2. What is your greatest strength?
What I bring to the team is a strong record in technical experience and relationship building.
I’m happiest when I’m engaging and strategizing about how we can help one another. What technical problems are there to be solved as well as what are the task that we are doing daily and can be automated. I think my superpower is in establishing more meaningful connections.
I’ve gotten strong feedback in the past. In the last company I got Innovative mind award for solving technical challenges that others werent able to find.
Why this answer worked well:
- She was specific and shared real numbers.
- She stayed relevant. The experience and the story all came together and she supported it all with numbers.
3. What is your greatest weakness?
I get excited when there is a technical challenge or a problem to be automated. I sometimes get directly into coding it without getting the minor details
Fortunately, though, the job we’re discussing seems well-suited for people like me, people that bring a lot of enthusiasm to the job and are ready to keep getting better and better at the follow-through.
4. Why should we hire you?
5. Why do you want to work here?
6. Tell me about a time you showed leadership.
Recently there was a situation where my manager needed to take medical leave and was unable to come into work for a few weeks. This coincided with a major deadline that he was leading. I knew that if this project wasn’t completed on time, we were at risk of losing a major client.
I looked to my right and my left, and there wasn’t anyone else who could own the project, so I jumped in with both feet and took the initiative.
I went through the files and developed a schedule detailing what needed to be completed, and I worked with my coworkers to ensure they were on board too.
In the end, we were able to complete the project by the deadline. The client was pleased and stayed on as a loyal customer to the company. When my boss came back, he gave me an end-of-quarter bonus because he was impressed I was able to rally everyone to complete the project.
Why this answer worked well:
- She shared details that make it easy to visualize what was happening.
- She described how she got her coworkers onboard and met the deadline to keep her loyal client.
7. Tell me about a time you were successful on a team
I was asked to work on a high-profile project that included collaborating with a new team and tons of people across a larger organization.
We were spread out across the globe, which meant timezones were tricky and we could never meet face-to-face. Communication was starting to get confusing, and people were losing important details.
It became apparent that this project was going to fail if we didn’t have a new strategy, so I met with various team members and engaged them in a process where we designed and implemented a communication system that would work a lot better.
We then did weekly check-ins; designed a protocol to share relevant updates so we’d stay on track; developed a detailed outline of goals and milestones; and led the meetings.
In the end, the team made massive progress. We completed the project on time, and it was praised extensively by the client. The team thanked me for helping to course-correct. We also continue to use these tools, and they are what make our team so much more efficient at what we do.
Why this answer worked well:
- She started off discussing a specific situation and the issues involved with having to work on a global team.
- She talked about the specific action steps she took like implementing a new work process.
- She described the positive results and teamwork skills she demonstrated along the way.
8. What would your co-workers say about you?
I think my coworkers would tell you that I’m the one you turn to when it’s time to make sure everyone stays motivated and on track to pull off big, high-profile projects.
In one of my LinkedIn recommendations, my supervisor refers to me as the “Human Glue”, which is something I’m proud of. She gave me that nickname after we went through a complex ERP implementation. It was one of those stressful time-critical projects that required the team to come together and make things happen in a short amount of time.
I kept the crew going, sometimes through long evening and weekend hours, and inspired them to bring their absolute best to the project everyday.
I think that they also appreciated the pizza and donuts I brought in too.
Why this answer worked well:
- He shared something specifically related to the job.
- He pointed the interviewer to a supervisor’s favorable LinkedIn recommendation.
- He shared a bit of humor.
9. Why do you want to leave your current role?
I’m eager to find a new opportunity and grow.
As you can see, I’ve been doing the same kind of work for two and a half years, and I’m starting to stagnate. My company doesn’t have a role open for the next step up, unfortunately. So, I’m excited about the opportunity of becoming a sales manager at your company.
The new role will let me use the skills I’ve developed in my current role like making cold calls; hooking in new clients with pithy-but-inspiring opening lines; following up with carefully crafted emails; listening to their pain points; and then offering up solutions that can solve their problems.
I’m eager to make a fresh start, and I want to use my cold calling and listening skills to help craft an even better solution with the product I’d be working on in this new role.
Why this answer worked well:
- She was positive and talked about her excitement about the new role. She did say she started to stagnate in her current role though, so she should tweak that language a bit to make it more favorable to them.
- She talked about using her current skills to gain new skills and experiences as a sales manager.
- She framed this in the context of the new role and the new job she’s applying for. She should make it even more about how excited she is about the products — and selling them — for the company she’s applying to.
What do you like to do outside of work?
A lot of my spare time lately has been dedicated to teaching myself how to shoot and edit instructional videos.
I’ve been a garage-sale shopper for several years, and I sell my finds on eBay to pay down my student loan debt. So far I’ve raised $11,000. People who find out that I do this often have a lot of questions about how to get started, how to find the best stuff, and how to market items on eBay.
So I’ve decided to put a few tutorials up on YouTube. That way people can learn through the videos — and I gain a new creative skill.
Why this answer worked well:
- He came off as resourceful, financially responsible, and willing to share his talents with others.
- He focused on how his interest helps with self-improvement.
- He made sure all his comments were appropriate.
Tell me about a time you failed or made a mistake.
In my first job, my manager asked me to develop several forms of tracking projects. I said “yes” because I wanted to do everything my manager asked me to do.
But as I started working on the project, I realized I didn’t understand the overall goal. And the project ended up creating templates that didn’t meet my manager’s expectations.
My manager was disappointed in me. She told me that if I had asked some clarifying questions, I would’ve gotten to a better work product. I admitted to my manager that I had made a mistake and learned that it doesn’t make you look stupid if you ask clarifying questions.
I learned that it’s better to speak up quickly. That’s how I’ve handled those situations ever since.
Why this answer worked well:
- She owned her mistake, going straight to the point and describing a situation with the right level of detail.
- She reflected on what she did wrong — not asking clarifying questions — and how that negatively impacted her work.
- She talked about what she learned from the experience.
Tell me about a time you worked with a difficult person.
My boss assigned me to a big project that entailed working across multiple teams. I had to collect and analyze data that would help her make an informed decision about a new service we were introducing to our customers.
One of these individuals I needed to collect data from had a bit of a difficult personality. He was late to provide the data, and when he did provide it, it was incomplete or inaccurate.
Without getting the right information from him I knew I wouldn’t be able to complete my assignment. After I asked a few times, he agreed to have coffee with me so we could talk about the situation and I could get a better sense of what his challenges were.
I asked what I could do to help make the request easier for him. He shared that he was overwhelmed, as he had multiple competing deadlines, and that there were errors and delays with all the data.
We brainstormed ways that I could break down my request into more bite-size chunks so he could squeeze in the request in between bigger projects.
I then customized each of my requests in a way that would work with his schedule. He appreciated how much I was able to tailor my request to meet his needs. And ultimately, he helped me complete my assignments on time.
Why this answer worked well:
- She described a tough situation and the difficulties that she experienced with this person.
- She explained the action steps she took and its positive outcome.
- She took the time to understand this individual’s issues, which is a crucial skill you need when working with others.