The more focused you are during an interview, the more successful you will be. Focus on the question asked and answer it directly. If you think you’ve gone off course for any reason, it’s OK to ask the interviewer if you are on the right track. Your answer should have a beginning, a middle, and an end that includes a real, tangible, and preferably positive result. Here is an example of a question asked and an effective answer:
Question: Jenna, what was your biggest contribution to the company you interned with lastsummer?
Answer: Throughout the summer, we had approximately five to six team meetings where theentire staff of ten engineers and their direct reports were present to discuss the major goal of thesummer: the construction of a new courthouse.
I was tasked with drafting the agenda of these meetings and the agenda notes, which verified allthat was discussed and agreed upon. The agendas directed complex meetings, and the agendanotes served as key documents that verified and clarified what was discussed and agreed uponduring the meetings.
My first draft of the first agenda was much too broad, but with feedback from my manager, Iensured it included all the details necessary to hold a productive and effective meeting andcreated the structure for the agenda notes document. The agenda notes were typically three tofive pages long, and by the second meeting, I was drafting the agenda and publishing the noteswithout any revisions from my manager.
I received exceptional feedback from several department heads because, in many instances, thenotes saved countless hours of work. For example, during the third meeting, we reversed courseon a previously agreed-upon strategy for the front columns of the courthouse. One of the keyassistant engineers was not at the meeting, and when her peer brought her up to speed, he forgotto mention that the columns were changed from the Roman style columns to the Grecian columns,which needed a more intricate support system from the roof to the courthouse steps. Luckily, she
read my agenda notes, which highlighted any course changes in red, and saved about two weeks’worth of work, which was easily several thousand dollars. It also kept everyone on trackregarding the completion date, which is June 2014.
To improve this process overall, I loaded the agenda and the notes into the department’s centralfiles so instead of relying upon hard copies or e-mailed copies, everyone had one place to go forthis important document that kept everyone on track. They are still using the improvements Iimplemented, so I’m very proud of that.
The answer’s beginning set the stage:
- Throughout the summer, we had approximately five to six team meetings, where the entire staff of ten engineers and their direct reports were present to discuss the major goal of the summer: the construction of a new courthouse.
- I was tasked with drafting the agenda of these meetings and the agenda notes, which verified all that was discussed and agreed upon.
Notice it had a middle that allowed you to understand how things were working:
- My first draft of the first agenda was much too broad, but with feedback from my manager, I edited it to include all the details necessary to hold a productive and effective meeting and create the structure for the agenda notes document.
- By the second meeting, I was drafting the agenda and publishing the notes without any revisions from my manager.
Positive momentum was built throughout the answer, and Jenna shared the positive results of her work:
- I received exceptional feedback from several department heads because in many instances, the notes saved countless hours of work.
- To improve this process overall, I loaded the agenda and the notes into the department’s central files, so instead of relying upon hard copies or e-mailed copies, everyone had one place to go for this important document that kept everyone on track.
- They are still using the improvements I implemented, so I’m very proud of that.
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