Hiring Decision

Hiring decision for the administrative assistant position is based on the interview scored
composed of 6 competencies criteria in which the candidate has to demonstrate these
competencies specifically during interview stage to ensure the candidate is suitable for
the said position. The six competencies namely: calendar and workplace management,
Initiative, communication, interpersonal, time management, and client service
orientation. With, the candidate has to pass all of these competencies to show that she
is suitable for the job.

Based on the interview conducted, the applicant got a total score of 18 out of 30 which
is 60% of the total score. Particularly, in the calendar and workplace management, the
candidate got a rating score of 1 which indicates that she is below average on this
competency. Based on her answer to question number 1, the applicant does not have a
complete grasp of calendar management specifically on appointment coordination.

To the same extent, the applicant is also below average on initiative competency as
revealed by the score of 1 which demonstrates that the candidate has the tendency that
she did not possess the ability to foresee problems and take prompt action beyond what
is required to prevent such problem to occur.

However, as for the communication and interpersonal competencies, the applicant

garnered a score of 5 each which shows that she is excellent in this area. Thus, the
candidate perceived to be great in interacting with people regardless of background and
personalities.

On the other hand, the applicant got an average score of 3 for the time management
and client service orientation which connotes that she performs the said competencies
in an acceptable manner.
 1

Based on the reported ratings, the applicant is not suitable for the position, for the fact
that she got a failed rating on calendar management and initiative competencies. These
skills are perceived to be essential since this post is the one overseeing the schedule of
the company particularly on appointment coordination and meeting planning.

Lastly, since these competencies are significant to the position to achieve job success,
then the candidate has to demonstrate all these competencies in order him/her to be
accepted for the job.

Appendix - Job Interview Transcript

HR Director: Hi Lourd, thanks for coming in today. I am

________________________________, the HR Director of Wilson Brothers.

What was your way here like? Did you have any difficulties in finding our

company?

Applicant: There were no problems at all. I just used the google map to know how to get here.

HR Director: I will be asking you questions related to the skills necessary for the position. I will

be taking notes to help me remember what we discussed. After my all my

questions, I will give you the opportunity to ask any questions you have about the
 2

position so that you can find out if this is a good fit for you as well. However,

before we get started, I would like to make sure you have a good grasp of the

position we are hiring for…” (Explain the primary responsibilities of the job,

organizational structure, and other general information.)

Applicant: Sounds good to me.

HR Director: Ok, Lourd, here’s the first question….

# Interview Question Score

1 As an Administrative Assistant, most of the time you are worried if you are giving enough time to

your manager for their schedule meetings and conferences. You are concerned if you may be

pressing your manager’s available time where he/she may need to be focusing on other

important managerial tasks. Tell me about a time where you experienced such situation, and

someone went or called to your office to schedule an important appointment with your manager,

or a conference call. Tell me what you did. What was the appointment transaction all about?

What specific actions did you take? Where were able to schedule the appointment? What was

the outcome?

Answer:

I always referred to our outlook calendar if my manager was available. If he is available

on a certain day I would ask for his approval first then indicate it in the calendar and 1

informed the person who asked for an appointment.

2 Tell me about a situation before that your manager had a scheduled meeting with the different

unit heads in the following week and you noticed that your manager was busy for other stuff and
 3

forgot to make agenda for the said meeting. Some of the unit heads already clamoring about the

agenda. Tell me what you did. What was the situation about? What actions did you take? What

was the outcome?

Answer:

● My manager scheduled a meeting with our department heads to discuss about

new accounting procedures. However, 2 days before the scheduled meeting,

my manager was attending conference.

● I emailed her about the meeting and asked her if the meeting would still push

through for me to advise the unit heads. I told her that I prepared the venue for 1

our meeting and I asked her if there’s still anything she wanted me to do.

3 Sometimes we encounter misunderstanding with our colleagues due to the usage of

electronic communication wherein we could hardly interpret other’s feeling and

expression. Tell me about a time when you received an email from a colleague in

response to your memo, but you hardly grasp the tone of the message because the

words can be read in a variety of ways. You could not understand if he/she is angry,

upset, or confused. What was the message about? What action did you take? How did

you handle the situation? What was the outcome?

 4

Answer:

In my previous job, I received an email from staff regarding the verbal warning I sent

due to tardiness. She questioned the policy of the company regarding tardiness and

argued why she’s been singled out. With this, I decided to talk to her personally than

replying to her email because it might worsen the situation. I discussed with her about 5

the impact of her frequent which prompted me to warn her about it.

4 Sometimes we experienced conflict in the workplace in performing our role. Describe a

situation where you had a conflict with another individual. What was the conflict about?

How did you deal with it? What action did you take to resolve the issue? What was the

outcome?

Answer:

In my previous job, I encountered conflict with my colleagues due to the implemented

systems and procedures changes that I proposed to the management. I decided to confront

them and explained to them about the benefit of the policy. It was resolved through
5
communicating and explaining to them the impact and positive effect that it would bring

because of the change.

5 Tell me a situation before that your manager required you to do many things at the

same time. What actions did you take to solve the problem? How did you handle it?

What was the result?

Answer:

I worked with the important and urgent things first and then the rest depending on my

priorities. If there is an easy item to do that does not take much time, then I'd do that

one first, but sometimes it is nice to "eat the frog" and do the hard and long one first 3

just to clear it out of the way.

 5

6 Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation where you had to sort out a complex

problem for a dissatisfied internal customer. Tell me about a time where you

experienced such situation, and tell me what you did. What events led up to the

situation? What specific action did you take? What was the outcome or result?

Answer:

At my last job, one of the unit heads asked for an budget analysis report about the

company’s office supply consumption.

● The unit head were upset because the figures were not updated and she was

using the wrong formula.

● The report must be reported on the following day.

Action: 3

● She apologized to the unit head. She explained that she was familiar yet the

report said because she’s still new with the company. With that, the unit head

offered for her help.