Questions at Nestlé interviews

We analyzed 1,188 interview reviews for Nestlé 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 Nestlé:

According to our research, hiring managers at Nestlé ask soft skills interview questions 29% more than at other companies.

Nestlé interview question statistics

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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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?

  3. 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 13% more frequently at Nestlé than at other companies.

2. 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.

  1. 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.

  2. About The Company

    Research the company (website, social media, etc) to learn about the company culture.

    What personal and professional qualities do they value?

  3. 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 49% more frequently at Nestlé than at other companies.

3. 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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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!

  3. 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 2% more frequently at Nestlé than at other companies.

4. Tell me about your greatest professional accomplishment

How to answer

Of all your accomplishments (and I am sure you’ve had a great many of them!), you should choose the one most relevant to this job position.

  1. About Yourself

    In preparation for answering this question, list the top 3 professional accomplishments that you are most proud of. No need for lengthy descriptions, just a sentence or two for each one to help you recall each situation.

    Write down your Key Selling Points - your top 3-5 skills that make you a strong professional.

    Make sure you have developed the story behind each accomplishment and have a strong command of the details of what happened so that you can tell the story clearly and distinctly.

    Along with each accomplishment, mark which of your Key Selling Points they showcase. How exactly?

  2. About The Company

    Based on your research of the company, what are their current needs?

    • What are the major projects going on?
    • What are the expectations for the position you are applying for?
    • Think about which of your accomplishment stories best fit their needs and expectations?
  3. About The Fit

    Once you have decided on the appropriate accomplishment story, think how you will relate it in an interview and how you will make it relevant to the the job you are seeking. One approach is to use the Present-Past-Present technique.

    Let's say that the accomplishment was leading your team in installing a new billing system and bringing it in on time and under budget.

    You might start off in the Present by talking about the importance of having good leadership skills.

    Then move to the Past to relate your story about how you successfully lead your team in accomplishing the objective.

    Finally, come back to the Present to address how you will be able to help them reach their goals (the ones you learned about when researching the company) going forward.

    Be sure to keep practicing your accomplishment story until it flows naturally and convincingly.

Pro Tip

Most enterprises are now going through major transformations, often called Digital Transformation.

Do your research on what it means and what is often involved, to get a better idea of the current goals and environments in companies. But one thing that definitely characterizes this transformation is striving for agility.

Whether the prospective employer is a long-established company or a startup, they are looking for people who demonstrate qualities like agility and adaptability, which are generally considered to be both helpful and quite a safe choice in most circumstances today.

Statistics

This question is asked 2.0x more frequently at Nestlé than at other companies.

5. 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).

  1. 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.

  2. 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?

  3. 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 17% less frequently at Nestlé than at other companies.

6. 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.

  1. 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.

  2. About The Company

    Research the company's values, standards and policies. Make a list of keywords or short key phrases.

  3. 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 28% more frequently at Nestlé than at other companies.

7. 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.

  1. 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?

  2. 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.

  3. 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 2.5x more frequently at Nestlé than at other companies.

8. Tell me about a time you had a conflict at work. How did you handle it? What have you learned?

How to answer

Wherever you go, you will always have to work with people. This means that there is a greater chance for conflict to happen. This question helps the interviewer determine how well you would fit within the organization.

  1. About Yourself

    Think of the times you had to deal with conflict.

    • What were the different ways you were able to address the situation?
    • If you were the cause of the conflict, how did the other person talk you down from the conflict?
    • What were the key lessons you learned through your experience?
  2. About The Company

    Research the company and its culture.

    • What do they value?
    • Is there anything that you can find about how they deal with conflict resolution?

    Reading comments to their social media posts often prove helpful to see how they react to customers' complaints.

  3. About The Fit

    • What have you found out about the company’s culture and job description?
    • Are they looking for someone who can take charge and resolve conflict?

    Tell a story of how you addressed conflict and how it turned a negative into a positive. Try to conclude with your lessons learned or methodology for approaching conflicts - this will show the interviewer that you would be able to apply your methodology to future situations.

    Use the STAR method to frame your story.

Pro Tip

A key to addressing conflict is listening, communication and emotional intelligence. Highlight these skills.

If you're able to, turn the question around and ask the interviewer if they have experienced the same thing. This will start a conversation, which is the goal of an interview.

Statistics

This question is asked 41% more frequently at Nestlé than at other companies.

9. Are you willing to relocate?

How to answer

This question could be a major factor in determining if you are hired. If the hiring manager wants someone who can work in a particular location full time, he/she needs to identify up front, anyone who can’t or won’t relocate.

But sometimes companies will ask if you are willing to relocate only to get a sense of your degree of interest and flexibility, especially when this detail is not even included in the job description of the position you applied for.

  1. About Yourself

    There are many questions that could cause you to consider whether you are willing to move for a position.

    These are of course, both personal and professional.

    • How long will you be there?
    • Is this a company you want to have a long career with?
    • Will you be able to advance your career with other positions available to you at the new location?
    • Will the company be helping you financially with the relocation?
    • Are you ready to move your entire life in this direction?
    • Will you take your family with you or will they stay here?
    • Are you ready to change not only the place of work, but also the house, environment, habits for the sake of the job?
  2. About The Company

    If relocation is required for a position, this should be mentioned in the job description. But even if it’s not, you must have a response ready in case it comes up during your interview.

    You can also use this question as an opportunity to demonstrate what you know about the company, as well as remind the interviewer about the qualities that make you a strong candidate for the position.

  3. About The Fit

    Theoretically your answer can be YES, N0 or Maybe, but of course things aren’t always that simple.

    • If the new position is an opportunity you may not want to refuse but you still need some time, you can formulate your answer in such a way: "I am interested in advancing my career and if relocation is necessary, I will certainly consider this possibility." This answer does not oblige you to move immediately, but also shows that you have serious intentions.

    • If you have no issue with relocating for this position, you should say so. It would also be a good time to ask the interviewer questions about the move as well. It will reassure them that you are able to move for the position.

    • If you are categorical one way or the other about relocation, remember - life often presents extremely unexpected surprises, and what looks like "never" today, may be "quite likely" tomorrow. And if you want to get this job, you can say that you are not ready to move immediately, but in the future you may consider this option.

    • You can also say: "The place where I live is not the most important thing for me. It is more important to develop myself, my skills and acquire new ones. Promotion and pursuit of my interests is important to me and if the company can offer this, I will consider moving."

Pro Tip

None of these answers is binding on you. But using any of them you will show you as a sincere, flexible and tactful candidate. Such answers will help to leave positive lasting impression of you and increase your chances for success.

Statistics

This question is asked 3.3x more frequently at Nestlé than at other companies.

10. Why did you choose your major?

How to answer

Everyone has his/her reasons to pick a major.

There are hundreds and hundreds of careers to choose from and most people pick a major that will give them a background in the career they want to pursue.

When you come to a job interview you will be definitely asked this question.

The interviewers are seeking to understand your underlying motivations for selecting this career.

It is also a good question for them to learn how much planning and thought actually went into your career selection. It is a window into your personality and interests.

  1. About Yourself

    This is your chance to highlight your strengths and how your major prepared you for your future plans.

    Your answer to this question should reflect your passion and interest in the field you chose. Be genuine.

    There’s every reason to display your passions and interest in your major. They will give interviewers a sense of who you really are.

    Think about who or what influenced your career choice and include the positive influences, not the negative ones.

    • How does this tie into your major?
    • How will you bring your passion and unique knowledge to the new company?

    Emphasize your strong people skills and excellent communication skills, allowing you to connect with others.

    Think of the skills and experiences you gained through your major, think back to assignments and projects from your studies, internships and previous jobs. Consider the skills you developed working on those projects.

  2. About The Company

    Write down a list of skills and experiences you gained through your major studies.

    Then, look at the job listing itself.

    Match up any of your skills and experiences that relate to the requirements of the job. How can you apply them to your new position, as well as the future?

  3. About The Fit

    Use this question as an opportunity to mention a few skills related to your chosen major that would also be relevant in the workplace.

    Point to a good culture fit.

    Be positive, showing your enthusiasm. Let them know you're excited to be where you are.

    Discuss what you enjoy about the industry you’re considering and why you could see yourself working in it. Even if your major is not directly related to the job, you can likely find connections between the two.

    This is also a chance to explain other ways you have developed skills that will fulfill the role you're applying for.

    For example, perhaps you were a biology major who is applying for a job in computer programming. You might explain that you took a number of online and extracurricular classes on programming to develop the skills needed for the job.

Pro Tip

Let your past decisions and accomplishments shine through. Once you nail your interview, you'll be on your way to a successful career path.

Statistics

This question is asked 2.1x more frequently at Nestlé than at other companies.

11. What one skill do you possess that you think will be the most important to a hiring manager?

How to answer

Employers place a lot of emphasis on finding candidates with the right skills and competencies for their organizations.

Depending on the career sector and profession you choose to work in, there are very specific skills, abilities and knowledge needed to do the job well.

The interviewer asks this question to make sure you will be a good fit with your skills and experience and will be a great addition to their team.

  1. About Yourself

    If you’re not sure which skill would be best to share, consider your previous work experiences.

    • Where did you excel?
    • What would your peers say you’re especially proficient at?
    • Have you ever received recognition for meeting a particular objective or excelling in a specific area?If so, your skills likely assisted you in reaching this achievement.
    • What personal talents or attributes helped you meet that milestone?

    Ask former coworkers or managers to help you to determine your strengths that made you unique. Imagine yourself as a manager who needs an employee to fill the position you are currently applying for.

    What would you as the manager expect from a candidate for this job?

  2. About The Company

    Start by reviewing the job description and making note of any required skills or abilities that match your own.

    The job posting is a great guide for what employers want to see in candidates. In addition to job requirements, consider the depiction of the company and its culture in the job description.

    Be sure to research the company by reviewing its website for additional information to get to know what skill you should mention.

  3. About The Fit

    It’s important to highlight your best hard and soft skills (your Key Selling Points) to position yourself as a well-rounded candidate.

    Though you may have several different areas of strength, include only those that are relevant to the job. Adaptability, critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and effective communication – it is the list of most common soft skills that can be helpful in any job, so you can choose the one to share with the hiring manager that best describes you.

    But to make your answer stronger, the skill should be specific to the job you are applying for. Be certain to give examples of how this skill helped you in your last job.

Pro Tip

It is important to be able to distinguish your skills from personal qualities. The first are acquired in the process of work and training, and the second characterize you as a person.

Statistics

This question is asked 2.8x more frequently at Nestlé than at other companies.

12. Walk me through your resume

How to answer

This question is often asked at the beginning of the interview.

The interviewer wants to hear a brief overview, a summary of your professional experience, in order to have a starting point from which they can dig deeper.

Structuring your answer wisely gives you a good chance to emphasize your Key Selling Points and to channel the conversation in the direction you want.

  1. About Yourself

    Print out your resume. For each of your recent job experiences (at this point do not go back more than 5 years), write down 3-5 key points at which you feel you are strong.

    For example, for your current (or previous) job, you may want to list skills like “Excellent presentation skills,” “Employee Engagement guru,” “Analytical skills,” “Attention to detail” (they don’t have to be all soft skills, but being aware of at least a few of your strong soft skills is important). Make sure you have examples for each of your statements.

    If you have difficulties to think of these points, search online for job descriptions for similar job roles, and figure out which of those keywords appeal to you. Look for people on LinkedIn that have jobs similar to the one you are applying for. Their profiles often contain many keywords that you can use in response to this question.

    Now that you’ve gone through all your recent experiences, are there any points that repeat more often than others, or are especially important to you? These are candidates to be your Key Selling Points -highlight 3-5 of them.

  2. About The Company

    Research the company and the role for which you're being interviewed. When researching the company, find out what skills and qualities they value the most. Carefully consider the job requirements. What is it that you will be responsible for?

    Now, write down 3-5 keywords from the job description that you find of utmost importance for this job role.

  3. About The Fit

    Try to establish the match between your own highlighted keywords, and those of the job description. These are your Key Selling Points! You should normally limit yourself by 3-5 such keywords or phrases.

    Now, craft a story based on your career history. You don’t have to go in chronological order - you can start with your current or last job experience, and then go back to your previous ones, or focus on just the experiences that are relevant to your story, and only briefly mention the less relevant ones and only if needed.

    Select one point to highlight for each phase of your career. Make sure you ingrain your Key Selling Points in the interviewer’s memory - after the interview is over, you want them to remember you as someone who is strong at XYZ, or experienced in A, B and C.

    It's okay to focus more on stellar achievements and brag a little bit about them.

Pro Tip

Don't bore the interviewer by going through your resume line-by-line.

Instead, WOW them by succinctly (keep it within 2 minutes) telling a story of how your career path has brought you to this point and how you are the best candidate for this role.

Super tip: The more you practice with Mr. Simon, the better you'll be at telling WOW-worthy succinct stories!

Statistics

This question is asked 5% more frequently at Nestlé than at other companies.

13. 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.

  1. 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?

  2. 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?
  3. 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:

  1. Acknowledge - what the other person is feeling,
  2. Apologize - for the way the other person is feeling,
  3. 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 1% less frequently at Nestlé than at other companies.

14. 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.

  1. 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?
  2. 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?

    Do your research.

  3. 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 35% less frequently at Nestlé than at other companies.

15. How do you deal with working under pressure?

How to answer

Many jobs involve moments when, for varied reasons, unexpected situations occur and a quick decision is needed.

The ability to work under pressure is an extremely valuable quality. It is a skill highly sought after by employers. They want to know they’re hiring someone who can coolly evaluate situations, stay focused, take charge and simply get the job done.

Giving a good response to this question may increase your chances of being hired.

  1. About Yourself

    Even if you are confident about your ability to work under pressure, the goal of your answer is to convince your interviewer of that.

    Emphasize your best qualities, such as quick decision-making, organizational and time management skills, the ability to stay calm, focus on the job at hand, think logically, act correctly and employ your problem-solving abilities.

    Also mention the methods you use to manage workplace stress. It can set you apart from other candidates.

    Think of a previous professional situation in which you displayed excellent ability under pressure.

    Use the STAR method to describe that scenario during the interview, and explain the actions you took to diffuse the situation.

  2. About The Company

    Do your research about the company you are aiming for.

    • What are the company’s plans, for example, will there be a degree of pressure like hitting targets, meeting deadlines or managing multiple tasks at once?
    • How might this impact you and how you deal with pressure?
  3. About The Fit

    Performing well under pressure is both a personal and professional quality and can make a difference between an average employee and an excellent one.

    Try to think of ways in which you can use the truth to your advantage. It will help you to gain the interviewers' trust and help them feel confident that the rest of your answers are also truthful.

    Even if you sometime might struggle under pressure, calmly acknowledging that and mentioning that you are actively trying to improve in this area can leave a positive impression on the hiring manager.

Pro Tip

While answering the question, be sure you DON’T:

  • Speak of a time when the stress or the pressure was caused by your own mistake
  • Bring emotions into the conversation thereby letting the interviewer know that you did not handle the pressure very well
  • Speak about an incident where you couldn’t handle the pressure, where for instance the pressure caused you to fail at a task as this will reflect negatively on you
  • Speak about the type of situation that stresses you out, especially if you are expecting to encounter a similar scenario in your future job.

Statistics

This question is asked 2.4x more frequently at Nestlé than at other companies.

16. Describe a time you went above and beyond for a customer

How to answer

Good customer service is the expectation, it is the norm. When the interviewer asks this question, they want to know how your skills have enabled you to take that extra step to provide the kind of service that make you and the company you work for, great in the eyes of your customers.

  1. About Yourself

    Think about a time you were the customer, how were you treated when you had a problem or issue that needed to be resolved? Did the company solve your problem with great service and a memorable experience?

    Now think about a time you had to help a customer. What did you do to make that experience unforgettable for them?

  2. About The Company

    Think carefully about the company and what they are looking for. Read online reviews and any other available information.

    • What are their standards for treating customers?
    • What complaints have you seen that can give you a hint of some of the challenges associated with customer service?
    • How focused is the job description regarding customer service functions? This will give you a strong hint that customer service is an area to be aware of for the upcoming interview.
  3. About The Fit

    A great way to show your fit for the job is to use the Present-Past-Present method in answering this question. The following is an example of how you might apply this approach:

    Start with the Present by telling the interviewer what skills you have that will ensure the best customer experience. These might include attributes like patience, listenting, attentiveness or any other customer service related skills you might possess.

    Next go back to the Past to tell a story of how you went above and beyond for a customer. Use the STAR method to help frame your story and be sure to bring your skills into the narrative.

    Finally, come back to the Present to describe for the interviewer how you will bring your customer service skills to the job you are applying for, to help ensure that the company can always rely on you to provide the highest level of customer service.

Pro Tip

Showing you have compassion and empathy for customers is always an excellent way to answer the question. However, always remember to frame your answers in terms of how the company addresses these issues.

Statistics

This question is asked 25% less frequently at Nestlé than at other companies.

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This page has been updated on February 23, 2024.

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