Behavioral Interview Questions

I have a second round tomorrow for the Operations Manager opening with the COO of an online grocery shopping app company and I’m curious about what the expectation would be from me in terms of my personality and approach to solving problems. The recruiter mentioned the questions to be behavioral and this will be my first ever behavioral interview. Any tips about body language, how concise I keep my answers, how to not freak out?

Is the recruiter internal at this company, or an external recruiter? If external, ask them to ask some questions, role play, etc.

I'd say be a reserved version of yourself. This isn't pm_world on vacation, this is you in the corporate world. Something I have to remind myself is don't try to be funny, even though I am funny with my friends.

There are so many behavioral questions - I can't tell you how to answer them. I'd google search for some and formulate your answers. When asked a question, please feel free to take your time, be thoughtful, and think through your answer before responding. Think of the right way to answer it, then take another 2-5 seconds on how to word it. Concise it better.

Recently Let Go from Job - Why?

I was recently let go (without cause) from a position after being with a company for almost four years a few weeks ago. It was really out of the blue and I had not received any notice or warning of any poor performance or work related issues . I did well on my performance review in December and qualified for a company bonus is April.

I was told by my manager and HR over the phone and advised that I was unsuitable for the role. I tried to ask for more information (for my own personal development) but nothing was disclosed to me further.

My department was quite large for the organization (Training) and I was at the bottom of the totem pole when it came to experience and seniority. I suspect it might be budgetary/restructure but I don’t actually have a complete/concrete reason.

If I were to go into an interview, what would be the best way to explain why I have left my previous position? I thought about perhaps saying “Due to the current circumstances, the department had to explore new avenues to move forward and unfortunately, I didn’t fit the restructure?” Is this negative? Or is there a better way to address the issue without delving to far into the subject?

Thanks for your expertise!

I think your sentence on the restructuring is best. If it's true, I would try and phrase it in a way that communicates that multiple people/a department was let go to de-personalize it.

Also, you don't need to include that you were let go if you aren't asked. If your motivations about applying are brought up "why are you looking for a job/what has you applying/why do you want to work here/etc", use the company you are applying TO as the motivation.

"Why are you in the job market?"

You, "The work you are doing in ___ and ____ caught my attention and aligns with my experience doing _. Your _ initiatives are inspiring and this is the type of company I want to help to achieve its goals! With my past work doing ____ I am confident I can help move the needle forward. I'm here to help."

Tough Interview Questions

Here’s a question that just makes my eyes and head pound. Anyone have any suggestions on how to answer this question? Please provide at least two examples of experience researching methods, procedures, and practices in order to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of administrative processes related to human resources, travel, correspondence, or budget.

I would assume that question is looking less for the answer for the question, and more looking at how resourceful you are in finding new information. It would take a quick and well organized response, but they want to know how quickly you can react to new problems/questions and how you can relay that information to managers/etc.

One way to answer would be to quickly create an action list/check list. "First I would research ___, then I would find reliable resources, then I would do a price and implementation comparison, etc."

Here's the situation: Boss, "Hey Little Bird, can you find out what it takes to fly our 12 employees to a conference in ___ in two months without breaking covid restrictions?"

Bad employee: "Sure....how do I do that? Do you mean style in a hotel"

Good employee: "Give me three hours...looking at our state and ___ state, our restrictions are the same. Our employee manual states ___ we are covered. Group flights cost XXX, hotels are available XXX miles from the conference center. We cover all training and travel costs"

Cover Letter Length

How important is the length of cover letters? Will recruiters turn away from longer ones and give it no chance? Also, does adding color to a black & white resume improve it or make it stand out more?

I don't see cover letters as necessary, but nothing wrong if you want to make one.

For your cover letter, the shorter the better. I mean that to the extreme. 1-3 sentences would be great. I've seen plenty that short and I'm more likely to read that than the single-spaced full page manifesto I get.

In my experience, the longer the cover letter, the weirder they get.

I like seeing a little color in resumes. I often advise people to use Maroon on the headings of their resume.

What to Use as Professional Reference on Resume

“So I just graduated college and the job that I am applying to asks for three profession reference letters... I have two from an internship I did but was wondering does a manager/owner of the restaurant I currently work at count as a “professional” reference?”

Yes, I think that will work great. While you are earlier in your career, there is nothing wrong with using a neighbor, pastor, coach, etc. as a reference. The standing of that person and what they know about you is more important than the professionalism. A manager/owner will work great.

If you are applying for a CEO position, a Restaurant Owner isn't going to be your top pick. If you are earlier in your career, it's great. Working at a restaurant is hard work (I know, I worked at one through HS, college) and I see it as great experience. Down to the nitty-gritty with customers, physical work, stress, etc. Wear your restaurant experience with pride!