Questions based on "Handling Crises"
Here
we deals with questions that are sensitive and can be uncomfortable to answer.
Many of these questions may have a negative undertone and seem to be asking,
“Tell us something that is wrong with you.” The interviewer is looking to see
if past problems are going to follow you to this job. Many of the questions ask
for examples of your past behavior—“behaviorist questions.” You will notice in
the example answers that part of the perfect phrase you use takes the focus off
of the negative factors and instead accentuates the positive qualities that you
bring to the job.
By
thinking about and preparing for this type of question before the interview,
you will feel more confident about the circumstances of negative situations.
You will be able to look the interviewer in the eye as you answer with
confidence, talking about those times that you would just as soon forget.
1. Tell me about a time when you had to react quickly to a situation?
2. Many of our clients are frequently in crisis mode how would you work in such an environment?
3. Have you ever had a crisis you couldn't deal with?
4. Give me an example of a time when you weren't able to deal successfully with a problem?
Let’s
start now
1. Tell me about a time when you had to react quickly to a situation?
We
often have rush orders, which means that we have to drop everything and run. We
had a situation like that last month where the customer wanted a delivery in
the evening mail. Fortunately, I know a post office that is open until
midnight. I had to work until almost that time to meet this deadline, but I was
able to do it. I am known for doing whatever it takes to get the job done.
When
I was an officer in the military, I had a crew of eight men under me. We were
on our way home to a much needed leave when we received orders to return to the
country we had just left. There was a national emergency at the time, and we
had no recourse. I had to do some sympathetic talking to try to get morale back
up, pointing out that we were doing something that was going to make a
difference. Outside we all accepted the assignment and did our job. Inside we
were all really feeling down. In the end we did the job we signed on to do.
On
my way out of the office one night I received a ‘panic’ call from a key
customer. He needed a document sent to him by 8:00 A.M.the next day. There was
nothing to do but to back track and start my day over instead of ending it. I
worked two extra hours and then drove to a post office to send the document by
next day express. I got the job done. The customer was grateful, and that’s
what matters to me.
2. Many of our clients are frequently in crisis mode how would you work in such an environment?
You
might say that I am the ‘calm’ in the eye of the storm. I have a unique ability
to stay level-headed when things get out of control. I find that talking less
and listening more is the answer to handling clients in crisis. Have you ever
heard of the term ‘whirling dervishes’? When customers are whirling, I stay cantered
and let them whirl around me. When I see that they’re running out of steam, I
step in and talk in a very calm and quiet voice. I ask questions to make sure
that I understand the problem and then deal with the problem. You’d be
surprised at how effective this is.”
When
I took my last job, I was able to prove very early in the game that I was the
person who could handle escalated problems. First of all I use a voice that
shows confidence and authority, and I let the customer know that I am there for
him or her. Second, I am very analytical about solving problems, and I make
sure that I explore as many options for solution as possible. Last, I make sure
that the customer knows that I will do whatever I can to get him or her through
this crisis.”
3. Have you ever had a crisis you couldn’t deal with?
We
had a fire in our office, and, as you can imagine, it was very scary as smoke
began to fill the rooms. I kept calm throughout the ordeal and attempted to get
some of the important ledgers and disks to take with me, but the smoke became
too thick too fast. I had to leave with everyone else. I felt I had failed in
retrieving valuable information, but everything happened so fast that life
became more important than documents.”
I
don’t know that this would qualify as a crisis, but it was a big deal for me.
In my first job I inadvertently sent out the wrong project information to the
wrong customer. It was big because there was proprietary information
Included.
I quickly contacted the delivery service as soon as I realized the mistake, and
I was able to retrieve one of the two packages before it was opened.The other
package unfortunately was opened, and I had to take the responsibility for my
mistake. I can tell you that I never made that error again.”
I
can’t remember a real crisis, but I have had some unpleasant moments when I’ve
made mistakes. One time I forgot to include some expensive software in a
pricing calculation, and the company had to stand behind my quote even though
it took a loss. That particular day it felt like the biggest crisis of my
career. I learned a valuable lesson about taking my time and checking my
figures twice before making commitments.”
4. Give me an example of a time when you weren’t able to deal successfully with a problem?
We
were having a problem meeting a deadline at my last job. My boss told us that
for each day over the deadline, there would be money subtracted from the bonus
we were promised. You can imagine how that news went over. But there is nothing
like money to motivate a team of workers. I came up with the idea of
cross-functional teams to complete our task. Each person paired up with a
person who did a different job. By working in tandem, we were able to do twice
the steps in half the time. It was a bit confusing for the first couple of
days, but it really boosted morale. Everybody was pulling toward a common goal.
We
came in two days late, but it could have been much worse. In the end we all
laughed about working so hard and getting penalized for our efforts. It was the
most stressful and fun time I’ve ever had on a job.
This
is one of those stories without a happy ending. I usually have a planned
schedule for every step of a project. There was a time however when my plan was
not as well thought out as usual, and it started to fall apart. I hadn’t
allowed extra time for problems or emergencies. I had cut it too close to begin
with, and of course this is the time my computer chose to crash. It was chaotic
for a while until I called and located a computer that wasn’t being used for a
few days. I was able to retrieve most of my data, and I did complete the job.
Unfortunately, my best efforts and resourcefulness didn’t kick in quick enough,
so I missed the deadline, but I learned a valuable lesson in the process.
That
hasn’t happened to me again.”
There
was one incident when I couldn’t deal with a problem in the office, and I was
sorry after that I hadn’t. We had a customer who was taking advantage of the
situation by using our service as a means to get free technical assistance,
even when it was not our product she needed help with. I helped her because she
was a good customer, and I saw others doing the same thing for this customer.
Eventually it was reported that this woman was abusing the services, and she
quit the service. I always regretted not taking the initiative and speaking
directly to her. I learned a lesson from that incident which has helped me
handle similar problems in a more assertive manner.
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