Junior Achievement USA Interview Preparation Guide

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The company is looking to see if you can handle pressure well. Share with them an example where you were able to stay calm during a pressure filled situation (perhaps it was a deadline, or there was an emergency with a customer occurring). Discuss the situation, your reaction and steps you took to resolve it and the outcome.

Prioritize based on business importance. Set clear timelines for each so that you know which ones to knock out first. Get your teammates to help if necessary.

First, the key is to state the differences in personality to give the interviewer some background. Second, you want to discuss how that was affecting the situation. Third, show how you were able to adapt to the way the person wanted to be communicated with to achieve your goals

Depends on the situation... I like to label certain tasks as either A B or C...A being the one that requires immediate attention, and C which are tasks that aren't urgent but eventually need to get done... I like to focus my work In Junior Achievement USA on the things that need to get done, and done quickly... While balancing the other work alongside our first priorities.

Everyone has failed, so don't play dumb or claim you've never messed up In Junior Achievement USA. Think of a time when a work-related situation didn't turn out quite as you had hoped. An interviewer is interested in seeing how you took responsibility for your failure, what you learned from it, and how you would prevent similar failures from happening again.

Red flags: This is the peanut butter to the previous question’s jelly. Again, everyone should expect it, so it's a bad sign if someone seems totally unprepared, or gives a stock answer like, "I'm a perfectionist." Also, of course, candidates crazy enough to blurt out some horrible personality trait should go in the red flagged pile.

Good answer: Candidates should talk about a real weakness they've been working on improving. For instance, they're not good at public speaking, but they've been taking a course to help them improve. Or maybe they feel that they're easily distracted when working online, but have installed software that helps them stay on task. Answers like these show a desire for improvement, self awareness and discipline.

Do not show your fear or uneasiness in handling pressure. Everyone likes to have a worker who can handle pressure calmly and with a clear train of thought. Show how you would logically come to a conclusion in a pressure filled situation.

Sometimes people want a job a little too bad - and they may fudge their credentials and experience a bit.

If you've run into this problem, are worried about it, or have credentials and experience that are absolutely essential, you may need to ask a few verification questions.

If you are a candidate, you should review your resume and make sure you know all the key points, and that nothing has been misconstrued.


1. What grades did you get in college?

2. What were your responsibilities when you worked in job x?

3. How many people were on your team at your last job?

4. What will your previous manager/supervisor say when I ask where you needed to improve?

5. What was your beginning and ending salary at job x?

6. What were your beginning and ending titles at job x?

7. Are you eligible for rehire at job x?

8. What tools are necessary for performing job x?

9. Describe to me how you would perform [x typical job task].

10. What was the focus of your thesis?

11. When did you leave company x?

Review every deadline you need to meet. Prioritize your projects by deadline and factor in how important each project is. Record your deadlines on a digital calendar or spreadsheet.

Bad Answer: A generic or uninspired answer. Also, answers that show that this career/company is just a temporary stop for them.

Good answer: One that shows the candidate has thought about this question, has plans, and that those plans align with the job and a career path that is possible in the company. You want to see that this candidate is a good long term investment.

The best managers are strong but flexible, and that's exactly what you want to show off in your answer. (Think something like, “While every situation and every team member requires a bit of a different strategy, I tend to approach my employee relationships as a coach...”) Then, share a couple of your best managerial moments, like when you grew your team from five to 15 or coached an underperforming employee to become the company's top employee.

You'll want to be prepare with some very specific examples of what you've done over the last year and what you're currently doing to improve your professional knowledge and skill set as well as anything else you're doing the shows self improvement.

First, find out what the root of the problem is. Second, determine the best steps to remediation with the best possible outcome. Third, take action to put remediation plans in place.

Is it money? Is it career development? Is it recognition? Is it a sense of achievement? Is it to impress your peers? Is it for fame?

The key is to show that you put a lot of thought (weighing out the pros and cons) but were able to be decisive. Be sure to explain your logic in arriving at the decision.

Be proud of your achievement, discuss the results, and explain why you feel most proud of this one. Was it the extra work? Was it the leadership you exhibited? Was it the impact it had?

If the job calls for shifts that vary, be ready to do that for your work. If you aren't open to that, then explain why and see if they can adjust it for you.

State a business case to your manager / leader as to why you need the tools and make the request for them.

By maintaining proper routine every day. Putting my strongest points with my weakness. High priority always comes first In Junior Achievement USA.

Emotional intelligence, or EQ, has come into vogue as a good trait to hire for.

EQ is the ability to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, to recognize other people's emotions and your own, and to discriminate between different feelings and label them appropriately.

EQ is considered essential to help teams function well. Here are some of the top questions for help you get an idea of how candidates perceive their emotions and those of others.

1. If you started a company today, what would its top values be?

2. Who inspires you? Why?

3. How could you create more balance in your life?

4. What makes you angry?

5. How do you have fun?

6. How good are you at asking for help?

7. How did you deal with a bad day?

8. What's something you're really proud of? Why?

9. Tell me about a time when your mood altered your performance (positively or negatively).

10. Has there ever been a time when you felt you needed to change your behavior at work? How did you do it?

11. Did you create friendships that lasted while working at a previous job?

This is when you talk about your record of getting things done. Go into specifics from your resume and portfolio; show an employer your value and how you’d be an asset.
You have to say, “I’m the best person for the job In Junior Achievement USA. I know there are other candidates who could fill this position, but my passion for excellence sets me apart from the pack. I am committed to always producing the best results. For example…”

Discuss your passions In Junior Achievement USA. Ideally if it's work related that's fantastic! If not, talk about your academic / extracurricular passions and WHY you enjoy them. For example: I love playing sports because of the team work aspect - it's fun winning together! (This example shows you're a team player)

This would be the first question asked in any interview. Therefore, it is important that you give a proper reply to the question regarding your education. You should have all the documents and certificates pertaining to your education and/or training, although time may not allow the interviewer to review all of them.

If you want to show your fun side, discuss your extracurricular activities. If you want to show your ambition, discuss the work / school projects you do in your spare time.

Keep your answer simple, direct and positive. Some good answers may be the ability to achieve, recognition or challenging assignments.

Use your knowledge of the job description to demonstrate how you are a suitable match for the role.

Think back to how you've interacted with your peers to develop social skills, how you've worked with classmates on projects to develop teamwork and collaborative skills, how you've developed discipline through studying, how the courses have helped your creativity, and how the classes you've taken have impacted your analytical / problem solving / reasoning skills.

Make you give an example where you discuss details and metrics. For example, I was a tutor in my last job and mentored 5 students on their SAT test taking skills and raised their scores by 15% on average after a 3 month teaching stint.

You should be proud of all your achievements In Junior Achievement USA! We just don't have time to hear them all as interviewers most likely. Focus on 1 really good achievement that showcases characteristics like the following: Integrity, competitiveness, resourcefulness, intelligence, persistence, and so forth.

This depends on the job role. Make sure you break it down into