Question: Imagine this scenario: Your manager has given you a project but it has an impossible deadline. How do you handle the workload?

Alternative Question Phrasing:

What would you do if your manager gave you a task with a seemingly impossible deadline?

Follow-up questions:

How effective do you think is your strategy?
Would you consider any alternative strategies to resolve this issue?
Do you think your methods are making the best of the given situation?
How would you implement your solution?

Question Details:

Question Type:

Situational

Skills:

Basic – Monitoring (Making observations of self and environment),Basic – Science and Logic,Management of Time,Social – Negotiation,Systems Analysis

Abilities:

Cognitive – Category Flexibility (Mental Flexibility),Cognitive – Deductive Reasoning

Other Factors:

Motivation/Ambition/Aspiration,Personality-Job Fit,Practical Intelligence (Street Smarts)

Work Activity (Task):

Information Input – Estimating Characteristics of Objects, Events, or Information,Interacting with Others – Assigning Tasks to Others (Delegation and Direction),Interacting with Others – Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates,Mental Processes – Developing Objectives and Strategies,Mental Processes – Judging the Value of Things, Services, or People,Mental Processes – Making Decisions and Solving Problems,Mental Processes – Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work

Work Context (Person-Job/Team/Org Fit):

Job Structure – Freedom to Make Decisions,Job Structure – Frequency of Decision Making

Work Style (Person-Job Fit):

Achievement/Effort (Action/Result Orientation),Dependability,Initiative,Stress Tolerance

Question Frequency

Question Difficulty

What to look for in an answer:

You are looking for how the interviewee accepts the challenge and how do they solve the problem. They could (a) work overtime, (b) enlist the help of coworkers, (c) request the manager for support such as moving the deadline, or some combination of the three. Whichever solution they choose will tell you about their work ethic and personality and how they would resolve a similar situation in real life.

Red Flags to Watch For:

If the interviewee has an unrealistic idea of the time and effort needed to complete the work, it is a red flag.

Sample Answer:

N/A

Question Source: Unknown