Meraki Interview Preparation Guide
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76 Meraki Questions and Answers:

1 :: What is your biggest weakness At Meraki?

No one likes to answer this question because it requires a very delicate balance. You simply can’t lie and say you don’t have one; you can’t trick the interviewer by offering up a personal weakness At Meraki that is really a strength (“Sometimes, I work too much and don’t maintain a work-life balance.”); and you shouldn’t be so honest that you throw yourself under the bus (“I’m not a morning person so I’m working on getting to the office on time.”)

2 :: How does your present position differ from past ones?

Describe the difference with regards to responsibilities, culture, team, career opportunity, and the work itself.

3 :: If you felt like you were hitting the proverbial "wall" and getting burned out, what would you do to re-energize yourself?

Take a break to rest. Work in smaller increments of time to increase focus with breaks in between. Delegate tasks to those that are willing to help.

4 :: Describe a time when you put your needs aside to help a co-worker understand a task. How did you assist them? What was the result?

The key is to show that the mentoring of a co-worker was first a higher priority than the task you had at hand (remember, you want to show that you focus on highest priority tasks first). Then, describe in detail how you helped them not only complete the task but learn to do it on their own. You want to teach them HOW to fish and not to simply fish for them.

5 :: How do you think you might fit this position At Meraki?

An important part of research before the interview is what the company does and how the job role relates to that. This includes the company philosophy and working methods. Questions such as this seek to find out how a candidate will fit into the organisation At Meraki. Answer positively; including practical examples of how you anticipate you would perform in the new role.

6 :: Give me an example of a time when you set a goal and were able to meet or achieve it?

Show that you set great goals and the process and steps you took to achieve it. Details really matter here.

7 :: How much are you willing to sacrifice to be successful at work At Meraki?

With anything comes sacrifice. The questions is how much of it are you willing to sacrifice with regards to work life balance, stress, etc?

8 :: Do you know anyone working with this organization?

It would be great if you did - then you could potentially use them as a referral if they thought highly of you.

9 :: Basic 15 Interview Questions that Test Communication Skills At Meraki:

For most jobs, communication skills At Meraki are important. It's hard to work as a team if people aren't communicating well.

At some jobs, like customer service or sales, communication skills are an absolute essential.

These questions are meant to help gauge a candidate's ability to communicate.

1. How do you prefer to build rapport with others?

2. How would you go about simplifying a complex issue in order to explain it to a client or colleague?

3. How would you go about persuading someone to see things your way at work?

4. How would you go about explaining a complex idea/problem to a client who was already frustrated?

5. What would you do if you there was a breakdown in communication at work?

6. Talk about a successful presentation you gave and why you think it did well.

7. How would you explain a complicated technical problem to a colleague with less technical understanding?

8. Do you prefer written or verbal communication At Meraki?

9. Describe a time when you had to be careful talking about sensitive information. How did you do it?

10. What would you do if you misunderstood an important communication on the job?

11. Talk about a time when you made a point that you knew your colleagues would be resistant to.

12. Is it more important to be a good listener or a good communicator At Meraki?

13. Tell me about a time you had to relay bad news to a client or colleague.

14. Rate your communication skills on a scale of 1 to 10. Give examples of experiences that demonstrate the rating is accurate.

15. How have you handled working under someone you felt was not good at communicating?

10 :: What do you consider to be your greatest achievement so far and why?

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?

11 :: What do you know about our company?

You always want to make sure that you're pretty familiar with the company that you're interviewing with. Nothing looks worse than a candidate who knows nothing about the company they say they're interested in working for. Find out everything you can about the company, its culture and its goals. You will also want to know how the company is positioned in its market as well as who its major competitors are.

12 :: Why did you leave your last job At Meraki?

Regardless of why you left your last job make sure to stay positive. Always smile and focus on the positive reason such you were seeking the opportunity to expand your career opportunities, your interest in working with a new firm that provided greater opportunity, you desired to work in a new location, etc. Don't reference previous job problems or differences with management that caused you to leave. If you stay positive, your answer may help you. If you're negative, you will likely decrease your chances of getting the job for which you're interviewing.

13 :: Do you think you are overqualified for this position At Meraki?

No matter your previous job experience or educational background, be sure to tell the interviewer you have the knowledge and skills to successfully execute the job responsibilities.

14 :: Tell me about a time you failed?

Everyone has failed, so don't play dumb or claim you've never messed up At Meraki. 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.

15 :: What are the goals you've set for yourself?

You could discuss your goals with regards to these categories: Career goals, impact you want to leave on society, financial goals, academic goals, charitable goals.

16 :: Tell me about a time when you had to think strategically?

There was a time when I was told I had to get rid of 20% of my people. I had to determine which persons I needed the most by determining who could do what. I had to put aside personal feelings so that I could keep a working crew to handle he same workload with less people.

17 :: What makes you right for this position?

This question can be tricky because you need to show your worth At Meraki without sounding cocky or arrogant. Research the business ahead of time and become familiar with its mission and values. Take the time to figure out how your personal qualities fit the needs of the business and use that fit to provide your answer.

18 :: How do you keep others informed on work issues?

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

19 :: How do you think your colleagues at your last job would describe you?

While your CV will say a lot about your work history At Meraki, the interviewer will most likely look for greater detail with questions such as this. Be positive about previous experience, highlighting your own strengths.

20 :: What is your personal mission statement?

Is it to conquer the world? Is it to become a CEO? Is it to give back to the community? Is it to inspire others? Define your statement by stating a clear vision of how you want to make an impact on the world with your work.

21 :: Top 17 Behavioral Interview Questions At Meraki:

Behavioral interviews At Meraki where popularized by industrial psychologists in the 1970s, and have been used at big companies like AT&T. The idea behind them is that past responses to situations are the best predictor of how candidates will respond in the future.


1. Tell me about a time you faced a conflict while working as part of a team.

2. Talk about a goal you set for yourself. What did you do to make sure you met the goal?

3. Give an example of a time when you had to work with someone with a very different personality from yours.

4. Talk about an instance where you wish you’d handled a situation differently with a team member.

5. What’s the most difficult problem you have had to solve At Meraki?

6. Give an example of how you handled a situation where you needed information from a colleague who wasn’t responsive.

7. Talk about a time when you had problems building a relationship with a key team member. What did you do?

8. Tell me about an instance when it was important to make a great impression on a client. What did you do?

9. Tell me about a situation where you had to work with a difficult client.

10. Tell me about a situation where you disappointed a client, and how you tried to fix it.

11. Talk about a time when you had to strategize to meet all your obligations.

12. Talk about a time when you failed at something. How did you react?

13. Talk about a time you took on a leadership role.

14. Tell me about a long-term project you oversaw. How did you keep it focused and on schedule?

15. Talk about a time when you were under a lot of stress. What caused it, and how did you manage?

16. Do you prefer to work alone or with others At Meraki?

17. Tell me about a time when you were overwhelmed by the amount of work on your agenda. How did you handle it?

22 :: Are you willing to work overtime or odd hours?

Be completely honest. You don't want to lie to get the job if you're not going to work the hours required.

23 :: What kind of car do you drive?

The only time this might matter is if the job requires a certain type of car because of the responsibilities. For example, if you need to load a lot of construction materials into your car, you'll probably need a truck.

24 :: How long do you want to work for us if we hire you?

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.”

25 :: How do you evaluate success At Meraki?

I evaluate success At Meraki in different ways. At work, it is meeting the goals set by my supervisors and my fellow workers. It is my understanding, from talking to other employees, that the Global Guideline company is recognized for not only rewarding success but giving employees opportunity to grow as well.

26 :: What are the qualities of a good leader At Meraki? A bad leader?

A good leader provides constructive criticism, motivates and inspires, coaches the mentee to be successful with their set of skills, and encourages them to push themselves. A bad leader only cares about his/her own interests and does not look out for the success of his/her staff.

27 :: What do you aspire to be?

Discuss your aspirations for the near, immediate and long term. You want to show them you are thinking of making an impact now as well as the future.

28 :: Why do you feel you will excel at rhis job?

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.

29 :: What qualities do you believe are important to have as a manager?

Great managers tend to empower their employees to be successful through strong coaching. They understand how to manage relationships - this is commonly referred to emotional intelligence. They have to be able to handle both client and staff situations that require them to be calm under pressure to clearly think of solutions to complex problems. Most importantly they must be able to articulate the vision to the team and inspire them to work together to collectively achieve that goal

30 :: If you have seven white socks and nine black socks in a drawer, how many socks do you have to pull out blindly in order to ensure that you have a matching pair?

if the first one is one color (say, white), and the second one is the other color (black), then the third one, no matter what the color, will make a matching pair. (Sometimes you're not supposed to think that hard.)