Interview questions › Prioritisation under pressure
Tell me about a time you said no to a request from someone senior. How did you handle it?
Prioritisation under pressure · commonly asked in most interviews
No account, no credit card for the first three questions.
How to answer it well
Say what you offered instead (a later date, a smaller version, someone else) — a no without an alternative is rarely the answer they want.
Two mistakes that cost you points
- Sounding like you simply refused.
- Choosing a case where you had nothing else to do anyway.
What to do with this question today
- Answer it out loud once, without stopping. Do not write it down first.
- Read back exactly what you said. Mark the filler words, and the length of your longest pause.
- 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
- Tell me about a time you had several things on your plate and not enough time. How did you decide what to do first? · Prioritisation under pressure
- Tell me about a piece of work you had to deliver under a very tight deadline. · Prioritisation under pressure
- Two managers give you urgent work at the same time. What do you do? · 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
Also searched as: tell me about a time you said no to your boss; saying no at work interview answer
Dimension: Prioritisation under pressure — the same skill is probed again with different wording, so practise the pattern, not just this sentence.