 Capt. Horatio T.P. Webb |
Parks -- Fall 2014 | |
Capt. Horatio T.P. Webb |
Parks -- Fall 2014 | |
If you haven't got the stuff below done yet. Do it.
Prepare for the following types of questions (this means to write down your answer and practice speaking it)
Do not try this unprepared -- you will stumble and mumble and the interview will fail.
In response to the question: "Tell me about yourself":
In thirty seconds say six (6) sentences:
2 sentences about "who you are" -- examples like these:
2 sentences about "your accomplishments" -- things you have done at school or work or in life in general
2 about what "you want in the future"
WRITE THE 6 SENTENCES DOWN and PRACTICE SAYING THEM.
When you hear: "Tell me about yourself" it should roll of your tongue automatically.
When asked to describe a "team" or "group" circumstance/example/situation that you participated in -- tell the story in 4-5 sentences.
The story should involve "a team solving a problem that has a HAPPY ending" (NO BAD stories about lazy team members or bitching about team members). Write it down and practice delivery. Describe your "active role" in the process. (see James Del Monte's link below about PAR "Problem-Action-Result"). Examples:
"I was on a team at work to choose a new point of sales terminal system. Our initial meetings involved two groups arguing for their favorite vendor. So, I did a web survey of options and presented an Excel spreadsheet to the group that summarized the various vendors' features. We used the spreadsheet to come up with a recommendation that was implemented by the sales manager."
[Note: the part where the speaker takes an active role]
"I was assigned to work in a group to build a new customer ratings system. I came up with the idea of using a 'customer survey' rather than 'open ended comments'. I presented the idea to the group and it was accepted and proved to be the basis for the final solution that we proposed to management.
"The fund raising committee at my chess club had been unable to raise very much money in recent years. As a team member, I did a study and found that charging fees for our chess competition allowed us to pay prizes and make some money for the club. I managed to convince the team to make calls to clubs in other towns to confirm the idea's worth. We integrated the fee schedules and prize award information we found from our survey and made 42,000 the first year of the new competition format."
"My brother and I have disliked our family reunions because they are so terribly boring for the children. We got all the teenage cousins together and planned events for the children. We assigned different people to set up activities for each of the age groups. Our next reunion was a smashing success because the children had things to do, the teenagers were kept busy running the activities and the older generation got to sit around and gossip without interruption. It was a great success."
When asked about your leadership experience tell a story of 4-6 sentences. This is just like the "TEAM" question except you are the "leader" in this story. Again the context of the story doesn't matter (school, work, clubs, etc.) -- only that YOU saw a need, YOU took charge and the problem was solved. Again this story has a HAPPY ending.
Examples:
"Deliveries at the store were constantly late because the warehouse team was constantly behind. I suggested we all work an extra two hours a day for a week so that we could catch up. I told everyone I would buy the beer if we got caught up by Friday. Everybody agreed, we worked extra hours and by Thursday afternoon, we were processing orders as they arrived -- no delays. I bought the beer that night and later in the month we all got a raise."
"Backup systems at work were often not used every day. The team was busy and often didn't have enough time to complete the backup process before quitting time. I suggested to my supervisor that we form a team to study the problem. Our team meet and investigated options including using automatic cloud systems for backup. We met, investigated options, and finally chose a cloud solutions that we recommended to our supervisor. I got a nice bonus at the end of the year for my efforts."
"Our high school needed more computers. As a member of the school's computer club I suggested that we form a committee to help out. We made lots of phone calls and found out that the University had a recycling program that collected used machines and gave them to charity. We went down to University and found twenty used PCs, salvaged some parts and made them work. We set up a new computer lab at the school using these refurbished computers."
The questions is often in two parts: For example: "What are you best skills?" or, "What is your favorite subject in school?", etc. (e.g., what you are good at)
FOLLOWED BY:
"What is your weakest skill?" "What was your least favorite course in school?" (e.g., what are you poor at?)
The answer to the "Strengths" question is easy:
database; programming; public speaking; spreadsheets; statistics; activity planning; research;,...
But weakness are difficult to admit. You cannot say: "I don't have any weaknesses" -- we all do.
The trick is to state your weakness and then state what you are doing to correct it.
For example, weakness like:
"Public speaking -- and I am attending a "Toastmasters Club" to help me learn how to speak in public."
"Statistics -- I had a tough time with this course and hired a tutor to help me out."
"Being late -- I have purchased a new phone app that sends me alerts one hour; thirty minutes; and ten minutes before each meeting. It works well to make me punctual."
Write down your strengths and weaknesses (an you proposed solutions to your weaknesses). Practice saying them.
http://www.jdapsi.com/Candidate/Articles/behavioral_interview
Go to this page:
http://www.jdapsi.com/Candidate/articles/UofHTips14.ppt