Competency Flashcards
Tell us about a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer.
S - Month into role at H&B when a customer wanted B Vitamins and had picked up the wrong product.
T - Had to balance two overarching principles to find a resolution - maintaining low shrink and leaving customer satisfied.
A - Remained calm, apologised, carefully explained what she had picked up and offered to apply a 10% discount.
Also, reorganised the B Vitamins to prevent further confusion.
R - Customer left satisfied, returning customer, prevented further instances of shrink risk.
R - Able to find solutions quickly, remain calm and deal with people.
Give an example of a time when you had to work under pressure and how you managed it.
S - W&C given presentation task a day late.
T - Had to find a way to deliver on my commitments on time and to a good standard.
A - Delegated presentation task effectively, communicated my capacity and reorganised my schedule.
R - Delivered on my tasks on time and to a high standard, presented a well-polished presentation.
R - Able to work well under pressure, good at being flexible and can adapt well.
Tell us about a project you successfully completed and what role you played in it.
S - FCL Summer Commercial Awareness Academy.
T - Tasked with creating a 2 hour lecture on equity financing.
A - Delegated tasks with my partner focusing on our strengths. I focused on research and writing.
R - Enabled me to sharpen my research skills to be able to extract large amounts of info and articulate it in a concise yet engaging and understandable manner.
Describe a time you demonstrated strong leadership skills.
S - Second year at uni was Deputy Director on LWOB.
T - Led a high-performance team of six legal researchers, regularly assigned tasks and reviewed submitted work.
A - Did three main things to motivate them: 1) regular meetings; 2) constructive feedback; 3) getting them to provide ideas for execution of project.
R - Worked well together, submitted all work on time and to an exceptional standard and we have remained in touch.
R - Shows that I am capable of delegating but also my strong people and interpersonal skills.
Give an example of when you used your problem solving skills to overcome a challenge.
S - Working at H&B our RFL numbers were below the target of 60%.
T - As a team, we had to come up with solutions to address this issue.
A - Took a mental note of types of customer who didn’t use RFL. When covering for a store, I asked staff how their numbers were so high. Concluded that our town was touristy but also we weren’t making clear the incentives of using RFL.
R - As a result of implemented changes, we now consistently meet RFL target.
Describe a time when you had competing deadlines and how you managed to meet them.
S - During summer of penultimate year at university, juggled two jobs totalling 57 hours per week, diss research and CAP prep.
T - Had to find a way to deliver on my goals and deadlines.
A - 3 ways: 1) Made a detailed plan of how I was going to meet goals 2) communicated capacity to bosses 3) set aside time for myself for reflection and recreation to avoid burnout.
R - Met all deadlines, started ground running on diss at the start of the year and was ready to deliver presentations for LULS CAP so I could spend more time on apps and academic workload.
R - Through effective communication, careful planning and looking after my wellbeing my summer was fruitful.
Give an example of a time when you were creative in solving a problem.
S - H&B one customer unsure what CBD product to purchase, close to leaving shop without sale.
T - Had to quickly think of a way to entice customer to purchase and be satisfied with purchase.
A - Carefully explained the differing strengths and answered all questions. Most importantly, I took our stores tablet to show him customer reviews.
R - Purchased CBD product and is now a returning customer.
R - Can think quickly on my feet, retained a customer and ensured they were left satisfied with their purchase.
Tell us about a time when you had to adapt to a new situation or learn a skill quickly.
S - Worked in Egypt for just under year whilst studying for A-levels.
T - Had to adapt to a different business climate.
A - Asked many questions, observed my employer and tried to imitate his approach, while developing my own.
R - Was able to adapt quickly to deliver outstanding customer service in Arabic.
R - Shows I can adapt but also learn quickly by osmosis.
Describe a team you worked in.
S - First year at university legal researcher at LWOB during lockdown with 5 international students residing abroad.
T - We were tasked with creating educational memos on wildlife crime in Namibia, however I had to find a way to work together despite the time zone differences.
A - I implanted three simple steps: 1) Created WhatsApp GC to make conversing much easier; 2) set up a Google docs to work in real time; 3) stayed up later than usual or wake up earlier to attend team meetings.
R - As a result, we remained on track, worked well together and submitted excellent pieces of work.
R - Shows that I can make commitments to a team to ensure we reach common goals.
Tell us about a time you had to communicate complex information to a non-expert audience.
S - WD
T - Had to write an easy to follow piece on SPACs
A - 3 things: 1) ensure I fully understood the topic; 2) avoid jargon, when used explain with examples; 3) follow a clear structure using short sentences
R - Published
R - I apply it to everything
What will make you a good trainee?
1) Resilience - will be able to manage demanding workloads
2) Interpersonal skills - will be able to connect with a range of individuals and strive in team settings
3) Business acumen - motivate me to read around matters being worked on and monitor trends relevant to clients and workloads
What is your biggest weakness?
Speaking in front of large crowds.
But having identified this as a weakness, taken steps to improve my confidence.
Tell me about a time when you made a mistake and how did you deal with it?
S - Whilst working as a painter and decorator, I was close to completing the ceiling paint but accidentally scratched the ceiling with a ladder.
T - Had to amend this error without panicking.
A - Stopped painting as soon as possible and placed all tools and equipment down. Raised it to my supervisor, owning up to the mistake and offered solutions to the black mark.
R - My manager, whilst somewhat frustrated, appreciated my honesty and told me to wait for the paint to dry before applying another layer. However, it meant we had to spend longer than we wanted on this.
R - However, had I left the black mark more time would’ve been lost. Likewise, as a trainee I appreciate I may make mistakes as it is normal in the process of learning but I should always raise this as soon as possible.
