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Are you ready for the long working hours you will face as a future consultant?
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Answering this question it’s important not to show “ready-to-die” dedication, but rather your ability to approach things in 80/20 way.
What is 80/20? It’s a rule which basically states that 80% of the results come just from 20% of your efforts. So, in practice it means that you need to be able to prioritise and make trade-offs to complete more work in a given time vs striving for perfection in one specific task (and killing yourself and your team while doing so)
So, while answering the question, highlight that you are of course ready to work long hours. But you are also a fan of working smart vs. working hard and you are sure that for any situation there are shortcuts one can take to make sure you don’t kill yourself or your team.
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Honestly...
You can only say yes to this question at this stage of the hiring process!
Enrich it with a few examples:
- Past situations in which you had to work long hours and did it with a positive spirit
- Past situations in which you precisely came up with some measures to boost productivity and make the work shorter
Hope it helps!
Cheers,
Clara
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if long hours are required to finish the job and meet deliverable deadlines, then a consultant must be ready to take the long ride.
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Hi there,
Agree that the answer obviously has to be yes. That said, (1) give solid example that you are ready for it, e.g. your current work requires long hour as well or you have been studying while working at the same time, and your family/significant other is supportive, etc; (2) do make sure you are actually okay with it, don't kid yourself. It is going to be tough and require a lot of perseverance.
Best,
Emily
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Yes, while still guaranteeing the highest quality.
(edited)
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I certainly am, as shown during my various other work experiences
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Yes, career is my priority and I would like to challenge how far I can go.
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Definitely! I am used to work hard since my early youth. Especially since i learned to work on a really high level and under extreme pressure during my apprenticeship. As long as the time I spend has a real impact on the results and I can regularly recharge my batteries at weekends due to sport and hobbies, I am very happy to work.
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yes, I am already for that and I also did have the experiences on that. Like every later Month I need to help the team member to achieve the monthly target. For that we normally worked quite late together.
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yes, i am not only ready for that but also to challenge myself
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Yes, definitely, I'm fully committed as it is my passion to work as a consultant. Every hour that a project needs to be completed successfully is an hour that needs to be used
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Yes l am ready. I was a Consultant before working within a high pressure environment where we had to meet very tight deadlines under a high load of stress. So this is something that l am accustomed to
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jo
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Ja, ich bin es durch meine Engagements in und neben der Uni gewohnt, auch Abends noch hochwertige Arbeit zu liefern.
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yes
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I will focus on completing my work timely, but in case of any urgent requests by clients. I can stay and work longer than usual.
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w
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Dear A,
It is pretty normal to have long working hours in consultancy, and if you face this question on the interview you can say with a confidence — YES, I'm ready.
Here it's more important to be reliable person and to have a good health, being highly motivated and committed to the company and to the clients. So therefore long working hours don't mean anything to you because it's not your work, it's your profession.
Best,
André
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