How to Answer: When planning, how often do you create alternative scenarios to help you adjust to changing situations?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Financial Analyst job interview.
2. When planning, how often do you create alternative scenarios to help you adjust to changing situations?
What You Need to Know
Project management requires high-level time-management skills. It goes beyond planning out the moving components of a project and fitting and assigning tasks to allotments of the time given to you. It also requires adding a cushion of time for contingency scenarios and planning for when things don't go according to plan. As Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, "Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable." So, when answering such questions, break down your scope of the big picture and how you aim to go the extra mile with consistency. That way, if everything goes according to plan, you come in ahead of your deadlines and are ready for more. In the worst-case scenario, things don't go according to plan, yet you still successfully meet your deadlines.
Written by Kevin Downey on August 1st, 2023
Experienced Example
"It is crucial to imagine alternative scenarios in all situations. Pad the job, as my father always used to say. One cannot guess what wrench might end up falling into the works, so be prepared when things don't go your way. Of course, you don't want to push your teams too hard and grind everyone down. You have to delegate and communicate with efficiency and consider every contingency. But above all, attitude is everything. Set the right tone, and you can set the right pace to get the job done and get it done right."
Written by Kevin Downey on August 1st, 2023