ICON plc Mock Interview
Practice 35 ICON plc interview questions covering clinical trials, regulatory knowledge, and global pharmaceutical operations.
Question 23 of 35
How do you determine priorities when you have multiple deadlines approaching and other tasks to do?
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Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
If asked this question during your interview with ICON plc, your role there will involve multitasking many projects and client priorities at one time. Your interviewer needs to be assured that you would come to their team with the ability to prioritize with ease and not miss any important tasks.
Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
"I will determine which project requires my attention by the number of hours we are behind and then by 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, and you can be assured that I would never underdeliver here at ICON plc."
Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
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 ICON plc!
Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
Think about what you do when you feel torn between multiple projects or tasks and explain how you decide which one needs your attention the most. To really impress your interviewer, discuss the methods that you utilize to stay on top of your work and assure them that you can be diligent when it comes to assessing your priorities.
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Anonymous Answer
In my experience, I've found it helpful to make a list of my tasks and organize them based on urgency and the estimated time it takes me to complete them. If two tasks have the same urgency level but different estimated times, I personally like to complete the quicker task first so that it is out of the way and I can focus 100% on the task that will take me longer to do. I find that my coworkers are grateful that at least one task is completed in these situations.
Amanda's Feedback
Excellent! You have a system that works, makes sense, and is easy to understand. You've also explained the benefits of working this way.
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