Describe how you say no to the customer Reiterate standard processing and discourage exception processing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Describe project completed using your technical skills. what was the outcome Described project and how it improved overall process within team. Also, how it was delegated back to team

How did you spend your day today? I've been preparing for my interview :) How do you reply to 'What are your strengths and weaknesses' in an interview?

Explaining Strengths and Weaknesses in an Interview Nobody is perfect!! You must remember that nobody is perfect and that this possible employer knows that. A really great way of telling someone about a flaw is to always add a suggestion of improving that flaw. For example you could say, "I'm always told that I am a bit too slow... but that's only because I want to do the best job I can. I guess you could say I'm a bit anal when it comes to perfection." An employer can only look at that as being a great characteristic, and in no way a negative quality to possess. Talking about your strengths is a tricky one; you do not want to come across as egotistical. From my interviewee, an excellent answer I like to get is this: "I am very headstrong. I really like to be challenged in my job, and I just want to learn as much as I can in my position. At the end of the day I need to be able to look back on my day and feel good about the job that I've done. I guess you could call it sense of self worth. That's why I always put my all into everything I do." Here is more input and examples people have given for strengths:

Your strengths should already be noted in your resume and cover letter. Go over them (i.e., the strengths) again with the interviewer. One of my biggest strengths is my communication skills. I work very well with all kinds of people, and understand that everyone has different perspectives about projects and work tasks - so when I work with others I realize that everyone comes to the table with different priorities and objectives. I keep this in mind when I communicate tasks that need to be accomplished with positive reinforcement and awareness of what others are working on. A positive attitude will not differentiate you from the crowd. A good attitude is expected of every employee. Also you should back up what you say with an example. For example, don't just say you have good customer service skills prove it by also telling them how you won a company award or received positive customer comment letters for your good service. My strength is my flexibility to handle change. As customer service manager at my last job, I was able to turn around a negative working environment and develop a very supportive team. Hard worker Punctual Determined Able to prioritize

Believe in myself; self-confidence I have the ability to cope with failures and try to learn from my mistakes. I like to work in team and have been an active participant and organizer at several places. One of my greatest strengths I've acquired during my education is good analytical and planning skills. This has always benefited me to set goals and try to achieve them. But at the same time, I'm driven by the thoughts of success. Full commitment to my work Highly energetic Love to learn new things. Having good interpersonal skills Well organized and like to be neat with all of my work A good helper towards those who need it I am a team player and work well with others. I have great communication skills. I am a quick learner. I have great problem-solving skills and am willing to learn new things to get the job done.

Here are notes and examples of weaknesses:

You should answer with things you "are improving upon," e.g., "I believe I should always be improving upon myself, good or bad." You are answering the dreaded question without looking like an egotistical maniac, and showing the interviewer that you see yourself as a work in progress, trying to better all of your qualities. For your weakness, just pick one that is not going to disqualify you from the job, and then follow up with - this is what really matters - the examples of what you are doing (or have done) to fix your weakness. The most important point here is to show that you learn from your mistakes and your weakness, and you are taking the corrective action to fix the situation - and stress that! For example, if the job does not require public speaking, you can say that your weakness is you are afraid of speaking in front of the public. Then tell the interviewers that you have joined a Toastmaster club or public speech course to overcome the problem. Remind them that when you identify a problem, you actively take actions to correct it, and that is how you do things. Don't try to use a cliche or try to present a strength as a weakness by saying your weakness is that you are a workaholic. No one will believe that answer. Being too emotional will make the recruiter wonder if your interpersonal skills are lacking. Give a true weakness but one of modest size. Shows that you have taken steps to correct the weakness. For example you want to improve your MS Excel skills so you are taking a course on that now. I used to have trouble with procrastinating, now I have learned to write down a list of things that I need to do, and keep a calender to keep track of deadlines. I have found that this not only helps me to finish things on time, but it has also helped me to be more organized. For my weakness, I always say that some people say I'm over-friendly. You can't go wrong with that one. Usually, the person interviewing is like "Oh, that's not a bad thing at all."

I'm a little egoistic when it comes to winning things and get a little ruthless too. I lose patience sometimes when I am not in a position to complete the assigned job in time. I have to work on having more patience and giving myself a break, because I always want everything done at once. Tend to go to any limits while helping my friends. I am too focused on my work and I need to find more time to relax. I'm too focused on work and need to develop some after-hours hobbies.

And examples of combination strength-weakness answers:

I'm a workaholic person and love to dedicate myself to the work I'm doing. But at the same time I forget to keep a balance between other things which I'm trying to improve on. Take whatever is your best quality and also describe it as your worst. It often is, as we are all made up like two sides of a coin. Try it out with different qualities and accomplishments and see how it works. For example: The best thing about me is that I am able to see the big picture in a situation. The worst thing about me is that I can see the big picture in a situation. This is the best thing because I can remove myself from the emotion of a decision that needs to be made and act accordingly. It is a bad thing because I often can see the conclusion quicker than the other participants in a project and that can cause frustration sometimes amongst them. My strength is my flexibility to handle change. As a software developer at my last job, I was able to turn around a negative working environment and develop a very supportive team. Always turn weakness into a positive. If you lack experience or skills for example state this but also state that you are willing to learn, or that it is an area which you would like to improve on. Example 1: "I do not have much experience with customer service, but I would like to gain experience in this area. I get along well with people, I am able to listen and am a good communicator so I feel that I would get on well in a customer based environment." Example 2: "I am not too experienced with computers, but I am always willing to learn new skills. I have used computers a little in the past and this is one area which I would like to improve on. I am usually very quick at picking up new skills especially when it is something that I need to learn." Notes on interviewing

This question unfortunately has become a staple in the interview process and is an easy way out for an interviewer who can't think of any other questions. The reason this is a bad question is simply this: If someone has a weakness that could jeopardize his chance of getting the job, he will never reveal it. So the only answers that this question receives are false answers intended to placate the interviewer. A good interviewer won't ask this question. I'm always tempted to answer this way: "Mr. Interviewer, I always have a hard time with that question. What would your answer be to the question?" A good interviewer wouldn't dream of asking someone this question. As the interviewer, you will not get truthful answers from the weakness part of the question, and as the interviewee, you can end up coming across as egotistical and boastful when answering about your strengths. A good interviewer shouldn't want to make you uncomfortable.

Answer Sample

"My strengths are my ability to be flexible; I've seen companies go through changes in structure and management philosophy. I've had to adjust my style to the new environment several times. My weakness is my tendency to over-work so I pace myself now." The key is to turn the weakness - a negative character trait - into something positive.

No Trick: Honesty is the best policy Whatever you do, tell the truth. While there are certainly answers that interviewers prefer to hear, it has to match reality. Why? First, it's generally not good to get hired for a job that you're not matched well for. If you like new, exciting, dynamic situations but you're looking for a job on an assembly line, you're not going to be happy; saying that you like repetitive work doesn't make sense. Second, any good interviewer will check your references. If your answers don't match what they hear, you're almost certain to lose the chance for job. Don't ever list as a weakness the following: "I take on too many things and work to hard, and just don't know where to stop." It's a cliche, completely transparent, and I can tell you that it rarely makes the desired impression.

Another opinion This question is usually asked by prospective employers from candidates applying to them for employment. To answer this question the following procedure should be helpful: 1. Find out what nature of work "the team" in question does. Assuming you are interested in that type of work, list what formal training courses you have taken and qualifications acquired in that field or a related field. Next, mention whatever practical experience you in the field. List any relevant worthwhile achievements you have made. Such specifics will carry lot of weight. As a general plus point, say that you are a team worker and get on well with others, if you feel this is true.

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An interviewer's perspective I ask this question and whenever I get an answer like "I work too hard" I know I'm dealing with somebody that I can't really trust, and that I'm going to have a hard time developing an open and honest working relationship with. And I know that I still don't know the person's other weaknesses. At least with me, an interviewee has a much better chance if I think he or she is honestly telling me about a weakness. And then I can decide whether or not I can work around that weakness. One person told me that he needs fixed deadlines because otherwise he keeps finding additional things to add and it's hard for him to finish the project. I decided this was something I could live with and I hired him. We all have weaknesses. And if you think you're going to outsmart me with nonsense or evasion, you're hurting your chances with me --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In your team one member is very rude how do you handle this guy?One to one meeting has done three times, till the guy is very rude, what is your next step. If it is his tendency to behave like this then you can explain him about his future with this attitude. And finally if he is not able to understand your language...then warn him once or two and after that just sit with him against the managing team and try to get the solution from management regarding his rude behaviour. Well this kind of scenario will be found in all environments. If you already had face-to-face meeting even then if he is not improving then try to communicate this person via emails. Keep the records of the email and this kind of person when they get mad they will not hesitate to write stupid stuff in email that emails we can use as a weapon to go to the higher authority.

How you are going to be a or become a role model of you team? Well.. Team leader is the first person of the team. He is the responsible person of his team's output. A team is always follow his team leader or in other ways we can say that a team leader is a team which means by examine the team leader you can guess about the team.

Expertise : As a role model first of all he must be expert in his field. It is very necessary because he must be able to resolve the technical issues which cannot be able to solved by his team members. Supervision : Team leader is responsible for the planning of project and long term out put of the project. He has to think big and broad. He must be able to find out the long term output of the steps he is taking to develop the project. Hard Work: Team leader must be hard worker. In stress time he must have the dedication toward his work... because if he do hard work then his team will the same. Friendly: In free time he should be a friend not a team leader. He must be familiar with everyone as a close friend. This attitude help him to know each and every person in a team closely. Problem solver: He must be able to solve his team members problems weather they are related to work or personal. In a work hi must be a team leader and in free time he must be a close friend. Good communicator: He must be able to explain his view and ideas in a effective way. Good communication help him to handle client and explain him what hi is exception with us and what he can extra give to him..

Critical Issue Ticket is Severity 1 and it is very critical one, your team members they not able to resolve the issue and you are the least person to solve a problem? How do you resolve the issue?

For any issue whether there is a critical one or non-critical one the solution will always be there. If you know the correct person to approach then the problem can be solved with out any tension. First thing you have to find the base of the issue. Whether it is related to the Engineering side testing side or database side etc.. Once you find the issue example here is at system engineer side then find the correct person approach and get his feedback what causes this issue and how much time does it required to fix this....

Service Quality What is service quality? How do you improve your team members service quality? Excellent communication on timely manner. Working according to the SLA Diplomatically handling (never say no) Well!!! Service quality is not the individuals task. Service is related to the outcome of a group effort. To provide a good service a complete team need to work accordingly to get the desired target withing time provided by client. Up to some extent team leader has the responsibility to make a team or to manage a team in such a way that every one in the team work as a responsible person. If everyone in the team know his responsibility and fulfill them then automatically the output will be desired and service will be good one. Team lead must have the one to one correspondence in a team. He must know his team members capabilities and behaviours... then only hi can assign the task to them accordingly. Team leaders main responsibility to achieve the desired target with in deadline without stressing the team members. He has to decide who can in his team perform which task successfully and with responsibility and without having much stress to complete the task. If he can do so then it is sure that he is a good team leader and the service will be up to the mark.

What size team have you led and how did you measure your success as a team leader?

My success as a team leader was measured by the collective accomplishments of each of my team member. Those who performed better were not only identified praised and rewarded; but also encouraged to assist & motivate other colleagues to perform better and thus make our team stronger.

Root Cause Analysis What is RCA (Root Cause Analysis ) when you are going to ask RCA from Your team member? Explain the process? RCA is problem solving methods aimed at identifying the root causes of problems predicated on the belief that problems are best solved by attempting to correct or eliminate root causes as opposed to merely addressing the immediate symptoms.

Leadership Skills Tactics What tactics you apply to develop the leadership skills? Actually both the below answers are good but they miss a key point which is to ensure that you are communicating the vision of your management and orginisation properly to your team at the same time you should understand what your employees want from the orginisation and try to help them achieve it in a proper method this shows them that they can trust you and that you will look out for them. Deligate more responsibility to the team. Be an active listener to problems and suggestions. Develope professional and personal rapport in the team. Do not forward the pressure to the subbordinates until you explain to them why such pressure is needed and what is the benefit to the company and themselves.. Gain their confidence on you 1. Never think that x no of people are working under me. they are never under you. instaed develop a thinking that those employees are working with me for the same goal. 2. Try not to be biased to any one in team. Act neutral. 3. Active listening.

What are the Leadership Styles a good team leader must follow?

There is no direct answer to this question. If you think of it then it is a flamboyant style that usually would distinguish a leader from the team. However at the same time flamboyance has to be complemented with actual knowledge of the technology/issues being addressed by the solution. A few qualities that can make a good team lead: 1) Due diligence - A cliched term but makes a lot of sense when one is leading a team of highly qualified technologists. Delving into the details of what each team member is involved in helps in constant monitoring of activities. It is a merry go round but is useful. 2) Reach the next level - communicate what the team is upto and what the achievements of the team have been to the next higher level. Gives visibility to the team as well as the lead 3) Personal outreach - common human beings (which means everyone except superman-m.h.r.i.p and Paris Hilton) are surrounded by pressures which can restrict thought flow at critical junctures. A good team lead can provide a reassuring pat on the back to team members who are under pressure. To do this you have to be able to identify with the team member and be able to give thoughtful advice (DO NOT discuss such issues with anyone - breaks the trust bond). 4) Encourage independent thinking - Reduces a lot of design and implementation problems. 5) Take the team out for a team-building session once in a while. Make sure the team gets "face time" with higher management. Invite higher management of course.

How must the team leader play the role of learner to benefit a team?

A good learner only could be a good leader. The team leader must attend induction training seminars arranged by companies in various skills to keep them updated with the current technology. They must learn and induct it their team members which proves them to be a good team leader. What is Self-managed team leadership? Self-managed team leadership is different from traditional leadership and provides an alternative to traditional leaders role. Selfmanaged team leaders lead without positional authority. Self-managed team leadership is moving inside ones subordinate work group to lead. Self-managed team leadership defines a different role for the leader. The leader is not responsible for making decisions developing action plans or giving orders. In these situations the team is given the responsibility authority and accountability for managing a defined area of responsibility. When the work group is given control over one or more defined areas of team responsibility it is the leaders role to use self-managed leadership skills and systematic processes to help the team to operate effectively and efficiently.

What steps must a team leader take to motivate the team? These are the few steps you should take to motivate the team 1) Don't even think of selling the credit of a team member on your name. Give the credit to individual in team and encourage him/her for the same verbally. 2) In case of some bad reputation comes to your team try to shield the team members from losing their morals but do not forget to take or suggest preventive steps to let happen same thing again. 3) Start work by self on some of the tasks which are boring though required (like documentation) before asking team members to do the work. There are lot many tips like this one but these few will help get hold of the team.

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Praise him if he does good job and show your appreciation in time 2. Build up the ownership of team members for the project 3. Let team members know you believe them they can do well 4. Provide any chances to enrich/develop themselves or get promoted such as training 5. Help to solve personal matters if you can 6. Let team members learn something during working continuously especially those can help them close to their personal career goals (meet their interest and requirements). 7. Team building to make good working environment. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why is people management attribute very important for a team lead?

Attribute is a point where the management can analyze about us. People management attribute is very much important to balance the relation ship between your superiors and lower laps.

What are the Core skills needed for Team Lead?

Task (or Project) Management Skills (scheduling and budgeting resources) Personnel Management Skills (delegating dispute resolution personality conflict resolution) Mentoring Skills Communication Skills (downstream and upstream) Best leader characteristics:

Good technical skills Supportive Approachable Offers advice Praises a job well done Provides clear direction Delegates

How does a team lead identify performance problems and solve the same among their team members?

Assuming performance problems refers to individual job performance problems ...A successful team lead will have laid out clearly defined objectives for each member of his team and therefore held accountable for reaching those individual goals. Team leads should periodically review the level of effort put forth by each team member. This makes it easier to identify and efficiently rectify performance problems. Periodic feedback to members is crucial in ensuring that any concerns are promptly resolved. 1

How can a team lead keep the team organized to meet deadlines or goals?

Team members have to be provided access to the bigger picture. This not only assists them in attaining their goals but is also a moral booster when they realize the overall impact of their contribution.- Periodic feedback to members allows them to gauge their progress and mitigate any issues before they go out of control- Nip it in the bud: conflict resolution skills are vital. Organize the team to ensure that sub-teams members respect each other i.e do not have personality conflicts

What are the attributes that make a good team leader?

A good team leader has to have 1. Good knowledge of the project (s) he is leading 2. Genuinely interested in the success of project AND individuals. 3. Helping and problem solving team members 4. Open to suggestions from team members 5. Has to be responsible for whatever decision a team member has taken 6. Not afraid of failure 7. Nice to have: technically sound so as to replace any of the team member

Unplanned Leaves

As a team lead How will you handle a situation where an employee frequently takes unplanned leaves? I shall talk to the candidate personally 1st and try to understand the problem behind his unplanned leaves. If possible i will suggest him to rectify his problem asap. This would be done for once or twice and if the same is repeating from his end.. then next level of escalations would be taken care...

The main 2 reasons will be a) That member is not interested in the work that he/she is doing. b) He/she is not happy with the immediate supervisor. Best way to solve this is by face to face talk. Always it should be a gain - gain situation for anyone who is [Link] the individual and the project should be benefited by the work that he/she is doing. Another reason can be personal. A good lead should be able to identiy this too. It should be like professional at work and personal friend.