Talk about a time you had to handle failure at any point in your career. How did you handle that situation and move forward with confidence?

"A couple of years ago with my current company, my manager asked me if I would consider a promotion into a role as a supervisor for our department. Having not had experience supervising individuals up to that point in my career, I was very hesitant at first. My manager kept telling me that I had the skills necessary to do so. I did accept the offer to become the supervisor and after just three months, I fully realized that the position wasn't for me. I had become very close friends with a lot of the people I was now supervising and that made the real difficult for me. I didn't hesitate to approach my manager to let them know that I wasn't cut out for the role and we worked on a plan for me to transition back my former role. Looking back on the situation, I really learned a lot about myself and who I was as a worker to not put myself in a situation like that again."

This is a question that is being posed to you that gives you a chance to show your ability to overcome adversity and handle yourself with integrity during a time of failure. Your job in answering this question will be to prove that you can cope with failure in a productive way that leads to making the situation right and learning lessons for the future. As you prepare for a question like this for your interview with Absa Bank, think of a situation where you can highlight both of these things and don't hesitate to tell your interviewer the reasons why the failure occurred. Your interview fully understands that you are a human that makes mistakes and as long as you take a lesson moving forward, you will be in great standing with them.

"In my current role, I was the person who was informed that we were losing one of our biggest clients to a local competitor. In speaking with the client, they were very unhappy about our customer service and overall pricing. Being responsible for the customer service for our customers, I felt very responsible for losing this client and had to break the news to our leadership team. Right away, our Sales Manager contacted the client to ask a lot of questions on why they were no longer utilizing our services. From there we took a lot of lessons moving forward and I worked through a new customer service policy for my team to follow moving forward."

Tell me about a time when you showed integrity in your work.

"In my last position, I was responsible for the cash deposit on a daily basis. There was never a discrepancy, in the four years that I worked there. I have proven myself reliable through my consistency, always showing up on time, meeting deadlines, and keeping my word."

Integrity is best displayed through honesty and consistent moral values. The banking industry relies on employees who are trustworthy and reliable. Give an example that shows how you have demonstrated these qualities in the past.

"I show integrity in my work in everything that I do. It's important to me that my employer and colleagues see me as trustworthy, with a strong moral compass."

In this role as a Risk Analyst with Absa Bank, you will be expected to be the expert on changes in financial regulations that impact our business. How do you keep yourself up to speed on these changes currently?

"I have been a CFA member for over five years now and I really look forward to the quarterly CFA Digest publication, the CFA Magazine and their news brief email that comes out daily . I find these are great resources that cover things ranging from daily news that impacts our work lives to very big picture studies and findings as published in the digest. If hired for this role, I would continue to be an active CFA member and would continue to utilize their resources for my work."

In a rapidly changing field like finance, you are expected to keep up with the changes at the snap of a finger and to gauge your ability to do this, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you will have the resources needed. Talk about the groups or publications that you belong to where you get imperative news on the field. If possible, use an example of a time where you shed light to your organization on a new risk from one of those publications. As well, don't hesitate to mention that you enjoy reading and learning new things in the field.

"As a risk professional, I have been a member of the Global Association of Risk Professionals for many years. I have been certified by the association for Financial Risk Management and I try to attend their national conference every year to network and learn from other professionals. The FRM group has enable me to keep on the forefront of changes in the financial management that impacts risk on an almost daily basis and the group helps me live and breath financial risk every day."

Absa Bank strives for client loyalty to keep us running strong into the future. What do you feel are the keys to retaining clients for the long haul?

"I learned a few very important things from a senior mentor early in my career that I still hold near and dear to my heart to this day. First, clients expect me to be responsive to their needs to ensure that they keep their business with me. Because of this, I return phone calls and emails as soon as I can, even if that means in the evening, the early morning or on a Sunday afternoon. These small actions go a long way in showing my clients that I care. Another key to the success of my long-term clients is my ability to set and manage expectations for them. Clients desire to have a plan and know what that plan entails and I pride myself on my ability to work with them to set goals and a plan to achieve those goals."

Businesses in financial advising are constantly pushing the limits to ensure that they retain clients and Absa Bank doesn't take client retention lightly. One slip up and a high profile client will be taking their business to a competitor. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you understand your role in the customer retention equation and how you take pride in that in your everyday work. Make sure to hit on the point that doing the small things, like prompt communication and follow up, go a long way towards keeping clients happy.

"Having lost clients in the past that went to another firm, I take that pain personally and do everything I can do to ensure long lasting relationships with my clients. For me, the first key to long term success with my clients is a proactive approach. I don't wait for clients to get in touch with me to make changes to their portfolio, I reach out to them. This action alone shows my clients that I am working for their best interest. Another action I take that shows my worth to my clients are goal tracking and quarterly progress reports that I send out to them. This is particularly helpful for clients that are working with me in their first two years."

If a customer at Absa Bank had increased savings as their main personal financial goal, what steps would you take with them to get them started down the right path?

"After I had done my due diligence in getting to know the need's of the customer, my first step would be educating them on setting a personal budget that allows for savings. I would take a keen look at their monthly income versus their monthly expenses while also taking into account their variable spending on a monthly basis. Often, by simply doing this, customers are dumbfounded by how much wasteful spending they have going on in their lives. While the customer makes the final decisions on how to best handle, I can use my expertise to help guide them on their savings journey."

As you look to interview for a Personal Banker position with Absa Bank, be sure to expect a question or two that really digs into the technical abilities that you would bring to the position in the form of a hypothetical situation that you will likely face in this role. This question is allowing your interviewer to gain insight into your knowledge of sound financial savings philosophies so be sure to talk about important aspects of a customer's finances that can impact their ability to save. As you answer, express that you would use a logical, yet tailored, approach with each customer in this situation.

"The first and most important step to this process is helping the customer truly see their financial situation by delving into their income and expenses. Based on that analysis, the customer then decides which of the factors of income and expenses can be altered to help increase their savings. From there, I would work with them on the best methods for saving and would take a personalized approach to recommending savings accounts or money market accounts with Absa Bank."

How do you work in environments with people who are different from you?

"I have worked with people from all backgrounds and personalities. Whenever I join a new team, I make a point to get to know each person and find ways we can connect. I'm outgoing and friendly with everyone I meet while respecting their different styles and any open ideas they may bring to the team."

The banking industry thrives on team players with communication and listening skills who can help build internal and customer relations with individuals of diverse backgrounds. Give an example of how you led a team, or collaborated with a group for a school project, to show Absa Bank that you are perceptive and sensitive to the needs of others.

"Diversity is all around us, whether it be at work or home. I treat everyone equally and give everyone the respect and positive attitude that I would expect to receive from them."

Tell me about a time when you demonstrated you were trustworthy.

"In my last role, I was responsible for reconciling the banking at the end of the day. Last month, there was an overage, and I demonstrated my true character by reporting this to the management. Together, we partnered to research where this happened and collaborated to coach the team member who caused the error. We adjusted the accounts accordingly."

To show Absa Bank that you are reliable share an example from your work experience that is relevant to the position.

"Every successful day in the banking industry is an opportunity to show that I am trustworthy. In my five years within banking, I have never been involved in a discrepancy."

At Absa Bank, we are building a very team based culture. If hired for this position, what would you be able to contribute to this team based culture?

"If hired for this role, I understand that I'd be working among a great team of Tellers, Loan Officers, Analysts and Advisers and I really love this aspect of the role here at Absa Bank. In my current role, I work closely with our administrative and sales staff to help ensure smooth operations on a daily basis. I rely on my ability be upfront in speaking with everyone that I work with, no matter what role they play with the organization. I have no worries in walking into the office of our CFO to talk on a regular basis and wouldn't hesitate to do so if needed for this role."

As Absa Bank continually builds a team based atmosphere within their branches, they want to ensure that new employees that are brought aboard are true team players that will thrive in their culture. As you answer this question, be sure to stress to your interviewer that you are a team player by talking about your experiences in working as part of a team. Talk in detail about what roles you are comfortable in assuming in a team atmosphere and then discuss your own personality traits that make you a great team player. If possible, try to stress the importance of and your ability to communicate effectively to your interviewer.

"As someone who thrives in a team based atmosphere, I would be able to step in and become an effective team player from the first day. I have taken the lead on many project teams during my career and love the responsibility of taking charge on these teams. As well, I can also take directions from others on my team when needed. I have a communication style that is very confident, friendly and professional no matter who I work with. During my career, I've been complimented for my openness to feedback from others and my willingness to help other members of my team when needed."

How do you check your work for accuracy?

"I take pride in any work with my name attached to it and therefore, always review my work before I submit it. Whether I am typing an email or handling cash, I always check my work twice and sometimes even ask a co-worker to review it first. Being detail oriented and thorough are two of my greatest skill sets."

The interviewer wants to hear that you are detail oriented when it comes to checking your work. Explain the steps you take to eliminate minor mistakes and ensure your customer transactions and paperwork are accurate.

"I proof my work before sending it out, and I double check everything. I'll use a calculator when necessary, and ask for help if I am unsure of my own accuracy."

We pride ourselves on teamwork here at Absa Bank and this role in Client Services relies on teamwork. What are the top qualities you would bring to a team based atmosphere here?

"As with any team that I have worked on in the past, my priority is knowing that everyone has an important piece in the overall success of the team. In customer service, this is knowing who to contact with the right questions and who to guide customers to when needed. This ensures that our work is done efficiently on our end of things and that our customers are handled efficiently and effectively. If hired here at Absa Bank, my first goal would be to get to know everyone on the team that I would work with, what their roles are and how to best communicate with them."

At the heart of this question falls your interviewers need to determine how well you will work with others on the team at Absa Bank. You will be working with high level advisors and managers that are under a lot of pressure to perform in their jobs and your communications with them will either alleviate some of that stress or add to it. To ensure that your interviewer walks away from your conversation knowing that you are a team player that keeps the end goals of the company in mind, focus your answer on your effective communication skills, your knowledge of everyone's role on the team and your knowledge of what your role on the team will be.

"My top quality is my ability to communicate, both verbally and through writing. I have excellent interpersonal speaking and listening skills and my past colleagues have always appreciated this. Here at Absa Bank, your clients would appreciate this in my work as well. I am a very efficient and effective written communicator as well and this would be very beneficial at a company like Absa Bank, where your offices are spread throughout the country and I can imagine that email communication is vitally important."

If you were on the job here at Absa Bank and a customer came to you with a very odd request that you did not know the answer to or how to solve, how would you handle that situation?

"If I were faced with any question that I didn't know the answer to on the job, I would confidently explain to the customer that I would need to bring in another teammate to help solve the issue and would do so quickly. While I always try to be a subject matter expert on any job that I do, working with external customers can always bring new things. If I could use any resources like a company intranet page or other documentation to help solve the issue myself, I wouldn't hesitate to do that either."

If hired for this role at Absa Bank, you will have the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of customers. Given that variety, the number of unique, and often odd, requests that could come your way are pretty great. Whether a customer is looking to transfer money to another country or some other odd request, your interview is hoping to learn that you are able to think on your feet and not get flustered in any situation you may face on the job. As you answer the question, stay focused on the professional and resourceful approach that you would take with customers when put in this situation and don't hesitate to talk about any similar experiences you've handled in the past on the job.

"First, I would make sure that I fully understood the situation by asking more questions of the customer and would do so in a very polite and professional manner. To ensure that the customer knows a plan moving forward, I would then explain my next course of action. If it was an issue that I had to approach my manager about, I would do so immediately and I would show the customer where they could wait in the lobby. If I would be consulting any documentation or other resources, I would do the same with the customer to not have a holdup in the lobby. Then, I would work diligently to find an answer and make sure the customer was handled in a respectful and efficient manner."

Talk about your experiences working with both fellow Analysts and Accountants within your own firm and with external partners. How do you feel that you will be effective in working with our external candidates in this role here at Absa Bank?

"While I was drawn to a career as a Risk Analyst by my love of investigation and technical acumen, I am also a people person at heart. In my current role, I feel fortunate that I get to work with and communicate with all levels of my organization each day. If hired for this position here at Absa Bank, you'll quickly find that I am sharp, witty, knowledgeable and a great all around communicator. My excellent communication skills start with face-to-face verbal conversation but also extends to written skills as well."

While you are well aware that your career as a Risk Analyst in the financial industry involves many hours behind a desk and plugging away at a computer, Absa Bank will expect that you are an excellent team player with your fellow colleagues. On top of that, you will also have an expectation to be a face of the organization for external clients and stakeholders. While a very open ended question, make sure that you hit on your experiences in working as part of a larger team and explain the skills and personality traits that you'll bring to the table if hired at Absa Bank. Then, be sure to talk about your experiences working with clients and how you do so effectively.

"One of the big draws for me to this role with Absa Bank will be the ability to work closely with your clients to help them analyze their risk. In the roles that I've held as a Junior Risk Analyst up to this point in my career, my interpersonal relationships on the job have been with my colleagues, my Senior Analysts and other from my own organization. As you'll see from my letters of recommendation, I've been commended for my ability to effectively communicate risky situations in a clear, concise and understandable manner and I think the future clients I would work with here would benefit greatly from that ability."

What interests you about this position?

"I enjoy problem-solving and helping people. I worked as a customer service representative in a call center for Wells Fargo when I was in college, and the experience motivated me to learn more about how to help my clients by understanding more about investing, saving, and using banking services to meet their needs. I think working as a personal banker will give me a great foundation to start my career within the banking industry."

The interviewer at Absa Bank wants to learn more about how your educational or professional background led you to apply for this position. Share what you are most looking forward to about the role and how it relates to your previous experience or future goals.

"It is both the job description and the idea of working for Absa Bank that has piqued my interest. This role offers the growth and advancement that I have desired for some time now. I especially like that in this position, I would be responsible for A, B, and C. I am ready for those responsibilities in my next position."

Why would our clients here at Absa Bank want you to be their financial advisor?

"Looking back on my career to this point, I can say with confidence that my success, and the success of my clients, has been due to my ability to build trusting relationships. My path for building a trusting relationship consists of education, communication and action. I educate each client on a personal level, I set expectations for them and deliver on what I say I'm going to do. If hired for this position here at Absa Bank, you'll be hiring a Financial Advisor that will be great at bringing aboard new clients as I have many current clients that I am confident will follow me here."

As a professional in financial advising, you know that relationships are built on trust and integrity and for the business at Absa Bank, this is equally important. For your answer, your interviewer will be looking how to hear how you build trust with your clients to ensure that they are customers for life. In your answer, make sure that trust and integrity are common themes as you discuss how you work with each client's individual needs to build their portfolio.

"Like in any financial advising relationship, confidentiality and integrity are of utmost importance to clients and these are pieces of the relationships with my clients that I hold in the highest regard. My clients know that I can be trusted to safeguard their personal information and use the best resources possible to help make the best decisions for them based on their personal information and situation. I pride myself on the fact that my clients trust me with their personal information and your clients will have this trust in me as well if I'm hired for this position."

Talk about a time where you felt overwhelmed by your job duties. What did you do to stay organized and on track with everything happening?

"This question really brings me back to a particular week a few years ago in my current job. It was late fall as the holiday shopping season was ramping up and our store was very short staffed due to a maternity leave and two employees leaving on short notice. While we were short staffed in the store, it took a full team effort to ensure that customer questions were being answered, shelves were stocked and registers weren't getting backed up. To stay organized, the small team we had on staff worked off of a checklist each day to ensure we weren't missing anything important. Constant communication and flexibility was key for our success as we continually helped each other out on important things throughout the day. For me personally at the end of each day, I took a lot of satisfaction in knowing that I kept my head focused and did a great job."

At some point during your career up to this point, you've faced a time where you felt completely overwhelmed while on the job. As you answer this question, try to paint a clear picture for your interviewer that explains all of the contributing factors to you being overwhelmed. Then, proceed to focus most of your answer on talking about the skills and resources you utilized to keep you on track and focused during this difficult time. In the end, your interviewer is ideally looking to hear that you can stay organized and on track no matter how busy things get if you're hired to join the team at Absa Bank.

"Over the past four years, my current department has cut staff by almost 50% while the overall amount of work has remained steady. This has led to my total duties doubling over the course of four years. While this has been very overwhelming for, and even detrimental to others that I work with, my ability to handle the stress has been very important. The best thing that I do is set time aside at the end of each day to recap what I've done and make a plan for what to handle the next day. Some of my colleagues can't believe that I set aside 30 minutes to plan, but I know that making a plan actually saves me considerable time in the long run and makes me more productive. As well, on days where I do feel very overwhelmed, it is important to take some personal time during a break to step away and get some fresh air. A quick 10 minute walk outside really helps refresh me for another half day of work."

As a Personal Banker at Absa Bank, how would you select products to suggest to our customers?

"To do this effectively, I would rely on my ability to get to know my customers and their needs and I do this through confident and friendly conversation with them. Once I know their needs and goals moving forward, I can then take a wise approach to our product base to get them involved with the products that help them meet their goals. Last year, I did this with a customer that I had over a years worth of history with. Through both email and in-person conversations, I learned that early retirement was definitely a goal of his and I used the benefits of our IRA accounts to help him open one and thrive moving forward."

At the heart of the role of a Personal Banker falls your ability to use your sales skills and customer service skills to match products that best suit each individual customer's needs. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you can do just that. As you answer this question, highlight your ability to learn and know the entire catalog of financial products you would have at your disposal and then switch to your sales skills mode where you talk about tailoring packages to each individual based on their needs. To really sell your interviewer on your ability, try to use a real world example where you used features and benefits to meet someone's needs in a sales related situation.

"If hired for this role at Absa Bank, my first goal would be to learn the entire package of personal accounts, savings, loans and investment products that customers here can take advantage of. Armed with that knowledge, I would then rely on my ability to get to know my customers and what they find important to them to help them grow and thrive into the future. I believe that my background in sales will help me to match the great products here at Absa Bank with each individual's needs because I've done this in both the automotive sales industry and the food industry."

Have you ever operated a currency counting machine or a coin counter?

"While I don't have direct experience working with currency counting technology, I feel very comfortable in my ability to learn how the machines here at Absa Bank operate. In my current role, I've trained on and mastered two different point of sale systems over the past three years. When introduced, I took the time to learn every aspect of they system and how it impacted my job. Through the training processes, I was attentive and hands on to make sure I could hit the ground running on the sales floor. Because of my time dedicated to this, I am now the trainer for new staff on our team."

To help save time and ensure accuracy, Absa Bank has invested in cash counting technology to help automate cash counting processes within its branches. As a Teller with Absa Bank, a part of your job will be operating and troubleshooting these machines on a daily basis. Your interviewer will likely be able to simply answer this question themselves by simply looking at your resume. What they are really looking to hear is that you have some tech savviness in working with simple machines in any of your work experience. If you do have direct experience with currency counting machines, that is great! If not, there is no need to worry as long as you can talk about your ability to learn and thrive with different technologies and give examples of times where you've had to do just that.

"Other than cashing in change in my own bank's lobby, I don't have direct experience. But, I do consider myself to have a very high technical acuity when it comes to machinery and technology. If offered a Teller position here at Absa Bank, one of my first priorities would be to become an expert on all systems that I would be required to work on. In my last role, I had to do just this with the phone and computer systems that were specific to my role and I did this with ease."

Tell me about your favorite manager. What did you enjoy most about working with them?

"I love my current boss because she leads with a collaborative and team-oriented style. We have regular team huddles to provide ongoing communication about process changes or upcoming events."

Absa Bank wants to hear what excites you and keeps you motivated in a co-working relationship with your boss. They are interested in your values and want to hear about your experience developing relationships with managers.

"My favorite manager was my very first manager when I worked at Company X. She was attentive and spent a lot of time mentoring me. I feel that many of my positive work-based skills and qualities are because of how she interacted with and trained me."

Here at Absa Bank, part of your job will entail talking to our customers about sensitive and confidential information. How will you handle these situations if offered this position?

"When faced with this situation, I would ensure that the conversation between the customer and myself would be done quietly and with any documents out of the view of others. A person's financial situation is private and I would take all necessary measures to keep conversations as private as possible in this role. In my current role, I have frequent private phone conversations with customers and I need to keep the same mindset with them as I would in this job."

At times in this role, you will be required to discuss the confidential finances of customers and this will happen during customer deposits, withdrawals and payments to the bank. When these situations happen during times where the lobby is busy with other customers, you will be required to speak with customers in a very quiet manner. As you answer this question, make sure that you reiterate that you are aware of the sensitive nature of the transactions you will be working on with customers at Absa Bank and talk about how you will go about ensuring that a customers private information is kept private. If you have worked in situations that involved confidential material in the past, be sure to talk about them as well.

"Having worked with confidential data and information through my entire career, this part of the job at Absa Bank would be second nature to me. By keeping a neat and tidy work area, I would be able to ensure that any customer information was filed appropriately after each transaction and wouldn't be viewable to the next customer that I handled. When it comes to personal interactions, I would ensure that our conversations were held in a quiet manner as privately as I'm able to do so."

How do you build rapport with those that you work closely with?

"In an industry like yours here at Absa Bank, one bit of mistrust between your institution and a customer can spell disaster as they withdraw funds and move them somewhere else. I pride myself on ability to build trust and rapport with those that I work with and I do this by being very genuine in all of my interactions and finding time to connect personally with all that I work with. I always remain respectful to the needs of others and do my best to keep a smile on my face and stay positive at all times."

The banking industry relies on the relationships built between the institution and its customers and your role as a Teller with Absa Bank will find you face to face with many customers. Your interviewer is looking to learn how you go about building rapport with both customers and your colleagues in this question. As you answer, be sure to talk both about why you feel that building rapport is important and the ways that you go about building rapport to those that you work with. If possible, make sure to highlight why building strong relationships is important in the banking industry to really sell your interviewer that you have what it takes to be a part of the success at Absa Bank.

"In my mind, building rapport with my colleagues and customers comes down to the basic principle of trust. I build trust with people by doing what I say I'm going to do and delivering results on time. I'm also always considerate to the thoughts of others and work my timeframes around the needs of others, especially when it comes to the customers that I work with. I am confident that my ability to connect with customers in a trusting way will greatly benefit the business here at Absa Bank because customers want a friendly and trusting face handling their personal finances."

What experience do you have working on an advanced phone system and what skills do you have that you feel would be essential to work with our clients over the phone?

"In my current position, I handle a majority of the incoming calls to our company. I have to triage calls based on customer needs and utilize the system to transfer calls, place customers on hold or push through to another person's voicemail. Some key things that have helped me master this part of my current job are my willingness and ability to learn my company inside and out and my clear and concise communications with customers that call. If hired for this role, I would be very thorough in my orientation process to learn all of the potential situations I would face with customers here at Absa Bank over the phone."

As the customers of Absa Bank become more virtual, a good chunk of business transactions happen over the phone. In this role, you will be expected to bring solid skills in handling the technical side of the phone system and great communication skills to handle customers when not face to face. In your answer, talk about any experience you have in working a multi-line phone system. As well, talk about the communication and organizational skills you have to ensure that you can help customers in any way possible over the phone.

"The skills that I would bring to the team here at Absa Bank in this role would be clear and concise verbal communication skills, my ability to read the tone of voice of others and strong organizational skills to handle multiple duties at one time. These skills really helped me thrive in my last role where I was handling customers online, over the phone and in-person in our branch office. At that job, I used and worked on the Avaya cloud based phone system and was able to learn and use all functions of that system."

Talk about a time you had to communicate with a colleague or customer that was unhappy. What were the keys to making the situation better for all involved?

"A few weeks ago, I was having a pretty normal day at the front of the store. About an hour from closing time, a customer stormed through our front door and approached me at a rapid place with a very mad look on her face. She slammed a bag on the counter and demanded a refund for a shirt that she had purchased last week because she claimed it had a tear in the armpit. Before I could even say anything back to her, she then began berating our store for selling inferior products and she demanded to see a manager right away. As calm as I could, I told the lady that I would be very glad to take care of a return for her and I'd be happy to put her in contact with a manager. I let her know that I'd need to take her number as our manager was not in the store that evening. While she still left upset after receiving a refund, I followed up with my manager the next morning to ensure that he followed up with her. He let me know that she had calmed down and thanked me for my service the evening prior. I know that my ability to not take her harsh words personally really helped make the situation better."

Your ability to handle conflict will be an important part of this role with Absa Bank. Tellers are often the first line of defense with customers that call or come into the branch and you will be relied upon to help diffuse any situation that could get out of hand with customers. In your answer, try to focus on your communication skills that you feel are vital to your success in these situations. As you think of a situation you've been in to use in this situation, make sure that you can demonstrate the steps that you took to ensure that the unhappy customer or colleague left the situation in a much better place.

"Last year, I showed up to work to find my close colleague in a fit of rage at her work area. He was slamming desk drawers and using really inappropriate language. Knowing that this wasn't typical behavior from him, I immediately walked over to see what was wrong. He began by telling me that he had received a very bad customer complaint the day before and was now being reprimanded for it by our manager. He started to then talk badly about our manager and I immediately cut him off. By hearing what he had said, I tried to replay the conversation for him and then asked him what led to the customer complaint. I took a very empathetic approach to learn why he was feeling the way that he did and I quickly learned that he was indeed in the wrong in thet situation. My advice to him was to take a quick walk, calm down and hen go talk to our boss. Later that day, he thanked me for my great advice and talked about the lesson learned moving forward."

As a Personal Banker with Absa Bank, why is providing tailored customer service important? How would you make this a priority if hired for this role?

"As in my current industry, I understand that your customers here at Absa Bank all have their own unique financial situation and needs in how I would work with them. Because of that, I have to work with each person on their own individual terms rather than taking the same canned approach with every customer I would work with. To help provide the most tailored customer service possible, I would take the time needed to get to know my customers and their needs and then work with them moving forward in their goals. As personal finance can often be frustrating, I would take my time to listen and understand my customer's frustrations as well to show that I truly care in helping them create a solid plan moving forward."

In the banking industry, customers all have very unique financial situations and personality types so a very customized approach is required to make each customer feel valued. In this role as a Personal Banker, your customers will expect that you tailor your approach to meet their needs. As you answer this question, be sure to talk about the ways that you get to know your customers to best work with them. On top of that, explain the importance of taking an empathetic approach with your customers and talk about why an empathetic approach is important when working with a customer on their financial needs.

"A tailored approach in customer is really easy when you listen, listen and then listen some more. By reflectively listening to my customers, I'm able to get to know them quickly by name, learn a bit about them personally and learn their financial goals for the near and long term moving forward. With that information, I can them formulate the best customized plan for them and that is very important for them to know that my approach was created with their needs at the forefront. With that in mind, the customer then has a much better chance of becoming a life-long customer at Absa Bank."

How would you respond to a customer complaint?

"A customer called me very frustrated about an issue with their bank account. I listened and told them I would be happy to help. I asked more questions to understand the problem and then suggested once I had a better idea of what might solve it. The customer was very relieved and grateful that I took the time to listen and make sense of the issue. I plan to provide consistent customer service in the same way when I work for Absa Bank."

The interviewer would like to be assured that you can professionally handle customer complaints. Give an example of a time you helped resolve a customer's issue.

"Each customer complaint is unique; however, I have been trained to handle them all with the same method. Listen, be empathetic, and use phrases such as 'If I understand your concern...' and repeat their words back to them. This method has always worked for me."

The clients of a financial firm like Absa Bank can display an arrange of emotions when they work with our Client Services team. How would you handle a situation where a client was very angry?

"As you can see from my resume, I've spent the last three years in customer service relations for a large insurance company. As you can imagine, a large majority of my customer interactions were with upset customers. I've been called names that I can't repeat here in this interview and my key to working through these situations was to remain calm and not take things personally. Like the financial world, the insurance business is a very life altering experience and a loss or damage to an item is very stressful. I tried to put myself in the customers shoes, see things from their perspective and do my best to ease their situation. In this role with Absa Bank, these same skills would be vital for me to find solutions or the right person to talk to if needed."

Whether due to a large amount of money lost on the market or a client feels they were ill-advised by an Advisor, your job as a Client Services Representative will at some point or another deal with a very angry client. For this answer, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you do what is necessary to stay calm and stay focused on finding a resolution. If possible, use a specific example of a time you had to do exactly this and explain how effective communication was critical in making the situation right for the client.

"First and foremost, an active listening approach is the first step to lowering the tension from an angry customer. A couple of months ago, we had a very angry customer come onsite to complain about a defective product that cut his hand pretty badly. The customer came onsite to complain even before receiving emergency care, which was apparent that he needed. First, I let him release his anger and it was not a pretty sight. Then I calmly repeated back what he had said and then explained what our policy allowed me to do at that time. Looking back, my sincere approach and calm demeanor helped calm him down and later that day, my manager had a formal complaint sent to the manufacturer and we were assured that they'd be in contact with the customer."

How would you rate your comfort level receiving money and counting back many to our customers here at Absa Bank?

"Because of my cashier experience in the retail industry, I would say I'm very comfortable in handling and counting large sums of cash very accurately. I was responsible for transactions made via cash, check and credit card and at the end of every shift, I had to reconcile my till. I'm happy to say that I never had an issue with a till that was off at the end of a shift or a customer that complained about change that I had given them. This was all due to the extra time that I took to ensure accuracy in every transaction."

As a Teller with Absa Bank, you will be responsible for the receipt of cash and distribution of cash to customers that come into the lobby and drive-thru of the branch location you would be working at. Your interviewer will be looking to hear about any direct experience that you have in handling money during your career. As you talk about any experience that you do have, be sure to make it clear that you take pride in the accuracy of your work and that you show honesty and integrity that all you do in working with sums of cash.

"While I don't have direct work experience as a Cashier or Teller handling cash, I would still say that I'm confident in my abilities to handle that aspect of the job here at Absa Bank. As you can see from my resume, my experience in finance has had me balancing accounting ledgers and those duties required a strict attention to detail and a high level of integrity in the work that I performed. I think this experience would help me transition very nicely to this role."

Tell me about your experience in the banking industry.

"When I worked as a bank teller, I learned how to deal with difficult customers and handle a variety of transactions, from ordering foreign money for travel to removing overdraft fees and educating customers on our products. I used my careful attention to detail to keep my drawer balanced and manage my daily tasks without error."

Share details of your banking experience to show Absa Bank you have what it takes to be successful in the field!

"I have 12 years of experience in the banking industry, first as an administrative assistant, then a bank teller, and now; a financial advisor. I have learned a great deal along the way and look forward to putting my experience to work for Absa Bank."

Absa Bank Interview Questions

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1. Talk about a time you had to handle failure at any point in your career. How did you handle that situation and move forward with confidence?
2. Tell me about a time when you showed integrity in your work.
3. In this role as a Risk Analyst with Absa Bank, you will be expected to be the expert on changes in financial regulations that impact our business. How do you keep yourself up to speed on these changes currently?
4. Absa Bank strives for client loyalty to keep us running strong into the future. What do you feel are the keys to retaining clients for the long haul?
5. If a customer at Absa Bank had increased savings as their main personal financial goal, what steps would you take with them to get them started down the right path?
6. How do you work in environments with people who are different from you?
7. Tell me about a time when you demonstrated you were trustworthy.
8. At Absa Bank, we are building a very team based culture. If hired for this position, what would you be able to contribute to this team based culture?
9. How do you check your work for accuracy?
10. We pride ourselves on teamwork here at Absa Bank and this role in Client Services relies on teamwork. What are the top qualities you would bring to a team based atmosphere here?
11. If you were on the job here at Absa Bank and a customer came to you with a very odd request that you did not know the answer to or how to solve, how would you handle that situation?
12. Talk about your experiences working with both fellow Analysts and Accountants within your own firm and with external partners. How do you feel that you will be effective in working with our external candidates in this role here at Absa Bank?
13. What interests you about this position?
14. Why would our clients here at Absa Bank want you to be their financial advisor?
15. Talk about a time where you felt overwhelmed by your job duties. What did you do to stay organized and on track with everything happening?
16. As a Personal Banker at Absa Bank, how would you select products to suggest to our customers?
17. Have you ever operated a currency counting machine or a coin counter?
18. Tell me about your favorite manager. What did you enjoy most about working with them?
19. Here at Absa Bank, part of your job will entail talking to our customers about sensitive and confidential information. How will you handle these situations if offered this position?
20. How do you build rapport with those that you work closely with?
21. What experience do you have working on an advanced phone system and what skills do you have that you feel would be essential to work with our clients over the phone?
22. Talk about a time you had to communicate with a colleague or customer that was unhappy. What were the keys to making the situation better for all involved?
23. As a Personal Banker with Absa Bank, why is providing tailored customer service important? How would you make this a priority if hired for this role?
24. How would you respond to a customer complaint?
25. The clients of a financial firm like Absa Bank can display an arrange of emotions when they work with our Client Services team. How would you handle a situation where a client was very angry?
26. How would you rate your comfort level receiving money and counting back many to our customers here at Absa Bank?
27. Tell me about your experience in the banking industry.

Absa Bank Interview Questions

1. Talk about a time you had to handle failure at any point in your career. How did you handle that situation and move forward with confidence?

2. Tell me about a time when you showed integrity in your work.

3. In this role as a Risk Analyst with Absa Bank, you will be expected to be the expert on changes in financial regulations that impact our business. How do you keep yourself up to speed on these changes currently?

4. Absa Bank strives for client loyalty to keep us running strong into the future. What do you feel are the keys to retaining clients for the long haul?

5. If a customer at Absa Bank had increased savings as their main personal financial goal, what steps would you take with them to get them started down the right path?

6. How do you work in environments with people who are different from you?

7. Tell me about a time when you demonstrated you were trustworthy.

8. At Absa Bank, we are building a very team based culture. If hired for this position, what would you be able to contribute to this team based culture?

9. How do you check your work for accuracy?

10. We pride ourselves on teamwork here at Absa Bank and this role in Client Services relies on teamwork. What are the top qualities you would bring to a team based atmosphere here?

11. If you were on the job here at Absa Bank and a customer came to you with a very odd request that you did not know the answer to or how to solve, how would you handle that situation?

12. Talk about your experiences working with both fellow Analysts and Accountants within your own firm and with external partners. How do you feel that you will be effective in working with our external candidates in this role here at Absa Bank?

13. What interests you about this position?

14. Why would our clients here at Absa Bank want you to be their financial advisor?

15. Talk about a time where you felt overwhelmed by your job duties. What did you do to stay organized and on track with everything happening?

16. As a Personal Banker at Absa Bank, how would you select products to suggest to our customers?

17. Have you ever operated a currency counting machine or a coin counter?

18. Tell me about your favorite manager. What did you enjoy most about working with them?

19. Here at Absa Bank, part of your job will entail talking to our customers about sensitive and confidential information. How will you handle these situations if offered this position?

20. How do you build rapport with those that you work closely with?

21. What experience do you have working on an advanced phone system and what skills do you have that you feel would be essential to work with our clients over the phone?

22. Talk about a time you had to communicate with a colleague or customer that was unhappy. What were the keys to making the situation better for all involved?

23. As a Personal Banker with Absa Bank, why is providing tailored customer service important? How would you make this a priority if hired for this role?

24. How would you respond to a customer complaint?

25. The clients of a financial firm like Absa Bank can display an arrange of emotions when they work with our Client Services team. How would you handle a situation where a client was very angry?

26. How would you rate your comfort level receiving money and counting back many to our customers here at Absa Bank?

27. Tell me about your experience in the banking industry.