Personality questions Flashcards
How to answer a question
STAR method
Situation: “One day before we were going to launch a new feature, a new vulnerability was announced in vendor software we use. Patching the problem adequately meant sliding the already delayed schedule. Another team member and I disagreed about which took precedence, the security patch or the feature release. The marketing department had a lot riding on this deadline.”
Task: “We needed to decide which goal to pursue and work together as a team.”
Action: “We decided to look into the details of each problem together. Clearly the deadline was important, but our users’ data might be at risk if we didn’t patch our system. I was tasked to research the security threat more closely, and I realized it did not apply to our users because none of them used that browser which had the vulnerability. So we could just post a message on our website about the browser.”
Result: “We were able to release our product feature on time even while taking the time to work together to consider an important issue not everyone agreed with at the time.”
Keep the STAR method in mind whenever you are asked to problem-solve or describe an experience during interviews.
What is your greatest strength?
discuss the attributes that will qualify you for the specific job and set you apart from the other candidates
My work ethic and and curiosity, and able to listen well and learn quickly, absorbing information and raising concerns when appropriate. Talk about school and other educational pursuits
Recommendations from co-workers at Apple:
“He is able to collaborate well and take advice. He listens and makes quality contributions when appropriate. “
“Tim’s contribution of GQ website has been a great asset. proved to be more complex than anticipated. His effort in up fault tree mapping was still impressive. “
“He has developed the Beats Global Quality website, which provides visibility into product information such as repair data and production quality metrics.”
Complements on my networking skills which I’ve leveraged into productive contributions in Corrective Action implementations.
What is your greatest weakness?
Do your best to frame your answers around positive aspects of your skills and abilities as an employee
I think my greatest weakness has been knowing it’s okay to ask for help. Work is collaborative, and not just in terms of planning a project and checking in every so often, but helping each other out constantly. In the past year, with school included, I’ve been focusing on the fact that everyone learns faster and more accurately when we all work together, and you don’t have to master something alone in order to master it.
Tell me about yourself.
Start by sharing some of your personal interests which don’t relate directly to work.
Why do you want this job?
I want to be able to contribute to a team right away that’s working on a product that I care strongly about, and that I see a long-term future with.
How do you handle stress and pressure?
I prioritize and prepare.
Describe a difficult work situation / project and how you overcame it.
Android app for school - team members stepping on each other’s toes
What are your goals for the future?
I hope to work on great products and leverage my development experience and machine learning/AI knowledge to improve the systems I contribute to, hopefully as a software team manager. Once I finish my Master’s I plan to continue my education, but still exploring possibilities. One possibility would be the PMP program or scrum master certification to manage projects. Anything to broaden my perspective and make me a strong contributor to my team and to society.
Major events to use for examples at work
- Acquisition and interviews
- Cross-body attenuation
- Sweat ingress
- Fuel gauge
