-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Describe a situation in which you were able to use

persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way.

SITUATION - As a Trainer facilitating training for the Train Crew Mobility, it was our role to
deliver training and issue iPads to Train Crew. As the Train Crew culture is heavily unionised,
there were situations where I had stand in front of an audience of 13 participants, which were a
mixture of employees, and union delegates and representatives and deliver training.
TASK - In one particular session I had participants attend with substantial doubt and thought
the training session was a management trick to track them through their mobile device and
were not convinced with the product itself. In addition, the union representatives also decided
to question the iPad for the business in front of their colleagues, to undermine the benefits and
encourage their members to not use it. It was my duty as a facilitator and trainer to persuade
my audience to see the benefits of the product, the improvement it has on the business and
their day to day role.
ACTION
I.

II.

III.

I first began to allow them to express and voice their opinions. This gave me an
insight into their misconceptions of the product and the misinformation they had
heard from various sources. I then began to clear these misconceptions and
misinformation with the facts. For example, when they had claimed it is a tracking
device, I gave them assurance and showed them the infrastructure and process to
guarantee it can never happen.
Once these initial misconceptions had dissipated I began to showcase what the
iPad was capable of and how this would improve efficiency for the business and
their day to day role. I did this by showing at the time the single most important
thing for everyone in the room, pay slip. Previously Train Crew had to wait for a
paper format, but now are able to access it whenever, where. This was mind
blowing. You can hear a pin drop. That was the level of engagement I had them at
this point.
I then asked for feedback about what they would like to see the device do. And the
suggestions just didnt stop. With the feedback, the Crews enthusiasm for the
device grew.

RESULT With these steps I had taken to persuade them, the enthusiasm and motivation in the
room was very apparent. Everyone could clearly see how great the iPad. The audiences view of
the device from that successful training session was passed over to the line management,
where we received positive feedback.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tell me about a time you were able to successfully
resolve a

conflict with another person.

SITUATION As a Project Officer, part of my role was to coordinate on-going support for Train
Crew to assist them with their mobile device. With the task came the coordination and
rostering of what we called support champions, who we seconded to assist with the support,
and assign them to an area or depot with a time slot.
TASK One afternoon I sent out the following weeks roster, and I got a phone call from one of
our support champions. When he called me, he started asking personal questions like Dont
you like me and Why am I always getting the hard shifts? Why doesnt Joe ever do this?. I
could hear this champion was upset with me and felt like he was being more used than the
other champions. So I had to resolve this.
ACTION

I.

II.

III.

I started by communicating in a warm tone the process to which the rostering is

done, and how it should be fair to everybody, and also to try and manage his
expectations of fair rostering from my end. I then again asked him to elaborate his
issue so I can try resolve it. He advised me the issue was due to the location I had
been placing him, he told me he was not as familiar with the Crew in this particular
location, and felt intimated when providing support.
At this point, I could see the champion didnt have an issue with me or my rostering
personally, but had external factors and motivations that even though not specific
to this conflict was definitely influencing his response towards me.
So I asked him for some time and that I would return his phone call. I began to
analyse my rostering and look at the location of my Champions. I then made a few
phone calls and shuffled Champions around to different locations, and confirmed
with all of them they were happy to be there. I returned the phone call to the
distressed Champion and advised him that I have moved him to a different area
and apologised for any misunderstandings.

RESULT His response was overwhelmingly positive, and he also apologised for the way he
brought this to my attention. Since moving him, he advised me he had been providing a lot
more support compared to where he was originally. Not only did I resolve his conflict towards
me I also improved the efficiency of on-site support for the project and ultimately for the
business.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Give me an example of a time when you

goal

set a

and were able to meet or achieve it.

SITUATION Ive always been in love with planes. My dad use to work for Qantas and show me
the planes as a little boy and Ive always had that fascination of how they took off and how
they were able to stay in their and not fall with all that weight. One day I had a free flight on
my 20th birthday as a gift on a Cessna 152 which is a small plane, and the wow factor hit me.
TASK My one and only goal at that point, was to know everything about flying and ultimately
be able to fly on my own, without an instructor.
ACTION
I.

II.

III.

The first thing I did was attend flight school. As I was working full time at this point
in my life, I had to do a part time course. This course was to study aviation at a
commercial level. I learned about aerodynamics, navigation, meteorology and
many more modules. The more I studied the more passion I realised I had for this
course. At the end of the year I successfully passed the course and had completed
all the theory units as per the Civil Aviation Safety Authoritys requirements to be a
commercial pilot.
As I was working and studying, I also had to fly at Bankstown Airport. I would book
a flight twice a week, every week. This was the only thing I looked forward to. Aside
from the expenses which I had to pay to fly, there were a lot of procedures that
flight school didnt teach me. I had to learn how to perform emergency landings,
flapless landings, loss of power landings and many more emergency manoeuvres.
This was a challenge for me as there were so many procedures to learn. I overcame
this by couch flying. This is where I would sit on my couch, close my eyes and
throw myself in a scenario, acting and voicing out what Im doing. I would record
myself on a camera and watch it over and over again, comparing it to a text book
scenario to see if I did everything I was supposed to. Eventually, I was very
confident in these situations. I was so determined and focused, I didnt let anything
stand in my way.
The other issue I had in achieving this goal was radio communication. The
procedure for radio protocol was so strict and structured I thought I would never
learn. There were different radio protocols for each runway (there was 6) and all
depending on where the wind was blowing from. To overcome this, I bought a hand

held receiver and dialled in to the frequency of the control tower. I would park my
car outside the runway and listen to the communications between the control
tower and the pilots. Over time I became fluent, and even picked up on pilot errors.
For example, taking off from Bankstown I would say:
RESULT By the end of the year, when I least suspected it, by flight instructor told me to pull
to the side of the tarmac. He gave me a pat on the shoulder and told me Im ready to fly my
first circuit, which is a lap around the aerodrome. I was never more nervous, and excited and
proud in my life. I took off for the first time by myself, and achieved the goal I once set out for
myself. After I landed, I was the happiest person in the world.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Give me an example of a time when you had a

someone

disagreement with

SITUATION In my previous role as a Trainer, it was my duty to create course material. As part
of this process I would collaborate with my colleagues in structuring the day and the time slots
for each module. One such module I included was at the very beginning the anatomy of the
iPad. My colleague though suggested we remove that module, because in his mind he thought
it was a little too basic, and it cause loss of engagement in the class.
TASK I thought about his suggestion, and definitely appreciated it. He made some valid point,
though I had to respectfully disagree to completely take out the entire module.
ACTION
I.

II.

III.

I first told him my logic and reasoning as to why I included the module In very
respectful tone, I said that our audiences experiences with mobile devices is so
utterly diverse, if we had a participant who had never seen a mobile device before,
he might feel a lot more less confident and confused as opposed to his peers, and
in result not use it at all. My colleague agreed with the point I made, but was still
unsure.
I then suggested we ask Train Crew on their thoughts. So we went out to do a
sample questionnaire with Train Crew, asking about 30-40 drivers, what their
experience was with a mobile device. The results were a complete mixed bag. We
had some Crew absolutely confident and some Crew with no experience with
mobile devices. This gave both of us a better picture of the situation.
When we returned to the office, I suggested that I could scrap the module as a
whole. And me and my colleague could work on it together from the start. This way
we would both feel confident that it wont be boring to the participant, but at the
same time cater for those who were less experienced.

RESULT By collaborating together we were able to turn our initial disagreement into a big
positive, improving the course material. We were always professional in our communication
and always enjoyed working with each other. The Course material we had created was
combination of both engaging and educational and I think we make a good team.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping
skills.
Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a
problem.
Give me a specific example of a time when you had to conform to a policy with which you did
not agree.
Please discuss an important written document you were required to complete.
Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a
job done.
Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and you were required to prioritize
your tasks.
Give me an example of a time when you had to make a split second decision.
Tell me about a difficult decision youve made in the last year.
Give me an example of a time when something you tried to accomplish and failed.
Give me an example of when you showed initiative and took the lead.
Give me an example of a time when you motivated others.
Tell me about a time when you delegated a project effectively.
Give me an example of a time when you used your fact-finding skills to solve a problem.
Tell me about a time when you missed an obvious solution to a problem.
Describe a time when you anticipated potential problems and developed preventive measures.

Tell me about a time when you were forced to make an unpopular decision.
Describe a time when you set your sights too high (or too low).