How do you determine priorities when you have multiple projects due?
If posed any questions on your ability to prioritize your work during your interview, you can be assured that the role you are interviewing for will involve multiple competing priorities daily. Your interviewer must ensure you can stay organized and make intelligent decisions when balancing your work in this role.
"I will determine which project requires my attention by the number of hours we are behind and then the project size. I am comfortable delegating tasks when needed, but I am also aware that these times will require an additional commitment of hours from me. Never have I underdelivered on a deadline."
Prioritizing is a skill that requires practice. There are many approaches you can take. Here are some suggestions:
1) Make a list. By thinking through and writing down each item that needs completion, you can see it on paper.
2) Mark what is urgent or essential. Take into account deadlines and meetings.
3) Order each task based on effort and estimated value. Considering due dates and how long it will take to do each item (also considering how much time you have).
In answering this question, show the interviewer that you have a system in place that helps you to think through what needs to happen, and when. The better you can prioritize, the more productive you will be, making you an asset to their company!
Before your interview, put some serious thought into how you decide to handle many priorities on the job. Assure the interviewer that you can be diligent when assessing your priorities and working through everything as needed. Don't hesitate to discuss the resources you use to stay on task, such as time management software, notebooks, calendars, or team collaboration tools.
"I am extremely organized and use time-management software to prioritize my projects. I list priorities in the order of when they are due and complete those tasks first. If I have multiple projects due simultaneously, I delegate certain tasks to my team. I pride myself on always meeting or beating project deadlines and have past performance reviews highlighting my ability to do so. I have copies of those reviews if you would like them for your file."
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
Over the years I have done this in several ways. On a normal day, I'll write down everything I need to accomplish in the day and get it in front of me where I can see. Then if possible I'll assign each task a number, and do them in order. If the tasks get longer than what can be done in a day I'll ask my boss (or whoever the internal customer is) what they prefer I prioritize over another task (if it's an external customer, I'll talk to the sales rep to gauge the priority level).
Jaymie's Feedback
Creating lists to help you stay organized and on task and communicating regularly with your team to determine priorities are good strategies. Be sure to share that you're agile and can adapt quickly when priorities change, as this is a critical skill to possess in healthcare.
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