Tell me about a time when you did not have enough time to complete all assigned tasks. How did you prioritize?
ALDI values accountability, so this question is designed to understand your ability to prioritize, organize and time manage your projects/assignments. Your answer provides insight into your decision-making skills and how you react under pressure.
Be clear and concise when giving your answer, and be sure not to be negative or complain about colleagues or your manager in the response. Use this opportunity to highlight your ability to multi-task and explain your techniques for staying organized and setting realistic expectations. You can also focus on how you may have gotten other team members involved and delegated tasks to be more effective. Use this opportunity to showcase your communication skills!
"In my final year of college, I had several projects due my final semester and needed to prep for my exams. I was volunteering at my local library a few hours a week at that time, so finding time for everything was challenging. I first sat down and wrote out all my tasks and assignments for the month and used different colored highlighters to rank them by deadline and priority levels. I then wrote out about how many hours each would take and broke the tasks down into smaller, manageable assignments. I also contacted the library and asked if I could have one week off from volunteer duties to prep for my exams, and that freed up some time to really focus. I have developed good habits like having 'device free' time where I put my phone and AirPods to the side to really focus on my tasks."
"My job is fast-paced, and it's not uncommon to have multiple projects with conflicting priority levels. Typically, I plan my week out and create time blocks to ensure I have time to do certain tasks without interruption. As soon as I feel overwhelmed or fall behind, I meet with my manager to communicate my concerns. We discuss the current projects, and I get their feedback on priority and see if other team members can support some of the work."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
I prioritize tasks in order of importance. If I needed to clean a house, and some crew called off, I would clean and leave the marketing and book work until later and work extra to finish the job.
Rachelle's Feedback
This is a great example; however, since it's a 'tell me about a time' question, I recommend positioning it in a way that is more situational. I have provided a sample, below.
"I recently had one of my cleaning crews call for the day off. I left the marketing a book work for later, jumping in myself, to complete the cleaning job. I am good with prioritizing tasks in order of importance."
Anonymous Answer
I am usually very organized. I usually keep reminders to remember important tasks. But on this occasion, I fell ill the night before; I had to put my task on hold. I made sure when I returned to prioritize this delivery order and even stayed overtime to make sure it was done right.
Rachelle's Feedback
It sounds as though you did a great job ensuring that your job was done well, in the end. In your actual interview be sure to take a bit more time setting the stage for your story so that the interviewer fully understands your example.
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