Good example answers
To demonstrate your personal involvement, you should use ‘I’, not ‘we’, when completing your application form. Using ‘I’ portrays your personal involvement more and lets the panel know exactly what your personal involvement was and what you were personally responsible for doing. ‘We’ gives the impression that you did not personally undertake the duties or that you were somehow involved, but didn’t really have ownership or responsibility for the experience – it does not tell the panel about your personal experience, only that of a team or the organisation. It is evidence of your individual personal experience that the panel is looking for.
You should also provide specific detail of your experience, that is, how you went about gaining the experience, what you did, what this involved and provide examples which demonstrate the breadth of your experience.
Example one
If you are asked to demonstrate, by way of personal and specific examples, that you have one year’s experience of managing staff, it is not sufficient to simply state, “We manage staff well in our organisation”, “I have experience of managing staff,” or “I feel I am capable of managing staff,” or “It is important to be able to manage staff” – vague, text book answers are not sufficient.
An example of a good, clear response is: “I have more than one year’s experience of managing staff. I have managed staff from (exact dates: from – to). I directly managed five staff members from (exact dates: from – to). To do this effectively, I (demonstrate how you managed the staff) scheduled weekly meetings where I allocated and monitored workloads. I also held monthly one to one meetings to discuss individual performance and personal development. At these meetings, I gave the staff updates on new developments and we discussed how our work impacts on the work of the organisation and how we could improve things. When problems occurred, I spoke to my staff to resolve the problem as soon as possible. An example to demonstrate my experience of staff management is how I handled one staff member who was under-performing in his job. I met with him to discuss his performance and to ask if there were any issues that were affecting his performance. He told me that he had some family issues and was finding it difficult to concentrate in work. We agreed on what was expected from him in terms of performance and we came up with some interim options that would help him achieve the current work priorities and start work earlier and leave earlier to enable him to spend a little more time at home. We agreed on the timeframe and I met with him every week to discuss his performance. I also spoke to the other staff members about the arrangement but ensured his personal information was kept confidential. After three weeks, which was our agreed timeframe, he thanked me for being flexible and resumed his normal working hours. I feel that I managed this staff management issue well because I was able to help the member of staff and ensure that his performance at work remained stable.”
Example two
If you are asked to demonstrate, by way of personal and specific examples, that you have one year’s experience of dealing effectively with customers, it is not sufficient to simply state, “Customers are important in our organisation” or “I deal with customers in my current job” or “I know how to deal with customers.”
An example of a good, clear response is: “I have more than one year’s experience of dealing effectively with customers. I have dealt effectively with customers from (exact dates: from – to). To do this effectively (demonstrate how you dealt effectively with customers) I was always polite and responsive and made sure I only gave them accurate information. I gave them my full attention and was as helpful as possible. When I worked in the supermarket, I was required to deal with customers on the shop-floor. As part of my daily duties, I had to direct customers to items in the shop and deal with customers when operating the cash tills. When I was promoted to Duty Officer (exact dates: from – to) I was required to work on the Customer Service desk. I had to deal with many irate customers and situations including exchanging faulty goods and completing refunds for unsatisfied customers. An example to demonstrate my experience of dealing effectively with customers was how I managed an irate customer who had a complaint about a faulty DVD. He was very upset because this was the second DVD that he had to return. Even though I had not dealt with him on the first occasion, I listened carefully to his complaint and empathised with his situation. I apologised on behalf of the store for the faulty product and offered him a full refund or exchange. He was still not happy with the store’s service so I advised him to complete the company’s customer complaints form while I contacted my manager. I assured him that his custom was important to us and that I would do whatever I could to make sure his complaint was dealt with. I advised him that I would ring the manufacturer as a matter of urgency and that consideration could be given to recalling all of those DVDs. He seemed a bit happier with this and asked for a full product refund. By the time my manager arrived, I had dealt with the situation effectively. The customer explained the whole situation over again to my manager but added that he felt I had dealt with his complaint patiently and fairly and that, whilst he still wanted to progress his formal customer complaint form, he was happy with the way he had been treated and with his full refund. When he left, my manager thanked me for dealing with the situation so effectively.”
You must provide specific, detailed and personal examples to demonstrate evidence of your experience in the required areas.
