Page 117 - Boost Your Hiring

The Manager’s Hiring IQ Test 103

INTERVIEWER’S QUESTION
48. Tell me about a time when you negotiated a deal at your
job.
Which response actually answers the question? Which answer
should you be wary of? Are there any red flags?

(A) “The most stressful negotiation contract I had was when I was
involved in purchasing and I had to deal with a shipping com-
pany and the price of shipping. The situation involved the ma-
terials we were shipping and the price we were being charged.
I was able to work with the company representative to come to
a mutually acceptable agreement. Even though we were
slightly below the volume minimum needed to get a discount
on the shipping, we agreed on a way that it was a win-win sit-
uation for all concerned.”
(B) “As an administrative assistant, negotiations are not a normal
part of my day-to-day duties, but we had been having prob-
lems with our coffee and the vendor wasn’t responding to my
calls. I was able to catch the vendor in person one day when he
came in for a service call. I took the opportunity to tell him that
we were very dissatisfied with the quality of the coffee as well
as the service. He started to talk defensively in the beginning
but eventually agreed that there was a problem. I spent time
listening to what he had to say and treated him professionally.
I told him that although I could hear the problems he was hav-
ing, unless things improved, we would be forced to change ac-
counts. He was eager to keep the account, so he and I
negotiated better terms and he agreed to an upgrade in the cof-
fee. My boss was very impressed with the way I handled the
problem.”
(C) “As buyer, my main focus is to evaluate any purchases the
company makes and to shop around for the best terms and
deals available. I was able to save the company $10,000 one
year by discovering a better provider who could supply the
same products at a much lower rate.”

I think the strongest answer is _____.