Page 76 - You're Hired! Interview Answers

More broadly, the interviewee has understood what the interviewer is looking taSk-BaSed QueStionS examPLe inteRview anSweRS
for, namely, a description of what was done to meet a difficult target. From this
the interviewer can reasonably surmise that this person is willing to take action
– and knows what action to take – in order to deliver an objective. Notice as
well that the interviewee has used language that is appropriate to the question
area: terms like ‘lead time’, ‘prioritise’, ‘critical’, ‘checklist’, ‘target’, ‘updates’
and ‘track progress’ all help to show that you understand what the question is
getting at.

There is one additional step you can take to impress, and that is framing your
answer to show that you have understood the questioner’s intent and that you
have a systematic approach to this kind of situation.

Starting your answer:

“I try to take broadly the same approach to delivering against tough deadlines;

what I usually do is work back from the delivery date, build in some margin
for error and then schedule accordingly. For example, we were under a lot of

pressure in marketing ...”

Closing your answer:

“... and I was very happy with the design quality we achieved. This is pretty
much the approach I take when I’m faced with challenging deadlines.”

It is important not to dwell on your broad approach for too long – remember
that the interviewer wants to know what you actually did – but some ‘topping
and tailing’ of your answer, as in the example above, helps the interviewer
to be confident that your general approach to this kind of challenge is also
consistent and systematic.

Dealing with follow-up questions
Structured interviews involve follow-up and probe questions, so let’s take this
example one stage further.

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