1. Answering
Interview
Questions

3. Key Skills In Interviewing
● Preparation and practice
● Active listening
● Building rapport
● Control the content
● Selling yourself

5. Today’s Interview Process
● Fewer closed-ended and overly-broad questions.
● Most interviewers know questions to avoid.
● Many interviewers have been trained in “Behavior
Based” Interviewing

6. Interview Format
● Rapport building
● Transition – why we’re here
● Questions about you and your background
● Describing the company and the job
● Answering questions from you

8. Interview Questions
● Behavior Based Questions
● Past performance as predictor of future on the job behavior
● Interviewer’s goal: obtain examples showing knowledge, skills
and work habits
● Looking for specific situations – “Tell me about a time…”
● Self Description Questions
● Strengths, weaknesses, “What do you like in a boss?”, “What
would your references say about you?”
● Scenarios
● Customers often bring their children along. One time a child
knocked over a lamp and broke it. How would you handle a
situation like that?

10. Mastering the Behavioral Interview
Describing past accomplishments or scenarios
● Situation
● Task
● Actions
● Results
Describing Yourself
● Feature
● Benefit

11. Selling Your Accomplishments
Question: Tell me about a time a when you handled
an angry customer.
Situation:
One time a customer called and was really upset about an overdraft fee.
He was yelling at me, he was so angry.
Task:
I knew I couldn’t yell back at him, so I let him talk until he calmed down.
Action:
I checked his records, and he was a long time customer who had never
done that before. I talked with my manager, and we waived the fee.
Result:
The customer was happy and is still doing business with us.

12. Selling Your Accomplishments
Question: Tell me about a time a customer wanted
you to make an exception, and you felt you should
stick to policy.
Situation:
Task:
Action:
Result:

13. Discussing Characteristics, Strengths,
Weaknesses
Question: Tell me about your greatest strength.
Feature:
I’m very organized.
I set up my files alphabetically, use post-it notes, and keep a to-do
list.
Benefit:
That way I know where to find everything and what my priorities are.
I don’t waste time looking for things because they are right at my
fingertips. That lets me work efficiently and get more done every
day.

14. Discussing Characteristics, Strengths,
Weaknesses
Question: Why do you enjoy working in customer
service?
Feature:
Benefit:

15. Discussing Weaknesses
•Have one.
•Be brief and direct.
•You get to choose what you discuss. Be selective.
•Describe what you do to “work around” your weakness.

16. Discussing Weaknesses
Question: Tell me about one of your weaknesses.
Feature:
One thing I’m working on is……
Benefit:
Knowing this is something I want to improve, what I do is…..That
way I don’t let it get in the way of doing a good job.

17. Sample Questions
● Tell me about a time when you were working under a time
deadline to complete an assignment.
● Describe a situation when you brought a new idea to your
supervisor.
● Describe a situation where you helped a new employee who was
having a problem.
● Tell me about a time when you didn’t follow company policy in
your work; what were the circumstances and what did you do?
● Tell me about a time when had to learn and implement a new
procedure in your past experience.
● How have you used technology to work more efficiently?

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Lancaster, PA 17601-5896
717.509.8889 877.562.2888
www.LMAconsulting.cc