PROUDLY PRESENTS

Anand Mehta
Resident of Spain and 3-DNET® VIP member
Email contact : anand@exec.org

      

 

INTERVIEW WITH 3-DNET®

Listen to sample sound "bites" from the interview:  

Question 1 : Tell me about yourself

I was born on the Indian subcontinent and grew up in East Africa. I have also lived and worked in the United States for a considerable period of time. Consequently, I have a very wide range of cultural knowledge and appreciation. Being acquainted with six languages and related dialects, allows me to communicate sufficiently well to find my way around most parts of the world. This is perhaps why exploring new cultures is my favorite pastime. My drive and belief in strong education enabled me to be a “straight A” student through high school. I went on to become the first person in my family to go to college. I completed my four year degree at the Wharton School in Philadelphia, USA, in two years and eight months without taking any summer classes. In accordance with my goal of not becoming the stereotypical Wharton graduate investment banker, I chose to work with the second largest wholesale grocery distribution firm in the United States. I stayed with this firm for three years and was promoted twice before I chose to further my education. Working with this firm proved to be a wise decision as it opened my eyes to the world of supply chain management, which is a discipline I am currently studying in Spain. If I were to describe myself in a few words, I would use the adjectives, “creative”, “driven”, “passionate” and “adventurous”.

Question:  "Tell me about yourself....?"  

Question 2 : What can you offer to your next employer ?

I am a very versatile individual and can offer a plethora of skills to my next employer. I have a strong analytical background and am proficient in many software programs including MS Office Suite, Hyperion, LINGO and ArcGIS. I have a Bachelor of Economics from the Wharton School with concentrations in Finance and Marketing. My work experience covers the fields of warehousing, procurement, supply chain planning, financial planning and business process re-engineering. I am currently enrolled in the MIT-Zaragoza International Logistics Program and expect to graduate with a Master in Engineering in Logistics and Supply Chain Management degree. I consider myself to be a good leader and a great team player. I am goal oriented and very persistent. Given the right challenges, I will thrive in almost any work environment.

Question:  "What can you offer....?"  

Question 3 : What are your strengths ?

My biggest strength lies in my ability to manage mutually beneficial relationships with my coworkers. In my last job, I was the primary person responsible for developing and updating the company’s five year financial plan. This involved obtaining relevant forecasts from all the geographic regions and functional departments of the firm. This was no small task as the firm’s annual sales were over $13 billion and it operated over 40 different profit centers across the United States. I was able to obtain timely and accurate data through my network of colleagues.

Another strength I use to my advantage is my ability to sell my ideas and new concepts. I can present ideas very well due to my ability to read my audience and determine what motivates them. I am best when I can present verbally with visual aids such as PowerPoint. When I was a Supply Chain Analyst, I used this skill to persuade some of my firm’s customers to sign up for a new inventory flow supply chain concept that would result in end to end supply chain cost savings.

Question:  "What are your strengths?"  

Question 4 : What are your accomplishments ?

My biggest career related accomplishment is my contribution to the financial modeling and due diligence process that led to the acquisition of Bi-Lo and Bruno’s, two retail grocery chains, by C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., my previous employer. I was the lead due diligence analyst and was instrumental in developing the financial models and real estate analyses. I was also heavily involved with structuring the legal language related to the financial part of the final Asset Purchase Agreement and Service Agreement. This deal is projected to increase the Company’s sales by over $2.5 billion annually. After the deal closing I was in charge of monitoring the financial portion of Transitions Services Agreements related to the individual warehouses that C&S had purchased.

Question:  "What are your accomplishments?"  

Question 5 : What are your limitations ?

Perhaps my need to sleep eight hours a day is my biggest limitation. I am a person who likes to try new things and take on new projects. I always find myself wanting to be able to do more. However, I realize that I can only focus on a limited number of projects at any point in time, even though I tend to be more multi-tasking than most people I know. Thus, being versatile and willing does have its down side.

Question:  "What are your limitations ?"  

Question 6 : How much are you worth ?

If you believe in the market, you could say that I am worth as much as what the next best similar alternative is worth. However, there is a catch, since I do no think I am similar to anyone else because I have a very unique set of “intellectual assets” that are in high demand. Perhaps valuing me would be a good PhD thesis topic.

Question:  "How much are you worth ?"  

Question 7 : What are your ambitions for the future ?

I would like to become a manager with the flexibility to work on projects that are cutting edge for that particular industry and that particular functional area. I thrive in high pressure situations and would be a good asset to any company in such a situation. In ten years I would like to be an expert in my field of responsibility and be the go to person for that area. Ideally, I would have reached the Senior Vice President level by this time.

Question:  "What are your ambitions for the future ?"  

Question 8 : How long would it take you start contributing to the firm? 

I believe that I am contributing to my potential employer right at this moment. My current studies in my Master program are enhancing my skills and can be viewed as free training which is an intellectual asset to the company that hires me. It is even possible for a potential employer to influence my choice of electives for the next semester.

Question:  "How long would it take ... ?"  

Question 9: What is your management style?

I believe I am an “initiator” in terms of my management style. I take the time to make sure my subordinates and colleagues are well informed. I also like to include the affected parties in any project so that they have ownership of the project. I like to set clear guidelines and objectives and am quite happy to let team members figure out the best way to meet these objectives. I do however, believe that there is no such thing as over communicating and will spend a lot of time coordinating people and making sure everyone knows what the overall status of a project is.

Question:  "What is your management style .... ?"  

Question 10: Why do you think you have a good potential to be a manager?

I am a good communicator and can handle many projects at the same time which is key for a good manager. I am very good at managing my time as well as the time of others if necessary. I am also good at motivating people from different cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, I have taken courses in negotiations and group dynamics which assist me in dealing with teams and with conflict within teams.

Question:  "Why do you think you..... ?"  

Question 11: What would you look for in hiring people?

First, I would consider the education and experience of the prospective employee to ensure that the individual has the basic skills necessary for the job. Once this has been established, I would attempt to determine if the individual will be a good fit for the company. I would also like to hire someone who is professional, direct and who can communicate well. If the job requires learning new skills, I would look for someone who is willing to take the time to improve his skills.

Question:  "What would you look for hiring .... ?"  

Question 12: As a manager, have you ever had to fire someone?

No, but I would not be hesitant to fire someone if I believed that this person had violated the company’s code of ethics. It is also necessary to fire low performers. However, I would attempt to suggest better career opportunities for such individuals and even give them some contacts if I could.

Question:  "As a manager, have you ever..... ?"  

Question 13: What do you see as the most difficult task of being a manager?

Managing superiors is the most difficult task of being a manager. The immediate supervisor always has a better understanding of the team’s limits and constraints and it is often necessary for this first line manager to realistically represent these constraints to the higher level managers. High pressure situations are common in the work environment, but it is also important to ensure good worker morale. Sometimes adding more pressure can be counterproductive, and this is where the first line manager has to step in and transfer his knowledge of the team dynamics to his superiors.

Question:  "What do you see as...... ?"  

Question 14: Describe what you feel is the best work environment?

An environment where the workers are all professional and honest is ideal. I prefer open door policies so that the staff can step into the offices of the Vice Presidents and have a discussion. I also like goal oriented environments where there is good communication of the overall objectives. Performance related compensation is also preferable. Above all I would like an environment where the C-level executives are passionate about the surrounding community, which would include all the employees of the company.

Question:  "Describe what you feel..... ?"  

Question 15: Looking back how do you describe your past employer?

My past employer is a very cost conscious growing company. In general the atmosphere was very high pressured since there were multiple acquisitions in a year. There was a lot of employee turnover for this reason. On the positive side, there were always many problems to be fixed due to the explosive growth of the company. This led to many good learning opportunities for those who did not mind sacrificing a couple hours of sleep every night. Overall I enjoyed my time at my last employer and had a rich learning experience.

Question:  "Looking back how do you ..... ?"  

Question 16: What have you done to increase productivity, performance, efficiency, etc..?

When I was a buyer I designed a new report that combined two different reports and sorted items in a way that significantly reduced the amount of time a buyer spent looking at his “morning reports” at the beginning of each day. I personally spent about 45 minutes less time per day as a result. I believe other buyers also experienced similar reductions in review time. I used my knowledge of the buyers’ thinking process and eliminated redundant data from the “Outs” report and incorporated the data from the “Expediting List” into the combined report. My initiative led to more interest from the VPs of Procurement and we finally decided to implement Document Direct which is a tool that enables buyers to customize reports in a way that is most efficient for them.

Question:  "What have you done to .... ?"  

Question 17: Whether you are a "computer wizard", how do you respond to the financial side of your responsibilities?

I am very proficient in representing the financial side of my responsibilities since I studied finance in my undergraduate degree.

Question:  "Whether you are a "computer wizard".... ?"  

Question 18: How many people have you supervised in your recent job?

I did not directly supervise people in my last job. However, I did assign work to several department assistants. Most of my work involved “managing” my superiors especially since I indirectly reported to, but directly worked with the CFO, the General Counsel and also the SVP of Strategic Planning for all the mergers I was involved in. In order to meet all their expectations I had to be very skilled in communicating what I had in my “To Do” list so that I could prioritize optimally.

Question:  "How many people have you .... ?"  

Question 19: What do you like more, working with figures or words?

I do not prefer either one over the other. I think it is important to be simple and direct when communicating ideas. Numbers and charts are a good way to make a point. Hence, I believe there should be a balance between the two.

Question:  "What do you like more ..... ?"  

Question 20: How do you think that your subordinates receive you?

I believe I am a very easy person to work for or with. I am very direct and am able to communicate my expectations without leaving anything ambiguous. I set very high expectations and am generally good at making sure people I assign work to know that it will be tough and that they will have to work hard.

Question:  "How do you think .... ?"  

Question 21: What do you think of your previous boss?

My previous boss was very skilled in her area of expertise and I learned a great deal about real world finance and business norms that I did not learn in school.

Question:  "What do you think .... ?"  

Question 22: Describe a situation in which your work was criticized?

When I was new to the finance department my financial models were often criticized as I did not include certain industry or company specific assumptions. There was a steep learning curve for me as I had not previously developed financial statements for the wholesale grocery industry and many of the terms and concepts were new to me. However, I was quickly able to learn this and incorporate this into my models.

Question:  "Describe a situation .... ?"  

Question 23: If I spoke with your boss what he would say about your greatest strength and weaknesses?

She would probably say my biggest strength was my ability to gather information from the organization through my contacts. She would also mention my ability to make sure people kept to deadline. My ability to quickly learn new software and new concepts in the grocery industry is also something she was impressed by. She would say my biggest weakness is that I can get bored with very routine tasks.

Question:  "If I spoke with your boss.... ?"  

Question 24: How can you handle life under pressure and with tough deadlines?

I work well under pressure. My last job where I was the primary liaison in a major merger was a very high pressure job that involved working with many people within the organization and with investment bankers, lawyers and consultants outside the organization. My work hours were long and unpredictable. Hence, I had to sacrifice a lot of my leisure activities in order to deliver on time.

Question:  "How can you handle .... ?"  

Question 25: What do you think you do better: staff work or line work?

Depending on the circumstances, I can do both equally well. I am not hesitant to lead as I am quite confident in my ability to motivate and manage teams. On the flip side I am a very good follower too since I am quite detail oriented and obsessed with meeting deadlines.

Question:  "What do you think.... ?"  

Question 26: In your current position, what problem have you identified that was previously overlooked?

I am currently a student, but in my last job, I was able to determine some duplication of work between the Strategic Planning department and the General Accounting department. The key reason was that each department was making different assumptions regarding the amortization of certain assets. Once I realized this, I told my supervisor and we agreed to harmonize the assumptions so that our numbers would tie.

Question:  "In your current position .... ?"  

Question 27: If you had a choice of job and a company what would you choose?

I would choose to work for a company that would give me the opportunity to grow professionally at a faster than average pace and also allow me to take on different projects. Training is also very important to me and I would like to work for a company that sees training as a mandatory part of working for them.

Question:  "If you had a choice of job.... ?"  

Question 28:Do you have any objection to take a psychological test?

No.

Question:  "Do you have any objection.... ?"

Question 29: Do you consider yourself as a creative person?

Yes, I believe I am very creative both personally and professionally. It is amazing how creativity leads to productivity in a high pressure environment. In my last job I have been known to perform data verification using simple Access queries on multiple computers in order to free up processing capacity in our servers.

Question:  "Do you consider yourself.... ?"

Question 30: How do you describe your personality?

I am an ENFP (Extravert, Intuition, Feeling, and Perceiving) on the Myers-Briggs scale. This is quite accurate since I am definitely very outgoing. However, I believe I am equally a thinker and a feeler, which also came across in my Myers Briggs score since I scored equal points in this dimension and had to use a tie breaker rule. I like to work in teams and enjoy interacting with people from different backgrounds.

Question:  "How do you describe.... ?"  

Question 31: What is your outside reading you do?

I like to keep in touch with the latest business thought and hence enjoy reading publications such as the Economic Times and Business Week. I am passionate about traveling and hence I subscribe to National Geographic and Travel magazine. I also read fiction novels. Most recently, I have been obsessed with the four mystery/adventure novels by Dan Brown.

Question:  "What is your outside.... ?"  

Question 32: What are some of your outside activities?

When I lived in New Hampshire I enjoyed riding my mountain bike in the scenic countryside. I also did a lot of hiking. I play volleyball whenever I can convince enough people to play. A year ago I learned basic indoor rock climbing and enjoyed that a lot. Last winter I tried snow-mobiling for the first time and thought it was very enjoyable. This August I went hiking and white water rafting in the Pyrenees Mountains in Spain, which was a wonderful experience especially since I have had previous experience in white water rafting.

Question:  "What are some of.... ?"  

Question 33: Are you continuing your education?

I am currently enrolled in the MIT-Zaragoza International Logistics Program and will be graduating with a Master in Engineering in Logistics and Supply Chain Management in May of 2006.

Question:  "Are you continuing your.... ?"

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