Interview Q&A
Who do you look up to/Who is your mentor?
I look up to my mother as my mentor. Although that may sound cliche, the reason that she is my mentor is because of what I watched her do while growing up. I watched my mom work long hours, work to get her GED and put herself through college, and also take care of me at the same time. Watching her work so hard for the goals she wanted to accomplish inspires me to do the same. I want to learn from her and work hard for the things I want to achieve. I want to achieve the same level of motivation that she did and accomplish my own goals in life just as she did.
What kind of person do you refuse to work with?
I refuse to work with someone who is constantly negative or has an overwhelmingly negative personality. Obviously everyone has their days when they’re not as optimistic as they could be, but if it continues to happen constantly, I won’t want to work with them. Having a constantly negative attitude about everything tends to make the person lose their motivation, which will inevitably affect their performance and attitude. Also, being around someone who is constantly negative can affect the way others around them think, which in my opinion could hurt the company by lowering everyone’s morale and work ethic. I just don’t think working with someone who is constantly cynical could contribute to the job in a positive way.
What kind of work do you enjoy the most?
The kind of work I enjoy the most is something that allows me to move around and do things with my hands. I enjoy the type of work that isn’t always set in stone, where I’m stuck doing the same thing every single day with no variety. I would like to work in new environments and/or have something new to look forward to every day. I’d also enjoy any work that allows me to work and help with people. Working to help people just gives me so much motivation and really makes my job seem worth it to me.
What gets you up in the morning?
My desire to achieve my goals gets me up in the morning. Getting up the next day and looking at everything I have yet to accomplish motivates me to work as hard as I can to get one step closer to what I’m trying to achieve. I’ve always been a big believer in following your dreams and accomplishing what you want to no matter how hard it is to reach that goal. This motto in my life has kept me going to reach where I am today. Constantly keeping this in the back of my mind, it motivated me to continue striving for everything I wanted every day, and the satisfaction of reaching my goals made me want to continue on with another goal I had my heart set on.
What are your pet peeves?
A pet peeve I have is when someone doesn’t carry their weight when working with a team. The whole point of working as a team is for everyone to work together and accomplish a common goal, but when someone in the team doesn’t contribute, it throws the whole team off. It weakens the entire team, making our outcome either less achievable or the results of our work more lackluster than they would be if everyone contributed. It is important for all team members to contribute, and having to make everyone else carry extra weight while trying to complete their own tasks as well just seems unfair and unprofessional to me. When I see someone not contributing to the team, I would try and find a way to resolve this issue so the rest of the team doesn’t have to suffer.
What would your previous boss/supervisor say your strongest point is?
My previous boss/supervisor would say that my strongest point is that I always managed to keep a positive attitude, even if the situation was less than ideal. I always push myself to be as positive as I can be, no matter how stressful the situation is. I just believe that keeping a positive outlook can contribute to the team and the work environment in a positive way. Not only that, I think being positive can help you come up with a clear solution to problems that may come up during the job. I have and always will continue to have an enthusiastic attitude in the work I do.
What have you learned from mistakes on the job/in training or during school?
Something I learned from past mistakes on the job or during school is to ask for help or clarification on things I'm unsure of. I try to be enthusiastic try to take on everything myself. However, sometimes this can make my work less effective. I've learned that I can't do everything on my own all the time, and that it's okay to work with a team and ask for clarification or help. By learning from my mistakes, it has taught me to ask more questions to make sure I do my tasks correctly, and also has shown me I'm a better with working in a team and companies that emphasize a team environment, so I'm not overloading myself with everything and making my performance lackluster.
What makes you uncomfortable?
Something that made me uncomfortable at my previous job was how often my coworkers would talk bad about the customers. I always felt uneasy when I heard a colleague go on about how awful some customers are, especially around the other customers after them. I understand that some customers won't be the easiest to deal with, but it's better to move on from it. I always tried my best to not talk bad about the customers, because it just doesn't reflect yourself in a positive light. Obviously everyone can sometimes get frustrated by certain customers, but speaking ill of them always seemed troubling to me.
Tell me about a time you made a mistake.
At one of my previous jobs, I accidentally gave a customer the wrong type of order than what she requested. The store was very packed and I was rushing to get many things done at once, so I mistakenly handed her the wrong bag. After the customer brought it to my attention, I apologized and remedied the situation as best I could. This situation made me realize that, even though the work environment may be fast paced and speed is an important key in delivering the best service, sometimes it is better to step back and make sure everything is handled correctly. If you're constantly rushing to just get something done, it allows you to make mistakes that could've been easily avoided. Because of this, I now strive to find a balance between speed and accuracy instead of solely focusing on how fast the job gets done.
How do you deal with conflict?
I deal with conflict by talking with the other individual(s) involved and see if we can reach a common ground to resolve these issues. I try to discuss the matter as calmly and be as open minded as I can be. I would try to listen carefully to what they are saying, while also making sure I make my concerns known to them. I would then discuss with them what steps we could take to resolve the conflict. Once we reach a plan on how to improve our situation,I would follow through with my plan and try my best to avoid creating this conflict again in the future.