Interview questions at NCS
We analyzed 296 interview reviews for NCS from various job sites, social network groups and forums.
Here are the most frequent job interview questions asked by HR managers during initial phone or onsite interviews. This list does not include technical or factual questions.
16 frequent non-technical questions at NCS:
According to our research, hiring managers at NCS ask soft skills interview questions 62% more than at other companies.
1. Tell me about yourself top question
How to answer
Most job candidates expect this to be one of the first interview questions and probably think of it as an “icebreaker” to get the interview started. It is much more than that! It is your opportunity to show the interviewer your relevance for the job. You want the employer to know that you are qualified to do the job, you are interested in doing the job and capable of getting it done.
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About Yourself
What is your current occupation? Define yourself professionally in one statement.
Pick 3 key skills that make you great at your work (your Key Selling Points). How have you applied these skills?
Try to give some numbers to support your statement.
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About The Company
Your first step is to Research the company to find out as much as you can about what they do and their approach to their business and their employees.
Based on what you know about the company and the job description, why are you interested in the position you are applying for?
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About The Fit
Now is the right time to show the fit between your skills and the company's requirements. Your answer works best if you emphasize your relevance. How do you do this? You will have already researched the company, studied the job description to identify their needs and possible pain points and prepared the relevant Star Stories that show how you addressed similar issues in the past. Your next step is to develop your Present-Past-Present approach.
Start with the Present. Focus on the skills and experience from your most recent positions. What has enabled you to get the job done successfully and how this relates to what the employer is looking to accomplish.
Next go back to the Past. Here is where your Star story comes in. Explain how you were able to use your skills and experience to accomplish a task that relates to an area of concern for the employer.
Finally come back to the Present – summarizing the lessons you learned and how they shaped your response and approach today.
Remember, the whole conversation is about the present, not the past. Just one sentence can summarize why your approach works, and its applicability and relevance to this position.
Pro Tip
You can also end with a question like:
“Do you know what the current needs in the company/department are, where my skills and experience can help?”
That can help you learn more about the company and the job, turn the “interrogation” into a conversation and will allow you to relax some tension.
Read our blog post to learn more about how to answer this question.
Statistics
This question is asked 99% more frequently at NCS than at other companies.
2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
How to answer
This question belongs to a family of behavioral, or even more precisely, reflective questions.
The interviewer wants to learn two things about you by asking this question.
- They want to know what you think about the job you are applying for. Remember, they are interviewing you for the job that's open right now. Are you a good fit and will you do a good job for them?
- Just as important, they want to get an idea of your ambitions and goals for yourself and if your goals align with their needs, especially going into the future.
In this way the employer should see how you see yourself today, and whether you are ambitious and strive to grow as a professional, and whether you like to learn and develop your skills.
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About Yourself
What challenges do you like overcoming? Where are you starting from and where might you be going?
For example, let's say the position you are applying for is junior accountant. It includes a wide range of tasks such as basic bookkeeping, financial analysis, and reporting. If accounting is your chosen field, then you would most likely want to move in the direction of obtaining your CPA so that you might step up to more responsibility as an accounting manager or senior auditor within the next 5 years. Your responses should make sense in how you see yourself growing in your professional career.
However, at this point, if you are happy just where you are and want to further your current skills, that is also fine as long as there is a growth path for you that can be imagined and described.
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About The Company
Research the company to learn what career opportunities may be available in the department you are applying to, and what the trends are in the company in general.
- Is the business expanding, are they opening new locations, or starting new projects?
- Or are they heavily automating and cutting staff?
Let’s say you are applying for a UX designer position for a brand-new product.
In the future, if the product becomes a success - which is what the company hopes for - the company will hire more designers and you may become a lead designer, or you may become a product manager.
On a side note: If you train your mind to be open to opportunities you will be amazed at how much this world has to offer to you!
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About The Fit
And, of course, try to see where the perfect fit lies between your own potential and aspirations, and the company’s trends and hopes.
However, beware of the risk of showing too much excitement for future opportunities compared to your attitude towards the current position.
As we said earlier, you must show interest and enthusiasm for the position you are applying for. If the interviewer senses that you are more enthusiastic about future growth than about the current position, they may conclude that you are not the right person for the job at hand.
Pro Tip
This question gives you a good opportunity to showcase your Key Selling Points (e.g. “As I am very good at delegating tasks, I can easily see myself leading a team of software testers in the future…”), and end your statement by asking about current initiatives and goals at the company.
In thinking about the possibilities that may lie ahead, you also might want to consider taking a personality test (I recommend 16Personalities which is based on the Myers-Briggs test), research the internet on what career paths are possible with your skills and current job.
It is generally NOT a good idea to say something like:
“Oh, I cannot imagine what happens to me tomorrow, let alone in 5 years”.
This will show you as a person who is unimaginative and not forward-thinking enough to grow with and be a good fit for the company.
Statistics
This question is asked 43% more frequently at NCS than at other companies.
3. What is your greatest weakness?
How to answer
This question ranks as the most challenging for many people. Fortunately, Mr. Simon is here to help!
Interviewers are not out to trick or trap you! They ask this question to gauge your level of self-awareness, your honesty and openness, and your capability for self-improvement.
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About Yourself
No one is perfect and your interviewer doesn't expect you to be perfect either.
While it is good to be honest and open, it will not help you to put yourself down.
What's important is to find a weakness that you have overcome. How you turned what might be considered a negative into a positive.
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About The Company
Research the company (website, social media, etc) to learn about the company culture.
What personal and professional qualities do they value?
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About The Fit
This is the time to clearly state a true weakness that you have overcome.
Be as specific as possible and stay away from vague cliches like “I work too hard.” It would be difficult for anyone to try and explain how they overcame a weakness like that
Mr. Simon emphasizes the Present-Past-Present method of responding to behavioral questions. When you are asked about your greatest weakness, you should be able to successfully use this approach as well. Here is an example of how someone might answer this question.
Present - "I have always had a fear of public speaking, and believe this may have held me back in my career, especially when having to make presentations to management."
Past - "Last year I learned about Toastmasters International and decided to join this group to help me gain confidence in myself and improve my ability to present to others in just about any situation."
Present - "By overcoming this weakness I believe that it has made me a much stronger candidate for this position, someone you can count on to make presentations to management, conduct training and communicate at a high level."
It's important to show how well you've overcome a weakness by motivating yourself and learning a new skill to grow professionally.
Pro Tip
Use this question to sell yourself!
Statistics
This question is asked 51% more frequently at NCS than at other companies.
4. Why did you leave your last job?
How to answer
This question may be a little touchy for some people, but it's a question asked by interviewers, to find out why you left, in order to better understand how you may or may not make a good fit with their company.
Remember, never speak ill of your old company (this will not go over well).
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About Yourself
There are a number of reasons why people leave or plan to leave their jobs. One very important recent factor has been the impact on jobs and job security due to Covid-19 and all of the issues raised by remote vs. on-site work.
Regardless of the causes, there are three possible reasons that you left your last job or are planning to leave your current job:
- You are looking for a career change
- You are unhappy with your current employment
- You were let go.
Whatever the reason, it's best to always speak in a positive light.
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About The Company
Based on your research about the company and the position you are interviewing for, what do you like most about the company? What excites you about the work as it is outlined in the job description?
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About The Fit
Let's take a closer look at how you might respond to each of the three reasons for leaving your last job.
1. You were let go
You should simply state the facts (e.g. the company was downsizing, your position was eliminated, your department was offshored, etc.). Focus on the positive. You might want to share your accomplishments at your previous employment by relating a pertinent STAR story if you feel that would be relevant.
2. You are looking for career advancement or a career change
In your response you should be upfront, honest and as enthusiastic as you can be about the position. Consider using the Present-Past-Present method when giving this answer. Start with the Present by describing a career goal that is important to you. For instance you are a data analyst applying for a data management position and you are ready for this move. Then go back to the Past to indicate that at your previous job, there were little or no promotional opportunities in your field. Then come back to the Present and say that you are ready to take on the manager role and know that you will do an outstanding job for the company.
3. You are unhappy with your current employment
Sometimes a job just isn't going to take you to the next step in your career.
Keep two things in mind when answering this question, 1) never "bad mouth" your current employer and 2) focus on the postive when speaking about the job and your reason for wanting to leave.
The following is an example of how this question might be answered. This individual was looking to move up to a project manager position and did not feel that her current employer was the right place to achieve her goal. You might find her answer helpful in crafting your own response.
"I really like my job as assistant project manager and love working with all of my coworkers on the team. However, the way the department is set up there is no real path to promotion. There are currently 3 project managers and they are all relatively new in their jobs. As far as I can see, they are all doing a good job and opportunties for promotion may not be opening up in the foreseeable future."
Her comments were positive and her reasoning was clear and consise. Always try to keep your reasons positive and try not to create an impression that you were unhappy with the way you were treated.
Pro Tip
Whatever the reason you are looking for a new opportunity, make sure you are able to show how you are the perfect fit for the job for which you are interviewing!
Statistics
This question is asked 58% more frequently at NCS than at other companies.
5. What are your long-term goals?
How to answer
Even in this age of the so-called Gig Economy, employers are always looking for people who can become their strong and loyal “soldiers,” a part of their “army” to help them conquer their market share against their competitors.
So, even if at this moment this job may be a temporary contract, you never know what opportunities may present themselves to you in this company.
Trust me, your hiring manager doesn’t know either!
So, be open to opportunities and use this question to emphasize how your personal goals correspond with those of the company.
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About Yourself
Start with honestly assessing yourself. (At this moment, you are not sharing these thoughts with anyone, so be as open as you can).
Imagine that you have all the resources in the world and that all roads are open for you.
- How would you use them?
- Which road(s) would you choose?
- What do you see on the horizon in that direction?
Be audacious and don’t limit yourself. There is no longer a perspective than “long-term,” so be as futuristic as you possibly can.
List a few “road” options that you would be enthusiastic about going down.
For example, this list may be as broad as the following:
• writer
• choir director
• software engineer and architect
• CEO of a unicorn startup company,
• entrepreneur.As William Shakespeare once said, “We know what we are, but we know not what we may be.”
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About The Company
Now, look at the company.
- What is the industry they operate in?
- What is the position you are applying for, and what are potential career growth possibilities within the department, company, and industry?
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About The Fit
Which of your “road” options correspond best with the opportunities presented by this company?
Highlight this option and focus on it. Imagine, in as much detail as you can, going down this road.
What would be the major milestones for you, in order to move towards your goal?
Describe the chosen option by focusing on the first 1-2 milestones, and by presenting it in light of company goals and current initiatives.
For example, if you are applying for a project manager position in a corporation engaged in the education industry, and your “road” option is “CEO,” your next career step may be a program manager, or an innovations and research manager.
Explain why you are enthusiastic about reaching these goals, and what makes you think you have the necessary traits and skills to reach them.
How can the company benefit from these traits and skills of yours already today, in the current role you are applying for?
Pro Tip
Framing your answer in the same terms used by the company will help ensure the interviewer can easily understand your language and help both of you to be “on the same page.”
The easier you make it for the interviewer, the better are your chances they will “vote” for you over other candidates.
Statistics
This question is asked 2.7x more frequently at NCS than at other companies.
6. Tell me about a successful project you were involved in. What was your role? What was the result?
How to answer
At first glance you might think that this question is only asked of project managers. That is clearly not the case. In the modern business environment, work is often organized in the form of projects across multiple disciplines involving many people at many different levels.
Projects allow companies to plan objectives and milestones in order to reach their goals, to monitor progress and performance, to clearly define deliverables and success.
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About Yourself
Think about a few projects you have been involved in, regardless of your level of participation. These might range from small projects like organizing a party to large-scale multinational projects with participants and teams across the globe, million-dollar budgets and high risk and reward stakes.
Develop one or two project-based STAR stories.
Remember, all project-based STAR stories should start with the following descriptive elements:
- Project name
- Its purpose and goal
- Your role in it
- The duration of the project or its phases (in case only some phases were successful)
- The approximate number of people or stakeholders involved in it.
Once you have establish the base facts, its time to describe the challenges and results:
- What were the top 3 challenges?
- What was the end result?
- How did the company (or other stakeholders) benefit from the results?
- How can you define your contribution in 3-5 key phrases?
If you received any praise for your efforts from your boss, peers or clients, what did they say exactly?
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About The Company
Based on the research you did on the company, what kinds of projects can you expect here?
- What do you know about the goals they are trying to achieve?
- What do you know about their current challenges?
- Can you imagine what success will look like for the projects in this company?
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About The Fit
Once you decide which project best fits this question, use the Present-Past-Present approach to answer it.
Start with the Present by explaining your thinking on what you believe makes a project successful. You might say that your approach to all new projects is to set up the right project framework and tools before you begin, to help ensure that you get off to a good start.
Next go back to a Past situation in which you and your team took on a project and used your method of clarification to ensure that everyone knew their assignment and through hard work and focus, brought it to a successful conclusion.
Finally, come back to the Present to show how you will use your approach to help the employer tackle projects going forward.
Practice telling your story, using the STAR method.
Pro Tip
End your answer by asking the interviewer how they define success for the role you are applying for.
This will provide you with an insight into the company's environment and expectations for this role, as well as helping to transform the “interrogation” into a conversation as the interview continues.
Statistics
This question is asked 5.0x more frequently at NCS than at other companies.
7. How would you describe yourself?
How to answer
This question is like the Tell me about yourself question usually asked at the beginning of an interview, but there are some subtle differences. It belongs to the family of reflective questions where the interviewer is assessing your cognitive abilities, as opposed to the more factual and matter-of-fact “Tell Me About Yourself” question.
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About Yourself
Think of how your bosses and peers would describe you.
Throughout your professional experience, you have probably heard them giving you some labels – try to remember the exact words they used.
If you have received LinkedIn recommendations from someone, read those and think why people wrote them and what work situations prompted those descriptions. Remember the context of those situations and frame them as stories.
Make a list of keywords, or short key phrases, that can describe you. Your Key Selling Points should definitely appear on this list, but try to also use some adjectives here, to add a positive emotional touch.
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About The Company
Research the company's values, standards and policies. Make a list of keywords or short key phrases.
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About The Fit
Which of your keywords correspond best with those of the company? Highlight 3-4 matches. Now try to imagine being a peer or a boss of yours and compile statements about yourself, in the 3rd person, mentioning these keywords. Remember to use adjectives, and don’t be afraid to mention real references from real people.
For example, if you are applying for a position that requires good people skills, and your boss at your previous job called you a “conflict resolution guru,” don’t be shy to mention this reference, and provide a brief context that caused your boss’s praise. Use the STAR method to craft your story.
Don’t limit yourself with just one keyword. If you are concise and don’t ramble with your answer, your interviewer will probably want to hear more than one. Just be observant and watch the interviewer’s reaction. You want to keep them interested.
Pro Tip
If you haven’t yet received any LinkedIn recommendations, try to obtain them. Also, offer to write your own recommendations for them - both received and given recommendations will be visible in your profile and will tell the interviewer exactly what you want to be known about your values, your attitude towards work and relationships.
Statistics
This question is asked 2.5x more frequently at NCS than at other companies.
8. What experience do you have in this field?
How to answer
This question may help you convince the interviewer how smoothly you would fit into the position to which you are applying. It's your chance to WOW them! Be sure to focus on the experience that is relevant to the company and position.
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About Yourself
Start with defining your Key Selling Points you want to emphasize for this position.
- What job experiences brought you to those points?
- What were the job titles and the most relevant responsibilities?
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About The Company
Do your research of the company and the requirements for the position.
- What is the company looking for in terms of experiences and qualifications?
- What problems are they trying to solve with this position?
Most importantly, make sure you are able to highlight and speak about at least 3-5 of your key experiences that match up with the requirements listed in the job description.
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About The Fit
Using the Present-Past-Present method is a perfect way to answer this question.
Starting with the Present, speak about your experience as it relates to one of the key requirements in the job description. You might say "I noted that the job description requires experience in employee training and this is an area in which I have a great deal of knowledge and skill."
Then go back to the Past to describe how you improved overall training of staff from 82% to over 97% within your first year on the job. Senior leadership took note of this accomplishment for which you received a company commendation.
Finally, come back to the Present to describe how you will help ensure that the company maintains the highest possible compliance with all employee training requirements.
Nowadays, every hiring manager wants results, so think in terms of specific achievements and try to structure your example accordingly.
Pro Tip
When telling your story, remember to talk about your STARs!
S - What was the Situation?
T - What was your Task?
A - What Action did you take?
R - Talk about the Results.
Statistics
This question is asked 42% more frequently at NCS than at other companies.
9. Tell me about your work experience. What was the most interesting?
How to answer
This question lets an interviewer gauge what makes you tick and whether the job you are applying for corresponds with your areas of excitement and enthusiasm. Such a fit will earn you important points for being a viable candidate.
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About Yourself
Review the details that you shared in your resume. Select the three to five best points to highlight and relate to the position to which you're applying.
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About The Company
Carefully research the company and the job description.
Find out what duties you'll be taking on to determine which of your top skills to emphasize. Try to find out what current challenges they are trying to solve by opening this vacancy.
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About The Fit
Knowing the duties for which you will be responsible will help you identify which prior experiences to highlight.
How well you connect your previous experiences with the job requirements can tell the interviewer how prepared you are for this role and how enthusiastic you will be about your job.
Pro Tip
Do not start your answer with "as you can see from my resume," even if you have listed those skills and qualities.
Instead, tell a story showing that you can solve problems similar to their current challenges and that you are enthusiastic about this.
You can best do this through constant practice of your STARs.
Statistics
This question is asked 2.2x more frequently at NCS than at other companies.
10. Do you have any hobbies/special interests?
How to answer
The question about hobbies or special interests may seem unimportant and unrelated only at first glance.
Why do interviewers ask this question? They want to learn more about the applicant as a person, not just as an employee. They need to get a sense of your ability to balance your work and personal life.
When considering a large number of applicants, how you answer the question about hobbies or special interests may even become a decisive factor in hiring.
The answer to this question may often tell the interviewer how personal qualities can affect employee productivity in the future. Therefore, it is necessary to think it over in advance.
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About Yourself
- What are your interests and what can they say about you?
- What brings you joy and gives you energy?
Surely you have at least one item from a list of common activities such as traveling, volunteering, community service, charity work, sports, hiking or playing chess. Maybe you are good at creative arts like writing, music, painting or crafts. Cooking or gardening can also be mentioned.
Think about the interests you enjoy the most and if they are relevant to the job you are applying for, all the better.
Don’t just list them, talk in more depth about each and the transferrable skills you have gained. Among them may be planning and organization skills, creative thinking and problem solving, adaptability or patience.
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About The Company
Do your research about the company. Read carefully the “About Us” page of their website and job description.
Compare their company culture and values to the ones you embrace in your extracurricular hobbies and interests. Take note especially if they participate in charities.
Even if yours and theirs don’t exactly match, it will still allow you to make clear connections between your interests and those of your interviewer.
If you know exactly who you will be interviewed by - find his/her profile on social networks – it will be a more successful interview if you have some common interests.
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About The Fit
Make your hobby or interest your advantage.
For example, if applying for a position as a translator, mention that in your free time you like to translate new songs and send them to popular websites or, tell about your passion for reading novels or writing your own stories in those languages.
If you are applying for a job in gaming, you might mention your passion for certain video games.
Applying to be an IT project manager? Talk about how you started a book club and regularly feature books related to IT innovation and transformation.
Be ready to discuss the activities that prepare you for training, tasks and other workplace successes.
Pro Tip
Whatever hobby or interest you choose to highlight during your job interview, remember to focus on the positive qualities you possess in order to be successful at it.
Avoid speaking about hobbies that are related to politics or other taboo topics. Stick to mentioning interests that are relatively uncontroversial and keep it professional.
Statistics
This question is asked 4.6x more frequently at NCS than at other companies.
11. What are your strengths? Give an example
How to answer
Many people think they know their personal strengths and consider this question simple. However, to impress your interviewer you must be ready to turn your response into a meaningful and insightful answer.
It’s an open invitation to talk about your Key Selling Points, your accomplishments and to show how you match the employer’s values and requirements.
You must be ready to stand out and demonstrate your unique value as a candidate.
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About Yourself
Reflect on your best professional qualities. What are they? Are you dependable, flexible, friendly, hardworking, a strong leader, formal, punctual, good team player?
Pick at least three personal strengths that will help you at your new workplace, and make sure you can give specific examples to demonstrate why you say these are your strengths.
If no key strengths spring to mind, ask your friends or colleagues what they think your greatest strengths are. What examples can demonstrate your success due to these qualities?
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About The Company
Make sure to research the company and read the job description thoroughly in order to identify the key strengths required for the role.
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About The Fit
Recruiters and hiring managers want to know how your strength relates to the job you’re applying for.
Match the skills required by the position with your list of strengths. Choose up to 5 top skills. These are your Key Selling Points! Prove your point by providing examples.
Craft your stories using the STAR method.
Pro Tip
Tip 1: Aim to strike a balance between over-confidence and underselling yourself. If you list too many strengths, you risk sounding arrogant. Listing too few implies a lack of confidence or even a lack of skills.
Tip 2: One of the most in-demand skills nowadays is being adaptive. In order to emphasize your adaptiveness, try to think of an example when you had to quickly learn something new, or quickly become a team member with a completely new group of people, or started contributing quickly in a new environment or project.
Statistics
This question is asked 2.0x more frequently at NCS than at other companies.
12. Tell me about a time when you had to work with a difficult or disruptive person. It may be a client, manager, or coworker. How did you handle the situation? What was the outcome?
How to answer
People skills are highly valued in a company. It is important to show how you can manage difficult personalities, especially if you are applying for a job that involves teamwork, or a lot of interactions with clients.
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About Yourself
Look back on your experience. Have you worked with a difficult or disruptive person? Remember a few such situations and how you diffused them and turned things around. What are your approaches to resolving conflicting situations at work?
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About The Company
- What have you found about the company and its culture?
- What have you learned about how the employees value each other?
- How do they treat their customers?
- Do they have any specific standards and policies?
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About The Fit
Using what you found about the company, choose one of your examples that fits best with the company standards and share your story.
If it's a customer, how did you turn things around and made a customer happy?
If it's a coworker, how did you diffuse a tense or difficult situation?
Pro Tip
Use the triple A of diffusing a difficult situation:
- Acknowledge - what the other person is feeling,
- Apologize - for the way the other person is feeling,
- Admit - that there was an issue that you are working on to get it resolved.
If it is a customer, it would add that extra touch if you "Ask" for the customer's contact information so you can update them of any progress on their issue.
Statistics
This question is asked 4% more frequently at NCS than at other companies.
13. Tell me about a time when you had to adjust to a colleague's working style to complete a project or task successfully
How to answer
Working on a project brings together people with different experiences, working styles and approaches to achieve a common goal. But it is impossible to come to an understanding unless everyone is able to communicate properly with their colleagues.
That’s why interviewers ask this question, they are looking for candidates who can demonstrate that they can adapt to professional work situations.
Answering this question you should highlight your adaptability, flexibility, willingness to compromise and ability to work in a team.
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About Yourself
Be prepared to discuss times where you adjusted to a colleague's working style in your past jobs.
- How did you feel about that?
- How did you handle different workflows?
- Were you flexible and willing to learn?
- Did you accept this experience in a positive manner?
- What steps did you take?
- What was the result?
- Were you happy with the outcome?
- What do you wish you had done differently?
- What did you learn from that?
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About The Company
Do your research about the company and its culture.
- How do the employees value each other?
- How do they deal with sharing their duties and experience?
- What approaches do they use in their projects?
- Do they have any specific standards and policies?
Make sure you match your qualifications to the job and skills as mentioned in the job description.
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About The Fit
Sharing examples that really show the skills that the interviewer is looking for will give you an advantage over the competition.
Structure your story logically. Use the STAR method to do this.
Start by discussing the project you were working on and the ways your work styles differed from each other. Explain how the team came to a consensus on how to approach and successfully complete the project.
Show the interviewer that you are capable of giving merit to different working styles, even if they do not match your own.
Highlight how you made the adjustment to another person’s work style, showing how it helped your team to learn new approaches, operating principles, strategies, plans, and creative ideas which you definitely would use in the future to build a healthy, creative and successful team.
When issues are discussed and shared, then it makes the team even stronger and they reach the common purpose, achieve better results and successfully complete the task for the benefit of the company.
Pro Tip
Don’t be afraid to ask the interviewer questions about the company’s approaches and its attitude to a competitive environment, conflicting opinions and healthy debates while working on the projects.
Statistics
This question is asked 17.9x more frequently at NCS than at other companies.
14. Tell me about a time when you failed to meet a deadline. What did you learn?
How to answer
The ability to meet deadlines is crucial in most roles.
However, nobody is perfect, and deadlines will be missed from time-to-time.
This is not a "loaded" or “gotcha” question, designed to catch you. It is a genuine question, asked by the interviewer who knows that there will be times when deadlines pass, and projects go sideways.
- What they want to know is - how you reacted?
- Are you someone who is able to turn a negative into a positive or a person who would allow yourself to be sidetracked by such a failure?
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About Yourself
Here are some questions to ask yourself regarding missing and meeting deadlines.
Knowing the answers to the following questions will help you formulate your answer to the overall deadline question.
Use them to tell about a specific situation where you missed a deadline but were able to turn it into a positive.
- Do you take personal responsibility for failing to meet a deadline? (Don’t attempt to put the blame on others, this should be about you)?
- How well do you work under pressure?
- What helps you to stay focused when faced with a major deadline?
- How do you prioritize your tasks?
- What will you do to keep missing a deadline from happening again in the future?
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About The Company
When you research the company, try and find out what kind of challenges they are facing.
- What responsibilities will you be tasked with?
- Will there be a degree of pressure like hitting targets, meeting deadlines or managing multiple tasks at once?
The job description may also be a good source for understanding what types of tasks might need to meet deadlines.
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About The Fit
When answering a question relating to not meeting deadlines, it is important to look for a story that has a positive outcome regardless of the initial failure to meet a deadline.
Use the STAR method to tell the story in which something fairly important didn’t go right due to your personal actions (or lack of actions).
Emphasize that you took personal responsibility for the shortcoming and talk about what you did to improve the situation, how you were able to turn the situation into a positive and what you did to prevent it from happening again.
Ensure the hiring manager that you learned your lesson and have practiced good work habits since that time.
Pro Tip
Here is an example of a possible answer to this tough interview question.
“Last year I missed a project deadline for an important client because I underestimated the need for support staff on the project. Despite working overtime, I missed the deadline by three days. When I realized that the deadline was fast approaching, I called the client and apologized for the delay (as well as informing my boss). I took full responsibility for the inconvenience and provided a new timeline that I could meet. I met the second deadline that I promised the client, and they were impressed with my transparent and honest attitude throughout the process. Since then I have not failed to meet a deadline."
Statistics
This question is asked 5.2x more frequently at NCS than at other companies.
15. Tell me about a stressful situation and how you dealt with it
How to answer
Stress on the job comes in many forms and from many sources including tight (perhaps impossible) deadlines, difficult bosses and co-workers, family issues, hard-to-please customers and clients and numerous other causes. There are also levels of stress ranging from the ones that are so common that we consider them normal, up to those that can really skyrocket.
Your future employer wants to know how you will behave in such times, whether you will be a helping hand or a burden.
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About Yourself
In order to form a response to this question, think back to a time when you encountered a stressful situation at work, and answer the following questions.
- Was the situation a challenge just to you personally or to your entire team?
- What was your approach to the problem and how did you handle it?
- What role if any did emotions play in the process of dealing with this situation?
- What was the outcome, was it successful?
- Did the outcome meet the company’s expectations as well as your own?
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About The Company
- What do you know about the company, where you may encounter a stressful situation?
- Are they working on a major project which is approaching a due date?
- Are they going through what appears to be a difficult time where cost-saving is a top priority? Perhaps the company culture is full of negativity and mistrust, or they have gone through massive layoffs. Is there any chance that customers are being neglected?
Any of these situations may lead to stressful times at the company, and you should try to know more about their expectations, and how realistic those expectations are.
Or, are they just a dynamic, highly agile company run by smart and creative folks, which may work excellently for some people and be confusing and mind-blowing for others?
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About The Fit
Once you have determined which STAR story will best answer this question, use the Present-Past-Present method for your response. The following is an example of how someone might apply this method.
The candidate started with the Present by telling the interviewer that she is able to rise to the challenge of the situation regardless of the level of stress that may come with an assignment.
She then went back to the Past to describe when she and her team had to hit a tight timeline for a customer that depended on the outcome of her team's work. It was an emotional time in which the team worked long, hard hours with lots of overtime. As hard as it was at the time, in the end they successfully completed the assignment and the customer was so pleased with the results that it increased its business with her company.
Finally, the candidate came back to the Present to explain how much she enjoys taking on challenges because they help her grow as a professional and she knows that she can successfully complete assignments for the company, no matter how stressful or difficult.
Pro Tip
Think of your ideal workplace environment.
- Does this company feel like it would be ideal for you?
- Do you feel excited and enthusiastic about taking on the kinds of stress you may encounter here?
- Would you prefer to work in an environment where the stress levels were lower or at least more manageable?
If you feel compatible with this company culture and enthusiastic about the challenges you expect here, this is a good chance to mention it and to show your excitement.
Explain your approach or rationale when you give your example from the past.
If you cannot remember any stressful situation with a positive outcome, you can use one with a less than positive outcome but it must be accompanied by your lessons learned and how you were able to use the lessons to help you move on.
Statistics
This question is asked 31% less frequently at NCS than at other companies.
16. Share an example of how you were able to motivate other people
How to answer
People are motivated at work by many different types of things (e.g. recognition of a job well done, career advancement, loyalty from management, interesting work and good pay).
Usually, this question is asked for managerial positions but it can also apply to individual contributors, such as those working on a team where everyone depends on the work of others to accomplish the team’s goals.
The interviewers want to know how you work with different kinds of people who have different kinds of personalities. The answer to this question will give them insights into both your leadership as well as your interpersonal skills, in a professional setting.
The example you share with the interviewer is a good indicator of how you will react to similar situations in the future.
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About Yourself
- Did you have someone in the past at work who helped you to realize that you needed to be self-motivated to succeed?
- Can you remember a time where you helped someone else to find the motivation to accomplish something, ideally related to the work they were doing?
- What strategies did you use to motivate your team or coworkers?
On the other hand, have you found it difficult to motivate others, and if so, what have you done to overcome this trait?
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About The Company
Do your research about the company and its culture.
- What are the job requirements of the position that you’re applying for?
- How do managers and employees value one another?
- Do they have any specific standards and policies?
- What motivational techniques do they use?
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About The Fit
If you’re working on a team where you are depending on the work of other team members to accomplish your goals, you need to be able to motivate your co-workers.
This is a great opportunity to show the interviewer that you are able to motivate others and to sell your skills by describing a specific situation that you encountered during your career.
- What were your key motivating factors that kept your team more energized and ready for work?
- Will this experience help you in the new role?
Mention
- recognizing positive aspects of an employee’s performance, which is critical to motivating most employees, especially introverted people that tend to stay in the background
- regular and concrete feedback, which is important when dealing with an employee who is not performing up to his/her potential
- understanding what someone can bring to the team, because staff members are definitely more motivated when they understand their role and its impact on a project
- the ability to set a good example yourself through your actions.
Pro Tip
Having a coworker or manager that can keep employees motivated is an invaluable asset, as they help the company meet its goals by keeping on task.
Prove that it is YOU who is this asset by showing your passion and enthusiasm to be the part of this company.
Statistics
This question is asked 11.3x more frequently at NCS than at other companies.
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This page has been updated on February 23, 2024.
