Incident Interview Preparation Guide

For each decision point, consider the following:

Errors If an error occurred, what was it?
Optimal How should the decision have been made?
Ambiguous What information could have helped make the decision. Was any information missing?
Error Avoidance Could the error have been avoided? If so, how?
Environmental Factors What aspects of your environment influenced your decision?
Expert / Novice Do (or would) experts and novices differ in their decision making?
Information What information was used in making the decision? How was it obtained?
Training Others If you were training new employees, what would you teach them about this kind of incident?

★ What happened?
★ When and where did it happen?
★ What was happening when you did this?
★ What happened that was benefitial or positive in outcome?
★ What happened that was detrimental or had a bad outcome?
★ What led to this outcome?
★ What happened before this?
★ What circumstances existed that caused this?
★ What would you have done differently if you could do it over again?
★ What will you do differently in the future?

★ What did you do that helped or was effective?
★ What did you do that did not help or was ineffective?
★ What was the outcome of these actions?
★ Why did this help or not help the incident to occur?
★ What did you observe being done by others?

★ What was the outcome of these actions?
★ Why do you think the actions were effective or ineffective?
★ Why do you think the actions had a positive or negative outcome?

It's important here to focus on the word "implemented." There's nothing wrong with having a thousand great ideas, but if the only place they live is on your notepad what's the point? Better still, you need a good ending. If your previous company took your advice and ended up going bankrupt, that's not such a great example either. Be prepared with a story about an idea of yours that was taken from idea to implementation, and considered successful.

This is a challenging question -- as if you have no weaknesses you are obviously lying! Be realistic and mention a small work related flaw. Many people will suggest answering this using a positive trait disguised as a flaw such as "I'm a perfectionist" or "I expect others to be as committed as I am." I would advocate a certain degree of honesty and list a true weakness. Emphasize what you've done to overcome it and improve. This question is all about how you perceive and evaluate yourself.

If you say no, most interviewers will keep drilling deeper to find a conflict. The key is how you behaviorally reacted to conflict and what you did to resolve it. For example: "Yes, I have had conflicts in the past. Never major ones, but there have been disagreements that needed to be resolved. I've found that when conflict occurs, it helps to fully understand the other person's perspective, so I take time to listen to their point of view, and then I seek to work out a collaborative solution. For example . . ." Focus your answer on the behavioral process for resolving the conflict and working collaboratively.

1) Visit the company website; look in the "about us" section and "careers" sections
2) Visit the company's LinkedIn page (note, you must have a LinkedIn account - its free to sign up) to view information about the company
3) Google a keyword search phrase like "press releases" followed by the company name; you'll find the most recent news stories shared by the company Remember, just because you have done your "homework", it does not mean you need to share ALL of it during the interview! Reciting every fact you've learned is almost as much of a turn off as not knowing anything at all!

More likely than not, the interviewer wishes to see how much you know about the company culture, and whether you can identify with the organization's values and vision. Every organization has its strong points, and these are the ones that you should highlight in your answer. For example, if the company emphasizes on integrity with customers, then you mention that you would like to be in such a team because you yourself believe in integrity. It doesn't have to be a lie. In the case that your values are not in line with the ones by the company, ask yourself if you would be happy working there. If you have no issue with that, go ahead. But if you are aware of the company culture and realize that there is some dilemma you might be facing, you ought to think twice. The best policy is to be honest with yourself, and be honest with the interviewer with what is it in the company culture that motivates you.

This is the part where you link your skills, experience, education and your personality to the job itself. This is why you need to be utterly familiar with the job description as well as the company culture. Remember though, it's best to back them up with actual examples of say, how you are a good team player. It is possible that you may not have as much skills, experience or qualifications as the other candidates. What then, will set you apart from the rest? Energy and passion might. People are attracted to someone who is charismatic, who show immense amount of energy when they talk, and who love what it is that they do. As you explain your compatibility with the job and company, be sure to portray yourself as that motivated, confident and energetic person, ever-ready to commit to the cause of the company.