"During my career as a Materials Manager in several industries, I've had to partner with many customers to help develop excellent relationships to help my organizations find great solutions and pricing on goods. Five years ago, I entered the healthcare world of Materials Management, and right away, I began evaluating suppliers of some products that hadn't been evaluated in years. Based on research and input from department leaders, I began working on researching new suppliers for cleaning supplies around our facilities. My research showed that we were paying too high prices for our supplies. In contacting several competitors, I worked with sales staff from three suppliers in the end. On my end, talking about our needs and budgets to help negotiate was critical in helping my organization find the best products at the right price. My ability to be knowledgeable and to work with an internal team helped my ability to work with external clients through the decision process."

"Having only worked as an MLT in a large healthcare organization, I haven't had to work with external providers through this point in my career. But, I think my experience in a large organization would translate well to LifeLabs. My current lab setting is centrally located at our largest hospital, and I work on samples from many remotely located labs and hospitals. Conversations with providers often happen over the phone or through instant messaging versus in-person meetings. With these providers, I use effective and timely communication skills to build trust with them, and I think this ability would work well with the providers I would potentially work with at LifeLabs. What can you explain about the MLTs working with external providers here?"

Now is a great time to talk about your ability to collaborate with others and be a team player. The interviewer wants to hear that you have the interpersonal, leadership, and communication skills to work with others effectively.