Department of Veterans Affairs Mock Interview
Practice 30 Department of Veterans Affairs interview questions covering mission commitment, veteran-centered care, and federal service values.
Question 9 of 30
Tell me about a time when a subordinate had a personal need that conflicted with the needs of the team.
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Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
This, again, tests your leadership style and how adaptive you are to the needs of your team. There will always be circumstances where things don't go according to plan or according to the vision of your strategic management.
Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
This is an opportunity to exhibit your flexibility and how adaptive you are when things don't go according to plan. Equating that with your ability to show support for the individual and the team can go a long way.
Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
"A key member of our team had some non-emergency personal issues. They needed some extended time off in the middle of a high-pressured assignment that the team was working on. It was in my power to not grant their request for time off, but at what cost? It would have hurt morale, devalued their contribution, and guaranteed they'll not perform at their best, being distracted by their personal issues. So in the end, I asked myself, what does winning look like?"
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I remember working in the ICU and a co-worker had to leave in the middle of our shift. I had to take an extra patient on top of having 2 very ill patients. I remember at that time that we had a nurse practitioner as an educator. I called her to come assist me. She was more than happy to do so. I used our available resources to get through a tough situation.
Jaymie's Feedback
Being short-staffed is common in healthcare, so this is a great example demonstrating your experience with this situation. Your coworker needing to leave mid-shift is an excellent example of how their personal need impacted the team and caused a heavier workload. It sounds like you were able to remain calm, think critically, and reach out to your available resources to ensure patients were adequately cared for. Great job!
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