Lean Six Sigma Director Interview Preparation Guide

Bad Answer: Candidate is unprepared for question or only gives generic answers.

This is the most common job interview question - everybody should be expecting it. If they don't seem prepared, or give a fairly stock answer, it's probably a bad sign.

Good answer: The consensus is to go for quality, not quantity here. Candidates should give a short list of strengths, and back each one up with examples that illustrate the strength. Also, they should explain how these strengths will be useful in the job you’re applying for, and use this question to say something interesting about themselves.

Here being specific is probably not the best approach. You may consider responding, “I hope a very long time.” Or “As long as we're both happy with my performance.”

Discuss the academic program, the extracurricular program(s), the school spirit, the quality of your peers, and the professors.

Friends would typically use attributes like (assuming you have these): Trustworthy, honest, hardworking, friendly, courageous, nice, diligent, organized and so forth. Not saying you have all of these, but the best way for you to find out is to survey your friends by asking them what they consider your brand to be.

Provide several reasons including skills, experience and interest. If you can show how you've been successful in a similar career field or job position that will go along way to helping the interviewer believe you'll also be successful at this new job.

I’ve been honing my skills As Lean Six Sigma Director for a few years now and, first and foremost, I’m looking for a position where I can continue to exercise those skills. Ideally the same things that this position has to offer. Be specific.

This question is designed to find out if you get along well on team, with other and whether or not you'll be a fit with the interviewer's organization. It's a trap. Think real hard but fail to come up anything that irritated you about your co-workers. A short positive response is best.

Here are two great sample answers that might help get you started:

☛ I am an extremely organized person, so I tend to be able to get my work done at work. However, if the need arose I would not be against taking work home. I try not to make it a habit, since I do value my free time. I do realize though that the work we do is important, and sometimes you have to do what needs to be done.
☛ I do not shy away from taking work home with me. I know that meeting deadlines and doing outstanding work sometimes means taking a bit of it home. I do not have a problem doing that when the need arises.
☛ Make sure to give an honest answer. Lying about taking work home may turn out badly for you if it is required and you do not do it.

Describe how you've come to develop a passion or interest in this industry and use variables like "culture, people, vision, career development, and the work itself" to define your choice

Conflict resolution, problem solving, communication and coping under pressure are transferable skills desired by many employers As Lean Six Sigma Director.
Answering this question right can help you demonstrate all of these traits.
☛ Use real-life examples from your previous roles that you are comfortable explaining
☛ Choose an example that demonstrates the role you played in resolving the situation clearly
☛ Remain professional at all times – you need to demonstrate that you can keep a cool head and know how to communicate with people

Be very careful answering this question as most organization employ professionals with an array of personalities and characteristics. You don't want to give the impression that you're going to have problems working with anyone currently employed at the organization. If you through out anything trivial you're going to look like a whiner. Only disloyalty to the organization or lawbreaking should be on your list of personal characteristics of people you can't work with.

Be sure to discuss a very specific example. Tell the interviewer what methods you used to solve the problem without focusing on the details of the problem.

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.

This is typically a straightforward question that merits a straightforward answer. Do you have strong worth ethic? Will you do whatever it takes to make sure the job gets done? Just say so in your response. Keep it short, direct and positive.

Possible methods:
Talking to them, emailing them, sharing best practices in meetings

Of course you're a team player - who isn't. But a simple yes probably isn't the response the interviewer is looking for. Be ready to provide specific example of how you've worked as part of a cohesive team to get things accomplished and how you've focus on team performance rather than individual performance. Make sure not to brag as this will make it appear as that you're more concerned about your own performance and accomplishments than those of the team.

Cite your role models (possible examples could be your parents, people successful in the industry, world leaders, etc)

Just be honest. If you would retire then say so. But since you can't retire, and the interviewer already knows this, simply answer that since you can't this is type of work you prefer doing. However, if you wouldn't retire if you had the money then explain why. Work is an important element of happiness for most people and many won't retire even when they can.

In this question the interviewer is basically looking for a real life example of how you used creativity to solve a problem.

Discuss your work experiences. The key is to show you're calm under pressure and can handle sensitive situations with a clear train of thought.

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?

Ideally you'd like to state that you can take on a lot of work - this shows your work ethic, but at the same time it's okay to tell them that you value work and life balance.

In many scenarios, you will not have all the information needed. The key is to make the best possible decision based on what you deem to be a sufficient amount of information.

You can talk about what you're passionate about. What motivates you. What excites you.

Describe your most unique ideas and initiatives that had the best results for the company. Make sure you highlight your creativity, your results, your diligence and your ability to execute.

Describe honestly the regretful action / situation you were in but then discuss how you proactively fixed / improved it and how that helped you to improve as a person/worker.

It's good to be persistent, but not overbearing. Everyone will face rejection at some point in their life, so at some point you'll have to take no for an answer but then learn why you were turned down.

The reality is, the majority of the time someone is in a management/leadership position is because of their experience and past success. So they probably possess at least a unique set of knowledge from you. So you'll want to learn from them as much as possible. If it's not the case, then discuss how you would look for mentors in different departments to help your personal career development.

Be positive and nice about their competitors but also discuss how they are better than them and why they are the best choice for the customer. For example: "Company XYZ has a good product, but I truly believe your company has a 3-5 year vision for your customer that aligns to their business needs."

This question presents an excellent opportunity for you to discuss your education, qualifications and personal traits. You might say something like “I studied property management as well as behavior during my college years and I have two years’ experience in real estate.
I can gauge the homes or apartments in which clients will be interested based solely upon the needs of their families. Finally, my organizational skills will allow me to schedule appointments or showings confidently and arrive for them punctually.” This shows your interviewer that you have all of the skills necessary to become successful not only for yourself, but also for your employer.