Oliver Schmid Typical Job Interview Q&A

Typical Interview Questions & Answers

Are you able to meet aggressive deadlines? Do you have experience doing so in the past?
I have been able to manage various ERP (SAP, JEEVES UNIVERSAL, NIXDORF COMET, etc.) implementation projects successfully. All, except one, of my projects were completed on time and on budget. The one that was not completed in time and on budget was due to a significant scope change ordered by corporate head quarters.

Managing and participation in several  3PL outsourcing projects allowed me to learn more about the challenges associated with outsourcing Warehousing, Logistics and/or total  Supply Chain requirements.

Describe a professional skill you have developed in your most recent job.

Past experience in the areas of IT Infrastructure planning and design combined with my recent experience in the areas of business process optimization and ERP implementation have enabled me to see the whole picture and to understand technical requirements to solve business process and operations challenges. This in return enables me to suggest complete solutions.

Describe your ability to solve problems in the workplace.
Problems in the workplace can have different reasons and backgrounds and there for must be handled in different ways. In general it requires having the right determination and diplomacy to handle the problem on hand.

Describe your ideal job.
My ultimate career goal is to obtain a  C/VP-Level position. I am looking for a career opportunity  that allows me to grow within the organization and allows me to  make positive contributions to the growth of the firm.

Describe your management style.
My management style is somewhat a mix of democratic and autocratic.
When applicable I collaborate with subordinates and peers and make them part of the decision making process and also give them a considerable degree of autonomy in completing routine work activities.
If the situation requires it I am able to make a decision on my own.

Do you like working alone or in a team environment?
Even I am not uncomfortable to work alone, I perform best working in a team environment, where I can guide a team to its success by helping the team members to utilize their skills in the most successful way.

Do you prefer continuity in structure or frequent change in your daily work?
A certain continuity and structure is a must at any organization, but I feel more comfortable in an environment that is exposed to frequent change.

Do you work well alone?
Even I am more of a team player; I am also very much capable to work alone if the task on hand requires it.

Do you work well under pressure?
Working under pressure, often displays my true skills and brings skills and knowledge to the surface I did not realize I had.

Have you ever hired anyone? What qualities do you seek?
Over the course of my career I have hired several employees. My focus has always been that they are experts in the subject matter they are representing or depending on the role they had to fill were willing to acquire additional knowledge in order to become the subject matter expert.
Another important factor was personality and how good the person would fit into the overall organization.

Have you ever managed a project for your previous employer? What was the result?
I managed various projects successfully.
Implementing complete ERP Solutions (SAP, JJEVES UNIVERSAL, NIXDORF COMET,etc.). Implementing various third party add-on solutions to SAP.

Outsourcing of warehousing and logistics to a 3PL Provider.

How can you help our company be more profitable?
Continuous improvement of business processes and ongoing business process optimization

Evaluating current IT & Communication Infrastructure.
Proposing and implementing infrastructure improvements.

Evaluate and renegotiate vendor contracts.
Collaborate with team members, peers and superiors to find out where they see room for improvements that could lead to cost reductions.

How do you handle change?
I don’t handle change, I manage change.
Depending on the change environment every change has to managed differently.
I proactively manage changes in project scope, identify potential crises, and devise contingency plans
1.) It is important to understand why a change is required (Awareness)
2.) The desire must be given to support and participate in the change.
3.) One must understand or have the know-how how to change.
4.) The ability must be given to implement new skills and/or behavior.
5.) The right measures must be taken to be able to sustain the change.

How do you usually handle criticism?
By listening to the criticism and learn from it. I always try to be open and objective when receiving criticism.

How well can you multi-task?
Even I have no problem multi-tasking, I prefer to concentrate on one task at the time and give it all my focus and energy. Sometimes it is unavoidable to multi-task, since various task may be related and I have no problems to handle these tasks/projects.

How would you describe your philosophy about management?
My philosophy about management is:
Listen what people say, direct or indirect.
Keep meetings to a minimum.
Don’t screw-up by doing things yourself that somebody in your team is more qualified to do.
Communicate goals.
Make everybody feel as being part of the team.
Share success.

How would you rate your communication skills?
It is my preference that all parties involved are informed as much as possible at all times and there for I like to communicate relevant information to everybody who needs to know on an ongoing basis. At the same time I try to stay informed as much as possible and there for require that pertinent information is also communicated back to me.

Tell me about a contribution you have made to a team.
A defining contribution I make to any team is my spirit. I make it a challenge to build a team where everybody pitches in. I successfully coordinate team efforts.

Tell me about a past achievement that you attained in your last job.
I introduced EDI processing to the organization. It allowed the organization to process orders in a more timely fashion. In return it improved our on-time delivery and there for increased customer satisfaction.
Though the EDI billing process the organization was able to bill faster, with less billing errors, which in return improved cash flow.
Through the implementation of EDI the organization was more readily available to handle rapidly increasing order volumes. Within 5 years the organization more than quadrupled its yearly order volume without investing in any additional personnel to handle the increased order volume.

In 1995 I designed, developed and implemented the organizations first ever web presence worldwide.

In 2002 I introduced and managed the organizations first VoIP technology worldwide.

Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a challenging project in your job.
During one of our SAP Roll-Out projects, we had 3 key-users (out of 6) leaving the organization during the roll-out phase. These key-users had to be replaced rather quick in order to stay within the allotted project time frame.
All key users were departmental managers or supervisors, since they were most familiar with the business processes related to their department. I made the suggestion to replace the missing key users with multiple staff from the according department that had knowledge in regards to the business project or function we were designing at a given time and made them semi-key-users. We had regular key-users coordinating and assisting in the efforts of the new team members. This required additional working hours (nights and weekends) and was honored with a bonus, if the roll-out was done successfully within the allotted time frame.
This project was also a success by being on time.

Tell me how you would handle multiple projects in the job.
Managing each project in a timely and efficient way and within the constraints of scope, quality, time and cost.
This includes acquiring resources and coordinating the efforts of team members and third-party contractors or consultants in order to deliver projects according to plan.
Set and continually manage project expectations with team members and other stakeholders.
Plan and schedule project timelines and milestones using appropriate tools.
Track project milestones and deliverables.
Determine the frequency and content of status reports from the project team, analyze results, and troubleshoot problem areas.
Define project success criteria and disseminate them to involved parties throughout project life cycle.
Develop and utilize existing best practices and tools for project execution and management.

What are some of the things that motivate you?
I am motivated by new and exciting challenges. I big motivation for me is to see the success and the difference I have made and I can make through my skills and experience.

What are your top strengths?

• IT
• EDI
• Strategical and Visionary,
• Business Process Optimization
• Outsourcing
• Project  Management
• Network Infrastructure.
• Reliability.
• Dependability.
• Open to change.

What are your work-related goals for the next few years?
Becoming more of a subject matter expert in a functional and technical SAP role.

Becoming a subject matter expert in the areas of business process optimizations and outsourcing
Learn more about network & business security and its impacts on the day-to-day business.

What aspects of your job do you consider most crucial?

• Accuracy.
• Knowledge of “Best Practices”.
• Continuous process improvement.
• Being able to see the big picture.
• Having the skills of being visionary and strategically.
• Communication – defining problems, offer solutions, communicate
• effectively across the organization and work well with a team.
• To coach and to mentor.
• Actively promoting teamwork amongst groups.

What do you do for fun?

• Walking my dogs.
• Work-out at local Gym.
• Dancing.
• Gardening.
• Participate regularly at Social Media events and advise people and organizations on the use of Social Media on a personal as well as on a business level.

What do you do in your spare time?
Educating myself on IT and Business subject matters.
Doing something that gets my mind completely off work, like sailing, hiking with my dogs.
Travel and learn about different cultures.

What new skills or ideas do you bring to the job that other candidates aren’t likely to offer?
I have a very broad and detailed understanding of business processes overall. My skill of being very visionary and strategically has always been seen as very valuable by superiors, peers and subordinates.
People I worked with were often impressed by my ability to pick up a project at any time and get it done, no matter what.

What would you like to accomplish that you weren’t able to accomplish in your last position?
My goal would be to become more of a expert in the technical area of SAP.

What would your colleagues tell me about your attention to detail?
I quote some recommendations I did received. These recommendations can also be found at http://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverschmid

Oliver successfully managed the projects for Karcher. We were able to deliver a number of key projects on time and on budget because of his drive, determination and business acumen…. John Kalusa @ Analyst International

Oliver is a very innovative type of person and is always trying to find ways to help his co-workers.
Sergio Oliveira @ Karcher Residential Solutions

Oliver was a wonderful attribute to Karcher Residential Solutions. He was very helpful, easy going, enjoyed his work and a real team player.
Karen Mueller @ Karcher Residential Solutions

Oliver is detail-oriented manager with a wistful knack for IT related issues. His stellar knowledge of operating systems proved to be a boon for us during a time of exponential growth.
Brad Balkcom @ Karcher Residential Solutions

Our implementation staff commented that Oliver’s knowledge and responsiveness were pivotal in a quick and seamless migration.
Scott A. Feinstein @ SPS Commerce

His attention to detail and professionalism makes him an ideal customer of ours. I do not hesitate to recommend him to anyone.
Mark Essayian @ KME Systems, Inc.

Which of your accomplishments have brought you the greatest satisfaction?
The one accomplishment that brought me the greatest satisfaction was the outsourcing of our in-house call center. In 2002, our in-house customer support call center lost about 75% (out of app. 30,000 calls per month) of its incoming service calls due to lack of resources. Through successfully outsourcing parts of the call center to various service providers (depending on support level), I was able to provide increased customer service by increasing service hours and eliminating call abandonment. This in return reduced the product return rate by more than 30%.

Why did you leave your last job?

Parent Company in Germany closed the US office after more than 20 years.

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