What Does Quality Mean to You? How to Answer This Tricky Interview Question

You probably never gave much thought to defining “quality” until you saw it on a list of common interview questions. But how do you describe something so abstract yet intuitive? Fortunately, while quality may be hard to define, there are some useful strategies to tackle this tricky interview question.

Why Do Interviewers Ask “What Does Quality Mean to You?”

Interviewers ask this for a few key reasons:

• They want to assess your standards and expectations for quality work. If your definition doesn’t align with theirs it could indicate a poor culture fit.

• It reveals your attention to detail and commitment to excellence Strong candidates have high standards and take pride in their work,

• Your answer provides insight into your work style and values. Are you results-driven? Focused on customer satisfaction? Or committed to continuous improvement?

• For certain roles like quality assurance or management, your understanding of “quality” is especially relevant. Interviewers want to ensure you can recognize and deliver quality work.

So how can you craft an impressive response? Here are some proven strategies:

1. Define Quality by Focusing on the Customer

A simple yet effective approach is explaining how quality satisfies or delights customers. For example:

“To me, quality means meeting or exceeding customers’ needs and expectations. It’s providing an exceptional product or service that creates happy, loyal customers.”

This answer demonstrates you care about the customer experience and aim to delight them, not just meet basic requirements. It’s a great option for customer-facing roles.

2. Link Quality to Your Employer’s Reputation or Brand

Customize your answer by tying quality to the company’s products, services or brand reputation. For example, if interviewing at Mercedes you could say:

“Quality is synonymous with the Mercedes brand. It means meticulous engineering, outstanding performance, and luxury features that create an amazing driving experience.”

This insight shows your interest in the company and understanding of what makes their offerings special.

3. Share How You Pursue Excellence

Alternatively, describe your commitment to quality work:

“To me, quality means pursuing excellence in everything I do. I pay attention to the smallest details, optimize processes, and constantly seek ways to improve. Quality is never settling for ‘good enough’ but pushing myself to be exceptional.”

This highlights your work ethic, dedication, and high personal standards. It’s ideal for professional positions where quality matters.

4. Explain How You Measure and Validate Quality

For more technical roles, focus on metrics, testing, and validation:

“I define quality as meeting well-defined requirements and specifications. This means rigorous testing throughout development, tracking key performance metrics, and validating we’ve built the right product to specification.”

This type of response shows your meticulous, process-oriented approach to quality assurance.

5. Share Examples of Quality Work

Consider including a quick example of quality work from your experience:

“To me, quality means creating a seamless, intuitive user experience, like the payment checkout form our team designed. By optimizing page layout and flow we reduced errors by 15% and increased conversion rate by 10%.”

Real examples prove you understand quality and can deliver measurable results.

6. Admit You’re Still Striving to Improve

Don’t be afraid to acknowledge you still have more to learn:

“While I’m proud of the quality work I deliver, I know I can always get better. To me, quality is an ongoing pursuit of excellence through iteration and continuous improvement.”

This shows maturity, self-awareness and commitment to growth – all highly desirable qualities.

7. Describe How You Prioritize Quality Work

Emphasize that you don’t sacrifice quality for speed. For example:

“While efficiency is important to me, quality is always the top priority. I invest time upfront understanding project goals and requirements in detail so that I can deliver work that exceeds expectations on all fronts.”

This balances your focus on quality with the ability to deliver timely results.

Questions to Ask Yourself Before the Interview

To prepare an amazing answer, reflect on:

• Your proudest achievements and examples of quality work from past jobs.

• How you pursue excellence and high standards in your approach.

• Ways you measure success, quality, and customer satisfaction.

• How your commitment to quality aligns with the company’s brand and reputation.

• Anecdotes that demonstrate your dedication to quality or pursuit of improvement.

Do’s and Don’ts When Answering

Do:

• Tie quality to customer satisfaction, exceeding expectations, and/or company brand/reputation.

• Share specific examples of quality work you delivered.

• Explain your commitment to excellence, attention to detail, and continuous improvement.

• Emphasize quality as your top priority, not sacrificing it for speed or cost.

Don’t:

• Give vague, abstract definitions that don’t provide real insight.

• Use extremely lofty terms like “perfection” that set unrealistic expectations.

• Focus only on metrics and processes without the human/customer element.

• Give bland responses like “attention to detail” without examples or explanation.

Key Takeaways

• Define quality in relation to satisfying customers, exceeding expectations, and upholding company reputation.

• Demonstrate your high standards and commitment to excellence with real examples.

• Quality equals repeatedly delivering exceptional work that solves customer needs.

• Balance a results-driven approach with a focus on constantly improving.

With the right preparation, you can craft an impressive response to “What does quality mean to you?” and stand out from other applicants. Showcase that you not only understand quality, but have the skills and work ethic to deliver it. That will grab any interviewer’s attention.