Some of my questions:
What would you have done differently in your profession or career so far?(This is slightly different from the “failure” question because I’m not so much looking for a story about something that went wrong. I’m looking to see how much the candidate has evaluated their progress to date and whether they can give an honest assessment of themselves.)
How do you work with a difficult manager? Are there any types of managers you cannot work for? How do you handle it when you feel you’re being excessively micro managed?
(These have a dual purpose: first, I want to make sure they can handle working with some of the tougher folks in our group; secondly: our manager has many good qualities but can be difficult to please and is an extreme micro manager–this is my way of giving them a hint.)
You have an idea for a great new project that will benefit the company. Your boss is on board and supports you. However, you know another department will not like this idea and will block your efforts should you approach them about it ahead of time. Do you approach them before you get too far into the project (“ask for permission”) or do you fill them in only when it’s too late to block you (“beg for forgiveness”)?
(This is something that happens all the time and it’s important that candidates recognize it as a possibility and have a good idea how to handle it.)
How do you give feedback? What do you do when you’re critiquing someone’s work and you sense that they’re starting to get defensive?
(Again, this happens all the time. We work with a lot of copywriters, designers, and others who do great work but react to comments on their work as if you’re telling them their baby is ugly.)
msmith537, I used to work in public accounting and I did some work with our consulting group. I thought your questions sounded sort of consultant-y! For those who don’t know consulting: clients ask all sorts of questions, and they really can put you in a tough spot. You have to think quickly. It’s essential that you keep the client happy, appear smart, maintain their trust, and still get your goals accomplished. Also, you often have to work with guys who suspect (often with good reason) that your recommendations may negatively impact their job. You need someone who can answer the tough (often designed to trip you up) questions.
When answering these questions, you have to remember that there really aren’t “right” answers. It’s more to show how you think and whether you fall apart when you don’t know the answer.
I’d have to say I’ve never had a “spectacular” failure. Sure, I’ve made mistakes (and I’d explain what one was, why it happened, how I corrected it, and what I learned from it), but nothing that can be classified “spectacular.” However, I work in a very conservative industry for an even more conservative company. We just don’t take “spectacular” risks. Also, we have enough controls in place to ensure that no one person can do anything that affects the company enough to make a failure “spectacular.” That way I’d give my best example, but I’d also explain away the fact that it may seem rather weak (I don’t want them to think I’m cherry picking my example).
I’d have to say I’ve never been asked to do anything unethical or illegal. I have been stuck in the middle when my boss and our legal department had a difference of opinion over something like copy in a print ad. It hasn’t been that my boss wanted to do something unethical. It has always been a true difference of opinion. I’d explain how I resolved that. Again, that may seem kind of weak. So I’d add that I’ve worked in an industry where customer trust is extremely important. Even within that industry, my company is well known for being trustworthy and it’s even part of our brand strategy. So we’re extra vigilant about our ethics and keeping on the right side of the law. Hopefully, that would suffice.
Having the occasional clash is ok, specially if you’re going for the kind of job where a strong personality is to be expected; but you need to be able to calm the situation before it gets nasty.