An interviewer needs to hear that you have a plan in place to keep yourself organized. The interviewer wants to evaluate your time management skills, and diligence when faced with prioritization. Start off by mentioning that you are typically an organized person. From here, dive into a recent time-consuming project for which you were involved.
Tell the interviewer that you started off by ensuring you had your schedule mapped out before you dove into your workload. Discuss if you made a to-do list, updated your calendar, or created a color-coded agenda. Share whatever organization method worked for you! Talk about how you diligently stuck with this plan for the duration of the project and how it allowed you to complete the project on time successfully.
"I am a naturally organized individual. Without proper organization, a project can get out of hand quite quickly. I was recently involved with a project that required 30 hours of my time in a two week period while I was also in the middle of several other projects. I was able to stay on track with visual reminders, mid-day check-ins, and a strong support team. I ended up working some overtime, but that is par for the course in project management!"
"We recently took on a revamp project updating our software to streamline our work better. With this, on top of the high demands of our day to day roles, we had to master the art of prioritizing to get the new software launched on time. We did what needed to be done. If that meant multitasking or putting in extra hours, we made it happen."
"When collaborating on and executing corporate's vision for a store rebrand, I had to be very diligent. If we were to achieve the vision that would make our store fit cohesively with the company nationwide, head office would implement the rebrand nationally."
"We had a customer that placed an unusually large order that consisted of similar, but different times. I counted and recounted that order probably 20 times before giving it the go-ahead to ship. I was happy to put forth that much effort for our customer."
"I had a customer place a request for 100 different units with a commitment to buying at least 20 of them. We had a list of precisely what each requirement was, and by the time we had 100 different units with varying features, the order was complex. I spent hours compiling the different approved scenarios in a spreadsheet. I was able to pitch 62 units to him that met his demands, and he purchased 48 of them."
"Since I teach in other teachers' classrooms, I have to plan around their schedules as well as be sure that I can physically make it into each class on time. My timing has become impeccable! It's like a puzzle trying to get it all planned out seamlessly."
"I feel like I work well under pressure. For me, knowing that there is a deadline to meet gives me drive to work harder and get things finished. I have never been one to leave things until the last minute and then try to hurry through."
"I believe excellent organizational and time management skills are essential to successfully perform in any position. For example, if I have to perform numerous duties in a short period of time, I need to know how to prioritize and meet the respective deadlines. I will use lists to keep track of upcoming duties and a calendar to keep track of deadlines. To ensure my duties are successfully completed, I follow up with the relevant parties, and do no hesitate to adjust my approach - and work - should it be necessary."
"Success is often met with strong planning. While it is important to go into each day with a plan and meet deadlines, it is equally important to adapt to ever changing priorities. Using sound judgement and time management are two great ways I make certain to meet business deadlines."
"I use Outlook calendar to stay on top of my appointments for that day. I also use desktop post it notes to make reminders of things to do - one-on-ones with my designers and clients. Additionally, I block times on my calendar to catch up on emails or any to do actions that I might not have time to review. I do realize that not everything can be planned and there will be things that need my attention immediately. In cases like these, I make sure that I respond to urgent matters promptly."
"I have some reception experience with answering phones and directing calls. I handled the phones at a small marketing company for a year in college and it was fun. I didn't have to do much apart from direct phone calls and foot traffic when it came in."