How did you suggest changes in your most recent company?
This interview question focuses on your communication skills, professionalism, and scope of the big picture. Before suggesting changes to a company, a professional should know what they hope to change. They should determine whether someone else has already volunteered their suggestion and the reasons for not implementing such change. They should have a full scope of the big picture, ensuring they communicate free of presumption, most professionally.
"At my previous company, my drive to improve myself professionally led to a change being implemented across the entire workplace. At first, they did not allow for much employee feedback or input, so I focused on improving my performance. I took many weekend workshops on various topics such as Excel, Communication in the Workplace, The Art of Negotiations, and some human resource courses as well. My boss noticed an improvement in my performance, so I formally suggested that the company pay for every employee to take one course per year. They agreed and implemented my suggestion. I believe it's easier to 'do' rather than 'tell.' My example of performance improvement was what they needed to make some changes."
Think about times you saw room for improvement in the workplace and acted as a positive change agent. Explain in detail how you approached the situation and communicated your suggestion. As they state on their site, "At NAV CANADA, rigorous and unambiguous terminology helps ensure clear communication, which plays an important role in safety." Consider this when answering this question.
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
Recently I've reorganized how our company tracks and schedules the maintenance of our equipment so that we have a clear idea of what maintenance is ongoing, what still needs to be scheduled as well as a backlog of solutions on how to fix specific problems with different equipment. I saw how disorganized our maintenance log was and took it upon myself to set up a more organized and competent system.
Marcie's Feedback
Nice! The interviewer will be pleased to hear that you're the type of person who takes the initiative. Can you give more details about how exactly you reorganized the schedules? Did you create any new processes or procedures? Did you implement any new tools? In the end, did your changes help the company? (Try to include a quantifiable statistic proving the effect your changes had, if possible.) Great job!
Anonymous Answer
When I noticed something that could be done a little more efficiently, I would approach my manager and respectfully acknowledge the work that had been done so far and suggest the changes that I would like to make and why I would like to make them. I would also ask if these changes had been explored before.
Jaymie's Feedback
Great! It's always important to bring a process improvement opportunity to light but also be prepared to be a part of the solution.
Anonymous Answer
Any changes I would suggest in my most recent company I would bring up in a positive way, how it would benefit the company.
Marcie's Feedback
If you don't have any professional examples to cite here, can you think of one from school that you can discuss? Was there a time during a project when you came up with a good way to do things? Discuss an instance when you thought of a way to improve things and then made it happen. Nice job!
Unlock all 35 NAV CANADA questions
Unlock expert responses for aviation safety and air navigation service interviews.
Get Started