As the grilling round of questions began, Harry found himself at a loss of words. When appearing for this interview, he didn't expect questions that will riddle his brain. He was ready to counter technical questions or basic discussions. These questions were different. Although answering them appeared simple, it seemed as though a perfect answer didn't exist.
The questions that Harry refers to in this context are known as the Lominger interview questions. They aren't in the lines of average discussions such as "What is your expertise?" or "What are your salary expectations?"
Your interviewer or hiring manager will always desire to bring in employees who maintain a certain dedication, discipline, and commitment towards their work. That is why it is important that as applicants, you are aware of the methodology required to answer Lominger interview questions.
"There are no right or wrong answers; there is only intuition." – Tom Ford.
Want to know how you can arrive at the perfect answer for Lominger competencies interview questions? Keep reading to comprehend the tonality, approach, and confidence you will require to counter these questions.
Let's find out!
"Skepticism is the highest duty and blind faith the unpardonable sin." – Thomas Huxley.
Can you blindly place your faith in someone you met for the first time? If your answer is yes, you may be the epitome of faith in mankind. In case your answer is no, you can be considered an average being with common sense.
Interviewers also face the same dilemma when they come across applications. Although you can verify qualification and experience, offering proof of your soft skills may be comparatively difficult.
This is where the Lominger competency interview model comes in. Human resource managers usually apply this principle to comprehend a candidate's competency to fit into the work culture while perceiving company expectations. This talent management solution is an effective way to select potential employees from a batch of thousands of applicants.
Sitting down for an interview already causes the nerves to give away, so imagine being asked questions at this time which you can't respond to. They knock you off your chair, don't they? That is why to comprehend how to answer Lominger interview questions, it is important you first understand how these types of interviews are conducted.
Keep in mind that hiring managers search for talented individuals who analyze obstacles before approaching a solution. However, finding a diamond in the rough can be a difficult task. That is why adopting the Lominger interview process is the way to go.
The interviewer asks questions that cover three subjects.
Situation: The Lominger competencies interview questions always cover a particular situation that candidates might have encountered in their career so far.
Challenge: When following the Lominger competency interview model, the questions need to present an unavoidable conflict or challenge that the applicant had to overcome.
Solution: After stating the challenge they have faced, the candidates in question will need to describe how they overcame this obstacle to achieve success.
Arriving at a perfect answer for these questions is one of the major obstacles that you will encounter when dealing with Lominger competencies interview questions.
Your solution?
Try adopting the STAR method. Proper knowledge in this methodology will allow you to comprehend the situations presented before you. Arrive at an answer that will relay your competency as well as analytical thinking as an applicant and potential employee.
The STAR interview method usually covers behavioral questions that are wrapped inside some tricky or situational catechism. Within this responding technique, you will be covering four major aspects.
When you appear for a Lominger interview, attempt to answer their questions by setting a stage for your answer. Describe the situation in which you had encountered your challenge. An interesting setup is always intriguing to a listener, be it anybody.
Example:
In my previous job position as a sales manager, my team was unable to meet up with the daily target causing many to stress their brains and lose enthusiasm.
After setting up your stage, your next responsibility would be to explain your responsibility as per your job position. Your explanation needs to highlight you were simply fulfilling the duties that your position covers.
Example:
As a sales manager, ensuring that my team was able to meet company expectations while staying motivated was my responsibility.
You must have taken some precise action to counter the issue at hand. A proper explanation of exactly how you handled the problem and even the origin of your solution needs to be described in this section of your answer.
Example:
I decided to conduct weekly meetings with my teammates to discuss the problems they were encountering in meeting individual targets. I also set up a reward system to motivate them to achieve their objective.
Implementation of your action will bear some fruit. Describe how your solution was able to help or assist your colleagues in overcoming problems. Add quantitative values to add special emphasis on the rate of success.
Example:
With the help of the weekly meetings, employees were able to derive a solution for their dilemmas. The reward system also allowed employees to strive to achieve their targets, allowing many of them to exceed individual objectives by 20%.
Harry begins searching for common behavioral questions that hiring managers usually ask. Several sources assisted him in his research. However, he was unable to come across any similarity of these with the ones he was asked in his previous interview.
Harry’s failure in finding relevant questions was due to his lack of knowledge about the Lominger competency interview model.
What to avoid while answering Lominger interview questions?
Lominger interview questions allow the hiring manager to ask behavioral questions that assist them in comprehending a person's analytical thinking. Your interviewer has to go through several piles of application forms every day. Each person presents unique skills and expertise.
However, determining their ability to meet company expectations and understanding their work culture's compatibility can be difficult.
Usage of the Lominger competency interview model to ask a relevant question by using generic situations helps them understand the capabilities of an applicant. This eases their selection process as they need someone who possesses the zeal to outreach company expectations.
No organization wishes to welcome a negative presence within its workforce. However, determining which applicant possesses positive traits can be a difficult task. During an interview, all candidates try to present the best versions of themselves. Segregating at this time can be a fairly difficult process.
So, to identify positive traits, analytical thinking, and practical application abilities of a person, interviewers, and hiring managers to implement Lominger competency interview models. This assists them in surveying the negative traits that any potential employee might be bringing with themselves.
When faced with questions in the line of "What was the best decision you ever made in your previous job position?" applicants with positive and analytical thinking will be able to provide a well-framed answer to the question. However, candidates who tend to derail from a set career path or possess a habit of procrastinating won't be able to provide the perfect answer.
While an applicant can prepare on how to answer these questions, deriving a solution from scratch is a fairly difficult task, which is why the Lominger competency interview model will always exist as an effective methodology for segregating potential employees from other applicants.
"Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail" – Charles Kettering.
Example 1:
Question: Can you elaborate about the time when an alteration in plan caused you to change your priorities and also explain how you tackled such a situation?
Answer: In my previous job role as a project manager, I had to lead my team in creating an application for a client. Although we were close to completion, the client needed some additional features to be integrated into the app. Even though I could have simply pushed my team towards incorporating these additions, I decided to work with them instead. By increasing work hours and dedicating ourselves to solve the matter at hand, we were able to be prepared for launch before the deadline.
Example 2:
Question: In case we decide to hire you, what will be your salary expectations?
Answer: Previously, when I used to work as a software development project manager, my salary was $50,000 dollars, including a 25% annual bonus. Later my earnings increased to $57,000. So, as for my expectations, I would like to stay within this range or aim higher.
Example 3:
Question: As a sales manager, did you ever encounter difficulty with your team? If so, how did you overcome it?
Answer: After I was assigned the duty as a sales manager, many of my teammates were facing the issue of lack of motivation. The reason was the exhaustion of meeting targets was influencing their minds to be overly stressed and lack enthusiasm. This is why I decided to set a reward system where exceeding targets by 20% will earn you a special gift voucher. The result was my teammates were able to regain their lost zeal for work.
Example 4:
Question: Who is your greatest inspiration is life?
Answer: After graduating with a degree in data engineering, I was lost as to what to do after this. While I was able to get a job, however, most of the time, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. And if this is the career I was destined for? However, an encounter with my superior at this organization changed the way I saw life completely. The guy was only a few years older but was able to achieve a position that most people his age cannot even imagine. Not to mention, he always remained calm and kept goals higher than company expectations. Seeing him made me want to be a person just as amazing.
Example 5:
Question: What is your go to intonation for any problem?
Answer: There is a saying, “Never aim for success, always aim for excellence, and success shall follow.” Whenever I am in deep self-contemplation or doubt my abilities, I always remember these words.
Example 6:
Question: What can you label as your greatest achievement?
Answer: I cannot say that I got an award or anything; however, there was a time when an idea of mine was able to help my company grow even more as an organization.
Example 7:
Question: What kind of work culture do you prefer?
Answer: I like a work culture, where although there is the presence of certain amiability among colleagues, there isn’t any indiscipline in terms of work. I like ensuring that all work done within an organization proceeds in a systematic fashion.
Example 8:
Question: Have you ever encountered a challenge while working? If so, how did you overcome it?
Answer: While working as a sales manager, there were times when certain employees would face problems in achieving the target. For them, I started conducting meetings and asked them to approach me in case of any queries. These methods helped in reducing their dilemma and attain success.
Example 9:
Question: Can you work in stressful situations?
Answer: Although I do like a little challenge and stress has never been too much of a bother to me. However, it is also preferable that my employer places some amount of faith in my abilities to achieve my target.
Example 10:
Question: Have you ever encountered conflict with any colleague?
Answer: There are disagreements when working with the same people on a regular basis. In such cases, I always prefer discussing our differences so that we can arrive at a common point, resolving all issues.
Example 11:
Question: In case one of your teammates was inconsistent with performance, what kind of career advice would you offer?
Answer: Performance inconsistency has a very simple solution, and that is to provide an employee with a distraction. Instead of working on the same project, introduce them to some other task that they can do for a while before coming back. One example can be, ask them to create a reward system or design something.
Example 12:
Question: How do you maintain a work and life balance?
Answer: I always ensure to finish my targets within the stipulated deadlines. Other than absolutely necessary, I do not work beyond allotted work hours and ensure to finish all work within this time. Also, I ensure that my family is a part of my priorities other than my career.
Example 13:
Question: What do you do when a client offers ambiguous information?
Answer: A simple solution for this would be to arrange a meeting with the client to discuss their key requirements and how they visualize this project to proceed. It will allow us to attain a clear vision of what it is that they need and how we can assist them in achieving it.
Example 14:
Question: State one technique to maintain effective working relationships.
Answer: If you wish to ensure that there is a stable working relationship between colleagues, we can try team-building exercises. Arranging gatherings and engaging them in healthy competition might just do the trick.
Example 15:
Question: How do you allocate tasks to team members?
Answer: I first establish an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of each employee. On the basis of this assessment, I am able to derive who will be able to complete which task with ease. This makes the allocation process much easier.
Example 16:
Question: How do you deal with unsatisfied customers?
Answer: One of the most effective methods for responding to unsatisfied customers is to listen to their concerns. After ascertaining the reason for their discontent, simply apologize for the inconvenience. If possible, I will try to provide them with a solution for their issue and even add in a small reward from the organization’s end for bearing with these issues. This will ensure a satisfied and loyal customer.
Example 17:
Question: Are you a fan of collaborating with other colleagues or do you work solo?
Answer: While many may suggest that working solo is quite convenient, I would always choose to collaborate. The reason is that it increases the chances of arriving at ideas that you alone can never think of.
Example 18:
Question: What is your one suggestion to employees for working effectively?
Answer: I would suggest trying to set an individual target for yourself despite the one that has already been assigned to you by your organization. Plan how you will achieve these targets and start working on them today. This method is sure to help you attain success faster than you can imagine.
Example 19:
Question: Who are you as a leader? The teacher or the student?
Answer: I would say I am more of a student as there is no end to learning in this world. Knowledge is a vast subject, and while I may be more aware of certain things more than others, there is still a lot left for me to learn.
Example 20:
Question: What is your main priority in life?
Answer: My main priority is to always ensure that I can strive for excellence no matter where I may stand. Be it in terms of career or personal objectives, I always set my aim higher.
Deriving solutions for these behavioral questions can be difficult for applicants without adequate knowledge on how to answer them.
A little assistance from interview prep courses may allow them to comprehend the tonality, story, and methodology to respond to these questions.
Lominger interview questions allow hiring managers to assess certain employees' behavioral traits and the zeal they are bringing with themselves to the workplace. Companies always strive for growth and don’t expect one of their workforce members to derail from the path of development or simply choose to procrastinate.
Give it your best shot!