Behavioral stories and common questions

Question 1

English project team member conflict

Answer 1

I was working on this group project a while ago where we had to make a presentation/powerpoint (multimedia english class - audio, text)

One of my group members wanted to design it differently than I did

We disagreed on this/about which one was the way to get a better grade

But I tried to facilitate a conversation where both of our perspectives could be heard

And in the end we managed to come to an agreement about how how to create the slideshow and mix our two ideas, completed the project successfully and without any more issues

Problem solving, coworker conflict

Question 2

AMA Agency project scope writing

Answer 2

Writing a project scope for consulting project that I worked on

Project manager

I heard what the client wanted out of working with us, and then I had to create a scope and outline of what my team and I were going to work on for the quarter - what deliverables would best meet those goals

Not really a lot of specific steps to writing that kind of document
Required a lot of planning, brainstorming, (drafting) organization with deadlines and seeing if the workload would be doable each week

Managed to come up with a final document + completed everything on it

Doing something with no steps laid out

Question 3

AMA Agency difficult conversation

Answer 3

Agency

Consultant writing reports too informally, couldn’t show it to the client in that state
(poor punctuation, not capitalizing things)

Work was good, writing style that needed to be fixed

Didn’t want to make them feel embarrassed

Talked to her and said “your work is really good, there is just one thing: I need you to be a little more formal when writing the reports” outlined the changes I wanted her to make

Let her know to reach out if she had any more questions or wanted me to look over something

She understood it, fixed the work, wasn’t a problem again

Leadership, conflict resolution, problem-solving

Question 4

AMA Agency client no-show

Answer 4

Consulting group

Project manager couldn’t be there, had asked me to lead meeting with the client
I emailed client, sent the new link

Time of meeting, didn’t show up
(initial moment of OK, what do i do now, don’t want to have everyone waiting - this isn’t going as planned)

Waited 10 minutes, sent him an email to check in (now still works?)

Waited another few, didn’t respond, so I just dismissed everyone

When he responded later, said was confused (thought we were rescheduling)

Not a problem, just reiterated the date for the next meeting (worked out fine)

Was definitely a learning experience having to make a decision in the moment

Problem-solving, taking leadership, thinking on the spot

Question 5

Internship office work

Answer 5

Internship summer after freshman year, marketing

Small company, 15 people

Office manager went on vacation a few weeks in

Had to pick up some office work responsibilities a few weeks in, on top of the work that I was already doing - involved learning new online tools, organization methods

Was a bit of a challenge at first, but practice and repeated experience made it a lot easier, was able to help run things smoothly until our office manager came back

Going above and beyond, learning something quickly

Question 6

Sociology paper procrastination

Answer 6

freshman year, I had this end of quarter project/presentation (sociology) thing due

I’d looked over it, made an outline but hadn’t done the bulk of the work yet but thought it was doable

ended up being harder than expected and I had to do almost all of the work the weekend before it was due

wasn’t great quality, didn’t get a super good grade on the assignment

got better at estimating how much time things were going to take and then planning out my schedule accordingly

Time you failed, time you made a mistake

Question 7

BCMU project

Answer 7

Persuasive presentation: (goal was to use effective communication techniques when speaking, also in design + content of presentation)

bulk of our grade

Our assigned topic was about whether or not to breaching a few dams in eastern washington in order to increase fish populations so orcas would have more food supply

We had to interview an expert in the field, put all of the research together concisely

Involved working in a team over 2 months - had to divide up the work, coordinate team check ins

Useful: when group worked together each of us were able to point out areas for improvement that another might not have noticed

Managing multiple steps/putting a project together, teamwork

Question 8

BCMU presentation organization

Answer 8

Once I was asked to revise a project that I had spent a lot of time on (business communications)

Professor said that the way I’d organized it and some of the content included didn’t make much sense.
(said to get the emotional appeal of fish/orcas out of the way first by disproving that argument, then get into our stuff about job loss and environmentally friendly power)

And at first, frustrated

but after listening carefully to the critique, I saw how I could make changes that would strengthen the finished product.

Made necessary changes, ended up w/ better result.

Received negative feedback

Question 9

Accounting help

Answer 9

Last year, financial accounting

Had a quiz coming up on a subject that was difficult

Mentioned office hours a few times, I had wanted to try to learn the material by myself

Didn’t do all that great

For the next quiz, took advantage of learning resources and got better about asking for help when I needed it

Time you failed, time you made a mistake

Question 10

Favorite and least favorite class

Answer 10

Favorite:
Advertising
Challenging at first because the professor was strict about how she wanted assignments to be done and what to include
We get to analyze commercials
Taught me how to put marketing concepts to use and how an advertising campaign works from start to finish

Least favorite:
Accounting
Hard to visualize
Concepts make sense once you figure them out
Getting to the point where you know how to apply them is difficult

Question 11

Group project deadline persuasion:

Answer 11

Was in a group project, presentation based

Would present our project at the end of the quarter, over about 2 weeks and we got to pick what day were going to go

I had wanted to go earlier, they said later so we’d have more time to work on it

Against that because we’d have finals week
Concerned about time we had to work on it

So I said we could come up with a plan so that we’d have the work done ahead of time, more time during finals week to focus on our other classes

Ended up picking an early date and managed to complete work successfully, so worked out in the end

Question 12

Strengths?

Answer 12

Communication:
The student organizations I’m in are very collaborative
We work together a lot when having to plan meetings
so I’ve learned to communicate effectively when I’m trying to get something done or meet a goal/deadline
During group projects: I’m often the one that manages communication and meeting times between members
(I was a consultant and project manager for a student-run agency, during meetings with clients we’d have to talk through the work and make sure everyone was on the same page)

Curiosity:
I enjoy learning about things that I don’t know
Helped me fully understand the projects/tasks that I work on - both with school activities and with work
Seek out new experiences
(I was a consultant for a student agency, and I think being curious really helped me understand the business and the environment they were operating in, and getting to know the client’s goals)

Organization:
Good with deadlines when on projects
Prioritizing what needs to be done and when (which I especially had to do this year with balancing some of my school activities and deadlines)
(As the director of Administration for Undergrad Women in Business, there’s a lot of tasks I have to do by a certain time, or forms that need updating, etc. I’ve learned how to schedule those (via calendar) and spread out the work so I’m not rushing to do everything at the last minute.)

Thorough:
Keep track of details
Can pay attention to multiple components of a project/task, so that everything flows smoothly

Question 13

Weaknesses?

Answer 13

Too much attention to detail/ focus too much on small things and overthink to the point where it isn’t helpful anymore

To try to fix that, when i’m working on something like a report or a presentation, I try to check-in and remind myself of when that kind of precision is actually necessary, refocus my attention on the big picture

Question 14

MGMT 200 Team member

Answer 14

MGMT 200
One group member who just would never respond in the group chat or meet with us in person (film stuff) or respond super late

Texted them privately and asked if they were able to be a bit more communicative

Apologized: were busy with work and school, we arranged for them to do a different section of the work, so it was still overall equal between group members but the split was different

Allowed all of us to complete the project

Question 15

AMA Agency delegating tasks

Answer 15

Project manager, consulting project
Part of my job was to plan out what we were going to work on each week

We had a lot of different things to do and I had to figure out who was going to do what

When making that decision, I tried to factor in who was best at each thing (more technical, more creative, etc.) and also what they liked doing

Kept communication clear: slack channel so everyone knew what they were working on

Question 16

Finals season pressure

Answer 16

Finals season of each quarter is when I’m usually under pressure

Last quarter: had a bunch of projects, presentations, tests due,
One thing that really helped was planning things out ahead of time,
blocking out time on my calendar each day for how long I was going to work which class I going to work on - not just going in with no idea or game plan

And i think that really helped minimize stress leading up to it

Also, at times when it’s really felt like too much I take it as kind of a warning sign (autumn quarter) that in the future I need to lighten my workload a bit

Question 17

Marchon eyewear - database

Answer 17

At my last internship, I worked at an eyewear company

There were a couple of online tools and databases I had to use to look up styles and colors for some tasks my manager asked me to do

But they wasn’t all that user friendly and hard to navigate

So, for about the first week I set aside time each day to go through them myself and get more familiar with them,
and took notes to refer back to

Eventually, it got a lot easier and I was able to use them without any problems

Question 18

I BUS project - group work

Answer 18

Project for I BUS: involved a presentation and a written paper

Took the entire quarter, going to be very long - didn’t want to be overwhelmed at the last minute

Our solution was to divide up the work according to our strengths (finance majors did finance portion, supply chain did that, etc.), coordinate regular team zoom meetings and check-ins so we could assess what we still had to do

Having consistent communication really helped us complete the project on time, so we weren’t rushing at the last second.

Question 19

UWiB - group work

Answer 19

Women in Business - group work, everyone’s jobs kind of overlap

One thing I think I’ve been able to learn is how to communicate effectively

after our main club meeting on Tuesdays, we meet as an exec board to prep for the next week’s event - everyone shares what they’re working on

so everyone is on the same page and aware of what still needs to be done

Communicating things that I need from others in advance so I’m not dealing with things at the last second

(Like, if I need someone to post something on the social media, or someone needs to send me a link to put in our newsletter)

Helped me a develop a team perspective

Question 20

Python coding

Answer 20

One of my majors is information systems, so some of that involves classes on coding

I had never coded before in my life

One of the first classes I took was using Python
And at first, it was really challenging because I had no experience

But I decided to put in some extra work outside of the regular class hours, like looking up tutorials on YouTube and forming a study group

Eventually became easier
Did well on the midterm and the final

Overcoming a challenge

Question 21

I BUS Project - persuasion

Answer 21

I was working on this project for an international business class

Was really comprehensive — each group been assigned country and present on it and convince the rest of the class why it was a good idea to invest there (everyone had fake money and would go around and give it to all the groups)

we had to do a presentation with a poster board, and write an 18 page paper

It was hard because my group had Argentina, and their economy isn’t doing too great and inflation is incredibly high

We had to reframe our thinking/go a different route, focused on potential future opportunities (like growth of environmental and energy sectors, open-minded urban consumers)

We ended up getting 100% on the project

Time you had to persuade someone else, big project/workload, organizing

Question 22

Business Britain study abroad

Answer 22

I was accepted into a study abroad program recently (it’s for a few weeks at the end of the summer in London, where we go around and visit different companies)

I had always kinda thought about studying abroad, but earlier this year I was thinking “I really want to make it happen”

So I learned more about it, met with the program director, studied for the interview
And I got in!

I’m very excited, because I’ve always been curious about how business works in other countries, and now I’ll get to see that firsthand

Accomplishment you’re proud of

Question 23

UWiB Fundraiser: managing the process and training volunteers

Answer 23

On the exec board for women in business
One of our main events is annual fundraiser
My job for that was to manage the check in and check out process

I had to train volunteers that were helping us with that

Managing our spreadsheet, finding nametags, mingling with guests, helping with drink tickets, doing coat check

Needed to make sure everything ran smoothly on the day of the event

Created a group chat for easy communication and could ask any questions

Ran through the responsibilities ahead of time and on the day of the event to try to minimize any last minute problems

Made myself available during any breaks (weren’t that many) to make sure everything was going well

Showing leadership, learning with no specific steps, communication

Question 24

UWiB Fundraiser: check out under pressure

Answer 24

On the exec board for women in business
One of our main events is annual fundraiser
My job for that was to manage the check in and check out process

Check in process was a bit busy but mostly fine
When people started leaving, it got crazy

I was operating the card reader — had two people checking out guests and telling me the total to enter into the reader

Loud, people are talking

Had to make sure it was the right amount so I didn’t accidentally charge someone the wrong total

One thing that helped was to just be in the moment and trust my instincts to make the right moves — don’t overthink, which worked well

Even though it felt chaotic, process ran smoothly

Under pressure

Question 25

UWiB Fundraiser credit card reader

Answer 25

On the exec board for women in business
One of our main events is annual fundraiser
My job for that was to manage the check in and check out process and operate the credit card reader

Right before check out (when people are supposed to pay) - the reader stopped working

Initially I was panicking (everyone else busy with their own thing, had to solve it by myself)

But reminded myself to stay calm and that I could try to fix it— went into the reader’s app on my phone and started experimenting/adjusting the settings until it worked again

Luckily nothing went wrong after that

Problem-solving, working under pressure

Question 26

UWiB email goal

Answer 26

Part of my job for UWiB is to design weekly email newsletter, where we promote our upcoming events and share job opportunities

Our president had each of us on the exec team set goals

And so since I handle the emails, mine was to increase our open rate by 10%

Had to think of practical ways that I could meet that

One was to increase people’s email sign ups, so on our check in form for each event, I added a question asking if they were already subscribed, so if they weren’t I could add them

Also noticed that depending on when I sent the email, the afternoons were usually more successful than the morning

So I tried to optimize our email campaigns to account for those factors, and our open rates went up

So i was able to achieve that goal

Setting a goal

Question 27

Marchon Eyewear - asking questions

Answer 27

Last summer, I had a remote internship. This was my first introduction to a corporate setting

I was able to sit In on some of the meetings, and whenever I did I was always confused because I had no idea what anyone was talking about

Everyone was always using different acronyms or referring to some presentation or event that I didn’t know about

At first, I wanted to avoid asking questions for fear of looking unknowledgable and I didn’t want to bothering anyone

But I realized fast that this was a bad approach — I was still confused

So eventually, I began to speak up and ask questions when I didn’t know something or wasn’t familiar with a topic (and luckily, the people I worked with were happy to help.)

This helped me become more familiar with my work environment and became a more active participant on my team.

Unfamiliar environment

Question 28

AMA Agency - coffee shop

Answer 28

Last year, I was a project manager for a marketing consulting club on campus, UW AMA Agency

I was leading a team of 4 consultants, none of whom really knew each other and most of whom I had just met

Our initial meetings were awkward, and since we’d be spending a fair amount of time together, I knew that our project would run more smoothly if the team got to know each other better

To try to fix this problem, I set up a meeting at a nearby coffee shop, meant to be very informal. During this meeting, we got to know each other more as people

I asked about their experiences with UW, what classes they were taking, and hobbies and interests, and shared my own experiences as well

This definitely helped us relate to each other more and improved the overall team compatibility

Afterward the atmosphere was more relaxed, helping us complete the project effectively.

Question 29

MKTG 450 decision making

Answer 29

Was in a marketing class last quarter, did a project where we were assigned to consult for a local restaurant

My group was assigned to find improvements for only the exterior of the restaurant

Our problem was, that we couldn’t find a lot of research online about best practices for restaurant exteriors (they were all operations/food focused)

Limited info → decided to conduct our own research by surveying college students and seeing what they thought could be improved about the restaurant’s entrance

Plus going off of our own observations and instincts

Doing that, we found some good insights (lighting, color, decor) and were able to come up with some
recommendations/improvements to complete the project

Question 30

I BUS project - pastries and quiz

Answer 30

For my international business class, one of our projects was that everyone was assigned a country, and
We had to do a presentation on why people should invest there

Trade show - everyone had poster boards + walked around with fake money and handed it out

My group had Argentina
We’d had all the info + stats on our board, but we wanted to do something to make it more engaging

Created a quiz game based on our presentation, bought pastries from an Argentinian bakery — if someone got an answer right we’d give them a pastry

People seemed to be engaged with it
Think that helped make it more memorable, and we ended up getting 100% on the project

Showing initiative, going above and beyond

Question 31

AMA last minute workshop

Answer 31

I’m on the leadership team for a student consulting group, one thing that we do is plan workshops on marketing + presentation skills for our consultants

Message from my director on a Monday saying they wanted us to create a workshop meeting for members for this wednesday - only had two day turnaround, had to act fast

Pooled our knowledge and decided to do one on analytics - divided up work based on strengths
I did research on social media analytics, somebody else did tableau
Set up some time to work on the slides + rehearse

Helped us present smoothly, meeting was overall successful

Dealing with changes, working under pressure

Question 32

Hot sauce content calendar

Answer 32

Was working on a consulting project for a client

Needed some help with social media
Small business, near the beginning of COVID - was so busy dealing w/ everything else that marketing kind of went on the back burner

We’d agreed on some deliverables like coming up with some content ideas
But we also wanted to make doing marketing easier for him when the project was over

So we created a content calendar of how often he could post + best times to act as a guideline
(also included templates made using canva that he could edit easily)

Got an email later after the project saying that it helped a lot