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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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How would you describe your work ethic?
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OUR COACH SAYS
When the interviewer asks about your work ethic, they are looking for specific wording to which they can relate. When you read the company job, posting, or job description, do they refer to particular company ethics? Talk about the company's values and how those align well with your work values.
To solidify your answer, consider adding in a story example that showcases these qualities in action.
To solidify your answer, consider adding in a story example that showcases these qualities in action.
Example #1
"I am a very dedicated and loyal employee. I saw on the company website that value those who are honest, transparent, and go the extra mile for clients. My work ethic is the same. I am honest, flexible, and ready to work hard for my employer every day. For instance, in my current role, I am often the last to leave because I am committed to returning every clients' voicemail and email before I leave for the day."
Example #2
"I am very proud of my reputation as a reliable Executive Assistant. I base my work ethic on being reliable, honest, and consistent. Just last week, I found a discrepancy in my pay that I alerted our payroll department to right away. I know that this instance would have gone unnoticed; however, it would never sit well with me to act in a way that hurt my employer, no matter how small."
Example #3
"I am a motivating person who brings a lot of enthusiasm to the workplace. I am sure that any of my coworkers would agree! As a Manager, I take opportunities to huddle with my team, review our greatest wins for the week, and I make the time to encourage others when I see their efforts making a difference."
Example #4
"I describe myself as excited to learn, driven by growth opportunities, and someone who executes. For example, I am constantly listening to audiobooks and podcasts geared to growing my knowledge of digital marketing and content creation. I quickly take these lessons and apply them, to ensure that I put my new knowledge to work. I am certain my previous bosses and clients would concur, and I'd happily provide them as references."
Example #5
"I am driven, dependable, and loyal. I always have my eye on the prize, and I know what I want to achieve. I am ready to jump into action whenever someone needs me. I stick with a company for the long term and love to grow with one organization. I am confident that my managers would describe me as loyal and dependable, as well."
Example #6
"I'd describe myself as driven and goal-oriented. I am driven by the competition that comes with working in a sales environment. That said, I am also a dedicated team player. I never want to disappoint my employer or co-workers. I will always go the extra mile to reach my personal goals and the goals of my team."
Example #7
"I count myself among the most dedicated teachers, not only to my students but also to my school. I am hardworking, humble, kind, and passionate. I wake up every single day happy to go to work, excited about my job, and ready to impact my students and the school community. I want my passion and drive to light up a room."
Example #8
"I am a very dedicated and loyal employee. I saw on your website that you describe your facility as honest, transparent and you go the extra mile for your patients. My work ethic is the same. I am honest, flexible, and come ready to work hard for my patients every day."
Example #9
"I am a very dedicated and loyal employee. I saw on your website that you describe your company as honest, transparent and you go the extra mile for your clients. My work ethic is the same. I am honest, flexible, and come ready to work hard for my employer every day."
Example #10
"I am a very dedicated and loyal employee. I saw on your website that you describe your company as honest, transparent and you go the extra mile for your customers. My work ethic is the same. I am honest, flexible, and come ready to work hard for my employer every day."
Example #11
"I am a very dedicated and loyal employee. I saw on your website that you describe your school's culture as honest, transparent and you go the extra mile for your students. My work ethic is the same. I am honest, flexible, and come ready to work hard for my students every day."
Example #12
"I am a very dedicated and loyal employee. I saw on your website that you describe your company as honest, transparent and you go the extra mile when it comes to safety. My work ethic is the same. I am honest, flexible, and come ready to work hard for my employer every day."
Example #13
"I am a very dedicated and loyal employee. I saw on your website that you describe your company as honest, transparent and you go the extra mile for your clients, quite literally. My work ethic is the same. I am honest, flexible, and come ready to work hard for my employer every day."
Example #14
"I am a very dedicated and loyal employee. I saw on your website that you describe your organization as honest, transparent with your funding, and you go the extra mile for your adoption clients. My work ethic is the same. I am honest, flexible, and come ready to work hard for my employer every day."
Example #15
"I am a very dedicated and loyal person in both my personal and work life. Your organization is based on going the extra mile for your clients, and with a smile! My work ethic is the same. I am friendly, compassionate, and come ready to work hard for my valued passengers every day."
Example #16
"I am a very dedicated and loyal employee. I saw on your website that you describe your organization as honest, transparent and you go the extra mile for your community. My work ethic is the same. I am honest, flexible, and come ready to work hard for my employer every day."
Example #17
"Teachers are always under close watch when it comes to work ethic and overall effort. I am honest, dependable, and hard working. I am sure that any of my coworkers would agree."
Example #18
"I am a very dedicated and loyal employee. I saw on your website that you describe your hospital culture as honest, transparent and you go the extra mile for your patients. My work ethic is the same. I am honest, flexible, and come ready to work hard for my patients every day."
Example #19
"I would describe my work ethic as 'old school.' My previous supervisors have often commented on my strong ethics and old-fashioned values. When it comes to a work motto, I often say 'Work Smart, Have Fun.' "
Example #20
"My supervisor would describe my work ethic as excellent. I am a hard worker who thrives on challenges and who works tireless to get the job done. I am also a committed and reliable individual who remains highly respectful and professional at all times."
Example #21
"I am a very dedicated and loyal employee. I saw on your website that you describe your company as honest, transparent and you go the extra mile for your employees. My work ethic is the same. I am honest, flexible, and come ready to work hard for my employer every day."
Example #22
"My supervisor would describe my work ethic as excellent. I am a hard worker who thrives on challenges and who works tireless to get the job done. I am also a committed and reliable professional who remains highly respectful and professional at all times."
Example #23
"When I arrive to work every day, I check patient charts and check in with the Nuclear Medicine Pharmacist and Physician to see what the status is on some of our long-term patients. I am consistent and thoughtful about the care I provide my patients. I am also very strict about details and maintaining patient records."
Example #24
"I am a very dedicated and loyal employee. I saw on your website that you describe your vision as honest, transparent and you go the extra mile for your clients. My work ethic is the same. I am honest, flexible, and come ready to work hard for my employer every day."
Example #25
"I am a very dedicated and loyal employee. I saw on your website that you describe your company as honest, transparent and you go the extra mile for your patrons. My work ethic is the same. I am honest, flexible, and come ready to work hard for my employer every day."
Example #26
"I am a very dedicated and loyal model. I saw on your website that you describe your agency as honest, transparent and you go the extra mile for your clients and models. My work ethic is the same. I am honest, flexible, and come ready to work hard for every client."
Example #27
"I think if you were to ask my previous employer to describe my work ethic she would say that I was motivated and keen to learn and progress my skills and experience. I was always asking for additional learning and development, not because I was struggling, but because I like to enrich my knowledge and learn and grow within my role."
Example #28
"When a product is labeled in our system as back ordered, the first thing I do is call the vendor to ensure that the coding is correct. I will ask them to triple check and then give me a firm date when the item is back in stock. I will also call our other locations to see if they have any remaining product they could ship to my location. If the item is truly out, I will work with my customer on finding a comparable product."
Anonymous Answer
"I am honest, dependable, and hard-working. I am sure that any of my coworkers would agree. As a manager, these are the qualities that I expect from my team in return."
Lauren's Reply
I really like your personal and mutual accountability.
Lauren's Reply
"My work ethic is honest, dependable, and hard-working. I believe in mutual respect and accountability. I never expect anything from coworkers that I am not willing to do myself. I take a lot of pride in my work, and I think my coworkers would agree."
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Anonymous Answer
"I am a very dedicated and loyal employee. I have always gone the extra mile to help any employee and work towards assisting the company in advancing towards fulfilling long term goals."
Rachelle's Reply
You come across as dedicated and loyal, indeed! Between your responses, employer reviews, results, and accolades, it sounds like you're a great bet for any hiring company.
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Anonymous Answer
"I would describe my work ethic as dependable and smart. I work hard to solve problems and answer the call of my responsibilities. However, I have learned it's best to put together a sound plan of attack before just hammering away. This has saved me time and energy."
Rachelle's Reply
This answer is nicely detailed and interesting. Good work!
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Anonymous Answer
"I am honest, flexible and team playing. I come ready to work hard for my employer every day."
Rachelle's Reply
Short, sweet, and well said :)
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Anonymous Answer
"Hard-working. During the first release of our new product, I put in approximately 350-400 hours in one month to help assist our end users. If something wasn't working, and it was my time to go home, I would stay and get it working for our end users.
This is where I began to improve on my project management skills as well as delegating tasks, but I do believe in hard work, growing and not staying stagnant in your position — always wanting to achieve more for yourself."
Rachelle's Reply
10/10. Nice answer!
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Anonymous Answer
"I describe my work ethic as dependable, loyal, and consistent. I present the most helpful simple solutions to my team at all times. I will address the situation right away, with a collaborative mindset."
Rachelle's Reply
You are very descriptive in your response, which will be a big bonus for the interviewer.
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Anonymous Answer
"I see myself as driven, dependable, and loyal. I am always happy to help anyone that needs and stay loyal to the company that I work for many years"
Rachelle's Reply
Excellent! Loyalty is an important factor that many people miss. Expressing your tenure is a great approach.
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Anonymous Answer
"I am a very dedicated and loyal employee. I saw on your website that you describe your company as honest, transparent, and you go the extra mile for your customer. My work ethic is the same; I am reliable, flexible, and come ready to work hard for my employer every day."
Rachelle's Reply
It's great that you responded using a tie-in from the company's job description. Nice answer!
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Anonymous Answer
"I am an enthusiastic, positive worker who encourages my team members through words of affirmation, and having a sense of humor lightens the environment when work gets too stressed out. I am also efficient and try to implement ideas to cut costs and improving workflow. For example, by initiating that we should go paperless and go digital saves us space in the office and money in buying paper and other materials by 30 percent!"
Rachelle's Reply
These are strong work ethic descriptors! To strengthen your answer, try telling a quick story that highlights your work ethic in action.
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Anonymous Answer
"I would say I have a do whatever it takes to get the job done work ethic. If I need to come in early, stay late, work during lunch to get a task complete, then that is what I will do. If I need to take a last-second flight to fly out and take over teaching a class for a team member who is sick, then that is what I will do to get the job done."
Rachelle's Reply
You sound like an incredibly hard worker, and any interviewer should appreciate how you describe your work ethic.
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Anonymous Answer
"I am a dependable, respectful, humble person. I am driven to succeed and believe in personal accountability."
Rachelle's Reply
Great descriptive words! This is a well-crafted answer, especially since personal accountability is often missing in the workplace.
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Anonymous Answer
"My work ethic can be described as reliable, honest, and consistent. You are welcome to speak to my references regarding my work ethic. I am very proud of my reputation."
Rachelle's Reply
It's great that you are proud of your work ethic and reputation! Interviewers always like to hear of consistency, too. Good answer.
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Anonymous Answer
"My work ethic is to do the right thing, such as come to work on time, follow the directions, finish the job on time, help/support coworkers, and provide good customer service."
Rachelle's Reply
These are all great examples of a solid work ethic. Well done!
Rachelle's Reply
"My work ethic is to do the right thing such as getting to work on time, following directions, meeting my deadlines, helping my coworkers, and delivering exceptional customer service."
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Anonymous Answer
"I am a go-getter. I do my job without being told. I help my colleagues if needed too. I am a good team player. I can also work by myself."
Lauren's Reply
It would be best not to be repetitive. The interviewer wants to see dynamic responses.
Lauren's Reply
"I care a great deal about my work, and lead by example. I am a very reliable, pleasant employee who always tries to help out and exceed expectations."
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Anonymous Answer
"I love working towards a goal and see the fruits of my labor when the goal is achieved. If I can't do something, I like to figure it out and get a great sense of satisfaction in learning new things."
Rachelle's Reply
Very good!
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Anonymous Answer
"I am a very honest person. I find that very important also on the work floor. If there is something that's isn't going very well with a colleague, I would like to find out what is it that I have done or can do differently. I am also a very hard worker. I worked in the operations part of our company store, which was a lot of physical work, with long hours spent standing, and night shifts."
Rachelle's Reply
The idea is there! I've reworded this a bit to include complete thoughts.
Rachelle's Reply
"I describe my work ethic as honest, communicative, and dedicated. I present the most helpful solutions to my customers at all times. If there is a riff on the sales floor with my colleagues, I will address the situation right away, with a collaborative mindset. I am dedicated to my employers, no matter how hard the work; be it long standing hours or evening shifts."
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Anonymous Answer
"I am a dedicated and loyal employee. I work hard for what I take part in, which results in very few missed deadlines. I am very organized and good at time management, which I consider two of my biggest assets. My communication is also key to ensuring strong collaboration."
Rachelle's Reply
Good answers! I have reworded for clarification.
Rachelle's Reply
"I describe my work ethic as dedicated, loyal, hard-working, and organized. Time management is one of my greatest strengths which is why I rarely miss a deadline. I am a strong communicator and solid collaborator."
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Anonymous Answer
"I am very dedicated and loyal to my employer. I believe I have the determination to strive harder then most so I am willing to go above and beyond, and especially to help the store in #1 customer service."
Lauren's Reply
Fantastic response. You convey conviction and confidence! I supplemented your response a bit, but overall, this is a very solid answer.
Lauren's Reply
"I have a very strong work ethic which is conveyed through my dedication and loyalty to my employer. I have a strong drive to work hard and exceed expectations. I demonstrate a lot of pride in what I do and how I uniquely do it; I consistently provide superior customer service."
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