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document updated 3 years ago, on Apr 23, 2020

Tell me about yourself. (elevator pitch)

[present] My name is Dee Newcum. I'm currently in between jobs, and I'm looking for production operations or helpdesk jobs. I'm creative, finding solutions that others can't, and I'm persistent. In my free time, I like to ride unicycle and play harmonica.

[past] I have worked at Motorola, Walgreens, and JP Morgan Chase. I find it fulfilling to keep important programs running 24/7.

[future] Going forward, I'm working on learning Python and perhaps getting my Amazon AWS DevOps certification, which I should have in 6 months.

(ADDITIONALLY, fit in a sentence or two about why you're an excellent fit for this particular job.)

(ADD MORE to the above! It's not long enough.)

What is your greatest weakness?

(this is a good answer because it's usually obvious during an interview that communication isn't my strong suit... which is fine)

One skill I've improved lately is communication. I took four improv classes to work on thinking on my feet, and I've focused on speaking up more during group situations. I'm definitely able to clearly communicate in professional settings, I'm just working on communicating outside that.

(another answer)

(hour timeslots) (the weakness was being too dedicated to one client, and so not being able to do my work with the next client) I learned to better manage expectations, boundaries, and negotiate time with each client. I had originally let clients overstep their boundaries with other clients, and that would impact the next client.

What is your greatest strength?

...

Tell me about the worst boss you've ever had. [2]

I had a boss who encouraged people to tattle on each other constantly. It produced a very toxic environment, where you had to watch your back and not trust anyone. I didn't participate in that, I stayed professional and focused on completing my work.

Why should we hire you?

(For this, you should have done enough research about the company, to be able to explain why you're an excellent fit for the job)

What environment do you prefer?

I prefer to work in a quieter environment, but if there's an open plan office, I'm able to cope by using headphones, while still maintaining contact with coworkers (visually, over IM, etc).

Do you have any questions for me? [2]

How do you deal with conflict?

I had hourly timeslots where I did very important work for each client. One client's hour had run out, but they still had work that needed to be done in order to meet their deadline. He was adamant that I continue working on his work. I calmly reminded them that I had another client whose work was scheduled to start at the top of the hour. Ultimately I had to refer him to my boss, as he was unsatisfied with

Improve this, mentioning specific skills I used to deal with the conflict, before passing him off to my boss.

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