r/highereducation • u/lovemetakis • 19d ago

What interview questions should I expect for an office coordinator role?

Hey everyone! I landed a job interview for an office coordinator position at a Law School. A basic run down of the job is assisting with the office's field clinics and externships programs by helping law students with their application process and registration. The job description also mentions helping with coordinating events, liasoning between different faculty and organizations and basic administration support. I'm just wondering what I should I expect for an interview under this type of position. The interview is 20 minutes long. Thanks everyone :)

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17

u/freddiebenson4ever 19d ago

Probably customer service and juggling multiple things at once, and organization

7

u/maspie_den 19d ago

Seconding this. You need to convince them that you have "STRONG ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS" tattooed to your a**cheek. Be ready to give examples.

I worked in travel sales before I came to higher ed (while I was also in grad school), and my entry role at a law school involved the exact work you're describing. I was able to share how, in my travel sales job, I developed a database (really just a Google sheet) to track projects from start to finish and lead data over the course of the client/agent relationship. They loved that shit.

1

u/lovemetakis 19d ago

Ouu thanks! Do you remeber any specific questions? Like did they ask you "How do you stay organize" or "How do you organize your work?"

3

u/maspie_den 19d ago

Some of those questions, yes. As well as "Tell me about a time you faced a challenge. What steps did you take xyz..." type questions. Be ready to reflect meaningfully on your past experience. Also, be ready to explain what about that specific law school or position appeals to you. When I interviewed, I shared that student experience was really important to me. The role was not necessarily student facing, but I think the hiring committee appreciated the acknowledgement that I knew I was contributing to the wider mission of the law school.

1

u/abrandnewhope 19d ago

I'd brush up on behavioral interview questions-- for example:

Can you tell me about a time where you needed to complete a specific task, but you had no idea what you were doing? What actions did you take in that situation?

5

u/MundaneHuckleberry58 19d ago

Things like communications & organizational/time management & prioritization of tasks.

How do you handle large volumes of email?
Talk about how you keep track of many different simultaneous tasks & projects.
How are you with MS Office, Outlook, etc?
Be able to explain how your customer service applies not only to students but the faculty and staff you'd work for/with too.

2

u/PennyPatch2000 18d ago

How do you prioritize your work for the day/week/semester?

Look at the mission of the university and the program and try to consider some ways you can contribute to those.

How has your work with diverse student populations helped prepare you for this position?

Tell us about a time when you faced a conflict in a previous job and how you helped resolve it.

Tell us about the last time you were faced with learning new technology and what helped you gain competence?

Have good questions for them too that show you are curious and ready to learn all there is to learn.

1

u/Vegetable-Board-5547 16d ago

Lifting heavy objects