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Secretary Interview Questions

Going for an interview for the role of a secretary, you could find your interview has tasks attached to it such as a typing test, sending an email, fax etc.

Maybe find an online test you can do to test your words per minute so you can feel confident if tested, its not very easy being put on the spot so you will feel more comfortable if you already know.

The interview will be looking for you to demonstrate the key skills they need from a secretary such as:
How skilled are you in Word, Outlook, Excel, Powerpoint etc? How do you put a letter together? How would you go about booking a venue for an event? How you would you plan an event and make sure you have the correct documentation etc? The role of a secretary is a very important one, usually privy to sometimes sensitive  and confidential information, you will need to demonstrate how trustworthy you are, use examples from past roles or experiences.

The interviewer will also be keen to know how you get on with other colleagues whilst maintaining an exceptional level of professionalism at all times. A secretary usually has face to face contact with most of a company for one thing or another as well as dealing with external people. Your communication skills will need to be second to none.

Most asked interview questions:
What is your greatest strength?Why should we hire you?What motivates you?Give some examples of teamworkTell me about yourselfGood luck.

  
What has been the greatest disappointment in your life?

Depending on the circumstances this could be a difficult question to answer! Tread carefully.

Think carefully what has been your greatest disappointment. Don’t start telling the interviewer something that is going to make you upset or that you are going to be unable to tell the whole story, only tell them something that is truly a disappointment but demonstrate how you dealt with this.

For example

When you applied to University, you did not get on the course you actually wanted. This was the biggest disa ppointment you have had to face. However you instead focused on what course you had been accepted on and how you could work up to the other course, or chose a different location and in the end after what at the time had been the biggest disappointment in your life you managed to turn it around.

The reason the interviewer will ask questions such as these is to see how you deal with rejection and disappointment, they will see if you continue the fight or throw the towel in. This is very important if they are to employ you, they will want you to work through difficulties.

If you haven’t had a greatest disappointment in your life then say so. Not everyone has but try and say something like:

"Unfortunately I don’t feel as though I have been in this situation but if I did have a massive disappointment I would try and work through it to turn it into a positive"

Be honest. Good Luck.

  
Have you Ever been Discharged from any Employment or Asked to Resign?

If you have been in this unfortunate situation and this is a question you are asked at interview you must ALWAYS answer it honestly.

Most employers realise that people sometimes make mistakes, its what happens next and how you dealt with that mistake that matters now.

Do not be bitter towards your former employer when you are explaining, that will come across as childish.

An potential employer will always take up your references so will find anything out that has happened in the past so this is your chance to come clean and explain your situation.

Don’t tell an elaborate tale, make sure you are factual for example:

I was dismissed as my time keeping was very poor. It was because of  XYZ (please good reasons) but I understand now that I was warned several times and I deserved to be dismissed as my employer needed someone they could rely on to not be later.

If to this date you do not agree with your reasons for being dismissed then you need to explain carefully but do not sound bitter, companies have a duty to follow legal routes for these matters and will have considered all the evidence before drawing their conclusion. The person interviewing you will be well aware of this so please do not make them feel that you know better.

Be honest, admit if you did something wrong and now you want to make amends.

Good Luck.

  
Can you Describe a Time When your Work was Criticized?

At some stage or another we always have to accept some form of criticism whether we agree with it or not. Its how you deal with that criticism that matters.

Explain to your interviewer what you were criticized for. Did you agree? Be diplomatic, you do not want to come across as being arrogant. No ones work can be perfect all of the time, therefore accept that this once something was not up to scratch but explain the reasons why on this particular occasion.

If you can view criticism as a learning curve then this will serve you well. Try and think why your work has been criticized, are they right to critise your work? If yes then its simple you know where you went wrong.If not then this is where you need to think carefully about the reasons behind your work being criticised to ensure that next time this won’t happen.

Be calm, don’t over react, try and give your self time to digest the information and learn from it.

Good luck.

  
Tell Me About a Time Where you had to Deal with Conflict on the Job

I think most people at some time or another have come up against this and the trick is how you deal with it.

The interviewer is purely looking for your reaction and whether you remain calm when you have to deal with any conflicts.

Whilst doing your preparation think of scenarios surrounding this question and strategies on how you deal with such conflict.

Maybe you have had conflict with another employee that you have to have a good working relationship with. How do you continue this working relationship whilst not being the best of friends. The answer is not always easy but it is about rising above situations and concentrating on your career to the best of the company. That is what the interviewer is looking for, whether any disagreements will damage the day to day performance or reputation of the company.

Be honest, how do you deal with conflict? Try and come across as calm and that you think first and weigh up the options before reacting.

All companies need a good balance of people, question such as these allow an interviewer to know what your personality is and whether you are a fit for their company.

Good Luck.

  
How would you describe your work style?

Your potential new employer wants to know if they can work with you. Are you someone that works like them? Do you have different skills that will compliment or not?

Think carefully how you do work.

Are you organised? Only say so if you are. And if you are then how can you demonstrate that you are?

How is your time management? Or do you need guidance? Remember be honest, you will only get found out if you can’t live up to what you have said during your interview.

Can you describe to your interview a typical day in a previous role? How do you start? When do you start?

People all work differently, some people need to stick to a rigid routine including having their lunch and breaks at the same time each day, others can be a lot more flexible. Depending on what kind of person you are will depend on whether you will fit into that particular company. It has to be right for both parties – for example: there is no point saying that you are self motivated and can work on your own initiative if you need to work with others.

Think about your skills and how you operate carefully before answering this, there is no right and wrong answer just simply a fit to that particular company. Be honest.

  
Give Examples of Ideas you Have Had or Implemented

If you haven’t got any ideas then yes this is hard. However you need to break the question down and maybe re phrase, its not as scary as it first appears.

Try this:

What have you done in your past roles that has been new to the company? or what have you brought into the company that is a new idea?

Does that help? Think, what have you done?

For example – a receptionist in a new role just orders stationery from the same supplier because that’s what the company has always done. However notices that  there is a better/cheaper supplier they could use that would cost less and be more efficient delivery wise so she introduces that to the company and it works well.

Or – Depending on your role have you had an idea which gets all the staff working together as a team, maybe an idea of a team building exercise to help with this?

No matter how small or insignificant you think something is, if you have implemented it or had a good idea about something this is what your interviewer is looking to hear about, it shows you have initiative and that you can think outside of just day to day duties. Good Luck.

  
Tell me about your proudest achievement

Remember this doesn’t just have to be about work, it can also be your proudest achievement outside of work for example: maybe you passed your driving test, got a good University Degree etc – be realistic and genuine about what you are proud about.

Interviewers will ask this kind of question to see what you have done in or out of work that you are proud of, they will use it to assess your personality and to see what you view as important.

Make your answer relevant and recent so you are not trying to describe something years ago.

Be specific, don’t waffle – if you are proud of it be straight to the point about what you are proud of.

If you can’t think of one thing that you is your proudest achievement think of a few small things and discuss them all in one remembering to be specific and clear and try and turn it into something relevant to the role you are being interviewed for.

  
What are you most proud of?

Is it work or personal related?

If you are most proud of the fact that you have helped someone whether it be a client find a new policy, or a child you have helped with their reading, think about why you are proud of this and what impact it has had on that other person and you.

Try and make it relevant to your interview so for example if you are most proud of how you are very organised and manage to complete your tasks on time efficiently then make sure that this fits with your new role and explain why eg: because of this I feel that I will be able to transfer the skills I have learnt into my new role.

If its not a work related one then try and explain it with your skills, are there any that are transferable to a working environment eg: organisation, loyalty, trustworthy, reliable etc.

Make sure that you think about the successes you have had and talk about these as what you are most proud of.

– Hard worker
– Helpful at work
– Qualifications you have achived
– Meeting personal goals
– Punctual
– Quick learner

Good luck.

  
Many people would be daunted by this question at an interview and to be fair it doesn’t come up a lot in my experience however it worth knowing the answer in case.

The reason questions like these are used is not so the interviewer can see you squirm and they are not looking for the correct answer, they are merely looking to see how you demonstrate problem solving.

A strong candidate would be able to:
Evaluate and understand the problem Communicates assumptions Demonstrates analytic skills Answers the question. In case you want to know what the answer is:

As stated the answer is 22 – if you only count the minute and hour hands overlapping.

2 times a day when all 3 hands overlap – at midnight and noon.

A simple way to see this is to imagine that the two hands are racing each other round a track. Each time the minute hand laps the hour hand we have the overlaps we want.

How many times do a clockss hands overlap in a day? the answer is 22 and here is how:

1. midnight
2. 1 + 1/11 am
3. 2 + 2/11 am
4. 3 + 3/11 am
5. 4 + 4/11 am
6. 5 + 5/11 am
7. 6 + 6/11 am
8. 7 + 7/11 am
9. 8 + 8/11 am
10. 9 + 9/11 am
11. 10 + 10/11 am
12. noon
13. 1 + 1/11 pm
14. 2 + 2/11 pm
15. 3 + 3/11 pm
16. 4 + 4/11 pm
17. 5 + 5/11 pm
18. 6 + 6/11 pm
19. 7 + 7/11 pm
20. 8 + 8/11 pm
21. 9 + 9/11 pm
22. 10 + 10/11 pm