A.F. Ferguson & Interview
Questions

6. What logical steps would you take following an internal audit process with our clients here at A.F. Ferguson &? If hired for this position, your work as an auditor with A.F. Ferguson & doesn't end when the audit is done. Clients expect follow-up in the form of written reporting. Talk about your ability to write a follow-up report clearly and concisely and do so in a timely manner. To really have an impact on your interviewer, talk about how these steps in your work would hopefully make a repeat client out of those that you work with. Here is an answer example: "Through my time working with different financial auditors, the follow-up to an audit is often overlooked as most people look to move onto the next project. In reality, clients look for the follow up report to learn and grow from their audit experience and this is a part of the process that I take great pride in. My writing skills are tailored to be to the point and clear in my findings. Without having my head get too bogged down in other work, I write and submit reports to leadership in a very timely manner following the completion of an audit."7. If you were to join A.F. Ferguson & in this role, you will be counted on to lead projects. Talk about a time you had to lead a team of individuals. What leadership skills do you have that you will bring to the table here? The ability to lead others in project work or any other aspect of a business comes down to the fine details and traits of being a great leader. The experience you have can come from many different areas and can include project management, supervising/managing or even mentoring others. When you answer this question, be sure to demonstrate your ability to communicate effectively, bring unity, lead by example and empower/teach others and talk about how you will use these skills if hired at A.F. Ferguson &. Here is an answer example: "In my current role, I've been asked on numerous occasions to lead finance projects for my organization and I always do so with open arms and an open mind. On a recent project, I pulled together a team that included members of sales, production and upper management. to make this project successful, it was up to me to know each team member's area of expertise and delegate tasks based on their knowledge. A great part of the teams success was due to my ability to lead in a manner that promoted communication among individuals who never had the chance to work together and I accomplished this through fun ice breaking activities with the team and regular email communications outside of our in-person meetings." Here is an answer example: "As you can see from my background, I have extensive experience as a Sales Manager and Director and I know that the skills I honed in these roles will transfer nicely to this position. I have always found that leading teams is best accomplished by leading by example and walking the talk that I put out to my staff. I feel that I've also developed great skills in mentoring and coaching my staff and I've been commended on these skills by both sales leadership peers and my team. In this role, I would bring this same approach when working with clients."8. How do you define working capital and why is it important for our clients here at A.F. Ferguson & to take this into consideration when evaluating their finances? While it will be important for you to explain your knowledge of working capital, your interviewer will really be looking to hear your thoughts on why it is important for clients to consider as part of financial decision making processes. Give an overview of your personal thoughts on the importance of considering working capital while hitting on its ability to maximize an organizations efficiency and profitability. Here is an answer example: "While working capital is pretty simple in that is simply defined as an organization's current assets minus their current liabilities, many companies fail to see the importance in these simple numbers. My goal with clients here at A.F. Ferguson & would be to work them toward a positive working capital ratio as that allows them to have the finances on hand to grow and prosper in to the future." Here is an answer example: "Working capital essentially tells me as a financial analyst about the organizations ability to meet financial obligations in the coming years and their ability to grow prosperously into the future. With accurate financial statements, subtracting liabilities from assets shows the overall health of the finances of an organizations and their ultimate direction for the future. I have a lot of great experience helping turn around organizations that have a negative working capital into a position position in a short amount of time. The clients here at A.F. Ferguson & could benefit greatly from that work into the future."9. At A.F. Ferguson &, our clients look to us to help find new and creative ways to save tax dollars. Have you ever had a unique situation where you helped an organization save tax dollars through your work and insight? A.F. Ferguson & is a trusted advisor to their clients on their corporate and small business taxes and your potential work in this position will put you in a position to be creative with your clients. Prior to your interview, think of a time in your work history where you can demonstrate the situation for the organization and came up with a creative tax savings solution for them. Upon answering this question, make sure that your interviewer walks away from your time together knowing that you have the ability to create solutions for clients that make a real difference. Here is an answer example: "Last year, I was working with an upstart small business in New York that employed around 20 people. Hearing that a big burden for him was providing health care coverage, which he chose to do to hire and retain great staff, I educated him on the savings he could see in starting an HSA associated with a high deductible plan. In the end, this plan was a win for the owner to see a ton of tax savings and the employees benefited with a great plan where the business was contributing towards their HSA on a yearly basis." Here is an answer example: "When working with corporation on tax advising issues, I always walk through business expenditures with a fine toothed comb because how large expenditures are claimed can really make or break taxes for years to come. When working with a client a few years ago, I noticed that they were deducting full costs up front when the depreciation method would have worked out much better for them in their financial situation. The only thing it took to convince them was a simple educational meeting."10. Rate your communication skills from 1-10 with proper examples backing your given rating. On a scale of 1-10, how skilled are you in communication? Why did you choose that particular rating for yourself? Here is an answer example: "I rate my communication skills as a 9/10 as I will, on occasion, have times when I am not as clear as I would like to be. My supervisor and co-workers will attest to my clear and concise communication skills. Because I am an open leader, my team will let me know if I need to clarify anything." Here is an answer example: "I will rate myself an 8.5 because I consider myself a strong communicator. It is the foundation of all success in business. I am always striving to be a better communicator, so I leave the rest of the scale as an aspirational measure."11. As we work with clients on assessing potentials mergers and/or acquisition, valuation is an important skills to possess. How would you go about placing a value on an organization for a client? As you look to join the ranks at A.F. Ferguson &, this question is giving your interviewer the chance to look into your technical skills that you could bring to their clients. For your answer, talk about your ability to take measure of cash flows, revenues, price/earnings ratios and other factors to value a company. Another aspect to keep in mind when answering question is the methods that are most common for a valuing a particular industry. Prior to your interview, try to do as much research as possible on A.F. Ferguson & and the typical clients that they serve. Here is an answer example: "First and foremost, my valuation method would be strictly dependent on the business and industry that I was consulting in. A majority of my experience in mergers and acquisitions has come in the manufacturing industry. In manufacturing, I have used the discounted cash flow model to properly value small operations and an important factor in this method was future forecasting. In each situation that I used this method, my clients saw significant growth and value in their purchases based on the work that I had done."12. How do you keep up to speed on changing trends and laws in the financial planning field? In the ever changing world of financial planning, staying on top of both legal changes and improving trends in the field is extremely important to succeed in this role with A.F. Ferguson &. Talk to your interviewer about any educational opportunities that you have taken part in recently and any journals/publications that you subscribe to that help you stay on top of your financial planning game. Here is an answer example: "Being a certified financial planner, I love having the opportunity to take continuing education credits to help me become better for my clients. Last year, I attended a two day estate planning course that really helped me develop some unique strategies for clients over the past couple of month. If hired for this position, you can be sure that I'd look forward to continuing me knowledge throughout my career and I'm always open to new suggestions from my employer." Here is an answer example: "Being an avid reader and lifelong learner, I subscribe to The Economist and Financial Advisor Magazine. Both publications have great content about large scale and small scale financial topics that impact the work that I do on a daily basis. I love to read before bed each night and I've found that things that I've learned in this 20 minutes each night was very beneficial to my clients."13. In the change management process, talk about the importance of providing a clear vision to staff of an organization. How do you think this is best done? The change management process is often most difficult for front-line staff at an organization. A big reason for resistance to change is that people aren't seeing the big picture, or reasons, for the change and what positive outcomes will happen with the change. Explain to your interviewer why you feel that providing a vision is important and talk about the need for it to come from leadership within the organization. Then, give any examples of providing a vision that you've been a part of during your career. Here is an answer example: "As I've worked with organizations on their change management processes, I've always felt it was important that communications were clear from the start of a change process. When people are left in the dark, they naturally can't understand why changes are being implemented and they become defensive and resistant to change. Last year, I worked with a manufacturing company that was implementing new equipment that would reduce their staffing needs and change the jobs of many individuals. To roll this out to employees, I helped the leadership team prepare a detailed video and presentation that outlined the entire vision of the project. What really hit home with the staff was the dire need to take this direction based on competitors cost of goods and the fear of being driven out of the market." Here is an answer example: "Humans are curious and change is only accepted when people understand why change is happening and what the end result will be with the change. For one particular employer that I spent time with, a good portion of five years was spent acquiring smaller businesses and expansion in both product line and region size was happening rapidly. Upon working with our senior leadership, I helped develop a vision document and accompanying slide show to show the future state of the organization ten years down the road. When staff saw the aggressive growth plans of the organization and the potential great things we all could accomplish, buy-in became much more clear from everyone."14. What importance do you feel that zero-based budgeting plays in supply chain management? Since becoming one of the hottest trends in supply chain management, zero-based budgeting is a very foreign concept to a lot of businesses and industries. For the clients of A.F. Ferguson &, it is important for you to understand that this tactic will for for many, but not for all. Prior to your interview, make sure that you can speak knowledgeably about the concept of zero-based budgeting and research the topic if you need. Explain to your interviewer where you feel this will be appropriate in your work as a consultant with them. Here is an answer example: "In my experience, zero-based budgeting is most appropriate to implement with organizations that are in need of a cultural shift from that of freely spending and wasting to one that runs a pretty tight ship. When I have seen it be effective, organization were forced to find alternate means of success when the front-line leaders had buy-in into the process of the philosophy. In my time, I've trained several organizations on the tactic and helped them implement a zero-based budget from scratch." Here is an answer example: "Zero-based budgeting has its place in the supply chain world for sure. With my current organization, we were in a dire need for both sales and revenue growth and this program really helped turn us around in year one of running it. To make sure that the program was successful, we put our entire leadership team through some very focused training that I was a part of creating. I'd look forward to bringing what I learned there to the clients here at A.F. Ferguson &."15. Talk about a time that you successfully educated another individual or group in your area of expertise. What made your educational experience effective? The role that you are interviewing for with A.F. Ferguson & will likely involve providing education to clients in your area of expertise. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you are comfortable and effective in providing education by having you talk about a time that you have done so. In the example that you provide, try to point out some key items to making business education successful like developing a plan/goals, respecting differing viewpoints/opinions, making it hands on and making it fun. Here is an answer example: "Probably the aspect that I love the most about my current job is being the lead for training new hires into our department. Because of my years of experience and my innate ability to effectively orientate new employees, my director asked me to take this duty about four years ago. My approach with any new hire is to customize their training based on their knowledge and experience so the training is effective for them. What works for one person may not work for another and I always need to be fluid with this. I also prioritize the need to make orientation and training a hands on experience for the new hire because classroom learning can only take a person so far in the learning process." Here is an answer example: "As you can see from my resume, I've spent the last seven years working in the corporate tax field. While in this job, I worked very independently for a private organization, so I've been out of the training and education side for a while now. During my first job out of college as a CPA though, I was very adept at providing education to the clients that I worked with on a daily basis. What I learned in that experience was the importance of putting material out there in a manner that the person being trained understood. As well, talking to clients and understanding my client's wants and needs were very important for me to be able to best educate them. I really believe that these skills would enable me to hit the ground running with A.F. Ferguson & and your clients would benefit greatly."16. Being successful in the consulting industry requires adaptability and the ability to learn a business fast. What would be your approach to help you learn the ins and outs of a new client? A.F. Ferguson & contracts with businesses in different industries for their services and it is likely that your job would require you to learn the fine details of each business that you would work with. Demonstrate your ability to be flexible by giving examples of times you've had to do this during your career. As well, describe the approach that you would take to get the know the businesses you would be working with so you can apply your knowledge and expertise toward helping them. Here is an answer example: "As you can see from my resume, I've been in corporate training and education for over ten years. In my current role, I have to use similar techniques working with different departments to try and tailor programs that meet their specific needs. I feel that my current approach of hosting an intake meeting with leaders would be effective in a consulting role with external customers. The current intake meetings that I lead are an opportunity for me to ask questions and learn as much as I can about my customers. In turn, it is an opportunity for me to lay the groundwork for the project and set expectations. Do you see this as an effective approach for this role?" Here is an answer example: "Having worked in quality roles for most of my career in both the private and public sectors, I think my career experiences have shaped me well for this role. Transitioning to a consultative role would definitely be a transition for me and the biggest transition will be this need to work in many different industries. For me, researching clients, their business and their industry will be the first step to my approach in learning about them. I want to make a great first impression when I am face to face with a new client and that first impression starts with my knowledge. Then, my openness and ability to communicate would take over when I am working directly with clients. I know the right questions to ask for laying out quality initiative projects and I know the right things to educate clients on."17. At A.F. Ferguson &, you will have the opportunity to work with high level executives and leaders from the companies we contract with. What experience do you have in working with people at these levels? As a business advisory and consulting firm, A.F. Ferguson & works with Managers, Directors, CEO's, CFO's, CAO's and leaders with other titles on all of our projects. Your role will likely involve working closely with these leaders. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you are comfortable in working with the leadership team of the organization's clients by having you talk about your experience. Make sure that the examples you provide include some details on how you worked effectively to get the job done with the leaders you worked with. Here is an answer example: "In my current role, I work directly under our Chief Financial Officer and sit on a couple of different committees that our Chief Executive Officer is on. Under the direction of my CFO, we have a great working relationship. I am comfortable approaching him at any moment with questions or to bring forward new ideas. He is aware of my strengths and respects my opinions on matters in my wheelhouse, so he never hesitates to come to me with important things. I think the keys to our strong relationship are the respect we show for each other and our open lines of communication." Here is an answer example: "Throughout my career, I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with employees at all levels of the organizations that I've worked with. To me, working effectively with anyone requires a personal touch and a respectful approach. Whether I work with front line sales staff or members of the C-Suite, I take the time to get to know the person, their job and how I can best be of help to them in my role. This approach really helped me build a relationship with a Sales Executive that a few of my colleagues had struck out with in recent interactions."18. A key component to success here at A.F. Ferguson & is building solid relationships with new clients. How do you effectively get to know new people and lay the groundwork for a long lasting relationship? The fast paced world of business consulting requires the ability to build relationship after relationship with all of the clients that you will potentially be working with. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to gain insight into how you build relationships with new people from the first time you interact with them. In your answer, talk about how you gain and build trust with new people and explain how the little things in your initial interactions go a long way toward building long lasting working relationships. Here is an answer example: "I am a firm believer that success in any role I've played in my career was due in part to the relationships that I've built in those roles. Whenever I have the chance to work with a new colleague or a new customer, my approach is to create an initial connection with them to build trust. After that point, my interpersonal skills take over through active listening. I use my listening skills to learn about the motivating factors and needs of the person that I will be working with and this helps mold that respect and trust between us even more. I think this approach would be very critical in working with new clients on a regular basis here at A.F. Ferguson & and I'd love the opportunity to bring these skills to the table for you."19. In your own point of view, what is the most important factor in influencing change for an organization? As a professional in change management processes, your interviewer is looking to get some personal insight into how you will work closely with the clients of A.F. Ferguson & in this question. However you answer this question, be sure to speak with conviction as to why you feel your answer is the most important aspect to the change management process. However you answer, make sure not to discount other factors that influence change. Here is an answer example: "In my experience, the biggest thing that I've seen derail change management for large organizations is a lack of support. When I say support, it is really buy-in and true belief from senior level leadership. Because of this, my initial steps in meeting with any client would be to meet 1:1 with all key stakeholders to gather their ideas and to ensure that they are buying into the change process. Only when that is achieved will I feel comfortable in moving forward with work with that client." Here is an answer example: "While certainly a high level answer here, people are definitely the most important factor in the change management process for an organization. Change starts with people leading the charge and finishes with every person on board with new processes and ways of life. Because of this, my focus during a change management process is the people that will be designing the change and implementing the change in the end."20. What would be the initial steps that you would take when evaluating the financial situation for a client of A.F. Ferguson &? If hired for this position with A.F. Ferguson &, you will be expected to be a trusted financial advisor for very high profile clients. Based on your experience, talk about how you begin the process of discovering the needs of your clients. No matter how you answer the question, be sure to highlight your ability to listen to others, ask follow up questions and put those thoughts into action. The position you are interviewing for relies on a heavy dose of trust with your clients, so any of your techniques used to build rapport and trust with your clients is equally important as well. Here is an answer example: "As an experienced wealth planner and financial advisor, my first goal with new clients is to build trust right from our first meeting together. I take a little bit of time to talk about my knowledge, experience and my ultimate goals for any client. From there, I open the door for clients to talk about their situation and their future goals. I listen to them attentively and reflectively listen to their thoughts to truly understand their needs. Once I have this solid base of where they want to be, I can craft a solid plan for them. As you can see, I submitted several professional references from clients that I have served in the past and they would all be willing to talk about my ability to provide a trusting service to them." Here is an answer example: "If hired for this position and given the opportunity to work with clients on their financial planning needs, my first step with new clients would be to have a Q&A session where I can learn about their history, their finances and their plans for the future. The Q&A session would allow the client to ask questions of me as well. At the end of the initial session together, a foundation of trust is built and I let my excellent customer service and knowledge lead the rest of the way with the client."21. What steps would you take in creating a new audit process for a client here at A.F. Ferguson &? When A.F. Ferguson & is asked consult with an organization on their audit processes, you will be looked upon to be the expert in creating a solid auditing process for them. To get an idea of your knowledge and experience, your interviewer is asking you how you would go about creating a new process from scratch for an organization that you are consulting. While your discussion will certainly be high level without knowing much detail about the specific organization you are hypothetically working with, make sure that you hit the important aspects of creating an audit process. Here is an answer example: "If asked to consult with a new client on their audit process, my first goal would be to determine the overall purpose of the audit. I would have to ask questions about any regulating bodies for the industry and internal quality perspectives that would guide my work. Only when those questions are answered can I move forward with assembling an audit team, giving the team purpose and setting expectations for the new process. With this great start, my leadership skills in the audit process would take over and greatly benefit your clients here at A.F. Ferguson &." Here is an answer example: "Any solid auditing process starts with great planning. Planning includes outlining the scope of the audit, clearly defining what data and information is required to successfully perform the audit and selecting a team of individuals to be a part of the audit process. If hired for this position, you can rest assured knowing that I have great experience in planning for and creating auditing processes across many businesses and industries."22. What sourcing experience would you bring to the clients here at A.F. Ferguson &? What role do you feel it plays in the overall success of a great supply chain management program? The process of acquiring goods and services through sourcing varies from business to business and industry to industry, but the overall processes of sourcing are consistent throughout. Knowing that the clients of A.F. Ferguson & often need work in cost savings through sourcing strategies, make sure that you reiterate to your interview that it is important to consider for every client that you work with. Then, talk about the specific experiences you have and don't hesitate to point out a success story that you have from implementing a new sourcing strategy. Here is an answer example: "From what I've found in my time working in supply chain management, many organizations get very complacent in their sourcing. In my mind, a sound tactic is to research options and negotiate new contracts through a sourcing process on a yearly basis. Last year, I worked with a client that was doing all of their short line trucking in house. They were experiencing large amounts of fleet cost and employee turnover on the trucking side that was leading to halting operations. In short order, I helped them outsource their freight hauling between facilities and cut their total overall costs almost in half. What made me even happier was when I received a personal call from the CEO that production was increasing with the better service from the third party hauler." Here is an answer example: "While sourcing certainly has many realms within different industries, it is always important to consider different strategies to help increase bottom line revenue for an organization. Last year, I worked with a manufacturer that was getting priced out of their market and were at a point where lowering retail prices more would put the line out of business. After a meeting with the design and production leadership, I learned that the costs of the components they were utilizing were extremely high. I worked with both the design staff and the purchasing staff on finding new suppliers for almost every component. We tested the components for safety and quality and when it was determined that the components were indeed of the same quality, it ended being a win-win situation for the company."23. If you are hired for this position here at A.F. Ferguson &, what do you think the biggest hurdle for you would be from the start? For this question, you can showcase your research that you've done on both A.F. Ferguson & and the role you are interviewing for by being upfront and honest about what you feel would be the biggest learning curve for you if hired for the position and giving your plan for how you would approach this hurdle. In your answer, make sure that you highlight your skills and abilities in making a molehill out of a mountain on your way to success in this role. Here is an answer example: "As you can see from my resume, most of my career experience is in the food industry. If fortunate enough to be hired for this position, the biggest area for learning for me would be the finance side of other industries like technology, telecommunications and healthcare. From day one, I would begin by thoroughly research the clients here at A.F. Ferguson & and speaking with as many industry experts that I know through business networking. While learning the ins and outs of other industries is the biggest learning curve for me, I see it as a great opportunity for me to become more proficient and effective in the work that I'd be doing for you." Here is an answer example: "While this may sound funny to you at first, I think the biggest challenge for me from the start will be adapting to the great corporate lifestyle and culture here at A.F. Ferguson &. When I saw this position being open for applicants and I did my research, I was extremely excited to hear about the flexibility and openness to the ideas of your staff members. I've been working for six years in an environment that is very opposite of an open culture for new ideas and for me personally, it will feel foreign for me to bring new ideas to the team here and have them be accepted."24. Talk about a time you had to work with a very difficult person. What was the situation and how did you handle it? At some point in any person's career, they have to work with a colleague or customer who is extremely difficult. Rather than looking to hear the fine details as to why this person was difficult, your interviewer will be looking to gain insight into how you personally handled the situation and others like it to ensure that a sound relationship was fostered even when you faced difficult circumstances. In your answer, some key things to focus on are your ability to be tolerant, understanding and a great communicator in these situations. Here is an answer example: "In my current role, I have a customer that flies off the handle very easily if things don't happen just right and I learned this from my first interactions with him. In seeing this happen from the start, I have always maintained a calm demeanor when he was upset and showed empathy by asking questions about his expectations and how to fix situations for him. To this day, I expect difficulty from him when we work together and the years we've had a working relationship together have better prepared me for more clients like him in the future." Here is an answer example: "A couple of years ago, a close colleague of mine had a very abrupt turnaround in her attitude and performance on the job. She was very curt and abrasive in conversations when she was normally very talkative and friendly on the job. After noticing some concerns in her work, I approached her with an open mind and asked her what was going on to cause these things to change. I showed concern and approached her as a friend and this approach prompted her to tell me about some issues happening in her personal life. By taking this approach, rather than getting upset or even made with her, I showed her that I cared and valued her as a person and my approach helped her open up and turn her life at work back around to the positive side."25. Do you have any experience in financial modeling? What skills in financial modeling could you bring to the clients here at A.F. Ferguson &? In the corporate finance world at A.F. Ferguson &, clients may look to you to be the expert to help them build forecasting models for the future. For this question, your interview is looking to hear that you have experience in financial modeling. Talk about your experience, what industry it was in and what tools you needed to help build as detailed of a model as possible. To seal the deal for this question, make sure to explain that your experience could be used across many businesses and industries with the clients you would be working with. Here is an answer example: "As you can see from my resume, my corporate finance experience has mostly fallen in the manufacturing industry and financial modeling for forecasting purposes has been a skill that I've been developing over the past ten years. To start, I consider myself a master in Microsoft Excel to build great financial modeling tools that utilize all necessary data from an organization's financial statements. Though my experience is in manufacturing, my skills in financial modeling are ready to be applied to healthcare, banking or any other industry with your clients." Here is an answer example: "I have experience creating financial forecasting models in a few different areas of business. I consider my most unique talent to be my experience in M&A modeling for organizations that are looking to grow their business. In my current role, I've worked with leaders of organizations to strategically plan new acquisitions and modeling M&A for them was an integral part of the process. On top of M&A, I have experience in the standard three statement model and discounted cash flow analysis."26. As a consultant here at A.F. Ferguson &, you will have the opportunity to work with many accounting departments on tax filing for their business. When called upon, how would you go about verifying the accuracy of an accounting department? No matter the size of the business and their accounting department, human error can lead to costly mistakes down the road if accuracy is not verified on the financial statements and books of a company that you would be consulting in this role. In your answer, talk specifically about your methods for verifying data entry and make it clear to your interviewer that this a step that you do not take lightly or overlook. Here is an answer example: "In any tax consulting project, data verification and sampling is of utmost importance to me and a step I would ensure happens with every client here at A.F. Ferguson &. Depending on the accounting and finance department's books and how they are kept, my data verification could be as simple as printing documents and verifying samples against filed information or running the data verification through a program. I have extensive experience running both methods of data verification and wouldn't hesitate to use either with the clients here." Here is an answer example: "I fully realize that my work in advising businesses on their tax filings comes down to verifying their income statements, balance sheet and cash flow statements. To verify, I would have to work with leaders in reconciling their financial statements with bank records, credit card statement, invoices, receipts and any other documents that show physical proof on financial statements. Realizing that this can sometimes be a difficult task with businesses that don't keep accurate records, have segregated finance departments or multiple physical locations, I would leave no stone unturned in this initial verification process with your clients."27. Based on your work experience, where do you feel your strongest skills in supply chain management would benefit our clients here at A.F. Ferguson &? As a supply chain expert, your interviewer will be able to tell a lot about your knowledge, skills and abilities from your resume and your conversations during your interview. For this question, your interviewer is looking for you to set yourself apart from your competition for the job by talking about a unique skill or two that you bring to the table that others may not. In your answer, try to maintain focus on the consulting side of the business and explain how your skills will truly assist clients of A.F. Ferguson &. Here is an answer example: "As you can see from my experience, my wealth of experience is supply chain management is strong and applies across many different industries. The one skill that I believe I could bring to the clients here at A.F. Ferguson & is my understanding and knowledge of the legal issues surrounding the management of large supplier contracts. I have witnessed things go sour too many times when legal issues weren't ironed out in the contracting process and I have taken it upon myself to learn this aspect of supply chain management in detail." Here is an answer example: "Having been in the field for almost 15 years, day to day operations of a successful supply chain operation are almost second nature to me at this point in my career. What keeps me in the field at this point in my career and is driving into the consulting side of the business is my knack for problem solving at a very high level. Last year, I developed a new routing plan for a materials distributor that ended up saving the organization close to $500,000 on yearly delivery and maintenance costs and my problem solving skills during that project were essential to receiving buy-in from senior leadership at the organization."