Working with our clients here at HLB Mann Judd often involves some initial conflict with our clients. How would you rate your ability to handle conflict or disagreements in the workplace?

"In my role as a Project Manager with a large private organization, one of my first steps on any new project is setting a budget. Last year, I was leading the effort on a project focused on waste reduction in our manufacturing facilities. In the initial meetings for new projects, our CFO is always involved so she has a high-level overview of what the project will entail. In the meeting, she immediately berated me for the initial budget that I was proposing and vehemently insisted that the amount just wasn't correct or feasible. Rather than taking offense to her thoughts, I wanted to make sure that she, and the rest of the group, had a solid understanding of all that was taken into consideration for setting the budget. After I explained and showed line by line what the proposed budget broke down to, she was very thankful and didn't realize that team member labor was part of that equation. I think that my ability to understand why she was conflicted and my ability to keep a calm, cool head in that situation was vital and a perfect reason for me rating myself high on my conflict resolution skills."

When a consultant comes into an organization to help better an aspect of their business, there are many factors that can lead to initial conflicts with the consultant and their firm. Big egos not wanting a fresh new face and the fear of change are inevitable in this business and your interviewer wants to hear that you have the experience and ability to handle inevitable conflict that will come your way if hired for the position. While obviously rating yourself highly in this area, try to talk about a time where you handled difficult conflict on the job with ease.

"From my call center days, I think I developed great conflict resolution skills where I would rate myself an 8 out of 10. Handling customers who were upset about a product or service they received required a calm tone, an educational approach and the ability to not take things too personally. If hired for this position, I would be able to bring this same approach to the client of HLB Mann Judd."

Rate your communication skills from 1-10 with proper examples backing your given rating.

"I rate my communication skills as a 9/10 as I will, on occasion, have times when I am not as clear as I would like to be. My supervisor and co-workers will attest to my clear and concise communication skills. Because I am an open leader, my team will let me know if I need to clarify anything."

On a scale of 1-10, how skilled are you in communication? Why did you choose that particular rating for yourself?

"I will rate myself an 8.5 because I consider myself a strong communicator. It is the foundation of all success in business. I am always striving to be a better communicator, so I leave the rest of the scale as an aspirational measure."

Due to the nature of HLB Mann Judd business and services we may ask that you complete a full background check. Are you willing to comply?

"I can fully understand why HLB Mann Judd would need to conduct background checks on all potential employees. I have a squeaky clean record and am happy to comply with any of your requests."

Many companies will ask for a background check before employing you. This due diligence could include a criminal record check, a credit check, a drivers' abstract, and education verification. The request will vary from company to company so you should always be prepared to comply with all requests. If there is a mark on your record, this is the best time to disclose that information. If you have a clean record: "I can fully understand why HLB Mann Judd would need to conduct background checks on all potential employees. I have a squeaky clean record and am happy to comply with any of your requests."

"If you have a mark on your record: "I can fully understand why HLB Mann Judd would need to conduct background checks on all potential employees. I did have a charge against me approximately six years ago for a DUI. I have gained my drivers' license back since then, but I thought I should disclose that to you ahead of time."

At HLB Mann Judd we provide services to a wide range of businesses. Which industry or business type do you have the most experience with?

"I understand that the majority of business that is coming to HLB Mann Judd is related to XYZ. I have about four years of dedicated XYZ experience. The remainder of my work experience is with a wide range of clients and industries. I feel that these experiences have equipped me very well for a position such as this."

In the commercial services industry, your experience with clients may be widespread. Talk to the interviewer about any particular industry to which you may have more exposure. If you have a specialty - now is the time to discuss your expertise. Whether you have experience in the same industry as HLB Mann Judd, or not, be sure to appear confident in your capabilities.

"I have the most experience in the manufacturing industry. Approximately 15 years, in fact. I believe this experience will benefit me in this role with HLB Mann Judd because I am well versed in best practices and manufacturing protocols."

We value accountability at HLB Mann Judd. If a customer sent a formal complaint about an interaction with you, how would you handle it?

"I understand that HLB Mann Judd has put a lot of work into building these long-term client relationships. If one of your clients complained about my communication with them, I would take full responsibility for my actions and issue an apology. I would also be open to feedback to avoid future incidences. Rest assured, in my 15 years of employment, I have not had any clients complain to my employer about my work ethic or delivery of service."

Assure the interviewer that you are a person of integrity who will take responsibility for any shortcomings in the workplace. Briefly explain to the interviewer that you will handle HLB Mann Judd customers with great care.

"Constructive feedback is difficult to swallow at times, but it's helpful for me to remember that everyone receives constructive feedback from time to time. I will always do what is required of me to renew a client relationship."

What have you found to be the most effective methods for training workers? Are there any you've found to be very ineffective?

"Having been in the corporate training and developing world over the past ten years, I can say that the best training method for a company or a group of employees is very situational. I have experience conducting classroom style trainings and they can be very effective for high needs situations. I also have experience designing and implementing e-learning programs for my organization and this has been extremely beneficial for simple, yet necessary, trainings for a busy workforce. If hired for this position, I'll be able to assess the needs of my clients and work with them on creative and effective solutions that meet their training needs."

HLB Mann Judd works with clients on a daily basis to help improve their day to day processes as an organization and part of that improvement stems from training. Your role as a consultant with HLB Mann Judd can entail recommending and even facilitating training for staff and your interviewer is looking to gain insight into your thoughts and experiences with different methods of training. For your answer, be honest about your thoughts while also showing an open mind to considering other methods as well.

Do you have any experience in succession planning? If so, in what areas do you have specific experience?

"With my current organization, I was directly involved in the creation of the succession planning processes for many of our key positions and this process really opened my eyes for how to be successful in the future planning. The first key item to undertake was identifying the key positions that we wanted to have succession plans for. We identified these roles by determining which roles were vital to the success of the organization and which roles would deter future growth if left unfilled. Once key roles were identified, I worked with leaders of and incumbents in those roles to build the key competencies for those positions. With these inventories of competencies now in hand, I worked with our HR staff to build plans for internal succession of selected employees and I helped build succession training programs for specific individuals. With this role at HLB Mann Judd, I think my experience would work well with your clients in many different industries."

A key component to consulting services for leadership development is succession planning and for this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear what experience you have in this area and that you understand the key components to the succession planning process. If you have experience, be sure to highlight some examples and what role you played. If you don't have any direct experience in succession planning, be sure to research and be able to speak about the key components of the process.

"My experience in succession planning falls in working with specific roles that I supervised and helping to identify great candidates to begin working with Human Resources staff on training and planning for future roles. During these processes, I used both quantitatvie performance data and personal experiences with my employees in identifying the best candidates. In planning to prepare for a leadership consulting role, I feel like I would bring great experience and ability to other key aspects of the succession planning process for your clients because I have extensive knowledge of different management roles adn their importance in the overall success of businesses."

Would you say that you are a goal oriented person on the job? Why would you say that?

"If hired for this position, one of the first things that you'll learn about me is that I am very driven to succeed in all that I do on the job. For me, personal drive definitely centers around goals and my desire to achieve them. I have the focus to set goals myself and to work towards goals that are set by my organization, my leaders or my customers and I would bring this ability with each client that I work with here at HLB Mann Judd."

Success in business consulting is most often measured in the achievement of goals for clients and for this question, your interviewer will ideally be looking to hear that you are driven by goals and that you have the ability to set them as well. In your answer, give your interviewer the sense that you are goal oriented by giving an example or two of a time where you set and worked towards a goal as part of a team effort. Explain your part in the achievement of the goals and your ability to stay focused on the end result.

"I would definitely say that I am goal oriented in the work that I do on a daily basis. In project management, I work off of both time related goals and production related goals and these really drive my daily tasks and my delegation of responsibilities to other team members. If given the opportunity to come work for HLB Mann Judd, my clients would greatly benefit from my ability to both set and achieve goals with them."

In our world here at HLB Mann Judd, our clients rely on real world analytical data versus assumptions and guesswork. What analytical skills would you bring to the table here for our clients?

"Working as a Financial Manager over the past 10 years, I have become very experienced and thorough in my use of KPI's to demonstrate key areas like gross profit margin, liquidity ratio and days in accounts receivables. For the clients I'd be working with here at HLB Mann Judd, I'd be able to use real data from their organization to help provide solutions that are customized to their needs. On top of KPI analyses, I'm very willing and open to using any other unique tools of the trade that the team here at HLB Mann Judd uses."

In the business consulting world, an organization like HLB Mann Judd is contracted to come in and help a business where they have usually failed in the past. With past failures comes the need for critical analysis of a business and/or process and your job will be to help facilitate this process. Prior to your interview, think about your experiences in data analysis you've had so far up to this point in your career and translate those experiences to helping the clients of HLB Mann Judd. Be sure to talk about the importance of different programs you have used to assist in data analysis and talk about the importance of communication in the data collection process.

"Coming from a software background, being analytical about implementing new systems and processes was vital to receive buy-in from other department that I worked with and my analytical skills in my current world would translate nicely into the consulting world. I have always had a creative mind in demonstrating how new and improved systems can impact workflow and production. I am very proficient in creating and presenting wireframing models, which are extremely analytical and important in this world here at HLB Mann Judd."

How do you ensure accuracy and completeness in accounting records?

"In the world of accounting and bookkeeping, one small financial error on the data entry side of things can spin off an entire web of negative consequences. Because of this, I've always taken pride in being thorough in the integrity of data and the accuracy of final reports. To ensure accuracy, I use a systematic approach of first following all procedures and formats for data entry. Then, I use a thorough reconciliation process to verify information once entered. It is always important to rely on sound record keeping procedures for the reconciliation process. In this role, I fully understand that I'd be working with clients and relying on their prior ability to keep accurate records. I feel an important piece that I'd bring to the table here is educating clients on the importance and need for accuracy on the accounting end of their business."

For this question, pull from your experience working with accounting records to give your interviewer the sense that you understand why accurate records are important and how common mistakes occur. Talk about tools and tactics that you've used or would use to ensure that the numbers you'll be basing decision off of in this role and accurate and complete because your clients will rely on it.

"In today's digital world, I've trained on and worked with several of the large accounting software programs like Sage, GnuCash and QuickBooks. All modern programs have the sophistication of helping businesses organize their finances and accounting books and I would bring a great ability to train clients on the use of these programs. But, these programs are only as effective as the data going into the programs so data entry and data integrity are vital to end result. To ensure data integrity, each business needs a checklist of vital information that is unique to their situation and the checklist should include items like bank account balances, inventory, accounts receivable, loan payables and total assets. I've witnessed too many organizations miss critical components in their accounting processes and I'd be able to work effectively with the clients here at HLB Mann Judd to build their accounting inventories for future use."

In what ways would our clients here at HLB Mann Judd benefit from your knowledge and services?

"As you can see from my resume, I have extensive experience in risk management in the healthcare industry. Having worked with some major players in the industry, your healthcare clients would benefit the most from the experience and solutions I could help provide them. Not to leave other industries out, I think my experience in the healthcare realm will also translate nicely to your clients in other areas of the private sector."

This question is your chance to talk about the unique skills and knowledge that you would bring to HLB Mann Judd and that is exactly what your interviewer is looking to hear. In your answer, keep your focus centered on how clients of the organization will benefit from the things that you bring to their table because HLB Mann Judd is client focused in all that they do. To be effective with this answer, be sure to do your research on the clients at HLB Mann Judd and think about how your experience will be beneficial for them.

"Having worked in accounting and tax law in a few different industries during my career to this point, I also have the unique experience of creating new organizational policies and procedures in my current role. In hearing more about this role, I think this experience would be very beneficial for your clients as I would be helping advise them in their practices and creating new policy would be crucial in that process."

At HLB Mann Judd, we look to hire those who will be a long term fit. Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

"Ideally, 5 years from now, I would love to see myself growing into a more prominent leadership role within your organization. My career interests align very nicely with your company's goals which helps me to see a great long-term fit here."

It's impossible to know where you will be in 5 years but you need to assure the interviewer that, given all possible circumstances, you could see yourself as a long-term fit for the position at HLB Mann Judd.

"5 years from now, I would like to supervise or manage a team of my own with HLB Mann Judd. I feel like I am progressing in my career at a rate that will make this a possibility."

At HLB Mann Judd, you will have the opportunity to work with high level executives and leaders from the companies we contract with. What experience do you have in working with people at these levels?

"In my current role, I work directly under our Chief Financial Officer and sit on a couple of different committees that our Chief Executive Officer is on. Under the direction of my CFO, we have a great working relationship. I am comfortable approaching him at any moment with questions or to bring forward new ideas. He is aware of my strengths and respects my opinions on matters in my wheelhouse, so he never hesitates to come to me with important things. I think the keys to our strong relationship are the respect we show for each other and our open lines of communication."

As a business advisory and consulting firm, HLB Mann Judd works with Managers, Directors, CEO's, CFO's, CAO's and leaders with other titles on all of our projects. Your role will likely involve working closely with these leaders. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you are comfortable in working with the leadership team of the organization's clients by having you talk about your experience. Make sure that the examples you provide include some details on how you worked effectively to get the job done with the leaders you worked with.

"Throughout my career, I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with employees at all levels of the organizations that I've worked with. To me, working effectively with anyone requires a personal touch and a respectful approach. Whether I work with front line sales staff or members of the C-Suite, I take the time to get to know the person, their job and how I can best be of help to them in my role. This approach really helped me build a relationship with a Sales Executive that a few of my colleagues had struck out with in recent interactions."

If you are hired for this position here at HLB Mann Judd, what do you think the biggest hurdle for you would be from the start?

"As you can see from my resume, most of my career experience is in the food industry. If fortunate enough to be hired for this position, the biggest area for learning for me would be the finance side of other industries like technology, telecommunications and healthcare. From day one, I would begin by thoroughly research the clients here at HLB Mann Judd and speaking with as many industry experts that I know through business networking. While learning the ins and outs of other industries is the biggest learning curve for me, I see it as a great opportunity for me to become more proficient and effective in the work that I'd be doing for you."

For this question, you can showcase your research that you've done on both HLB Mann Judd and the role you are interviewing for by being upfront and honest about what you feel would be the biggest learning curve for you if hired for the position and giving your plan for how you would approach this hurdle. In your answer, make sure that you highlight your skills and abilities in making a molehill out of a mountain on your way to success in this role.

"While this may sound funny to you at first, I think the biggest challenge for me from the start will be adapting to the great corporate lifestyle and culture here at HLB Mann Judd. When I saw this position being open for applicants and I did my research, I was extremely excited to hear about the flexibility and openness to the ideas of your staff members. I've been working for six years in an environment that is very opposite of an open culture for new ideas and for me personally, it will feel foreign for me to bring new ideas to the team here and have them be accepted."

Talk about a time you had to work with a very difficult person. What was the situation and how did you handle it?

"In my current role, I have a customer that flies off the handle very easily if things don't happen just right and I learned this from my first interactions with him. In seeing this happen from the start, I have always maintained a calm demeanor when he was upset and showed empathy by asking questions about his expectations and how to fix situations for him. To this day, I expect difficulty from him when we work together and the years we've had a working relationship together have better prepared me for more clients like him in the future."

At some point in any person's career, they have to work with a colleague or customer who is extremely difficult. Rather than looking to hear the fine details as to why this person was difficult, your interviewer will be looking to gain insight into how you personally handled the situation and others like it to ensure that a sound relationship was fostered even when you faced difficult circumstances. In your answer, some key things to focus on are your ability to be tolerant, understanding and a great communicator in these situations.

"A couple of years ago, a close colleague of mine had a very abrupt turnaround in her attitude and performance on the job. She was very curt and abrasive in conversations when she was normally very talkative and friendly on the job. After noticing some concerns in her work, I approached her with an open mind and asked her what was going on to cause these things to change. I showed concern and approached her as a friend and this approach prompted her to tell me about some issues happening in her personal life. By taking this approach, rather than getting upset or even made with her, I showed her that I cared and valued her as a person and my approach helped her open up and turn her life at work back around to the positive side."

Talk about a time that you successfully educated another individual or group in your area of expertise. What made your educational experience effective?

"Probably the aspect that I love the most about my current job is being the lead for training new hires into our department. Because of my years of experience and my innate ability to effectively orientate new employees, my director asked me to take this duty about four years ago. My approach with any new hire is to customize their training based on their knowledge and experience so the training is effective for them. What works for one person may not work for another and I always need to be fluid with this. I also prioritize the need to make orientation and training a hands on experience for the new hire because classroom learning can only take a person so far in the learning process."

The role that you are interviewing for with HLB Mann Judd will likely involve providing education to clients in your area of expertise. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you are comfortable and effective in providing education by having you talk about a time that you have done so. In the example that you provide, try to point out some key items to making business education successful like developing a plan/goals, respecting differing viewpoints/opinions, making it hands on and making it fun.

"As you can see from my resume, I've spent the last seven years working in the corporate tax field. While in this job, I worked very independently for a private organization, so I've been out of the training and education side for a while now. During my first job out of college as a CPA though, I was very adept at providing education to the clients that I worked with on a daily basis. What I learned in that experience was the importance of putting material out there in a manner that the person being trained understood. As well, talking to clients and understanding my client's wants and needs were very important for me to be able to best educate them. I really believe that these skills would enable me to hit the ground running with HLB Mann Judd and your clients would benefit greatly."

Give an example of a finance project that you worked on during your career. What was the project, what role did you play on the project team and what was the outcome of the project?

"With my current organization, my Analyst role finds me working on some great projects and I'd love to bring that experience to the consulting world here at HLB Mann Judd. Recently, I lead a project that revamped my organization's forecasting out to ten years. Appointed as the lead on this project, my first task was to gather relevant team members from engineering, sales, production and leadership. From there, I spent a good amount of time and effort education the newly assemble project team on the importance of and the process for accurate forecasting. As the project concluded, we now have numbers forecasted out that far and it is helping our budgeting and planning immensely."

For this question, your interviewer is looking to find out a couple different things about you and your work style based on how you answer this question. First, they'll be looking to gauge your ability to work as part of a larger team. Make sure your example involved an aspect of teamwork. Next, they'll be looking to gain insight on your ability to manage a project from start to finish so make sure that you example provides a sense of that ability.

What roles are you comfortable assuming in working as part of a larger team?

"I am really comfortable working in any role within a team and I think my experiences throughout my career demonstrate this well. At many times in my career, I've been the legwork of team operations and have easily taken direction on projects and been able to hit pre-established deadlines. As well, I've lead many projects and have shown my ability to lead others in a team effort and the ability to delegate tasks and set milestones for projects. If hired for this position, you can be rest assured that I have the ability to be a key team players with your clients in helping better their business."

Coming to work for a consulting business requires the ability to work as part of a larger team on the projects you will be heading. Teamwork in this setting requires versatility and your interviewer will be looking to hear that you have that versatility in your answer to this question. Many times, you will be taking the bull by the horns and leading the way. Other times, you will be the worker bee researching behind the scenes. You may be tasked with being the organizer of projects behind the scenes as well. Make sure that you highlight your ability to be flexible when working as part of a team here.

"From a very young age in my career, I've always been a natural leader in a team based environment. My excellent communication skills, honesty, critical thinking and decision making skills have proven time and time again that I can lead others in the most effective way possible. And while being a leader comes naturally to me, I can easily let others take the lead on projects."

Change management is an important aspect of consulting our clients here at HLB Mann Judd. Have you participated in a change management process during your career?

"In my leadership role with my current organization, I have been part of an ongoing change process to optimize our staffing ratio to meet production needs. After being part of a careful analysis process and researching industry standards, we implemented a plan to heavily reduce our administrative staff while bolstering production staff and this was a huge change for our organization. My role in the implementation of the process was to gather data and put together a presentation for our Board and Senior Leadership. As well, I helped prepare both internal and external communications that went out regarding our upcoming changes. As things stand today, we have been in continuous review of new processes and things are going great! This involvement has helped prepare me for helping others manage significatn change in their business processes."

Due to many factors, change is inevitable adn unavoidable for businesses today. Because of this, HLB Mann Judd is often sought after to lead change management processes for their clients and the role that you are interviewing for will help facilitate this process with clients. Prior to your interview, think about particular change management processes that you have been a part of and be able to speak to your ability to lead others in making necessary business changes. Make sure to talk about the importance of having a vision, developing a plan and measuring progress as part of the overall change process.

How do you determine priorities when you have multiple projects due?

"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 under delivered on a deadline."

When you feel torn between multiple projects or tasks, how do you decide which one needs your attention the most? Assure the interviewer that you can be diligent when it comes to assessing your priorities.

"Assuming that the projects have different stakeholders, I interview each to determine the value of increased productivity, morale or revenue, decreased costs, and the overall impact."

How do you stay organized and on track when working on a long-term project?

"I really pride myself on my ability to multitask and my ability to stay organized in key in multitasking. For me personally, organization starts with using technology to my advantage and I do this through the use of my Outlook calendar and tasks functions. I take time each day to update my tasks and project work and use my ability to prioritize tasks to ensure that the right things are being worked on. In looking to bring these skills to long-term project work with your clients, staying organized and on task will be extremely important for the success of both HLB Mann Judd and your clients."

Working for HLB Mann Judd in the role you are interviewing for will require an innate ability to manage projects from conception to final implementation. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you have the ability to maintain organization to meet deadlines and customer expectations. Talk about your personal methods for organizing project work and give any examples that you have of your methods being successful. In the consulting and advisory industry, customer satisfaction and word of mouth are integral to success and growth of a business and effective project management is key in satisfaction.

"In my work, the ability to stay organized and on track comes down to having a plan of attack for each project and keeping track of the plan as milestones are hit. If you are familiar with the program Trello, it really helps me organize all of the components of the projects that I work on and give me the ability to track who is doing what, what deadlines are coming and what milestones have been hit. But even with a great program like this, I always have the ability to re-prioritize due dates and new tasks as needed with any project."

Being successful in consulting and working here at HLB Mann Judd requires the ability to work effectively with Type A personalities. What are your experiences in working with this personality and how did you make the relationships a success?

"For the last six years, I have worked under your prototypical type A personality as my director. Being a self admitted type B, being under my new director was difficult at first. For me to be successful under her and for our relationship to flourish, I learned quickly that she liked me to regularly communicate timelines for projects and give updates when necessary as she was very time driven. As well, small talk and getting to know me personally wasn't a priority so our communications to this day are pretty succinct and to the point. In this role, I would feel very comfortable with working with high level type A's because of my firsthand experience."

To first understand this question, it is important that you know that Type A personalities are exemplified by being competitive, motivated, organized and goal driven, among many other traits. These traits often lead to success in high level roles within organizations and your chances of working with this personality type are high. Think of a time you worked with a typical Type A personality and explain the methods you used to ensure that you had a sound and successful working relationship. Make sure that your interview walks away knowing that you can work effectively with difficultly driven individuals with high expectations.

"If you haven't been able to tell during my interview so far, I am a type A personality myself. My personality has helped me become very successful as a Financial Analyst. Having had formal training in the different personality types, I know that I need to take a meticulous approach when working with other type A personalities. My current team is loaded with type A's and regular communication is key in ensuring that expectations are clear and timelines are being met. If hired for this position, I would know my place in working with leaders from clients and I can easily be both cognizant of my approach and have the ability to put my desire to be in the lead aside with them when needed."

As a consultant with HLB Mann Judd, you will be relied upon to build trust with our clients as you work with them on financial stability and well-being. What would be your tactics to build trust from the start with a new client?

"In this role, I think it will be extremely important for me to demonstrate my value to my clients from the start and I would do this by using examples of prior successes and by projecting my knowledge in the financial world to them. By ensuring that they know I am a subject matter expert, they will be more willing to open up and be honest with me from the start and that is the only way we will be able to get places together in our client-consultant relationship. Moving forward from there, communication will be of utmost importance. I am a firm believer in regular updates on the progress of my work and I wouldn't hesitate to give updates to any of the key stakeholders that work for my clients."

This role with HLB Mann Judd will entail you working with clients and learning about their financial status as an organization. You'll work with high level leaders with your clients and a key component to them accepting and opening up to you as their consultant will be trust. Let your interviewer know that you understand the importance of building trust with their clients and talk about the little things that you'd do to build rapport and trust with the clients that you'd be working with. If you have an example of a trusting relationship you've built during your career, don't hesitate to talk about the relationship and why it was important.

"In the consultation world of finance, I think the key components to building rapport with clients would be a positive attitude and a genuine focus on their business. From the start with a new client, I would strive to know their business and put forth an effort to show that I am invested in their processes and successes just as much as an employee of the organization. This investment really suits my personality as I can only do a top-notch job if I am personally invested in a project."

Do you have any experience in 1:1 coaching of business leaders? If given the opportunity to coach leaders as a consultant here at HLB Mann Judd, what skills would you bring to the table?

"After obtaining my MBA, I embarked on a career path that involved organizational development and corporate training in the healthcare and manufacturing fields. During my time in the healthcare industry, I was an integral part in coaching high level leaders and did get the opportunity to do so on an individual basis. In my training and experience, I believe that the key component of individualized leadership training is that it is customized to each individual to suit their needs. I have extensive experience in evaluating skill sets and developing individualized training to work on critical leadership skills. Last year, I developed an individualized training for my organization's new Chief Nursing Officer that was centered around having difficult conversations with staff. The new leader was highly equipped with all of the great skills for the position, but lacked the ability and confidence in this necessary aspect of the job."

In looking to hire staff to work with the leaders of their clients, HLB Mann Judd may be considering candidates from many different backgrounds. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear if you have experience in working with and possibly coaching high level leaders in the business world. Talk openly about any experience that you have and, most importantly, talk about the unique skills that you would bring to the table if hired for this role at HLB Mann Judd.

"During my experience working with and training leaders in the manufacturing industry, I think I have a great knack for working with Type A personalities and really reaching them and their needs. I am skilled at creating desired challenges for them to help develop and hone their skills like I did a few years ago with a newly hired Chief Operating Officer that struggled with interpersonal skills. My key with him was setting challenging goals in between our meetings and the plan worked to perfection. If hired for this role here at HLB Mann Judd, this ability would be key with the leaders I would be working 1:1 with."

What knowledge do you have of differing leadership styles and how would you work effectively with each in this role?

"I have received training on working with the most common leadership styles in the sales industry: transformational leadership, transactional leadership, autocratic leadership, bureaucratic leadership and democratic leadership. I also fully understand the important characteristics and personality traits that leaders in each style display. I have some personal experience training an autocratic leader very closely on promoting teamwork within his department due to low morale. For this leader, it was important for me to personalize my approach by teaching him about his leadership style and what the pro's and con's both were. From there, my focus remained outward towards his team and their performance and how his approach could help impact that positively. Moving forward from our training, his team definitely felt a positive uptick in their morale and production."

People that work their way through the ranks of the business world and find themselves in high level positions can lead with many different styles. For this question, be sure to do your research on the differing leadership styles and be able to speak about specific times you have worked with leaders with that style or how you would effectively work with each style. Make sure to speak to the importance of differing leadership styles equating to the need for an individualized approach to training leaders.

"Having worked with leaders all across my current organization, I quickly came to realize that every leader works in and is motivated by their own unique set of circumstances. And because of those facts, it is important for me to take a personalized approach to training. I've worked with leaders that had a hard time delegating work and ruled with more of an iron fist than most others. For these leaders, a direct approach from myself as the trainer was required and a focus on the importance of teamwork and recognition were important. I've also worked with leaders on the opposite end of that spectrum that approached leadership from a very hands off perspective and were successful more on the administrative side of their roles. With these leaders, I had success in approaching training with an emphasis on establishing standards and procedures for their department and promoting their involvement with their team. I think my versatility in working with every leadership style would be an advantage here at HLB Mann Judd."

What tools and programs are you comfortable and experienced working on that would help you in this role with HLB Mann Judd?

"As a proficient user and fan of the Microsoft Office Suite, I am very proficient using all of the pieces of the suite. I rely on Outlook for email communications, calendar appointments and managing daily and weekly tasks. I regularly use the Visio tool for diagramming and Excel for tracking purposes. In preparation for this interview, I've been researching common requirements management tools like Rational Requisite Pro and I feel confident in my technical abilities to learn and utilize a new business analyst program."

As business technology has increased over time, the business analytics field has flourished with great tools becoming more easily available. Your interviewer is looking to get a sense of what programs you have familiarity working with and, on top of that, how fluent and efficient you are in using those tools. Be sure to touch on programs/tools that touch effective communication, project management and modelling/visualization and highlight the fact that you are proficient in and open to learning new programs if needed.

"As a trained IT professional looking to breakthrough into the analytics field, you can be assured that I have a wide breadth of experience working with many different programs and tools. On top of the normal Microsoft Office programs, I've worked on email programs like Zimbra and Mailbird for communications and am comfortable learning any new system. I think one unique aspect I can bring to HLB Mann Judd is my experience working with SQL database management and queries."

In this role with HLB Mann Judd, how would you evaluate a new client's financial position?

"If I were assigned a new client in this role, the first logical step would be to analyze their current financial performance to see where initial improvements and/or work would need to be done. My first goal would be to meet with key leaders and finance staff for both fact finding on my end and for me to explain my processes as the consultant. This process would also help build rapport with those that I will be working with. From there, my approach would be to review the company's balance sheet. Here, I could get detail on the assets and liabilities of the company and be able to calculate their current ratio. From there, a solid plan of action can be outlined."

This questions gives you the opportunity to both show some of your experience and knowledge in the field while also showing that you may be able to bring a creative approach to working with new clients. Talk about your personal experiences in evaluating financial situations for organizations you have worked for and be upfront about what you have experience doing and what you haven't been a part of in the larger grand scheme of things. Give your answer a personal touch by talking about the key stakeholders you'd have to work with at the client and how you'd go about building trust with them.

"From my experience, there are some key measures that are critical in measuring an organization's financial health. First off would be liquidity to measure the organization's ability to handle short-term debt. If an organization isn't financially sound in the short-term, they can't possibly be in the long-term. If things check out on that end, the next important pieces to gauging financial health for an organization would be to look at and measure their operating efficiency and profitability to ensure that they are built for the long haul. As you can see from my experience, I'd bring a strong ability to work with the clients here at HLB Mann Judd in these areas."

What two to three traits do you have that will lead to success in a consulting role with HLB Mann Judd?

"To be honest, one of my motivations to branch out and seek a position in the business consulting world is my desire to work with others. My ability to relate to people and build strong relationships has been emphasized throughout my career to this point, but I don't get enough of that interaction in the private business world right now. If hired for this position, your clients here at HLB Mann Judd will not only benefit from my skills as a Financial Analyst, but also through the relationships we build and my ability to relate quickly with them."

Your interviewer will be able to gain a very solid sense of your technical abilities as a financial advisor in the consulting world based off of your work history. What they are trying to dig deeper into with this question are your interpersonal skills and personality traits that will make you trusted, respected and effective with clients of their organization. Prior to your interviewer, be prepared to speak to your abilities in communicating effectively, relationship building and any other personality traits you feel make you the right fit for this job.

"As you can see from my resume, I bring a strong breadth on knowledge and experience in the accounting and finance fields. But what I really think will set me apart from other candidates you are interviewing are my work ethic, my wide range of experiences in the field and my ability to take an empathetic approach with clients. I'm a very motivated person in the work that I perform and I'd love to bring this motivation here to HLB Mann Judd to help your clients. On top of that, I know I will be working with some clients that are facing financial hardship and my ability to show empathy and put myself in the client's shoes would be very beneficial to them."

HLB Mann Judd Interview Questions

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1. Working with our clients here at HLB Mann Judd often involves some initial conflict with our clients. How would you rate your ability to handle conflict or disagreements in the workplace?
2. Rate your communication skills from 1-10 with proper examples backing your given rating.
3. Due to the nature of HLB Mann Judd business and services we may ask that you complete a full background check. Are you willing to comply?
4. At HLB Mann Judd we provide services to a wide range of businesses. Which industry or business type do you have the most experience with?
5. We value accountability at HLB Mann Judd. If a customer sent a formal complaint about an interaction with you, how would you handle it?
6. What have you found to be the most effective methods for training workers? Are there any you've found to be very ineffective?
7. Do you have any experience in succession planning? If so, in what areas do you have specific experience?
8. Would you say that you are a goal oriented person on the job? Why would you say that?
9. In our world here at HLB Mann Judd, our clients rely on real world analytical data versus assumptions and guesswork. What analytical skills would you bring to the table here for our clients?
10. How do you ensure accuracy and completeness in accounting records?
11. In what ways would our clients here at HLB Mann Judd benefit from your knowledge and services?
12. At HLB Mann Judd, we look to hire those who will be a long term fit. Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
13. At HLB Mann Judd, you will have the opportunity to work with high level executives and leaders from the companies we contract with. What experience do you have in working with people at these levels?
14. If you are hired for this position here at HLB Mann Judd, what do you think the biggest hurdle for you would be from the start?
15. Talk about a time you had to work with a very difficult person. What was the situation and how did you handle it?
16. Talk about a time that you successfully educated another individual or group in your area of expertise. What made your educational experience effective?
17. Give an example of a finance project that you worked on during your career. What was the project, what role did you play on the project team and what was the outcome of the project?
18. What roles are you comfortable assuming in working as part of a larger team?
19. Change management is an important aspect of consulting our clients here at HLB Mann Judd. Have you participated in a change management process during your career?
20. How do you determine priorities when you have multiple projects due?
21. How do you stay organized and on track when working on a long-term project?
22. Being successful in consulting and working here at HLB Mann Judd requires the ability to work effectively with Type A personalities. What are your experiences in working with this personality and how did you make the relationships a success?
23. As a consultant with HLB Mann Judd, you will be relied upon to build trust with our clients as you work with them on financial stability and well-being. What would be your tactics to build trust from the start with a new client?
24. Do you have any experience in 1:1 coaching of business leaders? If given the opportunity to coach leaders as a consultant here at HLB Mann Judd, what skills would you bring to the table?
25. What knowledge do you have of differing leadership styles and how would you work effectively with each in this role?
26. What tools and programs are you comfortable and experienced working on that would help you in this role with HLB Mann Judd?
27. In this role with HLB Mann Judd, how would you evaluate a new client's financial position?
28. What two to three traits do you have that will lead to success in a consulting role with HLB Mann Judd?

HLB Mann Judd Interview Questions

1. Working with our clients here at HLB Mann Judd often involves some initial conflict with our clients. How would you rate your ability to handle conflict or disagreements in the workplace?

2. Rate your communication skills from 1-10 with proper examples backing your given rating.

3. Due to the nature of HLB Mann Judd business and services we may ask that you complete a full background check. Are you willing to comply?

4. At HLB Mann Judd we provide services to a wide range of businesses. Which industry or business type do you have the most experience with?

5. We value accountability at HLB Mann Judd. If a customer sent a formal complaint about an interaction with you, how would you handle it?

6. What have you found to be the most effective methods for training workers? Are there any you've found to be very ineffective?

7. Do you have any experience in succession planning? If so, in what areas do you have specific experience?

8. Would you say that you are a goal oriented person on the job? Why would you say that?

9. In our world here at HLB Mann Judd, our clients rely on real world analytical data versus assumptions and guesswork. What analytical skills would you bring to the table here for our clients?

10. How do you ensure accuracy and completeness in accounting records?

11. In what ways would our clients here at HLB Mann Judd benefit from your knowledge and services?

12. At HLB Mann Judd, we look to hire those who will be a long term fit. Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

13. At HLB Mann Judd, you will have the opportunity to work with high level executives and leaders from the companies we contract with. What experience do you have in working with people at these levels?

14. If you are hired for this position here at HLB Mann Judd, what do you think the biggest hurdle for you would be from the start?

15. Talk about a time you had to work with a very difficult person. What was the situation and how did you handle it?

16. Talk about a time that you successfully educated another individual or group in your area of expertise. What made your educational experience effective?

17. Give an example of a finance project that you worked on during your career. What was the project, what role did you play on the project team and what was the outcome of the project?

18. What roles are you comfortable assuming in working as part of a larger team?

19. Change management is an important aspect of consulting our clients here at HLB Mann Judd. Have you participated in a change management process during your career?

20. How do you determine priorities when you have multiple projects due?

21. How do you stay organized and on track when working on a long-term project?

22. Being successful in consulting and working here at HLB Mann Judd requires the ability to work effectively with Type A personalities. What are your experiences in working with this personality and how did you make the relationships a success?

23. As a consultant with HLB Mann Judd, you will be relied upon to build trust with our clients as you work with them on financial stability and well-being. What would be your tactics to build trust from the start with a new client?

24. Do you have any experience in 1:1 coaching of business leaders? If given the opportunity to coach leaders as a consultant here at HLB Mann Judd, what skills would you bring to the table?

25. What knowledge do you have of differing leadership styles and how would you work effectively with each in this role?

26. What tools and programs are you comfortable and experienced working on that would help you in this role with HLB Mann Judd?

27. In this role with HLB Mann Judd, how would you evaluate a new client's financial position?

28. What two to three traits do you have that will lead to success in a consulting role with HLB Mann Judd?