Question: Give me an example of a time when expenses in your department threatened to run over budget. What did you do about it?

Alternative Question Phrasing:

Follow-up questions:

What approach do you use to ensure this will not happen again?

Question Details:

Question Type:

Behavioral

Skills:

Basic – Critical Thinking,Basic – Monitoring (Making observations of self and environment)

Abilities:

Cognitive – Category Flexibility (Mental Flexibility)

Other Factors:

Management Level,Personality-Job Fit,Personality-Organization Fit

Work Activity (Task):

Information Input – Estimating Characteristics of Objects, Events, or Information,Mental Processes – Judging the Value of Things, Services, or People,Mental Processes – Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Work Style (Person-Job Fit):

Adaptability/Flexibility,Analytical Thinking

Question Frequency

Question Difficulty

What to look for in an answer:

The candidate’s management skills.
The candidate’s organization skills.
The candidate’s critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Red Flags to Watch For:

The candidate’s poor management skills.
The candidate’s poor organization skills.
The candidate’s poor critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Sample Answer:

We had this project at the beginning of the year that almost got over the budget. Good thing we were able to monitor in at an early stage and we were able to make the necessary adjustments. Strict project monitoring and having alternative plans are preventive measures to avoid this.

Question Source: Unknown