How to Answer: Have you ever been burned out during an audit? How did you regain your focus?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for an Auditor job interview.
5. Have you ever been burned out during an audit? How did you regain your focus?
How to Answer
This is a very common issue during an audit. More than once I've been burned out from working long hours of going in early and getting home late. You need something to keep you grounded and help you work through the burnout or avoid it all together.
There are several ways to avoid burnout. All of them include taking control of the situation and putting yourself in a good mindset. You can listen to music, podcasts, or joke around with a friend. Breaking the project into parts and ensuring you take a five minute break every hour will help as well.
Written by Samantha Hamilton on January 25th, 2019
Entry Level
"When I was in my senior year of high school, I was in all AP classes. When the year was wrapping up, I had to study for the SAT's, the ASVAB (the military test), four AP finals, as well as write three two-thousand-word papers on various topics and complete an AP Economics project. I felt so overwhelmed and burned out that I couldn't focus on anything. My mom taught me the best way to handle it was to schedule my day. I'd spend my time in class only focusing on that class for study or assignment. When I got home, I'd have certain days that I worked on certain tasks. Saturdays I broke up my day to focus on everything for a little while and completed everything in stages. This is the method I've used ever since."
Written by Samantha Hamilton on January 25th, 2019
Answer Example
"I felt so burned out one night I was sitting at my desk just staring at the empty screen because I knew I needed to go home but there was so much work left that I couldn't leave. I ended up working through the night. My boss came in the next morning and found me in the same clothes from the previous day and pulled me into their office. They told me I was burned out and needed a break. I was new to the team and wanted to prove myself, but they knew what I needed. She told me to go home and take the day off to sleep. I came back the next day and felt refreshed and ready to get back to work. Since then, when I feel run down, I make the effort to take a break or eat a snack to help me get back on track."
Written by Samantha Hamilton on January 25th, 2019
Experienced
"Burnout generally happens early in your career. Unless you know what hits the fan and the world's collapsing, it's not something you should be dealing with at my level. I take breaks when needed and I know what is and isn't important and. Knowing what you're responsible for and what you're not will definitely help when it comes to burnout."
Written by Samantha Hamilton on January 25th, 2019