Latest / Interview Prep with Fexingo: Behavioral Questions, Case Studies, and Hiring Manager Insights / How to Answer the Tell Me About a Time You Multitasked Question
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've covered a lot of behavioral questions on this show — delegation, failure, negotiation, resilience. But there's one classic that keeps showing up in interview prep sessions I've sat in on, and we haven't touched it yet. Luna: Which one? Lucas: 'Tell me about a time you had to multitask.' Or some version of it — 'Tell me about a time you managed multiple priorities,' 'How do you handle a fast-paced environment with competing deadlines.' It sounds straightforward, but it's actually one of the most dangerous questions you can get. Luna: Dangerous in what sense? Lucas: Because if you answer it the way most people do — listing three or four things you were juggling, implying you did them all at once — you risk sounding like you're scattered, or worse, like you're bragging about being overworked. And there's a growing body of research that suggests multitasking is a myth. Luna: That's a good point. There's a well-known study from Stanford — I think it was published around 2022 — that found only about 2.5 percent of people are actually capable of multitasking effectively. For everyone else, it's really just rapid task-switching, and that comes with a cognitive cost. Lucas: Exactly. So when a hiring manager asks this question, they're not checking if you can pat your head and rub your belly at the same time. They're checking whether you can triage, prioritize, and maintain quality under pressure. The best answers don't show you juggling — they show you deciding what to drop, and why. Luna: I love that framing. So how do you structure an answer that shows that decision-making? Lucas: I use something I call the 'Priority Stack' method. You start with a specific situation where you had three or four competing demands. You name them clearly. Then you explain how you ranked them — not by urgency alone, but by impact and dependency. And then you describe the outcome, including what you intentionally deprioritized. Luna: And that last part is key. Most people stop at the outcome and never mention what they chose not to do. But that's the part that actually shows judgment. Lucas: Right. Let me give you a concrete example. I worked with a marketing manager who was asked this question in an interview for a director role. She described an afternoon where her team was launching a new product, a PR crisis broke out on social media, and her quarterly report was due at end of day. Luna: That is a realistic scenario. Lucas: She said she took two minutes to assess: the PR crisis had the highest potential reputational damage, so she made that her top priority. She delegated the quarterly report to a senior analyst with a checklist, and she pushed the product launch celebration — a minor event — to the following week. She handled the crisis, reviewed the report before submission, and then personally rescheduled the celebration. The outcome was a contained PR issue, a submitted report, and a team that felt supported. Luna: And she explicitly explained why the celebration could wait. That shows leadership, not just task management. Lucas: Exactly. And she got the job. So the formula is: situation with clear competing priorities, your ranking logic, what you deprioritized, and the result. Never just list tasks. Luna: This is such practical advice. And it reminds me — one of the things that keeps this show ad-free and independent is listener support. If you're finding these episodes useful for your career, and you want to help us keep producing them without ads, you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small way to say thanks and it really makes a difference. Lucas: Yeah, we appreciate that. And it helps us keep digging into the questions that actually matter in interviews. Like this one — because the multitasking question isn't going away. Luna: So what about when the interviewer follows up with something like, 'Can you give me an example of a time you multitasked and it didn't go well?' Lucas: That's a great follow-up, and we should talk about that. Because a lot of candidates freeze at that point. But actually, a failure story can be even more powerful — if you frame it as a lesson learned about prioritization. Luna: Give me an example. Lucas: A friend of mine — she was a project manager at a software company — once tried to simultaneously monitor three different client implementations. She thought she could handle it because she'd done similar work before. But two clients had conflicting requirements, and she missed a deadline on one because she was splitting her attention. Luna: And what did she learn? Lucas: She said she realized that multitasking was making her reactive. So she implemented a system: every morning she would assign herself a 'primary focus' for the day, and she would batch her communication by client. Within a month, her on-time delivery rate went from 70 percent to 95 percent. Luna: So the failure answer actually shows growth. And it reinforces the same message: multitasking isn't the skill — prioritization is. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the through-line for this whole episode. When you get asked about multitasking, your job is to redirect the conversation toward how you make decisions under pressure. The specific tasks don't matter as much as the logic behind your choices. Luna: One thing I'd add: if you're in a technical or analytical role, it can help to mention any tools or frameworks you use to manage competing priorities. Like a prioritization matrix, or even just a simple Eisenhower box. Lucas: That's a good call. I've seen candidates mention using a RICE framework — reach, impact, confidence, effort — to score tasks. It shows you have a systematic approach. And it's very specific. Luna: And for roles where you're leading a team, you might talk about how you help your team prioritize, not just yourself. That's a whole other level. Lucas: Right. I once interviewed a VP of operations who said she used a 'stop doing' list. Every quarter, she would identify three things the team should stop doing entirely to free up capacity. That's a powerful answer because it shows strategic thinking. Luna: I like that. So let's pull together a template. If someone is preparing for an interview tomorrow, what should they have in their back pocket? Lucas: They should have two stories ready. One where they successfully managed multiple priorities using a clear ranking method, and one where they failed and learned something about focus. Both should follow the same structure: situation, your decision logic, what you deprioritized or dropped, and the outcome. Luna: And the lesson learned in the failure story should tie back to a change you made. Not just 'I learned to multitask better' but 'I learned to batch my work' or 'I learned to say no.' Lucas: Exactly. And one more thing: avoid using the word 'multitask' itself too much. Use phrases like 'managing competing priorities,' 'task-switching intentionally,' 'triaging based on impact.' It signals that you understand the nuance. Luna: That's a great tip. Language matters in interviews. So to summarize: the multitasking question is really about prioritization, judgment, and learning. Have a success story and a failure story, both with clear decision logic. And be ready to explain what you chose not to do. Lucas: Perfect summary. And if you want more interview prep, we've got over a hundred episodes in the feed covering all the classic questions. This one was long overdue. Luna: Agreed. Thanks for listening, and good luck with your interviews. Lucas: Yeah, good luck. We'll be back with another episode soon.