Page 113 - How To Answer Interview Questions (II)

Job Interview Question 56

Tell me about a time you planned and coordinated a project from
start to finish

With this question, they want to see your thought process in action—planning, strategic thinking,
decision-making, etc. Don’t just say, “I once coordinated X and it turned out great.” Use the STAR
format, walk them through the steps, and include details in your story.

Ideally, you’ll choose a work project to talk about, but if you really don’t have a good example,
then use a project from volunteer work of some kind—something where you coordinated something
with moving parts or multiple facets, whether that was people, places, or things, and has a successful
outcome.

Situation or Task –
What was the project? Why were you doing it? Why were you in charge? What
was your goal?
Talk about how you gathered information and used resources to help you get
this done. Did you have to learn anything new to complete this project? How
did you do that? Did you read a book, watch an online video, or talk to
someone?
Talk about the scope of the project. How many people or groups participated in
it? What was the budget? What was the timeline?
Action –
What did you do? How did you delegate tasks? How did you coordinate the
project? Did you use special software? Did you use Excel spreadsheets? How
did you stay organized? Did you encounter any problems along the way? How
did you decide to address them?