A bit about me Flashcards
1
Q
Tell us about yourself?
A
- First off thank you for giving me the opportunity to be interviewed for this position within your company
- My name is Alexander Balfour and I would describe myself as a committed and outgoing worker who matches the requirements set out in the job description
- I have most recently completed my university degree in Computer Science, where I have developed a range of technical skills and a strong foundation of knowledge in numerous technology related topics that I believe will add real value to this position and your team.
- Over the years, I have worked in roles where the need to collaborate with other people was the norm, especially in my experiences as a sales assistant and waiter.
- I have always received positive feedback from my managers in previous roles
- I am reliable, flexible and adaptable, and can be relied upon to get a job done, and also exceed expectations
- If you were to hire me I would be the type of worker that is committed to going above and beyond what is expected of me
- Most Importantly I will prove to you that I am worth the investment
2
Q
What sets you apart from other candidates?
A
- What really sets me apart is my commitment and loyalty
- Whatever the situation may be, whether a task I have been set, a team I’m working with or a customer I’m serving
- I’m always doing what I can to exceed expectations and go above and beyond to help others that I care and work for.
- I am very much a people’s person, I greatly value human relationships and connection
- I think that this trait is so important no matter what the industry when you’re collaborating together with team members or clients
- I believe skills can be something that are obtained and developed over time.
- But my mindset and mentality for commitment for the ones I work and care for, is something you are not going to find elsewhere
3
Q
What type of team member are you?
A
- I am a loyal and dedicated team member who thrives in a supportive role.
- I am always ready to assist the company I work for or my colleagues in reaching our shared goals, with a clear focus on the big picture
- My actions are consistently aimed at contributing to the team’s success and ensuring progress toward our objectives.
- I prioritize creating a positive and comfortable environment for my team, enabling us to work together effectively and efficiently
- For example I created a short hand code to be used when taking orders as a time as a waiter to optimise the time it took to take orders and improve communication between staff
- Additionally, I am highly adaptable, a quality that naturally from my role as a supporter
- I am agile in adjusting to new environments and working with people.
4
Q
Explain a time where you had to collaborate with a team to reach a goal:
A
- An example is a data visualisation group assignment during university
- Tasked with creating a visualisation based off a dataset
- During our first meeting suggest we individual create a vis first then come together and create a final one
- I choose this to promote self development but also to produce a high standard piece of work
- Once we had created our vis and met up again
- Presented our vis to each other
- Provided and received constructive feedback based off what we learnt and discovered
- Then collaborated together to create final vis
- The final vis was a collection of best elements from individual work
- In this assignment received first class mark for our work
- I always ensure to maintain positive work environment to promote productivity and ensure we work effectively towards our objective
5
Q
Tell me about a time you faced a challenge and how you overcame it?
A
- Recently I was put on an opening shift at the company I was working for as a sales assistant
- However, I did not have the experience or the resources to actually open the shop.
- I had believed that I would be assisted by a colleague to open up, however this was not the case due to a scheduling mistake.
- On that day I arrived, and quickly realised the situation I was facing, my manager was on holiday and therefore did not have anyone to contact
- I remained calm and took immediate action. What I did was try to get a hold of another store manager, so I rang up a nearby store explained that situation and requested for their manager’s number.
- After successfully getting the number, I rang the manger, calmly explained the situation and fortunately they were able to come and assist me in opening the shop.
- Time spent closed for retail is very costly for sales but also customer relations
- I informed my collegaues of the situation, and togther we re-evaluated all upcoming shifts to ensure that this mistake would not happen again.
6
Q
Describe a time you worked with a difficult collague?
A
- During a software development module in university, there was a member of the team who was not doing the necessary work required.
- I could sense that the other teams members were getting agitated by the lack of work completed and that if it carried on it could negatively impact morale and productivity.
- I therefore took action for the best interest in the team, I contacted the team and politely but firmly insisted that they pick up their work as this was having a negative effect on team morale.
- However, in this situation the colleague ignored the request and therefore I had to escalate the situation to a supervisor.
- We were still under pressure for deadlines, so I took responsibility of the work that needed to be done, as I can effectively adapt and manage my work schedule to accommodate for new plans, but I also wanted to keep team morale high.
7
Q
What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
A
- My strength has to be how committed I am to helping others reach our common goal
- Whether this be a company I’m working for, a team I’m apart of, or I am serving
- I am always doing what I can to assist others even it is not always required to do so
- I am very much a people’s person and believe I get on very well with others
- My weakness however, is that I do find it hard at times to saying NO to others.
- And have ended up in situations where I have taken on too many responsibilities.
- I love to help others, but I have to ensure I can maintain a high work standard and therefore balance my responsibilities.
- This is something I am working on. I want to be relied upon, but I also want to ensure that when I help I can properly help.
8
Q
What relevant work experience do you have?
A
- No industry experience
- But, experience in customer facing roles
- Lots of transferrable skills
- E.g. as a waiter
- First taught about customer interactions
- Working solo a lot and had to schedule and mange my time
- Role as sales assistant
- Further developed customer interactions but also working together with team
- Understand how a company operates
- Different factors compared to restaurant to ensuring business sales
- These skills are transferable to this role
- Allow me to integrate into the team
- carry out day to day tasks efficiently + effectively
9
Q
Describe a time you had to build a great relationship with someone? What actions did you take and what was the result?
A
- During work experience as waiter
- Tasked with training new employee
- Needed to build great relationship for efficiency and maximise business operations
- Ensured I created welcoming and positive environment
- Explained clearly how to complete tasks but also showed how to and encourage them to get hands-on to with my monitoring
- In my free time I created a document that repeated my explanations but also tips that I use for success
- During less busy times took the opportunity to discuss and reflect on progress
- Provided constructive feedback to aid their development
- As a result after a couple shifts
- Began to operate efficiently with each other as a team.
10
Q
What are your future goals?
A
- Career goals are still in development
- Very early in my career journey
- Interested to see where my skills and interest take me
- What excites me to work with this company is to understand tech can be used to overcome challenges in this industry
- My current focus is getting hands-on experience in this sector and learning from industry experts
- I also look forward to developing meaningful connections with colleagues so that I can learn more and achieve greater things
- My goal is to use my technical skills and technology to drive positive change in the word
11
Q
A time where you’ve had to learn a new skill
A
- During one of my first programming modules in uni, I wanted to deepen my understanding of Java
- Although we covered the concepts in class and labs I though some extra hand-on experience will benefit me.
- To gain a further understanding
- Created a project that challenged me and applied my knowledge
- I remember I created an ATM program, which would utilise object-oriented principles
- I developed this program onto of my studies building upon what I had learnt
- By the end of the module I had a stronger understanding of Java, aced my exams
- but also developed my problem solving skills.
12
Q
Tasked with a presentation on a topic you don’t know about? What would your actions be to deliver the work to a high standard?
A
- I’m excited with the prospect of learning about new things
- Opportunity to expand my knowledge and skillset
- With a task like this
- First I’d carry out some initial independent research of the topic
- I’d also generate any questions or uncertainties I had about the topic
- I’d then reach out to colleague or experienced team members
- Gather their thoughts and ask them my prepared questions
- I am comfortable for reaching out for support especially from people who are experienced in this topic
- I’d note down and compile their thoughts
- Incorporate it into my work
13
Q
Describe a challenging time when attempting to reach a goal:
A
- For my dissertation project
- I was researching on a topic I was really interested about
- Formula 1 and improving performance using data
- I had gotten overly excited in research and wanted to try implement multiple different features
- ## I had lost sight of the goal of the dissertation, what I was being marked on and had to get back on task
14
Q
Describe a time where you faced a challenge following rules or guidelines. What actions did you take? What was the result?
A
- During the COVID pandemic
- The restaurant I was working at had to follow new safety regulations
- One example being customers must be distance table wise from each other to ensure customer and staff safety
- whilst maximising the amount of customers we could serve
- I carefully managed seating arrangements strategically
- Ensuring customers were spaced correctly apart
- So that we could accommodate as many customers without compromising safety
- I managed to adapt and maintain a safe dining environment
- Allowing the restaurant to operate optimally under challenging regulations.
