Applying for new job

[chris01]

hi there i wanted to ask for some advice im applying for a job working on the trains which i allways wanted to do my last job was working at a fastfood which i have left now but wanted to ask for your help with some questions:

1st one An example of when I have made a positive contribution to effective team working (Please detail the background to your example, what the team had to achieve, how you made a positive contribution to the team and what the outcome was)

2nd one An example of when I had to deal with a crisis (Please detail the background to your example, any help you were given and what the outcome was)

3rd one An example of when I have either exceeded a customer’s expectations or delighted a customer (Please detail the background to your example, what your job was, what you did to deliver outstanding service, how you knew that you had delighted the customer and what the outcome was)

4th one An example of when I managed a customer that was irate or upset (Please detail the background to your example, why the customer was irate or upset, what you did to manage the situation and what the outcome was)

[Raistlin]

1.

2. Only you can answer those questions, as they relate to your personal experiences. Think of an example for each and try to answer as honestly and as clearly as you can.

[chris01]

Originally Posted by Rob M

1.

2. Only you can answer those questions, as they relate to your personal experiences. Think of an example for each and try to answer as honestly and as clearly as you can.

thank you for the welcome
would it be ok for me to post what i was going to put and see what you and orthers think?

[joglynne]

Fire away. I am sure some of our members will be happy to help if they can.

[Raistlin]

Just keep the details anonymous

[chris01]

thats fine rob thank you

this is what i was going to put for number 2 as I'm still working on number 1

1 member of staff phoned in ill and we count get anybody in so we were 1 staffed down so each member of staffed help each
out as much as we could like we usually do the outcome was a good shift we managed to get everything done in time and had no complaints

[speedfreak]

Being constructive, it needs more detail and I personally wouldnt class it as a crisis. Make something up, believeable of course, also sort out the spelling

[joglynne]

That doesn't sound too bad as a starting point, but the question was about a crisis situation and your answer sounded as though being a member of staff short was a regular occurrence that you dealt with as a matter of course. You might wish to cut out the part that says..."like we useully do the" and maybe stress how busy you were as a result of the missing staff member.

Don't worry too much about the spelling at this stage but you must try to sort it out before you send your answers in to your prospective employer.

[chris01]

Originally Posted by speedfreak

Being constructive, it needs more detail and I personally wouldnt class it as a crisis. Make something up, believeable of course, also sort out the spelling

thanks Ive sorted out the spelling what would you say a crisis is?

[Raistlin]

chris01,

You're looking at this from the wrong angle, you're describing what the team did, they want to know what you did.

Try to formulate a short paragraph answering each question using the following as a guide:

Each paragraph should conform to the S.T.A.R format. Where S.T.A.R stands for: Situation, Task, Actions, Result.

Situation: What was going on?
Task: What were you trying to achieve/do?
Actions: What did you do?
Result: What was the result of your actions (positive or negative).

So, taking your example (and embelishing it slightly):

During my time with [Company X] I recall a time during a particularly busy period where we were already very short staffed due to planned holidays when 2 of the kitchen staff 'phoned in ill [Situation]. Despite this we still had to ensure that we served all of the anticipated customers for the day whilst completing a thorough clean of the kitchen and customer areas of the premises [Task]. I realised that some of the staff we did have in were cross-trained in multiple areas (kitchen, service, front of house) and that my Manager may not have realised this as he had recently transferred to the store. I drew up a rough replacement duty roster for the day which took advantage of this, and presented it to my manager along with recommendations for how the changes could be managed [Actions]. The end result was that my manager accepted my recommendations and implemented my replacement roster with only a few minor tweaks, this meant that we were able to meet our targets for the day [Result].

Remember though that you'll get quizzed on this (if the interview panel are any good that is), so make sure it's passably close to the truth and that you can answer questions on it. Ideally keep it as truthful as possible, the easiest lies to keep are the ones that are based in truth

[speedfreak]

Good post Rob Id put that answer with question 1 though.

A good crisis to me is something like someone else getting injured and you deal with it but as Rob says you may be questioned on it so you have to think it through and if you arent good at making things up on the spot then stick to the truth, good luck by the way, good on you for seeking advice

[Raistlin]

Agreed, that fits more with question 1.

[joglynne]

Rob has given you a good example of what is needed Chris but you must make sure your answers are in keeping with what you are capable of doing.

Any interview you have will probably use your answers as a starting point and if there is a big discrepancy between the image you create with your written answers and and the answers of the person they see in front of them it will just count against you.

As far as question 2 goes, if you have no experience of a crisis situation in your working life do not be afraid to say so. Giving an honest answer can count in your favour. Speaking from experience I would rather have that admission and maybe then read how an interviewee had dealt with a crisis out side work than have to read some made up tale that didn't ring true.

[Sasha222]

Originally Posted by chris01

hi there i wanted to ask for some advice im applying for a job working on the trains which i allways wanted to do my last job was working at a fastfood which i have left now but wanted to ask for your help with some questions:

1st one An example of when I have made a positive contribution to effective team working (Please detail the background to your example, what the team had to achieve, how you made a positive contribution to the team and what the outcome was)

2nd one An example of when I had to deal with a crisis (Please detail the background to your example, any help you were given and what the outcome was)

3rd one An example of when I have either exceeded a customer’s expectations or delighted a customer (Please detail the background to your example, what your job was, what you did to deliver outstanding service, how you knew that you had delighted the customer and what the outcome was)

4th one An example of when I managed a customer that was irate or upset (Please detail the background to your example, why the customer was irate or upset, what you did to manage the situation and what the outcome was)

And I hope you have an enjoyable time here and as you see everyone is very helpful when you have a prob

[chris01]

Ive just done one for question 2 useing the S.T.A.R as rob had said does this sound ok

(Situation) Drawing my shift at kfc a member of staff had cut his arm and was unable to carry on.
(Task) I had to make sure the injured staff is ok and help him to stop the bleeding.
(Action) I had to help him wash it under the tap and put a blaster on it for him and write it down in the accident book and make sure he was ok to carry on with his shift.
(Result) The end result was that the lad was ok and so was his arm and we still meet all our targets for the night.