What are they testing for in the interview
1. General Questions
They test that you can understand the role and skills needed for the role.
Why did you apply for this job? What preparation did you do?
What do you see as the critical components of the Role, and what unique attributes do you bring to the role?
Who influences you?
2. Challenge Questions
They test that you can deal with challenges by demonstrating proactive and positive behaviour.
Tell us about a time you failed and how you acted on the feedback.
Give me an example of when you have managed the performance of a member of staff and what was the outcome.
Give me an example of an HR issue you have been involved in. What did you do, and what lessons were learnt?
Tell me about a time you were given a goal by someone else that you believed would be impossible to attain.
Give me an example of a time you made a major sacrifice to achieve an important goal.
Tell me about a time when you were unwilling or unable to make a sacrifice necessary to achieve a goal.
Describe your organisation's culture and how it made it challenging for you to achieve one of your goals.
3. Change Management
They test that you can demonstrate support for innovation and for organisational changes needed to improve the organization's effectiveness. Act as a champion for change. Help employees understand clearly what they will need to do differently due to organisational changes.
Tell me about the most difficult change you made in your professional career. How did you manage the change?
Describe a time when you felt that a planned change was inappropriate.
What did you do?
What were the results?
Tell me about a time when you had to adapt to an uncomfortable situation.
Tell me about a time you led a change effort.
Describe a time a change effort you were involved in was not as successful as you would have liked.
Give me an example of a time you had to adjust quickly to changes over which you had no control.
What was the impact of the change on you?
Give me an example of a time when you helped another person accept change and make the necessary adjustments to move forward.
What were the change/transition skills that you used?
Describe a situation where you initially resisted a change and later accepted it.
What specifically changed?
Describe how you have brought about quality improvement and/or business change through the use of technology and improvement science or process re-engineering, describing what methods and techniques you have employed, e.g. PDSA, EDCD, IPO, 6 sigma, lean management, etc.
Describe an example of where you have solved a capacity vs demand service issue?
How do you manage risk across services?
How do you support transformation/change across a range of services? Give an example of a recent wide-scale change you have been involved in?
Describe an example of a cost improvement programme/project you have led?
4. Compliance
They test that you can comply with organisational policies and procedures.
How do you ensure compliance with policies in your area of responsibility?
Tell us about a time when you went against company policy?
Why did you do it, and how did you handle it?
5. Continuous Improvement
They test that you can achieve thoroughness and accuracy when accomplishing a task through concern for all the areas involved.
What is your process for escalating issues/risks, and what assurances would you give?
How do you measure and monitor service performance?
Tell me about a suggestion you made to improve the way job processes/operations worked.
Tell me about one of your workplace improvements that another department now uses.
Give me an example of when you initiated a change in a process or operation.
In your last or current job, what problems did you identify that had previously been overlooked? Were changes made? Who supported the changes as a result of your ideas?
Tell me about something new or different that you initiated that improved customer service, productivity, quality, teamwork, or performance.
Tell me about a time you found and took advantage of an opportunity to make an improvement in your position or department/team/group.
Tell me about a time when you sacrificed quality to meet a deadline. How did you handle it?
In some aspects of work, it is important to be error-free. Describe a situation where you tried to prevent errors.
Describe a time you caught an error that someone else made that could have affected the project's outcome (or affected a customer).
Tell me about a suggestion you made to improve the processes or operations in your position or within your team.