Interview Question Help Please

[julesapple]

Son #1 went for a job interview today at a health centre. One of the questions was;

'What would you do to improve communications in this office?'

Suggestions for answers please...I know a lot of you work in similar office situations and the BH and I can't really help the boy here. He usually gets scowled at if he asks further questions to try and clarify what the communications problems actually are in the hypothetical situation.

Thanks chaps!

[bearded bloke]

"I would strive to ensure that ALL questions AND answers were clear,concise & unambiguous"

[julesapple]

Brilliant...the BH and Son #1 are PTSL! Love it!

[bearded bloke]

Jules,tell #1 son that when asked a "non question" the trick is to give a "non answer" of the same or higher intellectual level

[Feral007]

I'd also say something along the lines of evaluating the communication issues and enlisting the help of the office staff in formulating ways to solve the issues, since obviously getting the staff on board is going to 'increase compliance' and increase communication. Take it back to the office.

[chris]

Better than being asked:

If you were an animal, what animal would you be? (And replying with, we're mammals already aren't we? - wasn't ideal )

Or:

If you were a fruit, would you be an apple, or an orange.



I'd probably reply with finding a decent supplier, then negotiating an awesome deal on megaphones for the office.

[veggiechicken]

You can tell how long ago I was asked this but its puzzled me ever since!
Do you think that Max Boyce is bad for the image of Wales?

[zazen999]

'What would you do to improve communications in this office?'

My usual 'in what context'.

Then 'Do you mean the computers are facing away from each other and people don't talk to each other, in which case I'd move the desks. Or do you mean that people can't read, in which case I'd recommend a literacy course. Or do you mean that people can't use emails effectively, in which case I'd do some training. Or do you mean that the phone drops out in which case I'd negotiate a different supplier. Or do you mean that your clients aren't getting information about late jobs, in which case I'd try to eliminate the lateness of jobs first. I can't possibly answer that until I know the context of the problem.'

[Nicos]

Actually- on reflection, isn't it the role of the Practice Manager to sort those problems out?
Your son just needs to comply with what is already in place, but make sure that anything he needs to pass on is sent to the appropriate person asap.
A Practice Manager probably wouldn't take kindly to a junior ,and new, member of staff to start 'taking over' ,suggesting how to change 'their' system of running the office! Treading on other peeps feet n all that! (I'm presuming it's not the PM role he's applied for ??)

[Farmer_Gyles]

'What would you do to improve communications in this office?'

quarter past four

it won't get him the job, but might make the interviewer laugh .... then again, might not ....

[Farmer_Gyles]

Son #1 went for a job interview today at a health centre. One of the questions was;

'What would you do to improve communications in this office?'

Suggestions for answers please...

to me, the answer should not be to ask what the problems are, it should be to outline the procedure the interviewee will use to resolve the problems ....

as an example answer .... "I would look at the existing communication methods and procedures, discuss with people in the office to find what problems they are having, which will identify the root causes of any problems. We can then discuss alternative working methods or procedures, or alternative communication equipment or technologies as appropriate. These can be introduced on a trial basis to test viability and effectiveness. Those that are most successful can be implemented on a full scale permanent basis"

[bearded bloke]

Actually- on reflection, isn't it the role of the Practice Manager to sort those problems out?

Yep.that is why I call them non questions & give non answers,ALL that type of questions (strictly speaking irrelevant to the job applied for) asked at interviews are included purely to test if you can "think on you feet"

A more normal & relevant one is ............

Question ....."If successful in your application what will you bring to the job/company" (or similar)

Answer ........"I will bring the enthusiasm & commitment to do the task to the best of my abilities"

Keep the answers brief,but be prepared to expand on them should you be asked

[veggiechicken]

As BB Says ^^^^^ the aim is to demonstrate that you can think on your feet, that you have an opinion and can put it across convincingly. I don't believe it matters whether the answer is right or wrong, just that you can give an answer and can justify your stance.

[Farmer_Gyles]

Question ....."If successful in your application what will you bring to the job/company" (or similar)

cake .....

[Feral007]

cake .....

Off topic as usual.....but whenever we have a new person to a meeting I would always ask them if the person they were replacing had told them that they were in charge of bringing the chocolate biscuits each meeting..............surprising how many fell for it

* pleasantly surprising