Public Works Mock Interview
Master 30 Public Works interview questions covering infrastructure, citizen service, and municipal operations.
Question 19 of 30
How difficult is multi-tasking for you in situations where priorities shift frequently?
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Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
"I know my limits, and I've never been effective in working at multiple things simultaneously. I need to dedicate my attention to one or the other. But I am adept at transitioning from one task to the next, and then back again. I have several little tricks I employ to make sure I don't lose track of my progress on any one thing as well. This comes in especially handy, considering that I answer to two supervisors in two different departments."
Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
For most people, multitasking doesn't come naturally, and that is not really what this question is about. The true aim of this question is how effectively you can retain your productivity while not losing track of the progress you've made when forced to reprioritize. In situations where priorities shift, and a person has to stop what they are working on to address a larger concern, it can be difficult to pick up where one left off. For many, this results in rework, and lost time. So this question has less to do with how many tasks you can perform at the same time, and more to do with what systems and processes you practice to maintain your level of productivity.
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