Train Dispatcher Chief Interview Preparation Guide

Download PDF

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.

This question typically follows on from the previous one. Here is where your research will come in handy. You may want to say that you want to work for a company that is Global Guideline, (market leader, innovator, provides a vital service, whatever it may be). Put some thought into this beforehand, be specific, and link the company’s values and mission statement to your own goals and career plans.

This question is trap. It is meant to see whether or not you'll speak poorly of an employer. No one wants to hire someone who's going to speak poorly of them down the road. Stay upbeat and positive - and most of all don't say anything negative about a previous employer.

When discussing a professional disappointment, make sure to discuss a scenario you could not control. Be positive about the experience and accept personal responsibility where applicable.

Candidates without specific examples often do not seem credible. However, the example shared should be fairly inconsequential, unintentional, and a learned lesson should be gleaned from it. Moving ahead without group assistance while assigned to a group project meant to be collaborative is a good example.

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.

Be completely honest and thoughtful with this one. You don't want to wake up one to find out that you're moving to a new city or state and it may be a major factor in your eligibility for employment. But again, if you don't want to move then the job probably isn't for you.

Try to talk about a book related to the industry, for example, if you're applying for a role related to business, cite a business book.

This question can be tricky because you need to show your worth As Train Dispatcher Chief 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.

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.

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

Ideally, you want to take on the role you're interviewing for, but you want to be flexible with your responsibilities As Train Dispatcher Chief if there are any changes.

Bad Answer: They don't have a good reason, or provide a generic answer, "I think it represents a great opportunity."

Good answer: One that shows they've done research on the company, and are truly excited about specific things they can do at the job. This not only shows enthusiasm for the work and basic preparation skills, gives you clues about the cultural fit.

"Ego" should be replaced by confidence. It's good to be confident as it shows that you know what you're doing. However, a big ego is when confidence spirals out of control and you become arrogant.

Do not claim to be comfortable with a specific role if you in are in fact not comfortable with it. However, if you have no problem working in certain roles or situations, be sure to discuss this with the interviewer.

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.

Reach out to your boss and let him know that first you value his leadership and organization but that you are being overwhelmed with the amount of non productive internal meetings.

This can be a very tricky question as the individual asking it is probably digging for something other than a simple answer to the question. We recommend that you don't immediately respond to the question directly. Instead, say something like, “That a difficult question. What is range for this position?” More often than not the interviewer will tell you. If the interviewer insists on direct answer you may want say that it depends on the details of the job - then give a wide salary range.

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.

Try to avoid specific classifications, whatever it may be. Organizations usually prefer managers who can adapt their skills to different situations.

Drinking at the water cooler together is not the best example. Think of how you can collaborate with teammates to generate new ideas, to create initiatives to impact the business' success for the better (specifically in the department that you're applying for). For example, if you're applying to marketing, collaboration could mean discussing new ways of social media advertising to reach an audience of over a million people to strengthen the brand awareness of the company.

Technology is important to almost every job today but it's not meant to be abused. I believe it's important to increase productivity and not for personal use.

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.

Understand that companies invest a lot of money into hiring the right staff. You want to emphasize that you are in it for the long run and you want to develop a career there and that it's not just a "5 month stepping stone" type of a job. You should be thinking how you're going to grow with that company. After all, don't you want to invest your energy and time with a company that is going to continue to be successful and one that will help you grow?

Possible ways to find out about the job:
Online website listing, friend, professional referral, mentor, career fairs, networking events. You should know about the roles and responsibilities of the job and what they're looking for. Make sure you read up on that online beforehand or ask the person that referred you.

This is a classic brainteaser, which was reportedly first asked by a Microsoft interviewer. Here's how to ""solve"" this brainteaser (remember to speak and reason out loud while solving this brainteaser): Why are manhole covers round? Could there be a structural reason? Why aren't manhole covers square? It would make it harder to fit with a cover. You'd have to rotate it exactly the right way.
The pipes below are also round, so fitting them might be easier, as might be making them. So many manhole covers are round because they don't need to be rotated. There are no corners to deal with. Also, a round manhole cover won't fall into a hole because it was rotated the wrong way, so it's safer. Looking at this, it seems corners are a problem. You can't cut yourself on a round manhole cover. And because it's round, it can be more easily transported. One person can roll it.

Discuss how you prioritize your work initiatives based on the company initiatives. For example, if you're in customer service discuss how you're focused on providing the best customer experience.

Tell them your major and the motivations behind why you chose it and how it's helped to prep your of this potential job.

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.

Incredibly important. I believe a positive attitude is the foundation of being successful - it's contagious in the workplace, with our customers, and ultimately it's the difference maker.