Doing a job has many aspects.
Every day on the job, a person comes across various situations that he or she should counter in a professional way which provides the best results for the company.
Because every position encounters several situations on a daily basis, the job interview for the said job profile has several situational questions that have to be answered to successfully pass the interview.
This article discusses the ways one should handle the situational interview questions and suggests answers for practice.
After reading this article, you may be interested in reading the article- examples of competency questions and answers.
A complete answer to these job interview questions must explain:
- The action you took (why did you do it that way?).
- The result that you were expecting to achieve.
- What you have got.
- A lesson learned is also expected.
You don’t have to give past behavioral situations. Though a past example is preferable, you may provide a theoretical case and the way you’d handle it.
The interviewer actually wants to observe your analytical thinking skills and your problem solving approach.
Sample Situational Interview Questions with Answers for management positions
The following are examples of answers to managerial situational based interview questions and answers:
1. Question: You are introducing a new policy into the team or group. You are facing a bit of opposition. How would you handle it?
Answer: On principle, I would introduce any policy very gently. If feasible, I would hold a small meeting of the group that is affected and introduce them to the policy, as well as take the time to inform them of the advantages they and the company would obtain once the policy is in place.
Also, I would stress the fact that the policy is not a hard and fast rule and it may be reworked if the people are not completely comfortable working under such a rule and policy.
2. Question: Your team is working on a very sensitive project which is on the verge of completion. Another project comes in which is very important. How would you set your priorities?
Answer: The first thing that I would look into while taking a new project is the learning curve that would have to be generated. If the learning curve is too high, I would give the assignment to a senior, taking the work that he or she already has and give it to a junior resource. This way, the new assignment will be worked on side by side with the old assignment, enabling simultaneous implementation of both assignments.
3. Question: There has been a visible decline in the performance of a subordinate. How would you handle it?
Answer: First off, I would try to investigate the reason behind the decline of the subordinate’s performance. Once the reason is discovered, I would decide whether the reason is professional or personal. If it is a professional reason, I would then try to find out whether I can solve the problem that the person has been facing.
If it is a personal problem, I would keep an eye on the time that the person has lost due to the personal problem. If the time taken cannot be handled by the company, I would speak to the person about the same, and give him an idea that he or she should try to solve the personal problem on his or her own, so that productivity may be increased for the company.
4. Question: It is the year end and there is a big backlog of work for everyone. One of your co workers informs you that he or she plans to take the week off, while claiming sick leave. How would you counter the situation?
Answer: I would first think about the past progress of the co worker. If the co worker has had a minimal amount of holiday during the entire year, I would neither support him nor report him – I will change the week off status to vacation leave. However, if the co worker has a history of taking casual leaves under fake reasons, I would report the matter to the HR.
These are some of the questions that are relevant to a managerial or supervisory position.
Refer to the article – management interview questions and answers.
Here are more common situational questions:
- Could you describe a difficult problem and how you dealt with it?
- What is the most difficult situation you have faced?
Refer to the article – Problem Solving Interview Questions and Answers.
This article provides details on the process to take for handling difficulties/problems:
- Define the Problem.
- Analyze the Problem.
- Generate possible Solutions.
- Select the best Solution(s) and course of actions.
More questions:
- Provide an example of a situation in which you had to create an agreement between parties who originally differed on opinion, approach, and objectives.
- Give an example of when you had to explain a complex technical issue to someone who hasn’t had any technical experience.
- Give an example of a situation when you had to turn down a customer request for a good reason. How did you handle the case?
- Give an example of a situation in which you had to make a quick decision when you didn’t have all facts.
- Give an example of a situation in which you had to collect all facts available for solving a problem. How did you analyze the info to arrive at a decision?
- Give an example of a setup goal and the actions you took to reach that goal.
- Give an example of a time when there was a heavy workload and you had to set priorities and day to day tasks in order to complete the duties in a timely fashion.