FAO ODM

[slick]

Or anybody else who has an idea.

I've got one of my interviews tomorrow and working my way through a list of competency questions that I've been told may be asked during the interview.

I'm not doing so bad and have answered 19 of the 20 questions but I am a bit stumped on this one

When have you personal objectives been at odds with what your team needed to achieve.

How did you deal with this?

How did you feel about the situation?

What was the outcome?

I know ODM is good at stuff like this and an example of some sort of an answer would be much appreciated bearing in mind I'm an electrical engineer who works in an engineering environment.

Cheers m8, I'm going to have a bath in a minute so will be back in about hlf and hr.

[slick]

So thats that sorted then

[yorkieacermark2000]

I can offer no solution but good luck at your interview!

[Seen]

I'm impressed by your bathing punctuality

[Winrew]

I gave up on interviews , seems my cards are marked..

Feedback from the last knock back..

Manager : sorry you didn't get the job
Me : Was it my 12 years experience that went against me ?
Manager : I was told not to give you it.
Me : care to put that in writing ?
Manager : fuck that ..

[Rob44]

When have you personal objectives been at odds with what your team needed to achieve.
Not knowing a deal about electrical engineering I’d hazard a guess as to how this question could be answered but I’d say it was along the lines of a personal project conflicting with a routine team task or perhaps team project. You’d have to identify a situation whereby you had been given an individual piece of work /project to complete and were against the clock in completing it as the deadlines were tight. Perhaps it was a one-off project or some part work/ part personal task. You may have been taken away from your routine tasks to achieve this work. Perhaps your colleagues are slightly resentful as it has singled you out from them and given you ‘special work’. Then suddenly there is a crisis in the main team. Something has happened that requires all hands to the pump including yours. What do you do? Do you miss your own deadline for the sake of the team or do you ignore their issue and carry on with your own task?


How did you deal with this?

The new team crisis was of a higher priority, (as this is a made up situation you can make it work to suit). You would discuss the situation with your line manager and explain that whilst you did have other work it you believed it may not be as important as the other task and you would do what you could to fit that in around the team task. You would confirm with your line manager that he wanted you to do this but ask for opportunities to catch up with personal work. You would then stay late and work at home on the personal task and get some of the team with your managers permission (who by now you have on your side) to help with reaching the deadline. .


How did you feel about the situation?

As a natural team player you would be anxious not to let the rest of the team down, not only that, it is not conducive to a good working environment. However, you also recognise that you may be required to do work on behalf of the company by yourself from time to time. Their task may have been more important and needed doing for the sake of the company. However you had already put a lot of work into your own project and were anxious not to waste the time spent so far and the opportunity of achieving the rewards that came with completing the task.

What was the outcome?

The team met their deadlines and you managed to negotiate an extension on your project and with a bit of help from the rest of the team you achieved the new deadline easily!

Just reword to suit a scenario you are most comfortable with.

Simples!

[slick]

Cheers Rob, thats fantastic. i owe you one.
I had thought of something and written it down but that sounds much better, I'll incorporate my work into that and we should have a winner.

lol @ Wins, I think thats gonna be me.

[ONEDUNME]

It must be the first time I haven't logged in in the evening for four fuckin years and it's the only time I've actually been needed

It's a cracking question and one I've never come across before but, as Rob has said, all it really is is a thinly veiled disguise to get you to prove that you're a team player, you realise that the good of the team comes before your own personal objectives and you can see the big picture rather than just being focused on your own selfish ends.

The scenario you use depends on how your objectives are set for you at work, i.e, do you have certain measurable targets to achieve in your own area?

Off the top of my head, something like...you'd been tasked with saving x percent of costs in a certain area by using something or other more efficiently or cutting out waste or re-using/recycling or whatever. Then, half way through the year, a project comes along in your department which fuck your savings up completely....how do you feel? Disappointed that you are likely to fail a target that you were confident in achieving and that you have put time and effort into but you realise that the project will benefit the company overall which is what really matters.

Pick any example you can from previous years but this is the most important bit from Rob's excellent post...

you would confirm with your line manager that he wanted you to do this but ask for opportunities to catch up with personal work.


In other words, you didn't just decide to fuck your objective off and plunge gung-ho into the team's objective. That shows a maverick attitude and a lack of respect for the chain of command. Whatever you decided to do, you agreed with your line manager and agreed if/when your previous task could be amended or rescheduled or the target re-set to take into account the change in circumstances.

Rob's example is a better one than mine because we've all had to put off work due to "changing goalposts" so it shouldn't be difficult to bring up a real life scenario (make sure it's one that ended well alll round)

When you say how you felt about the situation, don't be afraid to say that you were disappointed otherwise it's possible to come over as "I don't give a fuck - I just do as I'm told"

And good luck.

[ONEDUNME]

Oh, and your planning skills suck.


Give us more notice next time

[slick]

Cheers ODM for the input, points taken, better late than never

I'm just giving it a once over again so excuse me if i don't reply again tonight.

[slick]

I only found out today m8, it was scheduled for next Friday but HR cocked up by not noticing one of the applicants will be off next week on Holiday and I'm off the following three weeks so the earliest date they could bring it forward to is tomorrow.
I've another interview on Tuesday for the job I'm most likely to get if any; so I'm using this one as experience.

[ONEDUNME]

Good idea.

All the best mate - everything crossed for you

[Punter]

It must be the first time I haven't logged in in the evening for four fuckin years and it's the only time I've actually been needed

GL Slick

[beamer]

Problem is mate that answer will probably conflict with your Thomas International personality profile ( did they find it ?) and come back to haunt you.

Just come clean and tell them we all know it's total bollocks.

I know one recruitment guy who knows a an HR manager who has the candidates cars checked for cleanliness whilst at the interview. For fucks sake get your car valeted.

I'll be at Chester boozing with my fingers crossed for you mate.

Good luck

beamer

[Rob44]

i'd love to take credit for my post but it was mostly my wife's work with some input from me. i can answer those questions but i have to think for a lon while but she can just do them off the top of her head - i don't think an interview question has been invented she can't answer.

just on a general note whenever you answer interview questions always use positive language. a good way to end an answer to the question above is something like '...working to achieve the best possible outcome for the company, myself and my colleagues...'