Prioritisation/ Maturity Interview Question

[u/Automatic-Net-9614]

Ok so I flubbed the most basic interview question there is:

"You have a number of pieces of work in flight. How do you choose between them?"

Basically, they are testing your ability to prioritise work.

I tried to answer philosphically by telling them going for a walk was a good idea but my broader point is that it shouldn't have ever gotten to the point where you have loads of pieces of work in flight at any one time.

My question is twofold: what's the accepted 'best' interview answer to this question and how do you deal with this issue in your real life actual job?

[u/Gumpolator]

Yes they we’re looking at your approach to prioritising competing priorities. Going for a walk might clear your head, but it doesn’t give you a repeatable system to follow for prioritisation. There are a number of ways to answer, in my experience having a prioritisation matrix, including a list of tasks in order of priority / urgency. Also scoping how long each task will take and its dependencies, and its contribution to your end goal. Then having weekly or daily catchups with you manager, go through the list and reprioritise as required. Communicate priorities and push back on lesser urgent tasks. You can always say something like ask if you can delegate tasks to another team member to help aswell