1. "My three major strengths are that I am creative, results-oriented, and continuous-improvement driven. My whole approach to work has been one where I purposely review how work is being done to look for those improvement opportunities that will have the greatest impact. Identifying the major barriers to improvement in these areas, I look for creative ways to eliminate these barriers and move on to bring the improvement about.

For example, in the employment area, cost-per-hire had become an issue. Basic analysis of the problem showed that we were interviewing seven candidates for every offer made --- far too many. To address this, I initiated a phone screening process combined with some basic training in phone interviewing techniques. Through better screening, we reduced the interview-to-offer ratio by 50 percent with a resultant 25 percent reduction in hiring costs. This saved the company about $0.5 million in employment costs last year alone.

I am always looking for opportunities to become more efficient and save money and time for the company."
 

2. "My co-workers would likely tell you that my strongest attributes are persistence and determination. I have developed a reputation for being determined and persistent in tackling difficult problems. I am not a person who gives up easily.

The best example I can give you was the Briar account. We were bidding on a $4 million contract for office furniture, and my company had been told that Briar had decided to give the business to our competitor. Learning this, I immediately called the buyer and told her that the Briar account was extremely important to us and we couldn't afford to lose their business. I asked her what it would take to earn her business back. The answer was "better service." I then asked what kind of service improvement would be most beneficial, and she replied, "Guaranteed delivery within 30 days of the order." I asked her if we could provide such a guarantee, would she consider awarding the contract to us? She said "yes."

My persistence paid off. We not only got the original $4 million contract, but have done another $10 million business with Briar in the last six months alone."
 

3. "Yes, if I were you, I would give serious consideration to hiring me over other candidates you may be considering. One of my key strengths is cost cutting. You already told me that you need to get your manufacturing costs down by at least 25 percent in order to compete with the Detroit plant for the Ford business.

Cost cutting is one of my areas of strength. While working as a manufacturing engineer for New Departure, for example, I brought about improvement to the brake manufacturing line that cut brake manufacturing costs by 30 percent over two years. Finding creative ways to cut costs is a definite strong point, and I feel confident that, with some careful analysis, I can help you achieve your cost-cutting objectives as well."
 

4. "The strength that most sets me apart from others in my department is my technical knowledge of physical testing. I used experiment design techniques to simulate ten-year wear on conveyor bearings, reducing new product testing time by nearly 80 percent. This has enabled us to more than double the new product output and gets us to market with these new products much faster than our competitors."