Interview

Front 1

Tell Me About Yourself.

Back 1

• I’m currently a senior associate in the Financial Advisory department in the Barbados office where I work in the area of restructuring services which primarily involves the judicial management of a regional insurance company.
• I’ve been with Deloitte a little over 5 years and prior to working in the Financial Advisory department I was a senior in the tax department where I did tax compliance, tax advisory and corporate work.
• Just this year I became a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accounts of the UK and I’m looking to specialize in the area of insolvency and restructuring services. This is why I’m interested in this opportunity with Deloitte Toronto.
  

Front 2

Why restructuring services?

Why are you interested in the position?

Back 2

• It’s the area that I’m working in now and I really want to specialize in this area. Unfortunately however, I don’t think I can get the breadth of experience I’m looking for if I stay in Barbados.
• Also, in my opinion for every successful company out there is bound to be another 5 who are in need of restructuring or facing some sort of business or financial distress. So I think it’s a dynamic area where there should always be opportunities.
  

Front 3

Why Deloitte Toronto?

Why do you want to leave your current position?

Back 3

• Three main reasons.
• Firstly, I'm looking to gain more experience in the restructuring field and I don't think Barbados or the wider Caribbean can give me the depth of experience I'm looking for.
• Secondly, I want to pursue the Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Qualification but I'm unable to do so unless I'm residing and working in Canada.
• Thirdly, I'm working on trying to relocate to Canada on a permanent basis and I would love to be able to stay within the Deloitte network as I already have established relationships.

Front 4

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Back 4

• In 5 years I definitely expect that I would be a qualified Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Professional in Canada.
• I would have gained solid experience working with companies of varying sizes and in different industries.
• In 5 years hope to have taken on more managerial responsibilities and develop managerial skills, probably even take a lead on an engagement.

Front 5

Why should we hire you?

Back 5

• I have a wide range of skills encompassing areas such as accounting, finance, taxation, regulatory compliance I can be flexible in working indifferent areas of engagement.
• I’ve learnt how to prioritize and manage conflicting pressures.
• I have a desire to continue learning and developing which is fitting as the job would require that I pursue the Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Professional (CIRP) qualification. I’m a quick learner.
• I’m able to work effectively as part of a team or independently.
• I always ensure that the quality of my work is of a high standard so overall I am confident I can make a valuable contribution to the Deloitte Toronto practice.

Front 6

What are your greatest strengths?

Back 6

• I'd have to say that my technical writing skills are a strength. In my current role I'm the one responsible for drafting the Court Reports and in my previous role in tax I was the one who prepared all the advisory memo. In fact, I was asked a few times to prepare memos for other service lines such as audit.
• Additionally, my background is rather diverse so I haven't found it too difficult to work in different areas which makes me rather flexible in terms of work assignments.

Front 7

What are your greatest weakness?

Back 7

• I’m not too sure if there is a word for this but I think one of my weaknesses is that I expect my co-workers to put in as much work as I do and I can sometimes be disappointed when others don't make the effort. Especially, if I have to end up re-do what they did. It can get frustrating.
• I think I'd have to say that sometimes I'm a little too impatient which can get frustrating when other people aren't operating at a speed that I think they should.
• I'd definitely say public speaking is a place where I need to improve. Sometimes I tend to speak to quickly.

Front 8

What is your greatest professional achievement?

Back 8

• I can’t think of the greatest one but I can think of a few achievements which could possible take that title. At the Deloitte level I’d say my biggest achievement was being awarded Employee of Year in 2011. That was a shock to me because that was only my 2nd year at the firm so to get that recognition was amazing.
• With respect to me as a professional I’d say becoming a chartered accountant would be one of my biggest achievements as I didn’t come from a strict accounting background but I was able to pass all my exams in one siting and even got the highest marks in the Caribbean for one of them.

Front 9

What negative thing would your last boss say about you?

Back 9

• I’m not too sure if there is a word for this but I think one of my weaknesses is that I expect my co-workers to put in as much work as I do and I can sometimes be disappointed when others don't make the effort. Especially, if I have to end up re-do what they did. It can get frustrating.
  

Front 10

Tell me about a time when you faced a major obstacle at work.

Back 10

• Once I was asked to assist another senior with project. They had assured the Partner that the deadline date would be met without any problems. I however knew otherwise and I wasn't comfortable with the position we were at. Plus I felt that corners were being cut. So I approached the Partner and Senior about it. We discussed it and were able to revamp the deliverable in time to meet the deadline.
  

Front 11

How do you deal with conflict?

Back 11

Personally I try to find constructive ways with dealing with conflict. It also helps by trying to see the other person's perspective and trying to resolve the conflict in a way which would be most effective for that person.

Front 12

How would you describe your work style?

Back 12

• I think I'm a highly structured person and I focus on getting things done properly.
• When working with multiple engagements I try my best to prioritize and also move the multiple jobs ahead concurrently.

Front 13

Technical

Back 13

• Barbados has Bankruptcy & Insolvency Act which is just under 200 pages. It's modeled after the Canadian Act and makes provisions for corporate and individual insolvencies.
• Bankrupt: The status of a person who can no longer pay his/her debt.
• Creditor: A person who is owed money/other asset.
• Receiver: Person appointed by the Court to take control of the assets of a debtor.
• Trustee: Person appointed the Court to administer a bankruptcy.

Front 14

What do you like to do outside of work?

Back 14

• Outside of work right now I'm really into Crossfit and running. I actually train twice a week for distance runs like 3Ks and 5Ks. I hope to eventually get up to par to do a marathon/half-marathon.
  
• I also used to do tennis training but haven't in while. I got a knee injury and never really got back into it after that. I might pick it back up over here.

Front 15

What are your salary requirements?

Back 15

• I did some research on sites like payscale and glassdoor and the salary ranges were from CAD 46,000 to 85,000 which is a very wide range.
  

Front 16

Tell me about an assignment that was too difficult for you. How did you resolve the issue?

Back 16

• There was this one time that an Audit partner asked me to prepare a detailed memo for client about a type of company I had no experience with. In order to get it done I had digest all the legislation concerning that type of company and the underlying transaction as well as having discussions with the regulators to make sure I was interpreting things correctly.
• A SegregatedCell Company is a company whose assets can be allocated todifferent cells which are kept separate from eachother. Each cell is only liable for its own debts and not for the debts of anyother cell.

Front 17

How do you deal with pressure or stressful situations?

Back 17

I basically try to make a list of the key task or deliverables which are needed and prioritize them. This then helps me focus on what is the

Front 18

How would your boss and co-workers describe you?

Back 18

• Dependable.
• Efficient.
• Supportive.
• Team player.

Front 19

What's a time you exercised leadership?

Back 19

In my second year at Deloitte I volunteered to be a team leader for the annual Impact Day activities. So I was responsible for coming up with the activity, sourcing whatever resources were needed, and executing the activity on Impact Day. The activity I planned was the refurbishing of library in an inner-city school. We went in completely cleaned their library which was just a room full of dusty books in boxes. We cataloged all the books, we donated books, put in new furnishings and curtains. It was a big change when we were done, almost like on those extreme makeover shows!

Front 20

Tell me about a challenge or conflict you've faced at work, and how you dealt with it.

Back 20

There was a time I was asked to assist another senior with making a presentation at a seminar for Barbados International Business Association. A problem arose because what the senior actually didn’t accept my assistance and produced something that I felt wasn’t adequate or sufficient for the occasion. So I raised my concern with the senior and the partner and we had a discussion about it. I identified were improvements could be made. The partner agreed, I made the changes and we made the presentation the next day.We actually got good feedback from the people in attendance.

Front 21

Tell me about a time when you failed.

Back 21

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Front 22

Tell me about a time you faced an ethical dilemma.

Back 22

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Front 23

What can you do for us that other candidates can't?

Back 23

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Front 24

Give an example of a time when you had to think out of the box.

Back 24

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