(Who is Bonnie? Bonnie – CPA with over 6 years experience seeking Accounting Manager position)
Terry: We were talking about creating reports and identifying things people don’t need; tell me about what you would do if you were confronted with a piece of software that you had never seen before or had to work with.
Occasionally, here at the city, we have software that may not necessarily be the most up to date, but it’s what we have to work with and it’s what our systems are set around.
What would you do if you had to deal with a piece of software you’d never seen before?
Bonnie: Actually, at every job I’ve had, the software has been new to me. I’ve had a couple where I’ve repeated, but a lot of my jobs have been where I had to step in and I didn’t know the system.
At XXX, I walked in and I didn’t know anything about MIP and in two weeks, I learned it. What I do is if there is a manual, I can look at the manual and I can read the basics.
However, what I’ve found the best thing for me to do is to just dig in and start using the software and to try and write a report or to try and see how I would post a payable. The way you do things might be different, but the processes are pretty much the same. I worked at a client where I walked in and I’d never used (inaudible).
They did send me to a training session but prior to them sending me I walked in and I was able to use the system just by looking at the modules. Because I’ve so much experience, I can look at a module or look at a system and figure out how it works. Then maybe I’ll stay at night an hour later and just work with the software and go in and look at different modules.
That’s good because then I can just learn the modules by playing around with them. You can read a lot, but until you do hands on you don’t really know what you’re doing. So, I would step in and try to create some things or do some samples that would teach me how to use the software.
I’ve used it in two weeks or less. I was given the assignment at All-Timers to upload 42 chapters worth of chartered accounts. Each chapter had two databases and I was told to input that manually.
I had a feeling that there was a way to upload and my co-worker showed me how to use the data porter function. I started using it and got comfortable so I was able to upload – it’s basically 86 charts of accounts, which I had to put together and then upload on a chapter-by-chapter basis using a chapter number and account number.
It took me under one week. It probably would’ve taken me months if I’d done it manually.
Here’s how I would rate this answer . . .
Q8. What would you do if . . . – BONNIE QUICK RATING – A
Targeted and relevant and used past to describe steps you would take (have taken) in that situation.
This Guide will help you with samples and complete how to answer training for even more questions you face in your job interviews.
