Can you discuss a time you had to be frugal in the workplace?
One of Amazon's Leadership Principles is 'Frugality;' they believe you can accomplish more with less. As Jeff Bezos puts it, "I think frugality drives innovation, just like other constraints do. One of the few ways to get out of a tight box is to invent your way out." Show your interviewer how your values already align with theirs by sharing some instances where you accomplished more with less in the workplace.
"My previous employer had a strict operating budget and decreased our office expenses by 50%. I used to send faxes through our fax machine, and we developed a paper and ink cartridge shortage when costs were cut. I started using a virtual fax system, which cut costs by 75%. That was only one way I was frugal, but it was the most cost-effective."
"I'd consider myself incurably frugal. But I don't look at frugality solely from a financial perspective but from every angle. I am frugal regarding time, effort, and how many people should work on a project or team. Whatever the cost, I am frugal and try to find the simplest way of doing everything. The way I see it, if people take shortcuts to do their work, the system or method is flawed. If taking shortcuts is necessary, we should be looking at how to make the shortcut the right way to do the job correctly. Because of that, I would say yes, I am very frugal in everything I do."
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Anonymous Answer
Several years ago, we were doing a lot of analysis and finance work in Excel. There were tight deadlines at the end of each quarter because it was a listed company and the results were required for market disclosure reports. Each quarter someone would manually update the spreadsheets, adding extra rows and copying and pasting formulas. It took 4 people 3 days to update them, and then we had to check that the updating didn't break the calculations. But as the business expanded the workload grew and we were struggling to meet the deadlines. I decided that during our quieter time between quarters we should write a VBA macro that automatically adds the rows and the formulas. This was wildly successful, reducing 12 man-days of quarterly work to less than 10 minutes of elapsed time, with no more human error.
Marcie's Feedback
While your example here is impressive and shows how you took the initiative to save time and work, this question does ask about frugality which usually refers to not spending a lot of money (or something not having a large economic cost). Do you have an example that you can cite that shows your ability to be cost-conscious in the workplace? If so, that might be more applicable in terms of the way this question is worded. Or perhaps include more information about how your VBA macro helped to save the company money? Just some food for thought!
Anonymous Answer
I had to do more with less staff. I was unable to hire a head count so I used the little budget I had to hire contractors in Malaysia to write the content I needed at a reduced cost. It accomplished 2 things. I got the work I needed to be done at a reduced rate and it was done overnight so when I came to work in the morning it was complete.
Marcie's Feedback
Why did you not have enough staff? Can you go into more detail about that? Also, what was your task? Otherwise, you've done a good job using the STAR method to outline the situation, your role in it, and what the result was. Good job!
Anonymous Answer
Frugality requires an open mind to alternatives and other opportunities. My employer tightened its belt on training expenses, so I decided that I would take the opportunity to shift focus away from external certifications that require expenditure to company internal certifications. The belt-tightening would not be forever, and when one door closes another opens. There is more than one way to grow.
Marcie's Feedback
Great! The interviewer will appreciate that you've provided an example of a time when you were frugal in the workplace. How did the internal certifications work out? Can you explain more about why your employer had to tighten its belt in the first place? Giving additional details will make your answer even more memorable to the interviewer. Nice job!
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