Example of following strict protocol?

anp1

Hi,

I have an interview coming up soon in which I have to give an example demonstrating my ability to follow protocol. I was wondering if someone had any examples on which I could elaborate please? I just can't think of anything substantial.

Thanks!

*zippy*

What is your current job?

In my job I think I would pick handling money and banking protocols.

anp1

Hi Zippy,

I don't work at the moment, but in the past I have worked as a debt collector, besides working in retail.

Evilm

I don't know what role you are interviewing for but here's a few ideas:

- clean room procedures - I don't have a lot of information myself on this but it makes me think of 'forensic style' shows where they make sure they put on the suits to avoid cross contamination or wear the booties over their shoes etc.

- Dealing with radioactive materials - many of those have strict procedures about when and how you can enter areas, marking an area as off limits, how to report an incident, wearing the 'detector badges', and even potentially de-contamination/isolation!

- Data protection issues - making sure you confirm peoples identity as per the workplace rules before giving information. (and confirming their right to that information)

- Signatory rules for paperwork - in my case I'm thinking about financial transactions such as cheques etc.

- Sick call in rules - slightly different one (and its usually not so strict) but many firms have rules like "you must call in between X and Y times", "you must leave A information on the answerphone", "you must speak to B person (say line manager)", "You must call in every day unless you have a sick note you have advised us of".

browneyedbazzi

It's really hard to give you an example you could use without knowing what your experiences are.

I've worked in law enforcement and trading standards where there was a need to follow really strict protocols for most things - evidence gathering/handling, testing samples, recording information, risk assessing activities etc.

I also used to work in an environment with a lot of heavy machinery and there were really strict protocols there for health and safety reasons.

What sort of environment is the job you are applying for in? It's worth thinking about what sort of thing they're likely to have protocols for and then look at your experiences and see if you've done anything similar.

anp1

Thank you for your replies!

The job is that of a call handler taking emergency 999 calls for the ambulance service.

In the past, I have worked in retail which involved handling money on the tills, as a debt collector, a summer job working as a student's co-ordinator. I also volunteer with a charity supporting vulnerable families and and with another one teaching first aid to the community

Yorkie1

I'd have thought there will have been protocols in the charitable work you do supporting vulnerable families - child protection work, referring issues appropriately etc. Can you identify any from there?

anp1

Nothing very substantial. Support was provided on a friendly basis and at the end of every visit, if there were any concerns, I would have to ring the Co-ordinator and let her know, besides noting everything down in the contact sheet.

shortcrust

I think they're looking for evidence that you follow a rule governed process. Something along the lines of:

'Make sure that A is completed and checked and the results recorded on the daily record sheet and countersigned by a manager. If the value of A is higher than X then refer to a supervisor. If A is lower that X then with continue with process B on weekdays or process C on weekends.'

And so on.

My guess is that the work you're going for is full of things like that. I would use a practical and simple example such as cashing up at the end of the day or ordering stock.

Does that make sense? I'm sure people will point it out if I'm wrong.:)

browneyedbazzi

anp1 wrote: »

Nothing very substantial. Support was provided on a friendly basis and at the end of every visit, if there were any concerns, I would have to ring the Co-ordinator and let her know, besides noting everything down in the contact sheet.

Examples provided at interview don't have to be 'substantial' in the way that you mean - it doesn't have to have been a huge issue but just something to show that you know the importance of following protocols/procedures and that you have done so in the past. So the work you did with families should provide good examples, the support you offered may have been relaxed/friendly but there must have still been procedures in place for how you dealt with things. This may have all been behind the scenes, not necessarily directly in your dealings with the clients - ie, If a client did/said x y or z you had to ensure it was noted down, inform a supervisor for the appropriate action to be taken. Notes would be files/submitted in a particular way. So just describe what the procedure was and then give an example of when you followed this procedure (without names/personal details obviously!).

Evilm

Debt collector - personal or business? If personal what rules did your employer use to ensure you were talking to the right person before sharing details? I'm sure there were some (if business it might be less strict though).