As a new graduate you will likely have common questions directed towards you during the interview process, with one being, ‘How do you prioritise tasks when you have multiple deadlines?’ This may seem like a difficult question to answer, but this article will help you create the perfect response.
Set Deadlines
When prioritising tasks, you must detail the nature of the task and its deadline. Having set deadlines allows you to manage your tasks in order of importance to least importance, and it can also ease stress. Most tasks have hard and soft deadlines, this means that there is a level of flexibility that can be applied. Especially when you have multiple tasks due around the same timeframe, it can be very helpful to understand the priority of the deadline. If you feel overwhelmed or stressed with too many hard deadlines, you can discuss this with your supervisor or team members and discuss allocating tasks to others. Learning your capacity early allows you to hand in things at the correct time and manage your stress levels in a new job.
Determine the Complexity and Importance of a Task
It is then integral that you understand the complexity and importance of the task itself. Completing a higher priority task, than completing a lower priority task with a flexible deadline. The higher priority task can then be simplified by being sorted into smaller tasks. Splitting into smaller tasks allows you to not be intimidated by the complexity of the task, and you can complete it in a timely and correct manner. By focusing on the more time-consuming task, you can also take time to see what resources may be available to help, for example, if you are completing a report on a specific area of your job that you do not have the most knowledge on, you can ask a supervisor for help.
Asking for help and collaboration with other team members Completing tasks with multiple deadlines without the proper help and guidance can cause stress. You must reach out and ask for help whenever necessary. Asking for help is never an impediment to your work, it can instead be an important tool that will allow you to complete all your tasks in a timely and impeccable manner. It also shows that you are not afraid to learn from others and can work in team environments.
Stress Management
As a graduate stepping into a professional workplace, it can often be new and intimidating. That is why help is always available, completing multiple tasks in a new environment is not something you must do alone. Managing your stress is important for your ongoing job performance and talking to your supervisors about what help is available is vital. Graduate programs always have help available which can allow you to manage your stress healthily. While prioritising your tasks and knowing what you can do is very important, so is your health and self-care.
Example Response
Juggling multiple tasks as a graduate involves prioritising deadlines, understanding the complexity and importance of the task itself, asking for help when needed and collaborating with team members. These are all important so that the tasks get done efficiently. I like to start by knowing the deadlines of every task, as well as how long they will take me. There might be a straight-forward task due next week which I know will take me a day, but there might be a harder task due in two weeks which I know will take me longer. I may start with the more time-consuming task so that it is completed promptly. After that I would split the larger tasker into smaller tasks, this will allow me to complete simultaneously with other tasks, as well as make it easier to manage. Throughout this time, I make sure that I maintain open communication with my supervisors and team members. So that if I require any help or resources, they are available.