an alternative method of reward and morale boosting by implementing a program in which we provided lunch for the unloaders from any restaurant of their choice if they unloaded the trucks faster than normal. This program succeeded by increasing their unloading time from 2 1/2 hours to only 1 1/2, a savings in payroll of 8 percent of sales for that shift.

Also, remember the S-A-R (situation-action-result) technique and see a sample S-A-R story.

58. Give me an example of an important goal which you had set in the past and tell me about your success in reaching it.

Sample excellent response:
As a senior in high school, my goal was to attend college and play college golf. But I was nowhere near the player I needed to be to play or even get on the team. So over that summer I worked on my golf game to the point where I won almost every tournament I entered. I spent every hour I had during the day to make myself a better all-around player. I eventually walked on my freshmen year and was exempted from qualifying because I played so well in my first outing.

Also, remember the S-A-R (situation-action-result) technique and see a sample S-A-R story.

59. Describe the most significant or creative presentation that you have had to complete.

Sample excellent response:
The most significant presentation I have ever had to present was at a national research symposium. I was presenting research I had completed on digital analysis of mammograms and had to present to a panel of more than 100 judges who were at the top of their field. I focused on the research, which could sell itself, and just let the information flow. It went over very well, and I received many more invitations to present the research, including on national television.

Also, remember the S-A-R (situation-action-result) technique and see a sample S-A-R story.

60. Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.

Sample excellent response:
Although I had already punched out, I stayed behind to help a colleague solve a problem. A customer was very angry as he had waited very long for his coffee. My colleague was new, she was quite slow. I came out and explained things to the customer. Although he was very angry at first, I just listened to him and told him that we try to bring our best out to each customer who walks in to our store. After a one-hour discussion, he left with a happy face and was satisfied.
[Submitted by "Fizah."]

Also, remember the S-A-R (situation-action-result) technique and see a sample S-A-R story.

61. Give me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa).

Sample excellent response:
During my time in the theater, I had one director with whom I absolutely did not work well. However, because of my track record, she would assign me as stage director and/or assistant director. I was usually involved in the day-to-day operations of the play and the details of how the play would be performed. I handled the operation for the play by directing scenes the best way I could and then showing them to her for approval. If she did not like the way a scene worked, I gave her my opinion as to why it should be my way. If we still could not compromise, I would follow her directions to the best of my ability. Understanding that people don't usually have malicious intentions is key, and understanding that you will never be able to convince some people that your way is right is the best way to avoid conflict and still get the job done.

Also, remember the S-A-R (situation-action-result) technique and see a sample S-A-R story.

62. Sometimes it's easy to get in "over your head." Describe a situation where you had to request help or assistance on a project or assignment.

Sample excellent response:
It's impossible to know everything in the IT field because of rapidly changing technology, so recently when we were having troubles with our circuit emulation over our ATM network, I had to call in some engineers from North Carolina to come help me out. The nice thing about asking for help is that when you get the assistance, you can learn from what you are told and apply it to future situations.

Also, remember the S-A-R (situation-action-result) technique and see a sample S-A-R story.

63. Give an example of how you applied knowledge from previous coursework to a project in another class.

Sample excellent response:
Last semester I was taking a microeconomics and a statistics course. One of the microeconomics projects dealt with showing the relationship between the probability that customers would stop buying a product if the price was raised a certain amount. Through what I learned in statistics I could find the median where the price was the highest and still kept most of the customers happy.

Also, remember the S-A-R (situation-action-result) technique and see a sample S-A-R story.

64. Describe a situation where others you were working with on a project disagreed with your ideas. What did you do?

Sample excellent response:
I was on a project team in a business class in my freshman year in college, The group brainstormed ideas for the video we were assigned to produce, and everyone but me was leaning toward an idea that would be easy. I suggested instead an idea that would be more difficult but would be something different that no other group would be doing. I used my communications skills to persuade the rest of the group to use my idea. During the project, we really learned what teamwork was all about, became a close team, and ended up putting a lot of hard work into the project. All the team members ended up feeling very proud of the video, and they thanked me for the idea -- for which we earned an A.

Also, remember the S-A-R (situation-action-result) technique and see a sample S-A-R story.

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