Hi there, everybody. My name is Richard McMunn, from the career guidance company How2Become.com,
and in this next training video, I'm going to give you a whole load of situational interview
questions and answers to help you pass your interview. So, a very warm welcome to this
tutorial. My name is Richard McMunn. That's me on the right-hand side, and in this video,
we are gonna focus entirely on situational interview questions. Please do not forget
to subscribe to the channel so you don't miss out on the videos that I'm creating weekly,
and also, if you do like this content, please give it a thumbs up. I would very, very much
appreciate that; it motivates me to do more for you. And also, in return for that, if
you tell me the name of your interview in the comments section below the video, I will
give you a list of situational interview questions to prepare for. Okay, let's get straight into
it. Situational interview question number one. "Tell me about a situation when you went
above and beyond what was required for work." So, what they're looking for here...let's
have a look at a couple of tips. So, the question is, "Tell me about a situation when you went
above and beyond what was required for work." Two tips. So, adding extra value to your role
will impress the interview panel. So, what I mean by that is it is generally rare nowadays
for an employee to do work above and beyond what is required, so this is your opportunity
to shine, and it's a great situational interview question. So, here is my suggested answer
to question number one: "In a previous job, we went through some significant changes and
the company managing director asked for a volunteer to carry out additional duties whilst
he recruited a new member of staff. I volunteered to take on the work because I knew how important
it was for the company to still function and deliver a quality service. I worked the extra
hours and duties for no additional pay. This, in turn, took the pressure off my managing
director whilst he recruited the new member of staff. After four weeks, my director managed
to find a new member of the team, and when they arrived, I helped them to integrate into
the team by showing them what their role involved. If required, I would always help out the business,
as I understand my job is dependent on the company performing well. Now, that's a great
answer because it shows you will go above and beyond what's required, and anybody interviewing
you for the role would look at that positively because they want people who are flexible
and who will help out when required. Question number two. "Tell me about a situation when
you made a mistake at work." Now, this is a really common situational interview question,
and it's a tricky one to answer, but let me give you a couple of tips about how you can
pass this question. Three tips. Number one, be open and honest and tell the interview
panel actually about a mistake you did make; don't say, "Oh, I never, ever make mistakes
at work. I never have done." Everybody does, so they're assessing your honesty here. Tip
number two, make sure you do not give an example that is a key requirement of the role. So
what I mean by that, let's say you were a car mechanic and you kept losing your tools
all the time. That's no good, because that would be a key requirement of the role. Tip
number three. Tell the panel what you learned from the mistake you made - that's important
- and what you did to improve. So, let's take a look at a sample response to the situational
interview question, "Tell me about a situation when you made a mistake at work." Here we
go. "I have only made one silly mistake whilst at work, and this was down to me simply being
complacent. I had the responsibility of packaging and dispatching customers' orders in a previous
job, and I felt I could do the job with my eyes closed, simply because of the number
of orders I had previously worked on. Now, this complacency led to me not concentrating
sufficiently one day, and I sent out the wrong order to the wrong customer, and the knock-on
effect was that a further three customers also received incorrect goods. Now, as soon
as I realized how I'd made a mistake, I informed my line manager before contacting each of
the customers to explain the issue, apologize, and then take the necessary steps to resolve
the situation as soon as possible. I apologized unreservedly to my manager and took the appropriate
steps to make sure it never happened again." So, this is a mistake where you're just being
complacent, and it does happen, but the important thing is that the latter part of that response
is that you have took responsibility for your mistake and improved. That's the important
thing. Whatever sample you give, make sure you take risk responsibility. Okay, here we
go. Question number three. "Tell me about a difficult challenge you faced at work. How
did you solve it?" Again, this situational interview question is very common. "Tell me
about a difficult challenge you faced at work. How did you solve it?" Three tips, first of
all, before the answer. Tip number one, make sure you use a specific response. So, don't
say what you would do in this kind of situation, but say what you have done. Tip number two,
be the one who volunteers to solve the problem. All managers and company directors love people
who volunteer to sort things out. Tip three, show that you care and are capable of solving
problems yourself. Here we go. So "Tell me about a difficult challenge you faced at work.
How did you solve it?" "In my previous job, I had to work in a team where it became clear
a number of team members disliked each other. Now, the impact on the business was concerning
me, simply because I did not feel we could operate successfully unless the team worked
in harmony, so I decided to try and resolve the issue. I held an informal meeting to raise
my concerns, and I encouraged everyone in the team to talk openly about how they felt.
Now, it quickly became apparent that some members of the team felt other people were
not pulling their weight or contributing positively to team projects, and the end result was a
breakdown in communications. Now, after lengthy discussions, and with me facilitating the
talks, we all agreed to hold weekly meetings so we could discuss any problems openly and
honestly, with a view to moving forward positively. The end results were very promising. The team
now works extremely well together, and the open communication has not just improved the
atmosphere in the office, but the output of the team has increased significantly." Brilliant
response. Question number four. "Tell me about a long-running project you worked on." So
this kind of situational interview question assesses your ability to work on projects,
but also that you persevere for things and get them finished; you see things through
to the end. So here's two tips for answering this question. Tip number one, demonstrate
your ability to work as part of a team, which you would generally do when working on a project.
Tip number two, show you are capable of seeing things through to the end successfully, so
you would be a completer, finisher, somebody who gets things finished. Here we go. Here's
my sample response for you. "In my previous job, I worked on a 12-month internal project
with 5 other members of staff. The project required us all to work together on creating
and installing a new customer payment gateway through the company website. Now, my role
within the team was to act as the main point of contact between the external outsourcing
companies who were involved in the project and the senior heads of department. I was
required to make sure everything went smoothly, communicate effectively with everyone involved,
and also keep the organization updated on our progress. The project was challenging,
but by remaining focused on the end goal, being resilient during the difficult periods
of the project, and by using effective communication skills, the team managed to deliver the project
well ahead of time and on budget. Question number five, "Tell me about a time you had
to persuade someone to see your point of view." This is a tough situational interview question,
but if you think about getting asked that during your interview, could you answer it?
So here's my help for you. Two tips. Tip number one, this question assesses your ability to
persuade others but it also assesses confidence levels. Do you have the confidence to persuade
somebody in your business or organization, at work, to improve the company? Tip number
two, be clever in your response to this interview question. Try and tie in your answer with
a benefit to the company. So, this is what I mean by that. Here's my sample response
for you. "Whilst at work, I had what I thought was a great idea to help the business move
forward and generate more sales. Now, the idea involved engaging more with our customers
to try and make them feel more valued, because in my opinion, if a customer feels more valued,
they will return to the business time and time again. Now, unfortunately, the other
members of my team, including my line manager, did not feel my idea was worth the effort.
Instead of giving up, I decided to conduct some research in my own time and also provide
clear evidence of how my idea would work positively for the business. After giving a quick 20-minute
presentation to my line manager and the team members, they agreed to give it a try. The
end result is that our repeat customer sales are now up by 18%." Great answer. Question
number six, "Tell me about a time when your job went through significant change. How did
you adjust?" A couple of tips here for you. Tip number one. Now, change is very important
in any organization, and how you embrace it says a lot about you as an employee. Now,
nobody, any hiring manager, wants to take on people unless they are willing to change
and adapt. I promise you, that's very important. Tip number two. Be someone who enjoys change
and sees the benefit of it. Don't be someone who goes, "Oh, what's the point? We're just
changing for change's sake." That's not good. You need to be someone who embraces change.
Tip three. In your answer, explain how you see change as a positive thing, and here's
my sample response for you. Here we go. "I am actually quite a fan of change, and I think
it keeps a job interesting and challenging. In my previous job, my manager was quite forward-thinking,
and she often liked to implement change to try and improve things. One particular time,
she implemented a new way of working for everyone in the team. The change meant we all had to
carry out another team member's duties one day a week to get to understand their role,
but to also be capable of performing their duties if and when the need came about. Now,
within two months of the change, I felt confident enough to carry out everyone else's job, albeit
to a basic level. One of the benefits of the change she implemented was some members of
the team suggested further ways of developing and improving other people's roles within
the team, which in turn helped increase company productivity levels and efficiency. So my
manager's proposed change to working practices actually had further benefits, which made
the initial change even more innovative." So, that shows that you are positive about
change, you recognize the importance of it, and also, you embrace it. Question number
seven. "Tell me about a situation when you had to collaborate with a coworker who was
difficult to work with." Okay, here's my advice for you for answering this question. Two tips.
Here we go. Go out of your way to make the situation work. Be the better person. You'll
come across more positive in the interview if you do that. Tip number two, at the end
of the situation, show how your determination to work with a coworker developed into a positive
working relationship. And here's how to answer the situational interview question, "Tell
me about a situation when you had to collaborate with a coworker who was difficult to work
with." Here we go. "I was working in a small team of people and I got on great with everyone
apart from one particular coworker. Now, despite my attempts to get to know him better, he
seemed quite cold towards me. Now, I wasn't fazed by this, because our relationship hadn't
had a negative impact on the team or business yet. Well, one day, my line manager asked
us both to work together on a project that would last for four weeks. I saw this as an
opportunity to try and get to know him better and to attempt to improve our relationship.
When we sat down to discuss how we would work together on the project, he made it quite
clear he wasn't happy about having to collaborate with me, so I asked him outright what the
problem was and what I could do to make things work. Now, once I asked him outright, his
entire tone changed and he started to open up, then, about some problems he was having
at home. I listened to him and offered to be someone he could chat to if he needed some
support or advice, and from that day on, we got on very well and our working relationship
improved dramatically. In fact, the project was such a success that our line manager suggested
he would give us both another project to collaborate on together in the near future." That's a
great answer. You come across as the better person, and you have resolved that situation
by being mature and wise. A couple more situational interview questions before I give you some
more free training resources to help you pass your interview: "What would you do if you
disagreed with the way your manager wanted to you to handle a situational problem?" "What
would you do if you worked hard on a solution to a problem, and then your solution was criticized
by your work colleagues?" "You are working on an important project that you can't complete
because you're waiting on work from a colleague or another person. What would you do?" "You
realize that an early mistake you made in a project is going to put you behind schedule.
What would you do?" "What would you do if you made a strong recommendation in a meeting,
but your colleagues decided against it?" "What would you do if we offered you the job, and
once you started, you and I didn't get on?" So, those are tough answers...sorry, tough
questions there. And if you want to know how to answer more of these, I've actually put
a link to more great situational interview questions and answers in the description below
this video for you to try, so have a look in the description and you can go straightaway
onto those YouTube videos. Also, if you want answers to those latter questions I've just
given you, please go to the website, passmyinterview.com, or click the link below the video and you
can get free access to my online interview training course. Don't forget, please do subscribe.
If you've enjoyed that video and you'd like me to create more for you, please give the
video a thumbs up. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn if you want to by clicking
the link in the description below the video. Don't forget to tell me what interview you've
got coming up and I'll give you a list of questions to prepare for, and finally, good
luck to you. I hope you pass your interview, genuinely, and thank you very much for watching.