How to Answer: Listening to our clients is absolutely essential to understanding their business and technology needs. Tell me about a time your listening skills helped exceed their expectations in the delivery of the project.
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Gartner Consulting job interview.
9. Listening to our clients is absolutely essential to understanding their business and technology needs. Tell me about a time your listening skills helped exceed their expectations in the delivery of the project.
What You Need to Know
It's easy for a client to overlook small details; that's why they hire IT Consultants - so they can stay in the know. IT Consultants typically take a deeper dive into a client's operation from a technology and business perspective. One of the biggest reasons clients look to IT consultants is to look at their organization from an outsider's point of view. Another pair of eyes might see things they have missed. It's important to recognize that a client relies on your expertise to give them a perspective that an internal employee would not normally see. You might ask the client how they run their operations and even have them rate their current level of expertise with all their technologies. This will reveal a few things. One of the most important is where you need to navigate and lead the interview discussion. Asking questions like, 'What do you like and dislike about your current operations?' Explain that you like the challenge of solving problems, working in different types of environments, and perfecting your craft.
Written by Tom Dushaj on February 7th, 2019
1st Entry Level Example
"Well, I am compulsive about actively listening. Sometimes I even find my supervisors shooing me away. But I crave a deeper understanding of the big picture, whose scope is always greater than you think. Most recently, I'd been friendly and actively listening to the water cooler talk of several cliques at a firm and picked up on quite a bit of gossip. When some massive data seemed inaccurate and caused a bit of analytical work, my mentor rubbed his eyes, looked at some figures, and asked me if I could find the discrepancy. I wondered if the discrepancy came from an employee I'd heard had been going through some personal issues and potential substance abuse. I looked closer at that individual's figures and realized the discrepancy was the source of their work. Then we were able to address a greater personal concern based on more than hearsay alone."
Written by Kevin Downey on July 22nd, 2023
1st Answer Example
"I've worked with many clients at different levels of an organization, including executive-level management personnel. Being a good listener is an absolute requirement, and getting the opportunity to collaborate with clients and help solve their problems is very rewarding for me. I need to show clients that they are getting the highest value possible for their money. When I have conversations with clients, I sometimes find that they don't know what they don't know, and I find that this is a good base-level start because you're starting from scratch and identifying problems as you walk through their environment from top to bottom. My basic qualifiers start with technology and how they use it. Here's a basic outline of the questions I posed.
1. What platform do you run your ERP or enterprise software? Windows, UNIX, Linux, etc.? I ask these questions because after I find out what they are using, it's easier for me to suggest a software solution. After explaining the pros and cons of their current setup, I recommend a solution that will help solve their problem.
2. What database are you using to store your data? SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, BD2, etc. I ask this question to see if they are up to date with current versions, the capacity of data, and where it resides. I also ask whether their data is On-Premise or in the Cloud. Depending on the responses, I would be able to make suggestions on efficient ways to work with that data."
Written by Tom Dushaj on February 7th, 2019
2nd Answer Example
"My prior work has taught me that asking the right questions at the right time is very important. When I do discovery with a client, there are several questions that I ask to arrive at a few core problems they are facing. Let me give you an example of what I ask and why.
1. Walk me through your current process, and highlight an area where you are experiencing pains and challenges? I ask this to build trust with the client and get them to talk extensively about their problems and how you can propose a solution.
2. Is it your belief that a software application will be able to solve these problems for you? I ask this question to see if they think they need a software solution, or is it just a process fix that can be achieved by process and productivity improvements, along with process re-engineering."
Written by Kevin Downey on February 7th, 2019