The remainder of this chapter contains typical interview questions, both behavioral and traditional, and sample story-based responses to them. The question is in the headline. Note that many of these stories contain emotional content to draw the interviewer in and help him or her identify with the interviewee.
I find that taking a proactive mindset to recognizing and solving problems before they happen make any job more rewarding. It not only saves time and effort, but also gives me a sense of accomplishment and ownership in my job. I demonstrated my proactive approach when I worked at a major supermarket chain. As a bookkeeper, I oversaw the offices. The safe was kept outside of the office in front of the cash registers, where anyone could get inside it if I or another office associate had it open to drop a deposit or get money in and out. I realized that the situation was a security hazard. Although we could not move the safe to the inside of the office where it was more secure, I ordered a timelock compartment and had it installed so the safe could be opened only at a specific time when the store closed each day. Money could be dropped through a slot in the compartment door, and we kept large sums of money in that compartment. We kept operating cash on hand since we needed some excess money to perform daily functions. One month after I left that store, I learned that it was robbed. Because of my efforts and foresight, the robbers only got a small amount of cash. My previous supervisor thanked me for my efforts, which gave me a great feeling, and I carried this proactive mindset to my other jobs thereafter.
Tell Me About Yourself: Storytelling that Propels Careers, Quintessential Careers Press, ISBN-10: 1-934689-00-9. Find out the ways you can own the entire book.
