YOU WERE LOOKING FOR: Soft Skill Questions And Answers
Use the STAR answering technique to describe a situation where you exhibited quality leadership and identify the task you needed to complete. Outline the action you took to achieve results. This strategy can help you clearly show the interviewer how...
In my last position, we created a new dress code policy, and I was asked to enforce it as the supervisor. My approach was to discuss the new policy, clearly outline what new clothing items were acceptable and provide a deadline for when the policy...
During one of our meetings, we discovered that our most recent goal was too department-focused, and we had lost sight of how it helped the company. We adjusted our team goal to clearly address quality issues that were affecting our company. I also met with each team member individually to help them outline personal workplace goals. For instance, one of my team members wanted to produce twice as many deliverables, but we worked together to revise her goal to produce a lower number of deliverables with better quality assurance scores. This transformational leadership style enabled my team to address an overall company goal and improve the overall quality of our work. How do you make sure projects and tasks stay on schedule? You have a responsibility as a leader to effectively communicate the goals of your team and to make sure that your team meets deadlines while still turning in quality work.
You can use this question to demonstrate your time-management and organization skills. Consider outlining what your task management process is, including how you communicate expectations, set goals and track progress. Be sure to describe the results of your process to show you can lead a team in completing important tasks. Then, I assign each team member individual tasks and deadlines. When we work on a project, I hold full team meetings to allow individual team members to share their progress. I also check with each team member to see their progress, address any risks or deadline issues and provide additional clarity.
Checking in outside of the group meeting can make team members feel more comfortable sharing if they need extra help. I find that the process of remaining available to my team and encouraging their success allows them to stay focused and feel supported. How do goals help you become a better leader? Good leaders know how to set goals for both themselves and for their team. Tools like SMART goals can be useful in creating objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based. Discuss what goal-setting strategies you use when leading your team. Consider giving an example of when you used the SMART method to help your team improve their productivity and achieve their goal. If you are not already in a leadership position, you can explain how you set goals to practice leadership skills and why you feel you have potential.
For example, I wanted to make sure my team was able to finish inventory by the end of the month. I delegated specific daily tasks to team members based on individual strengths. I created a visual progress tracker to measure our weekly objectives as we reached our achievable end-goal by our deadline. I also met regularly with my team to ensure our timeline was still realistic and made adjustments to weekly objectives if other tasks had to take priority. How do you handle disagreements on your team? A good leader knows how to manage conflict in the workplace and can negotiate without creating more tension. Your answer should demonstrate how you use your problem-solving and communication skills to resolve disagreements in the workplace.
Using the STAR method, illustrate a time when you mediated and resolved a difficult situation to keep your team focused. In my last role, two of my team members had different approaches to completing their part of the project. I let each side explain what their thought process was and what benefits they saw in their method. I encouraged respectful discussion and positive commentary. After each side outlined their arguments, I helped them brainstorm the ways in which both arguments could become a combined solution. It also helped them remember that they both were working toward the same goal and should collaborate on the best way to complete their tasks. What was a difficult decision you had to make as a leader, and how did you come to that decision?
When faced with an important decision, effective leaders know how to think through their options and the potential impact of their choices. Your answer should demonstrate your problem-solving, critical thinking and decision-making skills. Use a previous workplace situation to provide the interviewer with an idea of how you make decisions. Be sure to explain the results of that decision, and consider discussing how you can use that experience as a lesson in future leadership opportunities.
I knew how hard my team was working, but we had an important project that we needed to finish by Monday. My first thought was to give them the long weekend to rest, but we would have had to rush to complete the work. This decision risked impacting productivity and the quality of our work. I then thought of not giving them the long weekend and encouraging them to keep working on schedule. This option would avoid pressuring them to rush but also risked them feeling overworked or underappreciated.
I ultimately decided not to grant the long weekend and emphasized the importance of completing the project. On that Friday, I ordered a catered lunch and offered to let them take a long weekend next week to thank them. Discuss a leadership challenge you faced and what you did to overcome it. Part of being a great leader is having the ability to lead a team to success despite setbacks like miscommunication, limited resources or pressure. As a situational question, you should use the STAR method to showcase your ability to recognize a challenge and make a plan to overcome it. If you feel that your reaction to this challenge could be improved, consider discussing how you can use this situation as a lesson to prepare you for a new challenge.
Many team members were feeling overwhelmed, and the pressure was affecting their work quality. I took on a number of tasks and worked alongside them to meet the deadline. My team felt supported knowing I was taking on additional responsibilities so they did not have to compromise the quality of their work. We completed the project on time, and the client was pleased with our results.
In the future, I will spend more time analyzing the initial planning process and discussing realistic expectations. I want to make sure my team stays motivated, so spending more time before beginning the project can help me better delegate tasks.
Attention to detail, planning and organizing Integrity, reliability, motivation Team building, leadership, management To be well-prepared, think about situations where you had to put these abilities into action, and make sure they are listed on your interview checklist. Behavioral interview questions are asked not only to see how well you perform tasks, but also to see the strengths you demonstrated to overcome obstacles, deliver quality results, and interact effectively with people. Tell your stories to answer these questions. Provide examples of real work situations where you were successful -- where you had a challenge and you overcame that challenge: Be prepared. Analyze the job description, and have your "stories" ready -- examples of difficult situations from your past jobs, how you successfully handled those situations, and, possibly, what you learned from the experience.
Be positive. Be brief. Avoid the trap of talking too much. Answer the question concisely, and then ask if your answer provides enough insight. Expand your answer if requested, staying positive. Be truthful. Although it is very tempting, don't create fantasy stories. Reality maybe discovered during the reference-checking part of the hiring process, and kill the opportunity. Be careful. Don't reveal any of your current or former employer's confidential information, particularly if you are interviewing with a competitor.
While a competitor will appreciate the information, they will know that they cannot trust you. If the question asks you to provide an example of a personal failure, give the example, and then follow up with what you learned as a result and how you have avoided making that mistake again. Example Answers for Common Behavioral Interview Questions Many of the behavioral questions follow a pattern where each have certain soft skills in mind. A key to handling these questions is to anticipate which skill sets they will likely ask about and have answers ready. I have provided some popular skills along with related questions or thoughts for you to consider as you develop your answers: Tell me about a time when you handled a challenging situation. Did you have an irate client? Did the boss leave you in charge? Did you need to find compromise among your team? For example: On Project XYZ at Company , I was unexpectedly thrust into a team lead role and had two team members who hated working with each other.
So I designed a project planning meeting that would get the three of us talking about best ways to approach the project and leverage each of their strengths. The results were excellent as we delivered the project on time and on budget. Tell me about a time when you made a mistake and how you handled it. Did you leverage problem-solving skills? Did you need to act humbly? Did you need to rebuild trust? How do you avoid making that mistake again? It lead to a shortfall in available funds at a critical time.
I was actually the one who discovered my mistake first. When I did, I was able to figure out how it happened and what needed to be done about it. With a plan in hand, I talked to my supervisor and asked that I be responsible for fixing the mistake and calling all effected parties required to remedy it, including our bank. Fortunately, this was caught soon enough that very limited impact occurred, and I was able to prove I was capable of fixing the problem myself. As a result of that mistake, I developed a method to quickly do a final review and verification of the data before publishing it, added that step to our publishing protocol, and I haven't made that mistake again. Tell me about a time when you or your boss made an unpopular decision that had to be executed by your team. Did you need to work hard to get buy-in or to motivate the team? Did people threaten to quit? What did you learn from the experience?
For example: I was working on a project last year that fell behind schedule. My boss asked me to mandate to the team that they work overtime until the project was completed. I knew this would be a very touchy request as the team had been working hard already and not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I also created a strategy on how to partner closer with our vendor along the way to ensure no more schedule slippages. When I presented the request to the team, I included how we were going to get out of this stage as quickly as possible. Just as importantly, I shared how the company views our team as dedicated to the cause and willing to do whatever it takes. I also made sure they knew we were not being blamed for the project delay, but instead, the company valued our contributions. Through this experience, I learned the importance of developing a detailed recovery plan, identifying and managing the key variables. Positively communicating that plan kept team morale high and made the project completion possible.
This answer showcases strategic thinking in several ways, both how to fix problems as they occur and how to effectively communicate while under high pressure. The focus on building consensus and teamwork also is evident when talking about how the team is viewed and allowing them to understand the tradeoffs. Sharing all the facts and being open to direct reports is a quality many value in a leader, too. Tell me about a time when you were in direct conflict with a peer and how was it resolved. Did you resolve it using your own skills or was external help required?
Why did the conflict happen in the first place? How would you avoid this conflict in the future? For example: I was working on a project last year with a colleague. Our internal client told us our solution was not adequate and we needed to start over. My peer blamed me for the failure even though the majority of the design ideas were his. He was clearly upset about what had happened. I got his mind percolating again on the task, and we collaborated on several options and presented a new version we both agreed had the best chance of being successful.
Ultimately, the client was happy, and better yet, the working relationship was improved between us. This answer showcases how one approaches a very touchy situation with grace and maturity. It also highlights how to move forward in tough situations, find consensus, problem-solve, and harness the power of team going alone on the project was not an option. As I said, many of these questions are asked to understand how you leveraged certain abilities more than the actual outcome. Find more answer examples at the bottom of this article. Think about the question before you answer -- which of the examples of your accomplishments would provide an answer to the question asked? Ask for a clarification, if that would be helpful.
Let me think about that for a second… Then, after a short pause while you gather your thoughts, use the strategies described below to answer the questions successfully. Be sure to give enough details to make it clear that you are describing a genuine experience. When appropriate, use the same example to answer more than one of the behavioral interview questions. Expect follow-up questions asking for clarification or requesting more details about the situation. Throughout the process of answering these types of questions you will be slipping in the soft skills you leveraged see my other article on discussing your Soft Skills during the interview. The Bottom Line Don't be intimidated. Think of these questions as opportunities to share how you have succeeded in your work. Prepare by analyzing the job, determining both the hard and soft skills needed for the job, and then noting examples of how you have handled similar situations in the past, demonstrating that you have those soft skills.
We have previously explored the art of writing a self-assessment review and how to structure it, providing some useful examples for various industries and areas of work. In this article, we provide sample answers for assessing soft skills that are essential for each and every role. Provide facts and figures to illustrate your achievements and make your statements stronger. Be specific and descriptive of both positive and negative attributes of your work. For each of the areas, you should always consider the positive and negative attributes of your performance. Determine where did you exceed the expectations, where did you meet them and where and how you can continue to improve. Additionally, you might want to connect your self-assessment to the core values of the company. Collaboration and Teamwork Think about how other team members see you, how effective are you at collaboration and what are your relationships at work like.
You might also want to think about your ability to come up with creative solutions as a part of a team. I have effectively collaborated with my department and team as well as I have shown my ability to work with external parties. During projects, I have shown confidence to express my creative ideas and opinions that added value to the team discussion. I need to work on my ability to work effectively as a team and give others space to express their opinions and ideas. I need to learn how to take a step back and follow others rather than attempt to take a lead in every project. Self-motivation Do you have a positive attitude towards your job and the company you work for? Do you meet the expectations of your role and maintain sufficient levels of productivity? Are you working to improve your knowledge and skills? I continuously manage to meet deadlines and finish my responsibilities in a timely manner.
Leadership Are you able to effectively manage people and work with others? Can you provide direction to your reports and teammates? I feel I am defined by the actions I take at work rather than by what I say. I dedicate time to spend with my reports to help them resolve their challenges and issues and encourage their personal and professional development. Despite the fact I am effectively developing individual relationships across the team and support them through regular check-ins and one-to-ones, I should focus more on promoting team-spirit and collaboration across the team.
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