Page 89 - Boost Your Hiring

The Manager’s Hiring IQ Test 75

INTERVIEWER’S QUESTION
34. Give me an example of an obstacle you faced and how you
overcame it.
Which response actually answers the question? Which answer
should you be wary of? Are there any red flags?

(A) “There was a woman at my last job who was known to be diffi-
cult to work with. I decided early on that I was not going to
cross this woman. I figured she had a problem, and I didn’t want
to make that problem mine. I figured if I treated her with the
same respect and courtesy as I treat any coworker or customer
she wouldn’t have reason to give me a bad time. As a result, we
were able to work with one another without any problems.”
(B) “I volunteer for a group of kids with disabilities and coach
them to play basketball. Last year my team didn’t seem to un-
derstand the meaning of the word ‘team.’ I decided rather than
preach to them that I would take them out for some fun to-
gether. We all went out for pizza one evening and sat around
and got to know each other by sharing stories and experiences.
They seemed to let down their guard when we were off of the
court. It was a real bonding experience, and surprisingly it car-
ried over when they were playing the game. We ate a lot of
pizza that year and finished in a decent spot in the league. But
most of all it was a growth experience for each team member,
and that’s what I thought mattered.”

(C) “When I was a college student, I was assigned to a group to
work on a project together. There were five other members,
and we were working on a science project that was about the
effects of mold and bacteria. We had to complete the project by
the end of the term. One of the challenges was that we all had
different schedules and had a really difficult time getting to-
gether. Only one other student and I were science majors, so
the rest of the students were looking to us to lead the project.
So I talked to the other science student, and we decided that we
would delegate tasks to the other team members to get the
project done. That way no one else would have to do research,
and everyone could handle the workload. We had a great proj-
ect in the end and got a good grade for our efforts.”

I think the strongest answer is ______.