Job Selection Criteria - Essay Example

Job Sеlесtiоn Criteria Name Institutional Affiliation Making use of the Star technique often helps job seekers in answer questions in competency-based job interviews. When used at its best, the technique can prove invisible and vital to the listener as it simply comes across as a well-articulated example. This method is a structured manner of responding to a behavioral-based interview question by discussing the specific situation, tasks, action, and the results of the situation one is describing (Innes, 2012). Some of these are as answered: Sound oral and written communication skills Situation; there had been a general misunderstanding between the administration and the students in my college about some dismissals of students that were made. Task; being one of the student representatives, we had to work extra hard to neutralize this misunderstanding and prevent it from degenerating and leading to other mishaps. Action; I did organize a delegation that approached the administration about the issue of the dismissal. Our job was to dissuade the administration from carrying out the dismissal, which we did in the long run. I was particularly tasked with the drafting of the necessary emails and letters that were to be used administratively to reverse this. Result; through this delegation I had formed, we were able to prevent the dismissal of the students and prevent the situation from further degeneration. High-level conceptual, analytical and problem solving skills Situation; We were due to be delivering a presentation in a classroom of more than 30 people on a project we were given by our class tutor and our presenter got stuck in traffic and couldn’t make it in time to make the presentation Task; I was then responsible for finding an alternative solution so that this couldn’t reflect badly on our team and we didn't waste the opportunity because this was an event that would collectively determine our grades in the long run. Activity; I spoke to the tutor if he could manage to change the order of presentation so that we could readjust ourselves accordingly. He agreed so we bought ourselves some time. I prevailed upon one of our team members who agreed to make our presentation on our presenter’s behalf. I had to personally make sure that he had all the facts that were required of him. Result ; Our presenter didn't make it to the meeting on time but we managed to explain our points well and the overall presentation went on without mishaps, a bit sketchy though and devoid of many details around the edges but it was received warmly by our classmates. Our main presenter managed to get to the class meeting for the last 15 minutes to answer to the questions that were raised. The presentation was a success much to our surprise. If I hadn’t acted swiftly to help solve the problem we had then perhaps the end results wouldn’t have been what we eventually got. Sound communication, interpersonal and negotiating skills, including well-developed written and oral skills Situation; there was this community organization that I worked for where the receptionist was hurriedly fired from her job because of some fatal mistakes she had committed, and so there was no one to be able to handle her the visitors that came to the organization. Task; the boss then appointed me to act in that capacity for a while before they had found another receptionist to fill in the gap that was left. This was partly based on my proven ability to be able to communicate effectively with every client I had dealt with, and my stunning interpersonal skills within my short stunt at the organization. Action; in this tentative position, I dealt with members of the general public, officers from the different arms of the government and representatives from private businesses as my daily routine. I dealt with the people on face to face conversations, over the phone and through emails. I became the first point for the organisation which required me to be professional, courteous and helpful in every interaction I was involved in. Result; in recognition to the excellent job I did at this temporary position, and because of my positive interpersonal skills, I did get some perks from my boss and even an extension in my contractual job. Proven experience using information and technology Situation; there was this relatively smaller company I was working for and who did not have the services of an IT expert but needed to upgrade its computers and IT systems. Task; this was critical because some operations of the company could no longer be carried out effectively by its employees and some cost effective measure had to be sought out in order to enable the computers work accordingly. Action; as it turned out, the computers had required an upgrade of their operating systems and an installation of some antivirus software. Together with a colleague, we were able to do this upgrade and the necessary installations that were required so that the computer systems could function effectively. Result; we got some benefits as a return and from then, minor IT problems were referred to me in particular and I handled most of it with ease. Able to operate effectively in a team, contributing positively to team operations and working relationships Situation; I was working as parts of a team chosen by our church to organize a series of social events that were traditionally carried out by the church on a quarterly basis. The confidence was there in us that we’d complete this task in time before the final day until two of our senior members were sent on a different mission. Task; our team suddenly was under some serious pressure to meet the deadline and set the requirements in place in order to enable the event run smoothly. We were required to meet the original deadline with the reduced number of people involved and lack of leadership that was created. Action; I was up to speed with all that was required for this event to be carried out through my prior experience of having worked in a similar committee before. I thus placed myself as a temporary leader, brought them together and encouraged them towards the completion of our task. I was effective in using my prior knowledge and the leadership skills I’d acquired from my earlier engagements in ensuring that all these turned out successively. Through motivating the members, we were able to work effectively as a team and ensure that everything was done accordingly. Result; under my guidance and motivation prowess, I effectively brought the team together to deliver on the task on time. The social events were carried out successfully and everyone was happy on the fateful day. We were congratulated on a job well done and in the process I was promoted to head the whole department in our church Demonstrated client service focus and experience in a client service environment Situation; in my previous work station as an intern, I had been recently transferred to the customer care desk to handle customer issues upon which some client had come to make some inquiries about some requests he had made before, effusively. Task; the customer had requested for some cash transfer to some other account in another bank, but this hadn’t been made and no communication of any from had been given. I did have to look into this query and ensure that the client had gotten the services he needed. Action; I followed up the matter with the person that previously held the position and my branch manager and managed to get the issue sorted out. Apparently, the email that was given by the client had been the issue as it was a wrong one and so no transaction could be approved. Result; after some few working days the transaction was made and the customer even made a call acknowledging the same. He did continue to transact business with the bank and even became a more loyal client. Sound organizational skills and ability to prioritize, meet deadlines and work within established procedures and guidelines. Situation; in my internship, I was in a group of ten, involved in the development of product promotion calendars and pens for some of the company’s core products Task; The project was critical as we had been required to be able to provide viable prototypes of the promotional products on the launch dates that had been set with major sales to occur after that when our team leader fell ill and had to be excused. Action; Drawing from my experiences as a faculty representative, and my love for challenges and responsibilities, I volunteered to stand in and lead the whole project. I did organize the team; brought together all that we needed to ensure that the project was completed in time. With the request for some bonuses and incentives, which I had requested for from our department head, we were able to pull through the difficult parts of the task and deliver these products before the supposed deadline. Result; Though the project did surpass the budget that had been placed on its completion, it achieved its purpose with better results than had been expected. The project was seen as a great success as the additional project cost was minimal compared to the costs that would have been incurred as a result of delaying the launch and the subsequent sale program. Demonstrated ability to exercise initiative and to work under minimal supervision Situation; at some point during our coursework, one of our tutors got an accident and became incapacitated to handle our coarse requirements. Task; due to the fact that the learning period was almost nearing its completion and because of the inability of the institution to get a replacement, we had to work among ourselves to complete the coursework before the testing period began. I took it upon myself to organize my fellow course mates into groups and discussions in order for us to complete the course Action; I gathered all the past course materials and made them available to the class, grouped the class members and initiated class discussions within this period. Result; as a result, all of us passed the course and were promoted despite the misfortunes that befell our course tutor. I was promoted to a class representative too as a result. Reference Innes, J. (2012). The interview question & answer book: Your definitive guide to the best answers to even the toughest interview question. Harlow: Prentice Hall Business. Read More