Procedural Questions

Procedural Questions

 Procedures are a part of life, especially in the working world.  Each company has their 

own set of policies and rules that they expect their employees to follow.  An interviewer 

is going to ask questions to determine if you would do things they way they want (for 

instance making a sale or handling a customer complaint).  Without training, you will not 

know with any degree of certainty how the company would want you to handle different 

situations but there are ways to answer that can increase your chances of getting the job.

What an interviewer is looking for in an answer is your philosophy towards 

circumstances that occur in the company.  Your natural instincts and personality is going 

to come through at some point no matter what you have been trained to do.  Questions 

like, “How would you satisfy a customer if they wanted to return something after the 

return policy has expired?” can be tricky to answer.  The best way to answer them is to 

begin with saying, “Of course, if hired I would abide by the company’s guidelines – but 

in this circumstance I would…” 

By starting your answer with this phrase you are showing that you recognize a company 

is going to have its own policies and ways of doing things and that you are flexible 

enough to modify your way of doing things to align with those processes.  Even role 

playing scenarios for are a test to see if your way of thinking is in line with the 

company’s.  This genre of question can backfire on you though if your answer is 

completely opposite what the company is looking for.  If you have done your research on 

the company prior to the interview you should have a good idea of how they handle 

customers and sales in general.