Q1. Introduction - Tell us about yourself, did you have any trouble finding us?
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My name is ________, I live in ________and am married/sigle with _______ kids.
I studied ________ in ________ which is where I was first introduced to the industry. Since then I have completed ________ and learned about ________. I think that both of those experience in particular are going to be relevant to this position.
Q2. Introduction - What do you know about our company?
(this is an opportunity to show that you have researched the company and are genuinely interested in the position)
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You have ________ employees and ________offices around the state. You are well known for outstanding customer service and a broad catalog of services. Your CEO is ________ and your primary business is selling ________.
Q3. Body of the interview - Why do you think that you are qualified for this position?
(this question is more about your understanding of the position and less about your qualifications. Make sure you give examples to validate your claims)
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I think that this type of position requires excellent ________ skills. My background with those skills is ________. In fact here are some examples of times I have used those skills: ________.
But in addition to those skills, I think that for someone to excel in that position they would require outstanding (communication / oral / written / report writing / analytical / investigative / organizational / people) skills. Some examples of my application of those skills are ________.
Q4. Body - How do you handle conflict in the workplace?
(hint. the answer to this question always excludes emotive responses. Just explain a process that is calm and rational)
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I believe that the best approach is to be upfront and honest. Explain my concerns clearly and in an appropriate time and environment. I would seek a facilitator if the environment was one where there was some risk of an emotional response.
Q5. Situational Question - On returning to work from your lunch break you are confronted with an angry customer. how do you handle the situation?
(follow company policy - listen and assist the customer within those boundaries. Escalate the problem if the customer is not satisfied with your response)
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I would listen carefully to their complaint. I would look to our code of conduct and company policies regarding refunds / returns / broken items in terms of what actions I could take to appease the customer.
Q6. Behavioral Question - Describe a situation where you have had to use persuasion in order to convince someone to see things a different way.
(this question is about your ability to communicate and present facts)
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We had a stock check process that effectively double dipped our inventory. Our team leader was against changing a process that had worked for several years but I felt that it would be much more efficient to do the stock take a slightly different way. I drew up a process chart and it clearly showed a double entry. I also suggested that we run a trial with 100 items and it was incredibly successful. The company uses the new process till this day.
Q7. Shock Question - Your resume suggests that you have a weakness in ______. What is your opinion?
(shock questions test your temperament - stay calm and answer honestly and rationally)
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I can see how you might derive that and to be honest ______ is not my strongest area. However, I have made some significant improvements through repeated practice in my last position and I feel that the lessons learnt put me in a great position to progress that skill even further. It is certainly my intention to continue improving that skill by (practicing / reading / Internet / home project / certification / training).
Q8. Open Question - What is your opinion about good customer service?
(When answering these questions - try to imagine the answer from the employers eyes, what would they want to see...)
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Good customer service is about providing a solution of great perceived value by the customer. It not only involves a product, but communication and a relationship that will ensure that they will look to you first when thinking about this problem in the future.
Q9. Closed Question - Do you know how many service centers we have in the district?
(closed questions can be tricky if you don't know the answer but once again - stay calm and explain your process for acquiring the answer. Don't offer excuses why you don't know such as - I'm nervous)
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I don't recall specifically how many service centers in the district but I guess that there might be ______ given the size of the district and the number of service centers nationally. I remember that your website did segment the service centers into districts.
Q10. Trick Question - What is your greatest weakness?
(Be Careful! Don't be tempted to stray away to unrelated topics - for example, by answering 'chocolate'. Also, be careful not to put yourself down - I don't know how to .... One last tip, please don't take the self assured route by answering 'weakness is not in my vocabulary')
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Job requirement A is my biggest weakness, although I can exceed job requirement A employer's expectation I've have to work really, really hard to reach that level. job requirement B comes more naturally so in comparison job requirement A is my biggest weakness.
Q11. Closing - Do you have any questions for us?
(the answer is never 'no' - consider anything else you may want to know about start times, public transport, dress code, overtime, working on weekends etc. If you genuinely have no more questions try the response below in place of a 'no')
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I did have some questions about ______ coming into the interview. But we have already discussed them and I am satisfied with the response.
