Question: When organizing your work, what is your approach in deciding the priority of the tasks to be done?

Alternative Question Phrasing:

When you need to create an order of job tasks that need to be completed, how do you decide which task has priority?

Follow-up questions:

How effective is your approach? Please give examples from previous experiences.

Question Details:

Question Type:

Knowledge/Skill Based

Skills:

Basic – Critical Thinking,Management of Time,Systems – Judgment and Decision Making

Abilities:

Cognitive – Category Flexibility (Mental Flexibility),Cognitive – Originality

Other Factors:

Big 5 – Openness to Experience (Open Mindedness),Personality-Job Fit,Personality-Organization Fit,Practical Intelligence (Street Smarts)

Work Activity (Task):

Information Input – Estimating Characteristics of Objects, Events, or Information,Mental Processes – Making Decisions and Solving Problems,Mental Processes – Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work,Mental Processes – Scheduling Work and Activities (Rostering),Mental Processes – Thinking Creatively (Creativity)

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

Job Structure – Handling Time Pressure

Work Style (Person-Job Fit):

Adaptability/Flexibility,Analytical Thinking,Dependability,Handling Ambiguity,Independence,Innovation

Question Frequency

Question Difficulty

What to look for in an answer:

The candidate’s organization and time management skills.
The candidate’s multi-tasking skills.

Red Flags to Watch For:

The candidate’s lack of organization skills.
Missing deadlines.

Sample Answer:

In my line of work, it is important that I have excellent organization skills. I keep track of my deliverables by setting reminders. I prioritize tasks based on what the impact would be to the company.

Question Source: https://www.jobbankusa.com/interview_questions_answers/