By asking this question, the interviewer understands how you will perform while multitasking. These days, every employer expects that a candidate should be able to work on multiple projects SIMULTANEOUSLY which is where understanding how capable you are to multitask becomes important to them.

Some tips to answer the question:

• Describe a situation where you worked on multi-tasking and how you were able to meet up the deadlines.
• Do not talk about how much you hate multi-tasking.
• Do not talk vaguely or give generic answers.
• You can also give examples to back up your claim in STAR format.

Sample answer:

Whenever I am assigned multiple tasks, the first thing I do is to calm myself down and build up a positive mindset that I can ACHIEVE the task. I then BEGIN to organize them based on the priorities and come up with a plan to set deadlines for each of them and begin to work on the task. Whenever I feel like I am blocked or I am facing roadblocks, I let my supervisor know of this and I don’t hesitate to seek help from my colleagues. If I see that I am not able to meet the deadlines, then I will be informing my manager well in advance by detailing WHATEVER I have done. Most of the time, my manager was kind enough to understand the cause of delays and I would receive an EXTENSION in the deadline and I ensure that my tasks are completed.