How do you respond when you do not have enough time to complete a project?
Most organizations want to hire employees who do not make excuses and can complete projects on time, and Kaiser Permanente is no different. While some projects will run past the deadline due to no fault of your own, you want to assure the interviewer that you will prioritize, delegate, and communicate with team members to help keep projects on track. The interviewer asks this question to gain insight into your communication, time management, leadership, and problem-solving skills. If it is inevitable that a project will go past the deadline, describe how you communicate this to managers and shareholders.
"When faced with a project that has a tight deadline, I prioritize the most important tasks and focus on completing those first. I would communicate with my team and stakeholders to ensure everyone knows the timeline and the tasks that must be completed. I would also look for ways to streamline the project or delegate tasks to ensure we meet the deadline. It is important to stay organized and focused during these situations and to be willing to adjust priorities if necessary. Ultimately, my goal would be to ensure we deliver a quality project on time, even if it means putting in extra effort or working longer hours. I pride myself on meeting or beating deadlines, so not completing the project on time is out of the question for me."
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
Luckily this has never happened to me. If I was ever to be in this situation, I would not make excuses for myself. I would analyze where I went wrong, what took my time away from completing my project, what was more important than this project, and how I responded to the person I needed to respond to. I would be honest and not make excuses.
Jaymie's Feedback
Good job! Consider adding an element of communication to your response as well. For example, if you fell behind, you could reach out to your manager to update them or work with a team member who had the capacity to assist you so that all patients were cared for properly.
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