INTERVIEW COACH
Rachelle Enns
Rachelle is a job search expert, career coach, and headhunter who helps everyone from students to fortune 500 executives find success in their career.
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Interview Q&As
Interview Q&As
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Behavioral
Common
Phone
Tough
Leadership
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Tell me about a time when you were in danger of missing a deadline. What did you do?
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TOP ANSWERS
OUR COACH SAYS
The interviewer wants to see how well you work under pressure. Choose a situation that is simple to explain. Focus your response on the actions that you took to turn the situation around. Be sure to highlight the positive result that you were able to deliver in the end.
Behavioral-based interview questions that begin with 'Tell me about a time...' are best answered using the STAR method. STAR is an acronym for Situation, Task, Action, Result. Organizing your response using this framework will ensure that you provide the interviewer with the right amount of information and detail to form a compelling answer.
Behavioral-based interview questions that begin with 'Tell me about a time...' are best answered using the STAR method. STAR is an acronym for Situation, Task, Action, Result. Organizing your response using this framework will ensure that you provide the interviewer with the right amount of information and detail to form a compelling answer.
Example #1
" (Situation) Last month, our corporate head office requested a full inventory count at random. We had just 48 hours to complete this count when these inventory counts typically take three full days to complete. (Task) I am the team lead, so it was up to me to determine how the team was going to make this happen. (Action) I rescheduled us to work longer split shifts to ensure we met the timeline without overworking anyone. I turned the task into a competition where the first person to complete their inventory section received two free movie tickets. (Result) My plan worked well! We finished the inventory count in just 39 hours, and the team remained motivated."
Example #2
"(Situation) My team and I were recently under a deadline to complete a global employee satisfaction survey. (Task) Our deadline was to execute the project from start to finish within six weeks. Before beginning, we came across one main roadblock that was going to prevent us from accomplishing this. Global customs would take six weeks to ship the surveys in and out of the facility. (Action) We came up with a solution to email the surveys and still include the coding that would catalog the results by location and department. (Result) It was our transparency in communications and collaborative work environment that helped us meet the deadline and deliver the results to the leadership team."
Example #3
"(Situation) This past year my Regional Manager wanted to have a new sales rep hired and trained for the first week of January. (Task) She informed me of this only on the first of December. (Action) To expedite the process, I requested a budget allowance to hire a recruiter. (Result) The recruiter worked fast, and we had an offer out to the perfect candidate in just three weeks."
Example #4
"(Situation) I was once part of a marketing project that had a major set back based on the crash of our project management software. (Task) As the Marketing Manager, it was up to me to find the solution so that our team did not lose traction on our deadline. (Action) I went to the project backup database, quickly reviewed everyone's open tasks, rearranged the schedule, and called an emergency team meeting to set us back on course. (Result) We barely made it in time, but we did, and I was very proud of the hard work my team put in to make it happen."
Example #5
"(Situation) Recently, I was called into work at the last minute to help complete a buying deadline. (Task) Our previous manager had left suddenly, so I was asked to step in and make buying recommendations for next season. (Action) I stayed up for hours that night reviewing last year's data for the same season, to make educated recommendations to corporate. (Result) In the end, the company made many of their buying decision based on my recommendations. I was so nervous throughout the entire season that I may have made an inaccurate representation of our data and put my job at risk. As it turned out, I was pretty near dead-on, and we had a successful summer season."
Example #6
"(Situation) I currently work as a telephone sales representative in a highly competitive environment. I recently had a chaotic week where Monday was a holiday, and on Tuesday, our company database was down. (Task) Tasked with cold calling 100 prospects per day, my numbers do not change despite long weekends or tech roadblocks. This setback meant that I needed to complete five days of work in just three. (Action) I spent a few hours of overtime and skipped my lunch breaks so that I would meet my target. I called 150 people per day and 200 on the final day. (Result) My boss was thrilled with the dedication that I showed and thanked me for not making excuses and hitting my targets despite the roadblocks."
Example #7
"(Situation) Last year, during curriculum writing, we had some conflict about what lessons would be added, cut, or kept. Because of this conflict, our faculty fell behind on the curriculum deadline. (Task) Of course, as a dedicated teacher, my students and their learning always come first. I knew I needed to hustle to reach these curriculum goals before the start of the year. (Action) Ultimately, I ended up working longer hours than usual to make my final recommendations and revisions. (Result) In the end, I was able to reach my professional deadlines. I believe that my passion showed in the inspired curriculum changes I contributed."
Example #8
"A common deadline that I have is to get our contact order out every Monday afternoon. There are times that our Monday's are quite hectic so I make a point to set aside 1 hour to get our orders out. I've also made a point to train each of our opticians to submit the contact order so we can cover each other if the other is busy or not at work."
Example #9
"I frequently work on tight deadlines, which I throughly enjoy. To make sure I meet them, I anticipate and identify the most pressing project and use to-do lists and a calendar to keep track of all upcoming duties and important events. I review my list every morning and at the end of each day to ensure the duties assigned were completed in a successful fashion. I also do not hesitate to work overtime or delegate if necessary."
Example #10
"I always meet deadlines because I am extremely organized and do not wait at the last minute to get started on projects. I use lists and calendar reminders to ensure I do not forget anything and I review these lists daily."
Example #11
"I find I do some of my best work under pressure because I am able to focus on the topic at hand instead of worrying about the other work I have for the rest of the day. I found that taking my day assignment by assignment makes it go by faster, and keeps me relaxed."
Example #12
"I have experience submitting stories under a tight deadline, and my quality of work remains the same regardless of whether or not I am crunched for time."
Example #13
"There have been many times I have only had one single work day to complete a video story for television. Although there are so many aspects of the job to complete, including posting to social media, I consistently produce creative writing and good quality video, and I get better every time."
Anonymous Answer
"We currently have goals of 25 insights a week, which I have broken down to 5 a day, so it’s not so overwhelming. My manager one week upped ours to 35, which kind of threw my smaller goal system off. This needed to be completed by Friday night. I was behind because I was used to my five a day. I set myself up a tracking system on excel and tracked my progress. I did end up meeting this goal."
Rachelle's Reply
This answer shows your ability to adjust while also keeping yourself accountable and on track. Nicely done!
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Anonymous Answer
"I don't like to miss deadlines because I take it very personally, and everyone I've ever worked with understands this about me. I find that if I am in danger of missing a deadline, it's best to make everyone aware ahead of time while also working like crazy to avoid being tardy. Sometimes there is just no way around it, and in my experience, having a talk with my team leader and explaining the situation helps with the pressure because they know my work ethic."
Rachelle's Reply
The interviewer should be happy to hear that you communicate potential hiccups to your team leader, right away.
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Anonymous Answer
"We had a phone migration for the building of 200+ phones across the building that had to be setup to go to a different phone server and all had to manually be rebooted. We ran into an issue with the new server not accepting the phones. We ended up having to delete the old cluster off the server so that it could register on the new server. We were in danger of having employees come in the next day without phones. I stayed until a little past 2 in the morning to finish the phones up."
Kristine's Reply
Great response! You describe an intense situation where you stepped up to make sure you met the deadline. To help the interviewer understand the urgency of the task, you can discuss the tight timeframe you had to complete the project. I revised your response slightly to help with clarity.
Kristine's Reply
"We had a phone migration assignment for a building with 200 phones. All phones had to be set up to go to a different phone server and had to be rebooted manually. We ran into an issue with the new server not accepting the phones. We ended up having to delete the old cluster off the server so that it could register on the new server. We were in danger of having employees come in the next day without phones. I stayed until a little past 2 in the morning to finish the phone migration."
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Anonymous Answer
"I was working on a large bid for a buying group. This required extensive work with different departments, such as pricing, regulatory, and procurement. Just my luck, the head of pricing was on vacation until the day before the bid was due. If I missed the deadline, I would have lost not only the bid but possibly any chance of working with them again. I received the pricing breakdown at 3 pm the day before the deadline. I worked on the presentation and bid all night, I might have gotten a few hours sleep, but it paid off because I got it done on time."
Rachelle's Reply
This is a wonderful example of applying yourself to reach a very difficult deadline. Did you win the bid in the end? :)
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Anonymous Answer
"As we were undertaking our offshore restructuring process, the managing director had given us a timeline on the share transfer process. This meant that we had to pay stamp duty and capital gains tax. We took a risk of applying for Stamp duty exemption. Assessment of the exemption is known to take a long time, but I cleared my diary, spent the day at the registry. We got the S. D exemption and saved the company 13 million and managed to finish the task on time."
Rachelle's Reply
It sounds like you gained an exceptional result in the end, after taking some smart steps. Good work!
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Anonymous Answer
"A deadline I was near to miss once was in my current role as test coordinator needed to test all the scenarios to a certain deadline, but because of all the dependencies, I was afraid that I will not manage to test everything to the deadline. My actions were then to push all the people a little bit more I was delivering the test data for us, by saying it is urgent for us and push them to a fast reply. If they don't reply fast, find other communication methods that got them to understand that is urgent, for example instead of emailing or texting, call them or go to them and speak with them in person. The result was really good because many of the stakeholders understood the urgent matter for us and prioritize us much higher."
Rachelle's Reply
Try to soften your answer a touch, to avoid sounding domineering in the workplace (ie: push all the people; get them to understand...)
Rachelle's Reply
"While working as a test coordinator, I often needed to push important deadlines. I remember one specific time where I had to nudge my co-workers a little harder to deliver test data on time. I called, emailed, or went to speak with the team members involved, ensuring that the answers I needed were provided promptly. I delivered the project on time, and the stakeholders were happy with our teams' prioritization."
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Anonymous Answer
"There was a time when we proposed a new program to the authority for approval. The accreditation time was longer than we had expected and when it was finally approved we had only limited time for getting the courses set up in the system for enrollment in the scheduled term. I approached my supervisor that I am willing to take extra workload to support my academic leader as well as work overtime to complete the project on time. My supervisor commended my work ethic and gave me time in lieu of the extra time I spent on the work."
Rachelle's Reply
It's great that you used a specific example when your supervisor rewarded you for your dedication. Perfect response!
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Anonymous Answer
"I am very responsible, and I take my work seriously. To my best knowledge, I have never missed a deadline at work. I always make sure I complete my work way before the deadline, so I still have enough time to cross-check my submission for any adjustment which might need so immediate action can be taken. If it ever happens, I will make sure I speak to my manager as soon as I can to get assistance so that nothing will impact the business negatively."
Rachelle's Reply
You sound highly reliable and organized. Well said!
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Anonymous Answer
"Due to family emergencies, one of our system administrators went on an extended leave. I was running a project to replace the old and outdated authentication server. Since the server was catering to authentication in the lab, I had already aligned OEMs to come onsite and do the integration. We immediately looped in a local workforce sourcing company and have somebody for a temporary duration. Since in my area, there are few govt agencies hiring system administrators, so there was a shortage of people. We managed to get the resource on board, but the overall project got delayed by three days."
Rachelle's Reply
Leaning on temporary resources is an excellent way to bring in help. Your answer shows a lot of thought but also a humbleness when it comes to bringing in outside resources to meet your goals.
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Anonymous Answer
"I was given a deadline to complete some month-end closing entries on short notice because a Co-worker was sick. I believed I could handle the month-end closing entries in addition to my regular duties, but I miscalculated how long it would take me to complete both. The morning the month-end closing entries were due, I realized I would not make it in time and contacted my boss to explain the situation. I apologized, told what happened, and asked for an extension, which he granted. I learned that I need to be honest with myself about the workload I can handle each day. I also learned that when accepting additional assignments, I need to include a time buffer to ensure that even if unforeseen events arise, I can meet deadlines."
Rachelle's Reply
It sounds as though you learned a very important lesson in this instance. It's great that you were willing to take on your co-workers' work to be helpful.
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Anonymous Answer
"It was my first time ever doing a journal club for one of my rotations. My preceptor had reviewed the first draft and I needed to make a lot of revisions. On top of that, I had to complete other daily assignments. I decided to make a list and prioritize my tasks based on importance and how much time it will take me. I was able to finish making the revisions in time for my presentation."
Rachelle's Reply
Great answer!
Rachelle's Reply
"It was my first time completing a journal club for one of my rotations. My preceptor had reviewed the first draft, and I needed to make a lot of revisions. On top of that, I had to complete other daily assignments. I decided to make a list of all my tasks and prioritize my jobs based on importance and how much time they would take to complete. I was able to finish the revisions in time for my presentation."
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Anonymous Answer
"I recall a time we had a staff shortage due to recruitment freeze by management. The team of auditors assigned to a high risk location in PH was inadequate. The audit was to take place for a week. Although the team worked fast enough to finish ahead of audit timeline, a major fraud discovered ensure that the audit timeline had to be extended."
Kristine's Reply
Good answer! To enhance your response, you can put more of a focus on your actions and what you did to make sure you didn't miss the deadline. I assisted with wording to feature you more prominently, but you can tailor to reflect your experience. The interviewer may not know what "PH" means, so go ahead and say the words in full.
Kristine's Reply
"I recall a time we had a staff shortage due to recruitment freeze by management. I was on a team of auditors assigned to a high-risk location in PH. We were given one week for the audit, and the number of team members we had was inadequate. To help my team meet our deadline, I... Although my team worked fast enough to finish ahead of the audit timeline, we discovered a major fraud, forcing the audit timeline to be extended."
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Anonymous Answer
"We had a program that we needed to implement that we were falling behind on. We were getting notifications from the corporate office that we needed to sign up more people to boost our ratings.
Since I worked at other stores, I observed what they did and how they sold the program to people. I suggested that we let our customers know this and we put together a flyer and put it in everyone's bag for people not yet on the program.
As a result of the improved marketing of the program, we were soon able to get caught up and were right on schedule with the total number of patients on the program."
Rachelle's Reply
Excellent thinking, and a very proactive solution. Very good answer!
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Anonymous Answer
"I was preparing a report and realized that there were some gaps in the database and that the gathering of data would take much more time than expected. What I did, I reviewed my daily schedule, prioritizing this task over the others. At the same time, I informed my supervisor of my progress and the setbacks, so that she can assess the additional workload and foresee a new deadline."
Rachelle's Reply
Your chain of action is perfect! You first assessed, then calculated the time you needed, while keeping your supervisor in the loop.
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Anonymous Answer
"According to CMS, we need to locate and score a member within a short time. One day, I received a list of 200 new enrollees. The list may be made in two days. I sorted the member within my team, ten community health workers, and at the end of the day, we were done. The next day I review the plan of care, and we turned it on time."
Alexandra's Reply
Great answer! I really like that you describe the action you took in delegating tasks to team members. I would suggest adding in some information to display how difficult the task was.
Alexandra's Reply
"According to CMS, we need to locate and score members within a very short time. One day, I received a list of 200 new enrollees. I had 2 days to complete the task. I knew immediately that the deadline was at risk, because usually I can complete about 10 enrollees a day. To solve this issue, I split the 200 enrollees between 10 team members. By delegating this task to a team of people rather than trying to get it all done myself, we were able to meet the deadline. Before turning it in, I reviewed the plan of care to ensure consistency, and then I submitted it on time."
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Anonymous Answer
"I was assigned a partner in nursing school for a Mental Health project. We had a deadline. I had my half of the project completed, but when I contacted my partner, she had had a family emergency and couldn't do her half of the assignment that weekend. She lived an hour from me, so I drove to her home, and we spent most of the night completing the project together. Thankfully we finished on time."
Rachelle's Reply
Thanks to you, you finished on time! This is certainly an example of going above and beyond to meet the expectations in front of you.
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More Interview Q&As
Explore expert tips and resources to be more confident in your next interview.
Behavioral
Common
Phone
Tough
Leadership
All Interview Topics
All Career Q&As
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