Interview questions › Prioritisation under pressure

Two managers give you urgent work at the same time. What do you do?

Prioritisation under pressure · commonly asked in operations, any

No account, no credit card for the first three questions.

How to answer it well

Two mistakes that cost you points

• Saying you would do both, nights and weekends included.
• Escalating before you have compared the two deadlines yourself.

What to do with this question today

1. Answer it out loud once, without stopping. Do not write it down first.
2. Read back exactly what you said. Mark the filler words, and the length of your longest pause.
3. Answer it again and change one thing — usually the opening line, or the number at the end.

This question is not in the free run yet — practise the same skill with a free run, or paste a job description and we build the set around that role.

More questions

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• Tell me about a time you said no to a request from someone senior. How did you handle it? · Prioritisation under pressure
• Tell me about a time you were pulled off a task in the middle. How did you hand it over or come back to it? · Prioritisation under pressure
• In one minute, introduce yourself and explain why this role should consider you. · Communication
• Walk me through your resume. Tell me about the choices you made along the way. · Communication