Job interview questions

[MostIneptThatEverStepped]

I had an interview last week that went quite badly and I didn't get the job. I know I didn't answer the questions properly and it's so frustrating because I know I could do the job fine, just not give convincing answers!

If someone asked you this question how would you answer?
Context: higher education admin

During a busy time when you have conflicting deadlines what do you do to make sure you meet them?

I burbled ineffectively about communication but my mind just went blank.

Discuss my situation with all affected to reach a compromise.

I'll take that one thanks!

I interviewed candidates recently for an admin role and asked a similar question about staying on top of a busy workload. We were looking for the answers to include things such as writing to do lists, using a diary, flagging potential issues as soon as possible, asking for guidance from line management and asking colleagues to help with easier tasks to enable you to concentrate on the more complex stuff. What we didn't want to hear was that the candidate would work overtime/miss breaks or fail to ask for help.

Good luck with your job search

If time gets really tight I block bits of my diary out for specific tasks. I would also get help/delegate some other tasks if needed. I would alert my boss to difficult delivery timescales to manage his expectations. And if I really needed to I would ask for clarity on prioritisation of workload so I could ensure the most important things were done on time. I also work from home in the evenings during very busy periods (sustained activity a handful of times a year, the odd evening more frequently).

I had the same question at an interview in HE. I said something along the lines of speaking to each person who has set a deadline and explaining your situation to see if you can negotiate the timescales, or maybe deliver the bulk of the work by a certain date and the remainder a bit later.

If after speaking to everyone, I found that everyone's deadlines are urgent and non-negotiable then I'd speak to my line manager to see if there is anyone who could ask to help me, or whether i could work extra hours to complete them and take the time back at a quieter time. And I gave an example of when I'd successfully managed conflicting deadlines in a previous job.

I sometimes interview in HE and one of the most important things is giving examples of when you've done something, so they know you can do it rather than just saying you can do it.

Good luck with your job search.

I did once answer this question very badly at interview. I sort of waffled that it’s never a problem. And it generally isn’t, because I have all these coping mechanisms. But I didn’t really think about them, they’re sort of automatic

This is so helpful, thank you so much everyone. For next time I'm going to write out an answer and think of some examples. It's not that I don't know this stuff I can just never articulate it properly!

Thanks for all the good luck wishes too,

Agree with blocking out time - and making it known that for x hours you are unavailable.

I think managing your emails is something that needs to be considered when prioritising workloads.
I don't mean ignore them and end up with an inbox of 3000 odd unread ones, but to manage the specific time when to responding them. So first thing in a morning, after lunch etc only.
We can easily get into the habit of replying to every email that comes in, when it comes in. In reality most are not that urgent as in they do not need immediate attention.
I found I often lost time caught up in this when what I really needed to focus on something else. In agreement with my line manager I added a line to my email signature giving a (somewhat vague) timescale with which to expect a response.
This was at a time when I was managing two teams some distance apart and so seemed to spend my life in traffic queues.

To do lists work well, as people asking you for something 'urgent' can see at a glance what you are working through.
I temped at a local uni one summer and watched an administrator brilliantly manage her demanding mining engineering professors (who bombarded her with 'urgent' work) by showing them her running list and simply adding their new request to the bottom. She was ruthless!

Can you write out some key questions and get someone to mock interview you? I find that helps.

Thank you again, this is so helpful.
I like the answers that mention talking to my line manager about extra help etc because a lot of our deadlines are fixed, ie they're in the student handbook.

Another question I answered really badly was the equal opportunities and diversity one ie what does this mean to you and can you give practical examples? I did prepare it but it was much too vague and waffly.