1. How do you keep up with the current news in the world and how could this affect your job?
Well my computer actually defaults to MSN.com and they usually have the most popular stories
going on in the headlines and I see a lot of interesting stuff there. Also I read the newspaper
which is a really great way to keep up with what's going on in todays world. I would say I see a
lot of people high up in companies that get fired for some of the dumbest things such as abusing power
or taking money from the company such as using company credit cards on personal expenses. If anything
it makes me realize that doing something like this is really stupid because for one you're most likely
going to get caught and also having a job is one of the most important things and if you get caught
doing something like this then you are going to have a really hard time finding another job.
2. What in your experience has prepared you to be effective in this role? Why will FedEx Ground be
more successful with you in this position?
Well I do have a lot of dock experience as a package handler / QA clerk / and even in my office admin
position. A few months back when Chad was talking about trying to get a part-time management position
I actually started cross-training with Casey. I did that for about a month or so just to you know get
my feetin the water and see what it's like. I learned several things that I didn't know before such as
TMS, VRP, assigning/closing trailers that were worked, and yard checks. I walked around with her when
she did walk-throughs with new people coming in for the sort observation. I think doing that really
helped me to become more familiar with some of the things she has to do that I may have not even known
about at the time.
1. Tell me about a time when you successfully applied a newly-learned skill or knowledge to help you
solve a work-related problem.
So not that long ago I really had no idea how to work the VRP after dispatch such as closing routes,
printing manifests + turn by turns so one day I was in their just helping out because we had a late
trailer and people were bum rushing the window for their paper work. So after all the drivers were gone
and things had calmed down a bit I got summer to show me how to do those things such as closing routes
and printing their paper work. Well not to long ago their was a situation where I was in there by myself
I guess maybe they were busy doing something else and we had a few drivers left that were in a hurry
because you know they always are so instead of me having to run and find them I knew how to close their
route + print their paper work which allowed them to get out the building faster and caused them to get
less frustrated.
2. Tell me about a time when you were assigned a new role or responsibility that required you to learn
a set of new skills or acquire knowledge about topics with which you were previously unfamiliar.
So about a few months back Theo had asked me to start doing the SQI 1day and 2day lates. When he brought
it up I literally had no idea how or what to do. I had only heard about it in the staff meetings on if
we had failed or passed or whatever I actually didn't really know or understand how it all worked.
So I got together with Theo one day and he showed me how you look at a tracking # on ftrack w/ TMS on
and see why it was late and exactly whos fault it was. Since he has showed me I have done it every week
and I feel it has helped me understand more about SQI.
1. When we are very busy it can be difficult to filter out distractions. Tell me about a time when you
were trying to have an important conversation with someone at work and you kept being interrupted.
Well everyday I try and help Rae with QA in between doing VSA. So sometimes when I'm in the cage
talking to Rae about what she needs help on and things like that I constantly have distractions
due to drivers not wanting to take the packages off the truck so they come hunt me down to come
over there and scan their packages. I also will have people radioing me and telling me something
that they need help with. I dont mind helping people and honestly distractions are always going to
be there but if you know what your responsibilities are then you can handle them well.
2. When we have strong opinions about certain issues, it is sometimes difficult to listen to other
viewpoints. Tell me about a time when you experienced this type of situation.
When I was in unload scanning + sticking when I was a package handler I always wondered why we
didnt just send tires up the belt. In my mind it made sense to do that, that way we weren't wasting
time running a bunch of tires all around the building to the different routes that they went too. So
when I asked Casey why dont we just send the tires up the belt it would be much faster .. she explained
her point of view and after thinking about it, it made sense. I wasn't even thinking about well what
if one gets caught in the belt. If that were to happen the tire would most likely get damaged and also
the belt could possibly get damaged as well and I know that would be expensive + time consuming to fix.
So now I actually dont believe that sending tires up the belt is a good idea anymore.
1. Tell me about a time when you helped a peer adjust to a change on the job.
Okay so when ITQA was first announced to us nobody knew how it worked or anything about it. So they
held a class at the ground building on ITQA. I was the only person from my building to go to the class
except for Chris he was actually still at ground when the class took place but I was responsible for
learning what it was about and how it worked and coming back to the station and showing everyone
how it works. Now I believe we are handling ITQA the best we can as a station and everyone understands
why ITQA is important and how it helps us reduce 02's and helps with customer satisfaction.
2. Discuss a situation where a new technology, process, or procedure changed the way you were used to
doing something on the job.
Well one thing that is actually going on right now is the AUTODOT which we actually just started doing
on June 15th. Me and Theo attended the class at our facility that was taught by Matt Jones so we could
learn and understand the changes that are coming. I do believe this will actually make our jobs easier
and speed up the process on bringing in new drivers and getting them on the road. So the old system is
out and the new system is in and I honestly think it will work better and be more efficient.
1. Tell me how work on the job affects the customers who buy the product or receive the service. Provide
an example of a time when your work impacted the customer.
I do VSA every morning and see every package that gets brought back because either they were refused
or weren't home etc. So when I am scanning all the packages in the morning and giving them their
appropriate code and if their is customer service mail on a package I will see it on the scanner.
So I make sure to read whatever the mail says because it could be anything from sending it to fedex
office for customer pick up or even something like a request to get the driver to wait a couple minutes
at the door because its an elderly person that cant move to fast. I make sure to get these messages
across because they will help the customer get what they want and make them happier with our service.
2. It can be challenging to meet the needs of multiple customers. Tell me about a time when you had to deal
with requests from multiple clients at once and just did not have the time to address them all as quickly
as they wanted.
There has been a few situations where I was by myself in the afternoon at work and it just so happened
one time I was there someone called and I answered then another person called and I answered and asked
them to please hold for a second. So I was trying to help a customer with something and it was taking a
little bit because I had to call the contractor and see if they could do this customer a favor. Well
that all took probably about 5 min or so and I finally got off the phone with the first customer. So I
switched over to the other caller to see what I could do for them and they were just irritated that
they had been on hold for about 5 minutes and I can understand that nobody likes to be on hold for more
than 30 seconds so I just explained that I was very sorry for the inconvenience and that I was the only
person there and they ended up understanding and then I went on to help them with what they needed.
1. Describe a task requiring you to pay attention to small details and the system you use for doing so.
Tell me about a time when your high attention to those details helped to prevent or fix a problem.
Well when I do SQI once a week you have to pay attention to small details. You are looking at roughly
anywhere from 100-300 tracking #s and most of them you have to actually pay attention to what time
a trailer got somewhere. So if I'm not paying close attention to the times then I could be blaming
the wrong people for messing up. Also paying attention to small details like how many 02's we had last
week can help us see what areas we need to improve in and try to fix.
2. Tell me about a process or system that you developed to accomplish multiple tasks at once or move
back and forth between tasks to be more efficiently.
I actually do this every morning pretty effectively. From when I get there at 6 to when the sort ends I
am usually doing 3-4 different things throughout the morning. First thing I'm doing is VSA so when I
have everything caught up at VSA I'll go over to the cage and see if QA needs help with reboxes or
address corrections or whatever she needs. After I help her and she gets more caught up I will run over to
unload and see if their are any packages that need to be taken to QA and/or taped up. So basically when
things start to slow down in one area I go to the next and try and keep everything caught up.
1. Describe some of the things you have done recently to stay up to date on cutting edge technologies and/or
innovative solutions. Provide a specific example of an innovative approach you learned about and put
into action on the job.
So back when I was cross-training with Casey on VRP I didn't exactly know every single zip code
that we service by heart but there is an app out that you can put in city and state and it pops
up with what the zip code is. So this is actually a great way that technology that wasn't even made
for fedex exactly that has helped me learn more zip codes in our area. So now if I'm working on
VRP and I need to move packages from one route to another I can find it much more efficiently with this
app that tells me the zip codes in case I cant remember.
2. Sometimes it is best to work on problems with a group of people. Tell me about a problem you faced where
you involved others in resolving the situation.
When I am working on getting drivers on board and have to verify their work employment. Some places
require you call the work number + have an account with them and have to pay 15-20$ i think. Well
Matt Jones has an account with them so every time this situation occurs I have to get him involved in
helping me verify the employment. So I send him an email with persons info + company code and he usually
gets back to me that day if not then the next. This is a problem I face all the time but since me and
Matt are working together on it, it makes it go by faster and helps me a lot because I wouldn't be able
to verify the work if he didn't do this.
1. Tell me about a recent time when you did more than what was expected on the job.
Well I would probably say I do this every single day because I come in early to do VSA but when
I have time I head over to the QA cage and do repacks, address searches, corrections etc. and
even after the sort if I'm not too busy I will make sure Rae is caught up and every package that
can go out does. Nobody ever asked me to help QA it's just something I picked up and started
doing myself and I know she really appreciates the help.
2. Describe a time when you took independent action in order to get a project started because no one
else was taking the initiative to do so.
So when I was at Virginia Western we had group projects all the time and sometimes you get a group
where nobody wants to step up and take the initiative to get in contact with everyone and set up
a time to meet. So their were a couple situations where I stepped up and got in contact with everyone
to figure out the most convenient time for everyone. In those situations I feel like if I hadn't done
so nobody else would have and we wouldn't have got anything done. So since I went ahead and took
responsibility to be the leader we were able to complete our project as a team and earn a good grade.
1. Many times the objective of individuals in one work group are not in line with the objective of those
in other work groups. Tell me about a time when you were involved in a situation where your objectives
were in contrast to those of another work group.
Well sometimes if Summer or Eshter are out and I have to go into dispatch and hand drivers
their paperwork this is sometimes an issue because every driver is in a hurry obviously and
trying to get out the door as quick as possible but I am only one person and can't make
printers go faster then they do and the only thing on their mind is getting their stuff and
leaving but I hand them out as I get them I'm not going to treat someone better than anyone
else. I'm making sure everybody gets what they need and job is done right vs going as quickly
as possible and potentially making a mistake which could slow things down even more.
2. Think about your most recent direct manager and the best way to approach him/her in order to obtain
approval or support. Tell me about a time when you used this approach successfully.
I have known Chris since back when I was a package handler at ground. If their is anything I know
about him its that his office is always open and he is always interested in what you have to say.
I know recently I asked him if I could leave early one saturday because my girlfriend was graduating
and someone was already off and we are short staff as it is. I just made sure all my work was done
and nobody else needed anything before I asked him about it so I had a better chance of getting off.
1. Sometimes people read us the wrong way. Tell me about a time when you found out that a coworker
thought you were being unfriendly or did not like them.
When I was a package handler I had a situation occur like this where what I said had rubbed
someone the wrong way and they thought I was being mean. One day we were really heavy I think
it was Mothers Day and I was at the back of the line loading the cages for temps/supplementals
and I had a couple people in front of me on the line. Well the guy in the middle was being really
slow and letting probably more than half his packages go past him and they were all coming to me.
So I had to pull every single one of his packages off so I could continue to get my stuff.
I told him that he should try to pick up his pace so it wouldn't get even worse than it already
was and I guess he took it the wrong way and didn't speak to me for a couple days. So I felt
their was tension between us so I approached him and asked if I had done something to offend him
and he explained himself and then I did the same and he realized that he was just frustrated that day
so when I said something he just automatically took it the wrong way. Talking to each other about it
definitely resolved the issue and we have been on good terms ever since.
2. Tell me about a time when you worked on a team with people from different backgrounds, races, ethnicities
etc. Describe a specific project or task that you worked on with this group of people.
When I went to Virginia Western I worked on several group projects with people from different backgrounds.
We had to meet up at a local library and work together on a group presentation about a book that we had
read for the class. We each talked about a different theme in the book and worked together to create a
power-point presentation. Even though we didn't know each other that well prior to the assignment we
were able to work together and earned a good grade.