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136 COMPETENCY-BASED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Result: Two hundred employees joined the program, the majority quit

smoking in the short term, and thirty quit for good.

Question 130. Give an example of a situation in which your greatest

weakness negatively impacted a relationship or a project you were working on.

Situation: My e-mail communications were known to be uninten-

tionally short and curt. Co-workers were used to my terse writing style; how-
ever, customers were not. One time, a client e-mailed me, inquiring about a
new service the company had launched. In my response, I pointed her to the
Web site where the features and benefits of the service were described. The
client took my reply as a lack of interest in her continued business.

Action: Though I was able to salvage the relationship, after that inci-

dent I enrolled in an e-mail communications course to ensure that my elec-
tronic correspondences accurately reflected my intentions.

Result: This is a problem I am still working to correct. When I find that

my e-mail messages are coming across negatively, I pick up the phone and
explain.

Question 131. Recall a time when you invested time or money in devel-

oping your career.

Situation: I was an executive assistant at Philanthropic Enterprise for

a few years, and I wanted a position in the corporate fund-raising division.
Though the department had openings, the position required experience in so-
liciting donations. To gain experience, I approached the owner of a local an-
imal shelter and offered to launch a pro bono event to raise money. He readily
agreed to the idea.

Action: During my lunchtime, after work, and on weekends, I networked

with people from the local chamber of commerce to secure sponsors and a lo-
cation for the event. I also contacted local newspapers to provide publicity.

Result: The event raised $2,800 for the shelter. When another position

at Philanthropic Enterprise opened up, I leveraged my experience during an in-
ternal job interview and received the promotion.

American Management Association
www.amanet.org