Zook Interviews for Shipping Dept. Manager Job


1		Zook Interviews for Position of Shipping Dept. Manager
2		(Featuring the STAR (situation, task, action, and result ) method of answering a behavioral question.)
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4	Leo (CEO of IGAMC)	Come in Mr. Zook and have a seat. Is it "Mr. Zook" or just "Zook"?
5	Zook	On my home planet, which you call Bucephalus here on Earth, we have just one name. So I've heard both used a lot in English. Please use whatever form you feel is appropriate in this situation.
6	Leo (CEO)	I'll say Mr. Zook, then.
7		Well, as you know, along with our usual operations we anticipate shipping a lot of products to the new colony on Planet JL2746.
8		This is a big undertaking and there are still a lot of unknowns regarding the conditions we'll have to deal with.
9		Please give me an example of an unexpected problem you've run into in the past and how you solved it.
10	Zook	Certainly. Ten years ago I was on planet CQ1835 where I was in charge of shipping ores from our mines back to Bucephalus.
11		The mines were producing well but all of a sudden the big space freighters we had contracted with were showing up late or not at all! Mines on other planets had started producing ore and were hiring them away by paying an incredible amount!
12		We were going to miss deadlines or pay more than we could afford in shipping costs unless we could find another way to get the ore transported.
13		Well, first, after consulting with Bucephalus, I separated the ores into categories. Those which took the longest to refine took priority for shipping back. They would serve best to keep the refineries at home busy for now.
14		I assigned one employee to make a database of all the small and even tiny shippers available. And another employee to research methods of packaging for shipment in smaller quantities.
15		I had them coordinate with each other and also with our accountant regarding the potential costs of the different packaging methods.
16		The smaller ships were so happy to get our business they gave us good packaging ideas and helped out in every way they could.
17		The IT department on Bucephalus agreed to have their programmers enhance our shipping software to coordinate the much more complicated plan.
18		In the long run, our shipping costs were a little higher than they had been in the past but we kept the refineries running and we still made a profit.
19	Leo (CEO)	This job will involve communicating with people on many different worlds.
20		It will include the colonists on Planet JL2746 who, I must say, are rather naive.
21		And it will include, not just me as President of this company, but sometimes the other investors in the development who are quite knowledgeable but don't always agree. And of course the colonists and the other investors do not put the interests of OUR company first.
22		Can you give me an example of a time that you disagreed with somebody high-ranking, either within the company you worked for or outside of it? Maybe your boss? And tell me how you approached the subject, how you pursuaded them or resolved the question.
23	Zook	Sure. When Quuq Qarggg was my boss, right here, he announced in a meeting that he was cutting costs by eliminating the post of Export Security Coordinator.
24		And he also said we would use cheaper packaging for seeds. It's true that when you buy "Secure Certified Boxes" they do cost!
25		Well, I met with him later, privately, in his office and said I thought these changes were a mistake because a human being can still catch things a robot can't.
26		And I explained that "Secure Certified" packaging will expedite the processing of a shipment through a port of entry.
27		Plus, if a shipment happens to get routed through the KF757 booster station, they are so picky that if you don't have SC packaging they open it up and repackage in their own SC containers.
28		Then they charge the sender for their time and materials and don't forward the shipment onward until they are paid!
29		Mr. Qarggg was surprised. He said he hadn't known about that booster station and thanked me for telling him. He agreed that it was best to keep the SC boxes.
30		But he did reaffirm that he believed the job of Export Security Coordinator was redundant. I simply said that I would agree to disagree on that point.
31	Leo (CEO)	(Laughing) Well, we now know why he was trying to reduce security in the department.
32		I have one more question. Tell me about a time you failed in something. How did you deal with it?
33	Zook	I made my worst mistake back when I was young. I signed up to be part of a temporary team helping to colonize a new planet during our school's vacation.
34		The team consisted of a group of students from various planets.
35		The idea was that we would work for just room and board but have a great adventure getting to know people from other cultures.
36		The person farthest along with their education would be group coordinator. And, since I advanced at lightning speed in school, I knew that would be me. I really wanted that position!
37		I convinced my parents this would be a real contribution to the expansion of life in the universe. Plus I said that it would be a good job reference for me, eventually.
38		Once on the planet, it was obvious we weren't getting anything done. Everyone was tired and inefficient and grumpy all the time.
39		I realized our various circadian rhythms were all thrown off and we were not going to be on the planet long enough to adapt.
40		Even worse, several of us were physically allergic to others in the group!
41		I tried reorganizing the work into individual shifts, round the clock, so that each person could keep the circadian rhythm of their home planet.
42		And I tried to keep the allergic people away from those who affected them.
43		But this meant that communication and teamwork were difficult.
44		I was trying to stay awake day and night in order to coordinate .
45		In spite of the individualized schedules, some students' bodies were rebelling, vomiting at random times.
46		Finally we all went home, having accomplished nothing and having endured a really terrible experience.
47		My parents were displeased, saying that by the end of the first week I should have insisted we all be sent back immediately.
48		I was really depressed because I had failed to coordinate effectively.
49		But, in the long run, it did teach me to ask more questions and do more research before making decisions. And to recognize better when a current course of action should be abandoned in favor of going in a radically different direction.
50	Leo (CEO)	Your resume is quite impressive, Mr. Zook. And you have been doing a great job here at IGAMC.
51		I still have several people to interview but you should be hearing back from me by the end of next week.
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53		© Copyright 2023, Margaret R. Jones