The'BigFive' Interview Questions in Multinational Corporations(MNCs)
There are five very common generic questions which crop up in virtually every
interview. They relate to:
- Being a good team player;
- Planning and organizing your work effectively;
- Good interpersonal communication;
- Coping with change in the workplace;
- Providing effective customer service (including internal customers).
- Using the four steps, this blog poses the questions about these issues and suggests possible responses.
The importance of the ‘big five’ questions
The skills listed above are vital to most jobs. It is hard to think of a job in
which all five do not come into play at one stage or another, and impossible to think of a
job in which at least one of them is not relevant. For this reason, the ‘big five’ actually
constitute hundreds of interview questions.
Once you’ve learned how to answer the ‘big five’ questions, you will be able
to respond to many other questions because there is a great deal of overlap amongst
them. For example, if you can answer the basic question, ‘What makes you a good team
player?’ you should also be able to respond to a range of similar team player questions,
including:
- How do you like working in a team?
- Do you consider yourself a good team player?
- Describe your ideal team.
- What does it take to be an effective team player?
However, be aware that, while learning how to respond to one generic question
allows you to answer many similar questions, this does not mean you will be able to
answer every conceivable question asked. It’s up to you to be diligent and look for
questions within the genre that may be slightly different or unexpected.
Given the common nature of the above skills, they will be treated as if they have
been performed before.
Answering a ‘team player’ question -
Most people work in teams. Even people who appear to work on their own
often have to interact with others in the organisation, thus creating one or more loosely
formed teams. Some teams need to work closely together, others less so; some teams
work together all the time, whereas others meet only periodically. The important point
is that employers rely heavily on the smooth functioning of their teams and are keen to
hire effective team players. Here are some examples of team player questions:
- What makes you a good team player?
- How do you find working in a team?
- Do you prefer working alone or in a team? Why?
- What do you dislike about working in a team?
- What would you do if one of your colleagues was not pulling their weight?
Describe your ideal team.
Can you give us examples of what you’ve done to ensure that your role in a
team was a positive one?
How would you handle a team member who was loud and aggressive at team
meetings and dominated proceedings by intimidating others?
Now let’s use the four steps to prepare the information needed to respond to ‘team
player’ questions: Here’s a sample interview question and a possible response.
Question: Are you a good team player? Can you give us examples of you
demonstrating team player capabilities?
Yes, I consider myself to be an effective team player. In my previous job I was
part of a team of four people who were responsible for paying the salaries, including
overtime and bonuses, of approximately 2000 employees When I first started work in
the team, there were communication problems between several team members. As well
as affecting our performance, these problems were straining relations between certain
members of the team. After several weeks, I thought that if we introduced more regular
meetings and a rotating chair, communications might improve.
When I made this suggestion, the team members agreed to it and, to make a
long story short, the new meeting format turned out to be a success. Both
communications and performance improved I also demonstrated my team player
capabilities by making a point of acknowledging my colleagues’ opinions and
contributions, as well as helping team members when they were having problems.
I think when you’re willing to help others, they’ll help you when you need it in
return and that can only be good for the team. I also made a point of sharing all
information I thought my colleagues needed to know. I would mention even seemingly
unimportant information such as individuals griping about their pay and minor mishaps
with the software because often it can be the little things that cause big problems down
the line.
According to my colleagues, my presence in the team led to improved
communications among team members, as well as with our clients, which contributed
significantly to our overall performance. In particular, our error rate was halved within
two months.
Remember that, unless the interviewer has specifically told you that the company is
placing a great deal of emphasis on hiring someone with effective team player skills,
chances are that you would not use every aspect of the above answer in response to a
single question.
You may decide to use parts of it and keep the rest in reserve for a follow-up
question or a question seeking information about similar skills. It is wise to over-
prepare and even wiser to know when to stop. The same principle applies to the rest of
the ‘big five’ questions.
Answering a planning and organizing question –
It is difficult to think of a job in which is no planning and organizing are
involved. If we accept that technology has largely taken over many of the repetitive
tasks performed by people in the past, most jobs these days involve some sort of
planning and organizing. Planning and organizing questions are therefore likely to be
high on the agenda of many interviewers. Here are some typical planning and organizing
questions.
Tell us how you go about planning and organizing your work schedule.
Can you give us an example of when you had to plan and organize an important event or work-
related activity? What steps did you take?
Do you consider yourself a good planner and organizer? Why?
What do you do when your manager asks you to complete a task but you’ve already got a very full
agenda?
How do you prioritize your work?
Describe your approach to planning and organizing your work.
Now let’s look at a sample interview question and response.
Question: Can you give us an example of when you had to plan and organize an
important event or work related activity? What steps did you take?
When I was working in the administration support unit for Michael Angelo
Enterprises, I was responsible for planning a broad range of activities ranging from the
timely ordering of paint supplies to security, building maintenance and assisting
departments and managers with basic infrastructure needs Juggling all these activities
simultaneously meant I had to plan my work in great detail as well as be very well
organised.
There was one time when we had to install new security systems and new
computer graphics software, as well as answering the multiple requests made by our
clients. In order to deal with all of this, I needed to diarise my work on a daily, weekly
and monthly basis and ensure that I continually kept up to date with what everyone else
was doing.
I made sure I attended as many meetings as I could and kept my ear to the
ground. Given the multiple tasks I had to complete, I found it important to prioritize my
work according to the needs of the organisation, as opposed to the needs of a few
individuals. Getting the new security systems in place had to come before some of the
requests made by managers.
And, finally, it was important to learn how to say ‘no’ to some requests. In my
view, a good planner knows how much is enough. Taking on more work than one can
handle only leads to poor-quality service or even failure to do the work.
As well as learning a great deal about what it takes to maintain an organisation
in terms of infrastructure support, one of the great outcomes of my actions was that my
clients rated my service as ‘very high’ for three years running, which gave me a great
deal of satisfaction.
Answering an interpersonal communication question Interpersonal
communication skills are not just about clear communications. They are also about the
way we interact with others. People with effective interpersonal communication skills
are much more likely to get on with others in the workplace (and thus get ahead)
because they demonstrate a range of behaviours that bring out the best in the people they
interact with.
They are good listeners, avoid inflammatory language (including body
language), acknowledge others’ contributions, consult before making decisions, and so
on. People with effective interpersonal communication skills are highly prized by
employers because they bring harmony to the workplace. They usually make people feel
better about themselves and their contributions—which, of course, is important to
employers in terms of maintaining a happy and productive workforce.
Here are some typical interpersonal communication skills questions:
Do you enjoy working with people?
How would you describe your relations with others in the work place?
Describe yourself. (Whilst this question does not confine itself to
interpersonal communication skills, it does provide an excellent opportunity
for you to briefly mention them.)
Tell us about a time when you had a disagreement with some one at work.
What were the circumstances and how did you deal with it?
Can you give us an example of when you had to communicate a complex and
sensitive issue? How did you go about it?
Describe the colleague with whom you enjoyed working most.
How do you deal with an angry person at work?
Would you prefer to be seen as a well-liked person or an effective person?
A clear overlap exists between interpersonal communication skills and team player
skills. Many of the points can therefore be used interchangeably. Here’s an example of a
possible interview question and response.
Question: Can you give us an example of when you had to communicate a complex
and sensitive issue? How did you go about it?
When I was working for Magellan, I was on the team that was responsible for
introducing a new performance appraisal system for all of the crew on our ship.
Working on this project, I was often required to communicate complex and sensitive
information to individuals and groups. I’d like to emphasize that performance appraisals
were an extremely sensitive issue because people’s pay was being attached to the
results.
I was successful in communicating the relevant information because I adhered
to a number of sound interpersonal communication principles—principles that I have
successfully implemented in the past. For example, I made a point of taking people’s
sensitivities into account and addressing them early on in our conversations.
I avoided any form of jargon, and often assumed that my audience had very
little prior knowledge about the issues at - hand. I used positive, non threatening body
language—especially when I was confronted by the sceptics who belittled the program
despite their lack of knowledge about it. I also acknowledged other people’s opinions
and never made disparaging comments about suggestions, no matter how outlandish they
were.
Furthermore, I always made the effort to consult with key stakeholders before
finalizing decisions. The very fact that you make the effort to consult and explain the
parameters within which you have to work often minimizes levels of dissatisfaction,
even though people may not entirely agree with you.
As a result of my efforts, opposition to the program was virtually non-existent.
The crew demonstrated a constructive attitude and gave it their best. As a result, we
were able to successfully implement the program within our time frame and budget.
Coping with change in the workplace-
Unlike the workplace of yesteryear, when people could be performing the
same set of duties for many years, today’s work environment is characterized by
constant change.
In fact, it can be argued that the only constant is change. All this, of course,
means a flexible employee is a highly valued one. Change can take the form of any
number of things, including:
New machinery;
New procedures or guidelines;
New legislation;
New management structures;
Company takeovers;
Downsizing;
New software;
The effects of new competition.
Organisations that are unable to adapt quickly to changing circumstances often lose
market share and can easily go out of business. Therefore, how you respond to ‘coping
with change’ questions is very important. Here are a few examples of the form they may
take:
- Tell us about a time you had to learn new things about your job. How did
- you cope?
- Do you enjoy changing duties?
- How do you cope with constant change in the workplace?
- Do you regard yourself as a flexible sort of person?
- How do you think you would react if you suddenly had to abandon a project
- you were working on and start a new one?
- What are your views on learning in the workplace?
Now let’s look at a sample question and a possible response.
Question: Tell us about a time you had to learn new things about your job. How did
you cope?
When I working for Northern Legions building Hadrian’s Wall, senior
management decided to invest heavily in new technology which was designed to
improve quality and save us a great deal of time. This new technology involved an array
of new equipment, software and work procedures, and represented a sea change in how
I performed my duties.
Initially, all of us were slightly daunted at the grand scale of the changes;
however, I soon realized that the changes were inevitable if our company was to remain
competitive.
I also quickly came to the realization that, if I was to remain a valued member
of the company, I would need to quickly learn how to work under the new regime. This
realization ensured that I embraced the changes enthusiastically. Whereas some of my
colleagues saw it as a burden, I saw it as the way of the future which is how I’ve come
to view change generally.
As well as attending all the required training sessions, I attended extra ones as
well. I studied hard, asked questions and gained as much experience as I could. I soon
became the acknowledged expert in certain areas, and people started coming to me for
advice.
As a result of our efforts, the new technology was successfully implemented.
My team was working with the new technology within the timelines and budget
allocated to us. And I learned a whole new way of doing things.
Summary of key points
The importance of the big five questions is that they are based on skills
required for most, if not all, jobs. This makes it highly likely that you will be required to
answer a number of questions relating to these. As well as the universality of these
skills, they are also critically important to most employers (good interpersonal
communication skills, for example, are seen as central to establishing harmonious work
relationships and effective performance ).
