Administrator Interview Question ' how do you prioritise work with same deadlines' '

I am me123

What would be the desired answer to the interview question;

'How would you organise or prioritise your workload to complete projects with the same deadline?'

This interview question threw me recently, and wondered what the best answer would be?

Thank you.

Taking deadline out, impact is still greater in one over the other with reference to strategic goals, or reputation, or importance of business relationship

Youd decide based on what other factors were important in context

the_pen_turner

if they are all equal i would say that i would do the easiest and fastest ones first to get them out of the way so i could consentrate and give more attention to the harder ones later .

if some pay more or are for more valuble customers then get them done first

Minier81

The most important one, e.g. the ones that improves your service the most. Also important to add that you would talk to colleagues/stakeholders/your manager in trying to determine which one is more important, its not always a decision you can make on your own.

If I've been delegated the task, I'd refer to the person that gave it to me and simply ask what they want prioritised - they likely have the best understanding of potential bottlenecks, stakeholder priorities etc.

If it was just up to me, I'd assess what actions benefit from being done in advance (e.g. where you know you need a response from someone else that could cause delays) versus which actions benefit from being done last (e.g. if you're collating figures for a presentation, it's best to have them as recent as possible), and just make sure that no matter what the plan is, that there is a plan and that I communicate any potential delays to the appropriate person in good time.

Mrs OBumble

You need to allocate enough time, or seek extra help, to make sure both get done.

And you need to think about potential delays at at part of the tasks, and make sure you start both early enough to allow for these.

Ask why the situation arose why two separate deliverables have the same deadline. Was there a delay early in the lifecycle of one of them? What was that delay and ensure such a situation is dealt with and never arises again.

Anyone asking such a stupid question obviously misses the point of proper lifecycle planning.