describe a difficult task you were faced with and how you addressed it
Interview ans
3 answers
Kim’s Answer
Bhattu,
A lot depends on the job you are applying for, and what you are trying to "prove." I look at this as a question of planning and organizational skills, your ability to delegate, and use of available resources.
My example:
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I was told to create and carry out a "table-top" aircraft disaster exercise. (A walk through, without actual aircraft or casualties, just done on paper). I had never even participated in one! I found a free on-line course through FEMA, and quickly worked through it. I then talked to other people in the department who had designed previous exercises. I talked with Mgt to find out if there was anything particular they wanted included in the exercise (sometimes an exercise will have the police chief "incapacitated" to see how the dept. functions without him/her in such a situation).
The next step was planning: in addition to creating the storyline for the disaster (which, I am not a creative writer!!), there were so many other things to do!
- identify who to invite, and invite them
- find a place for parking for the participants
- get signs made so they would find their way to the exercise rooms
- reserve the rooms we would be using
- coordinate with maintenance to get the carpets and furniture cleaned and set up
- Get the Air Conditioner people to make necessary manual adjustments to accommodate the large number of people (old units, needed rooftop adjustments)
- Figure out the needed supplies and place orders (white boards, markers, erasers, flip charts, etc)
- Order lunch for the attendees
etc etc etc. I started calling myself "the wedding planner!" To track all this information, I created a spreadsheet. One page for things I had to do, with my point-of-contact's email and phone #, and comments as to what needed to be done, and deadlines. Another page for all the contact information of those who would be attending. This kept me on task, and kept me from forgetting to do something that needed to be done!
The exercise went well, and we received many compliments!
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When telling a story in an interview, you want to use the STAR format
S: what was the SITUATION you were faced with?
T: What TASK did you need to accomplish?
A: What ACTION did you take?
R: what was the RESULT?
Your example may be less intense, depending on your life experience. But try to find something that highlights the skills that are important for the position. You could be team captain of a losing sports team that has lost all morale and has stopped trying to win; a store employee whose manager was suddenly taken away by ambulance and you are now left in charge for the first time in your life, etc.
Let me know if I can be of further assistance!
Kim
Nadeem’s Answer
Working for a big firm overall is great most of the times but sometimes you will be faced with difficult situations which may have been caused unintentionally or due to other factors you have no control over. This tends to happen when you are a Marketer or into Digital Marketing where I come from, especially when you are responsible for targeting key existing clients and trying to build strong relationships with key people. I shall tell you about a difficult scenario I went through couple of years back and how we addressed it and the lessons I have learned from it.
The difficult task:
I was working for a Bank at the time, where me and my team were responsible for sending out a regular update emails to priority customers regarding their bank account detail changes that are needed and the past transactions. They usually get an automated message from our bank emailing system whenever a change is required from the customer or if he/she has done a transaction (meaning removed money from their account or was transferred money into their account). Me and my team were trying to enhance this process and changing the look and feel of these emails so that our customers save time and effort when reading these emails.
It was a weekend and we had completed the enhancements that were needed and the team were testing out these emails amongst ourselves with fake transaction amounts to see how the emails would have been received by our customers. In the process, due to a mistake from one of our colleague something went wrong and these test emails were actually send to some key customers instead. This set alarms everywhere and the bank immediately started receiving calls and fraud complaints from the customers that they did not make such transactions and someone is trying to cheat them. This looked really bad for the bank and its brand reputation. The CEO of the bank got involved and was very angry with us to be really honest at the time.
How we addressed it:
Apology:- Thanks to our Technology team, we found out the people that have received the test emails and we developed a immediate action plan. Using our CEO as the sender , we reached out to the customers apologizing for the inconvenience that was caused due to a technical error caused by the system and informing them that their account details and transactions remain unchanged. Also part of the email we provided these customers with gift vouchers which customers really appreciated. The bank managers personally called each customer to follow up and inform them about this and we were able to manage the situation under control.
Aftermath:- Me and my team took full responsibility of this blunder even though it was a fault of an individual and in our meeting with the CEO directly where we expressed our mistakes and what had caused it followed by how we are going to make sure this event does not happen again. The CEO supported us , acknowledged our mistake which he admitted that could have happened to best of us even to the most professionals and really appreciated the honesty, our team's resilience, unity and spirit we had displayed.
Lesson learned:- Since that event, we had rebuild our email testing process where no customers would exist and the team personally checked all test emails before they were send as fake transactions. However the best lesson I personally learned from that day was that in difficult situations you cannot solve it individually, you must rely on your team and act as ONE FIRM. Because of the contributions from our great leader, bank managers, tech team and my colleague's swift response we were able to manage the crisis, save our banks reputation and keep our customers happy.
Hope this helped!
Lory Fraraccio-Kenney
Lory’s Answer
Dealing with difficult people can be one of the most challenging, yet worthwhile experiences to undertake in your day to day career. With any distressing situation, begin with a deep breath and consider we can’t control other person’s behavior, we can only decide how we will react.
Keep these steps in mind may help with this type of interaction:
Pick your battles. When dealing with a difficult person, decide whether it’s truly worth it. Ask yourself if the situation is causing you enough stress that it must be confronted.
Always initially Pause… Take a deep breath, collect your thoughts and try to remain calm. If possible, discuss your issue in a neutral setting.
State your needs clearly and assertively using “I” statements rather than “you” accusations.
Continue being polite and stay calm. It’s important not be appear difficult yourself. Set an example for how you’d the difficult person to behave.
Stick to the facts. Keep the conversation short and concise and limit your emotions. State facts only.
Minimize your interactions. If a resolution can not be reached, limit your time with this person
Talk to someone you trust for comfort and understanding.
Best of Luck to you!
Lory