CONCEPTUAL THINKING

Identifying key issues, seeing relationships and drawing elements together into broad coherent frameworks.

1 Have you ever recognised a problem before your boss or others in the organisation? Explain.

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3 How do you stay attuned to potential problems? Explain.

4 What sources of information do you use to keep aware of problems within your department?

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What problems are you currently working on that came as a surprise to you? How much advance notice did you have on the problems? Why did the __________________ problem come as such a surprise?

Describe any significant projects, ideas, etc. you have conceived within the past year. How did you know they were needed and would work? Were they used? Did they work?

If we're lucky, we can sometimes identify a small problem and fix it before it becomes a major problem. Can you give me an example of when you've been able to identify small problems before they become big?

At one time or another, we have all though we had successfully handled a problem only to find we really had affected only a symptom of a larger problem. Can you give me an example of a time when you did this?

STRATEGIC THINKING

Taking the longer term into consideration and developing broad scale objectives.

1 What are some of the toughest financial analysis problems you have faced on the job?

2Describe a reorganisation that has significantly affected you. Describe your part in it.

3 Did you develop your unit's operating plans or goals? How?

4 Do you have long and short term plans for your department? In writing? How do you use them?

5What organisational changes have you made in the last year? Why?

INNOVATIVENESS

Generating original and imaginative ideas and solutions to problems.

1 What are some of the most imaginative or innovative things you have done in your present position?

2How much opportunity for innovation and imagination is there in your present position? Why?

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What do you do differently than your predecessors in the position?

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8 When did you last abandon traditional approaches to meet goals?

9 How did you go about considering alternatives outside the realm of your specific discipline?

10 Describe a time when you formulated a unique approach to a problem or design objective.

11 Describe a time when you resolved a problem plagued with a history of failed solutions.

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13 Tell me about a time when you gave up a "tried and true" method in favour of a new approach.

Can you think of a situation you had to handle in which old solutions didn't work? What did you do to handle it?

What kinds of problems have people recently called on you to solve? Tell me about your contribution(s) to solving the problem(s).

Can you think of a change in your organisation which your peers would recognise as resulting principally from an innovation you developed?

Describe the last problem in your organisation that was solved in a highly imaginative way. What part did you play?

Tell me about a time when you generated unusually or different (but effective) solutions to a problem or opportunity.

ANALYTICAL THINKING

Logically breaking problems down into their essential elements; carrying out diagnosis and developing solutions.

1 What steps did you take after you identified a certain problem?

2 Describe the biggest problems you have faced in the past 6 months. How did you handle them?

3 What steps do you follow to study a problem before making any decisions? Examples.

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7What are the biggest mistakes you have made in analysing financial data? How did you discover them?

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9 How difficult is it to establish priorities in your job?

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Describe some recent work-related problems and the action you took to solve them.

Tell me about the most important decisions you have made which were based largely on data you got by asking questions.

Walk me through a situation in which you had to get information by asking a lot of questions of several people.

Describe some tough or tricky situations in which you had to talk to people to get information you needed to make an important decision or recommendation.

What were the toughest decisions you have to make while at _____________ Company. Tell me about them. What alternatives did you consider?

ABILITY TO LEARN

Quickly understanding and applying information, concepts and strategies.

1 How did you learn the technical aspects of your job at________? How long did it take you?

2 How long were you at _________________ before you felt at ease with their products and services?

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4What technical courses have you taken? What did you learn? How hard were the courses?

5What formal training did you receive in your job at __________________? How did you do?

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7Tell me about your grades in College.

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9 What courses in college gave you the most difficulty/easiest? Why?

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What is your experience with ____________? Examples.

11 What type of equipment can't you operate? Why?

12 What type of equipment can't you repair?

13 What project at ____________________ gave you the most difficulty? Whey?

14Have you ever felt like you were over your head on a project? Why? What did you do? What happened?

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What did you have to learn to be effective at __________________? How long did it take you? Which parts took the most time? Why? Which parts were the hardest?

Did you take any courses in _____________________ while in College? What grades did you get? In which ones did you have to work the hardest?

What tricks or techniques have you learned to make your job easier or yourself more effective? How did you learn that?

Have you ever had to get help from someone else on ________________? Why? When? What happened?

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17 What was the easiest task you have to learn on your job at __________ that gave other people trouble?

Was there any part of your job at _______________ that came easier to you than to other people? How did you learn it?

SELF DEVELOPMENT ORIENTATION

Taking continuous action to improve personal capacity.

1 What skill development courses have you taken recently? Why did you decide to take them?

2 What are your career goals in the next five years? What have you done to accomplish them?

3What are some ways you have found useful in identifying your needs and potentials?

4How do you keep informed about important changes in your field?

5Where have you recently read and received useful, job-related information from?

6What specific things have you done towards self development?

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ADAPTABILITY

Maintaining effectiveness in different situations, environments and cultures.

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3How many times have you moved? What move caused you the most difficulty and why?

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7How do you cope with disruptions to your planned schedule? Give me a recent example.

8What kinds of pressure do you feel in your job? Tell me about them. How have you dealt with them.

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What kinds of problems did you run into switching from _____________________ department to __________________ department?

Going from the ____________________ position to the _________________________ position must have been difficult. What problems arose and how did you take care of them?

I see that you have moved a number of times. What are the most difficult problems you have faced in moving?

How is your present job affected by factors beyond your control? How do you deal with this? Give examples.

How often is your schedule upset by unforseen circumstances? Give me a recent example. What do you do then?

Tell me about a situation when you had to handle a number of pressing assignments simultaneously. What action did you take?

Describe a situation in which you had to handle several tasks at once. How did you adapt to the situation?

What are the greatest pressure situations that you have been under recently? How did you adapt to the situation?

What kinds of pressure have you felt during your studies? Tell me about them. How do you deal with them?

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FLEXIBILITY

Ability to alter behaviour and opinions in the light of new information or changing situations.

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7Which bosses have you worked most effectively for and why?

8Which bosses have been the hardest to work for? Why was that?

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How have you gotten around obstacles that prevented you from completing projects? Describe the obstacle and what you did to get around it.

Describe a situation in which your first attempt to sell an idea to your (boss, subordinate, etc) failed. Did you try again? What approach did you use the second (third, fourth) time?

Describe a situation in which your initial attempt to gain someone's support or co-operation failed. Did you try again? What approach did you use the second (third, fourth) time?

Give some examples of occasions when you had to approach several individuals for support, co-operation, etc. whom you considered quite different from one another.

Let's talk about your handling of your best employee and your worst employee. Do you manage them differently? How so?

Tell me about some situations in which you have had to adjust quickly to changes in organisational priorities. What was the impact of the change on you?

Tell me about some situations on your job at ________________ where you had to abruptly change what you were doing. What did you do? How did it affect you?

Describe your most satisfying (disappointing) experience in attempting to overcome resistance from your subordinates or peers.

POSITIVE SELF IMAGE

Believing in oneself.

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4Have you ever had to help someone else on a project? Why? When? What happened?

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6Describe the most important event in your education and/or work experience.

7Describe your most satisfying work experience.

8What are your career objectives and what actions have you taken towards achieving them?

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What do you consider to be the biggest contribution you made to your organisation? Why?

11Have you ever felt like you were over your head on a project? Why? What did you do? What happened?

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13 What do you do differently than other managers? Why? Examples.

14Are there any projects you generated on your own? Explain. What prompted you to begin them?

In which of your previous jobs were you most effective? What were your strengths and weaknesses? What did you do to overcome your weaknesses?

We've all experienced disappointment in our lives. Think of a situation where you were disappointed and tell me what you did to handle that disappointment?

Not everyone enjoys hearing criticism or objections. Think of a time when someone criticised you and tell me how you reacted?

We all face challenges. I'd like you to think of the biggest challenge where you succeeded, and the biggest challenge you failed to meet. Tell me about them.

In what areas do you consider yourself proficient? And in what areas do you feel that you still need some development? Why?

Can you think of a project or idea that was implemented or carried out successfully, primarily because of your efforts?

15What has been your biggest achievement at ________________? What steps did you take to achieve it?

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SELF CONTROL

Continuing to perform effectively in stressful and difficult circumstances.

1Give me some examples of when your ideas were strongly opposed in a discussion. How did you react?

2What conditions at _________________________ are most frustrating to you? Why?

3Describe the times in the past year that you have been most upset with your performance.

4Describe the times in the pat year that you have been most upset with someone else.

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When was the last time that the pressure really got to you?

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12How many hours of overtime have you worked to meet a recent deadline?

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14Describe some time in your work at _____________ when you felt most stressed. What caused this?

What is the typical length of your business trips? It's natural for someone to lose their "edge" at the end of a lengthy trip. What was the last time you "lost your edge"? Example.

Have you ever had a feeling of frustration and impatience when dealing with customers (your boss, or peers)? What was the situation?

Have you ever had a feeling of frustration and impatience when dealing with others? What was the situation?

Were there any time pressures on you in your job at ________________? Tell me about them. How did you deal with them?

What were some of your biggest disappointments at __________________? How did you cope with them?

How did you catch up on an accumulated backlog of work after a vacation or conference? Give me some examples.

How many hours a day do you put in your work (studies)? How do you cope with work when you are fatigues?

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16Which kinds of job activities do you find most frustrating? How do you keep things in perspective?

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19 When was the last time your boss criticised the way you handled a situation? Why?

In your work at ________________ describe the amount of ambiguity you encounter(ed) and what you have/had to do to cope with it.

We all have to deal with complaints. Think of a situation where you received a complaint from higher management (or a customer). What was the situation and how did you handle it?

Sometimes job priorities can change frequently and without notice. Has this ever happened to you? What was the situation? How did you handle the change?

TENACITY

Repeated and enduring efforts to overcome obstacles and/or to complete tasks.

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5Describe some situations in which you gave your all, but failed.

6Describe some situations in which you gave your all and succeeded.

7Have you ever taken work home in order to complete a project? What was the situation?

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What were the biggest problems you encountered while in your previous job? How did you handle them?

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13What are some of the best ideas you ever presented to a superior or peer? What was your approach?

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What are some big obstacles you had to overcome to get where you are today? How did you overcome them?

Describe an experience in which you were too persistent. What happened? How could you have improved the outcome?

Have you ever submitted good ideas to your superior and he or she did not take action on them? What did you do?

Can you relate some experiences in which you felt you gained something because you persisted for a length of time?

Many of us have set goals for ourselves. Which of your goals gave you the most trouble? What did you do about them?

Many of us have set goals for ourselves. Which of your goals gave you the most trouble? What did you do about them?

Have you ever continued to present information to upper management or customers to gain acceptance of a new product, idea, or service?

How have you gotten around obstacles that prevented you from completing projects? Describe the obstacle and what you did to get around it.

What are some of the best ideas you tried but failed to sell to a superior or peer? What was your approach? How did you attempt to overcome their resistance?

THOROUGHNESS

Seeking completeness and accuracy.

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2What are your standards of success in your job? What have you done to meet these standards?

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5How have you differed from your supervisor in the evaluation of your performance? Example.

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How often have you missed deadlines? What were the causes of each?

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17What kind of research, if any, do you do to prepare for business strategy?

18Tell me about a situation when you checked on your subordinates to ensure a project was done properly.

19 Tell me about a situation where you had to keep track of many small details.

20 Tell me about a situation where you felt the need to ensure data was correct.

In your position, how do you define doing a good job? Are you doing a good job? How do you know? Examples.

Tell me about some times when you weren't very pleased with your performance. What did you do about it?

How have you differed from your peers in the evaluation of your performance? How did you handle the situation?

Describe some times when your supervisor either formally or informally talked with you about your performance? Explain.

Bosses are not always completely satisfied with the way we do certain things or complete certain projects. Can you give me some examples of when this happened to you?

Compare and contrast the times when you did work which was above the standard and times your work was below standard.

What do you consider the most important contributions your department has made to the organisation? What was your role? Give examples.

How many days of work have you missed in the past year? The year before? Why? What is your goal for absenteeism?

When judging the performance of your subordinates, what factors are most important to you? Give examples.

How do you control your department's expense budget? What action do you take when expenses exceed it? Give example.

Are you satisfied with your department's performance? Why or why not? What action(s) are you taking (if any)?

Sometimes we are provided incomplete information. Think of a situation where you needed additional information. What did you do?

We all have different ways of preparing for presentations. Think of a specific event or presentation and tell me how you prepared for it.

INTERPERSONAL AWARENESS

Drawing inferences about and maintaining awareness of others' interests, moods and concerns.

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4Have you perceived any problems you caused others? Tell me about the situation.

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At times everyone has problems at work. Tell me about a situation when you listened to the personal or work problems of a co-worker.

Have you ever anticipated others' reactions to problems? What was the situation? What did you do and what was the result?

We often have to discipline subordinates. Tell me about a situation where you had to discipline a subordinate. What were the circumstances? How did you take the feelings of the subordinate into consideration?

What cues do you look for in trying to read a group or individual? Give me an example of when you did this in a critical situation.

INDEPENDENCE

Holds to own convictions in the face of resistance (anticipated or actual)

1Describe a time when a project you had worked hard on was rejected or failed? What did you do?

2Have you ever had to deal with resistance? What was the situation and how did you handle it?

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6Describe a situation in which you had to arrive at a compromise or guide others to compromise.

7Tell me about a situation where you disagreed with your colleagues, boss or senior managers.

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Tell me about a situation where you openly questioned or tested the opinions or positions of others.

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When was the last time you disagreed with a new policy or procedure instituted by management? Why? What did you do?

Walk me through a situation in which you followed your convictions even though others disagreed with your decision. Explain.

Tell me about a new policy or idea you recently implemented which was considerably different from the standard procedure. What kind of resistance, if any, di you encounter? How did you get your employees (peers) to go along with it?

Have you ever taken a stand on a potentially unpopular issue? What was the issue? What stand did you take? What was the result?

Tell me about a time when you performed work procedures differently from those recommended by procedural manual or supervisor.

Tell me about a time when you began work on a project without specific instructions from upper management.

Tell me about a situation where you expressed your view even when you knew others would disagree with you.

Have you ever questioned the rationale for a process or procedure in effect? What was the situation and what did you do?

RATIONAL PERSUASION

Building persuasive arguments based on logic, data and the objective merits of the situation.

1What are some of the best ideas you have ever sold to a superior or peer? What was your approach?

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Have you ever had to build a case for an argument before making the argument?

6When have you had to rely heavily on facts in order to gain agreement for your opinion?

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8Occasionally we all find our ideas opposed. When has this happened to you? What did you do?

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12Have you had to reprimand a subordinate? How did you handle the situation.

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What are some of the best ideas you tried, but failed, to sell to a superior or peer? What was your approach? Why did it fail?

Describe one of your experiences in attempting to gain top management's support for an idea or proposal. What was the situation and how did it turn out?

Tell me about a time when you were really challenged while trying to get others to see something from your point of view? Why was it challenging? How did you handle it?

What are some of the most difficult attempts at persuasion you have experienced? What were the issues? Who was your audience? Examples.

Some decisions are better when not based on emotions. Tell me about a time that you helped someone avoid making an emotional decision.

Tell me about a time you had to get cooperation from someone and he or she was not cooperative. What did you do? Why?

Tell me about some of the toughest groups you have had to get cooperation from. Did you have any formal authority? What did you do?

What have you learned about managing/supervising others? Can you give me an example when you've used these techniques?

Let's talk about your handling of your best employee and your most difficult employee. Do you manage them differently? Examples.

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What are some of the most difficult one-to-one meetings you have had with subordinates (peers)? Why were they difficult?

What recent problems have you had in which you included your subordinates in arriving at solutions or approaches? What approach did you take to get them to accomplish the task?

How did you go about setting objectives for your unit last year? (Look for involvement of subordinates). How did you ensure those objectives were met?

Do you have any subordinates with performance problems? What have you done to get them to correct the problem?

CONCERN FOR IMPACT

Actively anticipating and responding to the feelings, needs and concerns of others.

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2Can you describe some situations where you found yourself dealing with someone very thin-skinned?

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4Have you ever had any difficulty getting along with co-workers? How did you handle it?

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7Have you ever had to dismiss an employee? How did you handle it? What was the employee's reaction?

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What specific problems have your subordinates brought to you recently? How did you handle them?

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Tell me about some of the people who take up your time with problems? How have you handled these situations?

Describe some situations where you wished you'd acted differently with someone at work. What did you do? What happened?

We have all tried different ways of showing consideration for others. What are some things you've actually done at ______________?

What unpopular decisions have you recently made? How did you communicate that decision? How did you subordinates (peers) respond? How did that make you feel?

What specific problems have people from other departments brought to you recently? How did you handle them?

When dealing with individuals or groups, how do you determine when you are pushing too hard? How do you determine when you should back off? Give an example.

Describe your most recent discussion with one of your subordinates (peers) who was having or causing problems. How did you get involved? How did it turn out?

We've all had to work with someone who is very difficult to get along with. Give me some examples of when this has happened to you. Why was this person difficult? How did you handle that person?

How have you gone about developing rapport with (customers, co-workers, people from other parts of the organisation)? Examples.

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16What "bargains" have you engineered with (customers, superiors, other departments etc)?

Have you ever had problems in getting your subordinates to accept your ideas or department goals? What approach did you use? (Look for involvement of subordinates in decision making). How effective was it?

What are some of the tings you have done to increase sales and productivity? Did you meet resistance? How did you overcome it?

STRATEGIC INFLUENCING

Being aware of different forms and sources of influencing in choosing between different influencing strategies.

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4Describe a situation in which you had to arrive at a compromise or guide others to a compromise.

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Gaining agreement from different groups isn't always simple. When have you had to gain agreement and how did you go about it?

What "bargains" have you engineered with (customers, superiors, other departments etc). How did you choose your approach?

The proverb says "A wise man learns from his mistakes". What lessons about negotiations have you learned? Examples. How did you learn them?

Tell me about some of the toughest groups you have had to get co-operation from. Did you have any formal authority? What did you do?

Sometimes we are fortunate enough to have time to plan our approach before we have to influence others. Has that happened to you? What was your approach? How did you decide on that approach?

Different people react differently to different persuasion styles or approaches. Tell me about a time that you had to persuade different people on a single issue. How did you decide on the approach to use with each?

INITIATIVE

Engaging in proactive behaviour, seizing opportunities.

1How did you get your job at __________________________________?

2Have you found any ways to make your job easier or more rewarding? Examples.

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Describe some ways you changed the job at _______________________________?

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6Give me some examples of doing more than required at your job at _____________________>

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What do you do differently than other (managers, salespersons, tellers, students)? Why? Example.

8Are there any projects you generated on your own? Explain. What prompted you to begin them?

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Have you generated any new ideas or suggestions while at College? Explain.

11Have you ever done more than required in a course? Examples.

12Have you taken any steps to improve your skills or performance? Examples.

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Can you think of some projects or ideas (not necessarily your own) that were sold, implemented, or carried out successfully primarily because of your efforts?

What changes have you tried to implement in your area of responsibility? What have you done to get them under way?

Have you suggested any new ideas to your boss in the last six months? Which were accepted? How did you know they were needed?

Have you made any cost-saving suggestions to your boss? Examples. Were they accepted? What action was taken to get them accepted?

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What has been your biggest achievement at ________________? What steps did you take to achieve it?

CRITICAL INFORMATION SEEKING

Gathering critical information from key sources to assist problem solving.

1How do you stay attuned to potential problems? Examples.

2What Sources of information do you use to keep aware of problems within your department?

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What steps do you follow to study a problem before making any decisions? Examples.

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9Tell me about a project in college that required a lot of data gathering.

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Tell me about the most important decisions you have made which were based largely on data you got by asking questions.

Walk me through a situation in which you had to get information by asking a lot of questions of several people.

Describe some tough or tricky situations in which you had to talk to people to get information you needed to make an important decision or recommendation?

What kind of financial reports to you prepare in your job? What do they contain? How often do you have to prepare them? How are the reports used?

Tell me about a complex problem you worked on at _______________ where you had to gather a good bit of information from others before reaching any conclusions.

Sometimes we gather information on problems that affect several "stakeholders". When has that happened to you? What was the problem? Who were the stakeholders?

Have you ever had to review current practices for problems, inconsistencies etc? How did you go about your review? What did you learn?

How much of the key information in your job comes to you orally rather than in writing? Give me examples of situations in which you were able to extract key information which other people had missed.

Tell me about a difficult situation in which you had to talk to people to get information that you needed before either yourself or your boss could make an important decision.

14Have you ever anticipated a problem before your boss or others in the organisation did? What did you do?

EFFICIENCY ORIENTATION

Looking for best use of resources.

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How do you keep track of progress on projects for which you are responsible? Example.

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9Give me an example of steps you have taken to make your department more profitable.

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Have you ever recognised practices that were resulting in waste? What were the practices? What did you do about them?

Occasionally, we can spot opportunities to do things more efficiently. Has that ever happened to you? Examples.

How do you know that people working for you are as efficient as they can be? What steps have you taken to ensure that? Example.

Do you have systems for keeping track of reports you submit to management? What is that system? How has it worked?

What kind of system do you have for keeping track of assignments made to subordinates? Give some specific examples.

Time of one of several precious resources. What are some things you do to ensure your time is being used effectively.

How do you control your department's expense budget? What action do you take when expenses exceed it? Give examples.

When making plans and allocating responsibilities, how do you take into account efficiency considerations?

DEVELOPMENT ORIENTATION

Identifying and providing opportunities to improve the capabilities of other people.

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8How do you keep track of what your subordinates are doing?

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12To what extent do subordinates participate in decisions you make? Why? Example.

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What people development strategies have you successfully implemented and supported in the last 12 months?

Tell me about a time when you formally reviewed coaching performance with your managers in terms of what successful development strategies they have helped implement.

Are there any procedures which you find helpful in monitoring your subordinates development? Give examples of how you have used them.

What procedures do you use for evaluating your subordinates performance? Why have you chosen them? How have they worked?

What do you do when you find that your techniques for regulating activities are loosely adhered to by your subordinates? Give a specific example.

Describe the basic content of your staff meetings (or meetings you have conducted). How are action items assigned? How often are these meetings held?

What kind of system do you have for keeping track of assignments made to subordinates? Give some specific examples.

Who is (1) your most effective subordinate and (2) your least effective subordinate? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each? What have you done to develop each of these subordinates?

If you were promoted tomorrow, do you have a replacement? What did you do to help develop him or her?

How many of your subordinates will be ready for promotion in the next year? How do you know? What did you do to prepare them for promotion?

Tell me about some of the people who have become successful as a result of your management. What was your role in their development?

RESULTS ORIENTATION

Focusing attention on key objectives; wanting effective outcomes.

1How do you know that you are doing the right things on the job? Give an example.

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What kinds of things have you done to ensure that others are meeting objectives?

4What are some goals that your subordinates have? How did they get set?

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How do you know when objectives are being met? Give examples.

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It is very easy to get distracted from doing what is necessary to be effective. Has this happened to you? What did you do about it?

Specifically, what do you do to set an example for your subordinates or peers? How has that helped you meet your (their) objectives?

People are easily distracted from the primary objectives of their jobs. When has that happened to you? What action did you take?

What would you do when the standard of work completed either by yourself or other was not up to your expectations? Give me an example.

CONCERN FOR STANDARDS

Pursuing excellence in line with the organisation's norms and values.

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How often have you missed deadlines? What were the causes of each?

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9As a student, how do you define good performance?

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12Give me an example of when you have made efforts to improve a members of staff's standards?

13How do you ensure that work meets quality standards? Give an example.

How have you differed from your professors in the evaluation of your performance? How did you handle the situation?

How have you differed from your supervisor in the evaluation of your performance? How did you handle the situation?

Bosses are not always completely satisfied with the way we do certain things or complete certain projects. Can you give me some examples of when this happened to you?

Compare and contrast the times when you did work which was above standard and times your work was below standard.

How many days of work (school) have you missed in the past year? The year before? Why? What is your goal for absenteeism?

When judging the performance of your subordinates, what factors are most important to you? Give examples.

Are you satisfied with your department's performance? Why or why not? What action(s) are you taking (if any) to improve?

How have you gone about establishing the standards of performance for yourself? What have those standards been?

How have you gone about establishing the standards of performance for others? What have those standards been? Give examples.

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What standards do you set when you approach a task? Give examples.

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17How are you helping your subordinates develop themselves? Give examples.

18How, if at all, have you involved subordinates in determining their development needs? Give examples.

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What are the major training and development needs of the people in your department? How did you identify them? What are you doing about them?

Go over each of your subordinates and tell me your goals for each. What action have you taken to help them achieve those goals?

Are there any techniques you have found useful in identifying particular subordinates' needs and potentials? Tell me how they worked with a particular person.

What techniques have you found most useful in developing subordinates? How did you use them with ____________?

Have you had a subordinate who was released because they didn't work out? Why were they released? Did you do anything to work with the person in this area before his/her release? What?

How innovative are your employees in dealing with work situations? What are some innovative ideas your employees have had recently? How have you encouraged innovations?

CUSTOMER SERVICE ORIENTATION

1Have you ever had to "go the extra mile" to satisfy a customer? Tell me what you did.

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When Used

4Tell me about a time when you handled a customer complaint effectively

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Tell me about a time when you handled a customer complaint ineffectively.

7 How do you know if your customers are satisfied (survey results, thank you letters etc). Give examples.

Making efforts to listen to and understand the customer (both internal and external); anticipating customer needs; giving high priority to customer satisfaction.

Situation/Customer Need Action/How Handled Feedback

Sooner or later, we all have to deal with a customer who has unreasonable demands. Think of a time when you had to handle unreasonable requests. What did you do?

Situation/Demand Action Feedback

What skills or qualities are important for dealing effectively with customers? Give an example of when you displayed these.

Skills/Qualities Action/How Used Feedback

Situation/Complaint Action/How Handled Result/Feedback

What lesson(s) have you learned about keeping the customer satisfied? How did you learn them? Give me an example that illustrates how you have used that lesson.

Lesson(s) How Learned Example

Situation/Complaint Action/How Handled Result/Feedback

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9 What steps do you take to ensure customer satisfaction? Give examples.

Steps

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Situation(s) Action/How Handled Result

Tell me about a difficult customer (internal or external) with whom you had to deal. Why was he/she difficult? What did you do?

Situation/Why difficult Action/How Handled Customer Reaction

Situation/Why difficult Action/How Used Effect

What action do you take to provide quick and thorough service for customer requests or problems? Can you tell me about a particular situation?

Situation Action Result

LEADERSHIP

1How have you led others in solving a problem. Give an example.

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3Describe how you set an example for other employees (be specific)

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5Tell me about a time when you were able to lead an employee toward task accomplishment

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Using appropriate interpersonal styles and methods to inspire and guide individuals, teams, meetings, groups, etc. toward goal achievement; modifying behaviour to accommodate tasks, situations and individuals involved.

Problem Action Result

What techniques have you learned to manage/supervise others? How have you used these techniques. Give an example.

Technique(s) Action Result

Situation Action Result

Describe a face-to-face meeting in which you had to lead or influence someone very thin-skinned (sensitive)

Situation Action Result

Employee/Task How Led Result

How do you determine how much influence you'll need to use to get others to do the job right? How do you show this? Give an example.

Situation Action Result

7When have you inspired someone to work hard to do a better job? How did you do that?

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10 Tell me how you keep meetings on track. Give a specific example.

11 During a meeting you've led, did you ever notice a person who wasn't participating? How did you react?

12 Have you ever led a meeting in which someone dominated the discussion? What did you do?

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Situation Action Result

Tell me about one of the toughest groups from which you had to get cooperation in a meeting. Did you have formal authority? What did you do?

Meeting Action Result

How often do you meet with your employees as a group? How do you prepare for these meetings? What is your role? Give an example.

Meeting(s) Your Role Their Reaction

Meeting Action/Steps Result

Meeting Reaction Result

Meeting Action Result

Have you ever led a meeting in which a participant suggested an inappropriate idea? How did you respond?

Idea Response Result

What strategies have you used to communicate superiors' major new directives to employees? Which strategies have worked and which have not? Tell me about specific example.

Situation Strategy Result

What organisational systems (control, compensation, communication, accounting, etc) have you implemented to support organisational strategies? Describe them. How did you put them into place?

System(s) Action (What and How) Result

Describe a time when your boss or other managers were displeased with your efforts to implement change. What approach did you use? What difficulties resulted?

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19 Tell me about a time when you delegated an important task to someone.

20 What decisions have you delegated to your employees? Tell me about one or two of these decisions.

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Situation How Implemented Result

Have you ever been in a position to change your organisation's culture or values? What steps did you take?

Situation Steps Taken Result

Have you been in a situation in which you were able to have a significant effect on your organisation's business direction? What steps did you take?

Situation Steps Taken Result

Situation/Who Delegated To Action/How Delegated Result

Decision(s) Why Delegated Result

Most of us have assigned work to other people, and they didn't do what was intended. Can you tell me about a time when this happened? Why did it happen? (Look for unclear instruction, assignments to inappropriate person, or lack of due dates.)

Work Not Done Why Result

TEAM WORK

1Describe a situation in which you helped a peer or co-worker

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3Have you every had difficulty getting along with co-workers? How did you handle the situation?

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5What was the last idea you shared with a team member? Why did you share it with that person?

Active participation in, and facilitation of, team effectiveness; taking actions that demonstrate consideration for the feelings and needs of others; being aware of the effect of one's behaviour on others.

Situation How Helped Result

Describe some situations in which you wish you'd acted differently with someone in your work group. What happened?

Situation Action Result

Situation How Handled Person's Reaction

When dealing with team members (or a group) how do you determine when you are pushing an issue or decision too hard? Tell me about a time when you pushed too hard.

Situation How Determined/Action Taken Result

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7Tell me about a new procedure you wanted your team to use. What did you do?

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9 Have you ever been in a group with an unproductive person? How did you handle the situation?

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Idea Why/How Shared Result

Tell me about some of the toughest groups with which you've had to work. What made the group tough? What did you do?

Situation/Why Tough Action (What and How) Their Reaction

Procedure Action (What and How) Their Reaction

Have you ever helped a co-worker improve his/her performance at work? Tell me about one of these times.

Situation Action (What and How) Their Reaction

Unproductive Person How Handled Person's Reaction

Have you ever had to work with a new employee? Describe your working relationship. What did you do to make it this way? Give an example of your interactions with this person.

New Employee/Relationship How Handled Person's Reaction

Tell me about some situations in which you became frustrated or impatient when dealing with a co-worker. What did you do?

Situation Action Result

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What are some of the best ideas you have ever presented to, and which were accepted by, team members. What was your approach?

Idea(s) Approach Result

Give me an example of an idea you tried to present to your team members, but were unable to gain acceptance. What was your approach?

Idea Approach Result

Tell me about a team member from whom it was tough to gain cooperation. How did you handle this sensitive situation?

Team Member/Situation How Handled Result

Can you think of a time when you intervened to get your team back on track because they couldn't decide on an issue? Explain.

Situation How Intervened Result