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January 20, 2023
If you’re preparing for an upcoming job interview, odds are you’re already brushing up on your common interview questions. But what about problem-solving questions?
These are becoming increasingly popular in interviews, as employers want to see how candidates handle real-life challenges. Here are six common problem-solving questions and some tips on how to answer them.
“Recently, I was presented with a problem at work. The challenge was to streamline the inventory system in order to improve our efficiency while keeping track of all the necessary items.
To solve it, I put together a cross-functional team of members from various departments. After an initial brainstorming session, we nailed down a game plan that had us dividing and conquering different elements of the issue.
We worked through it step by step and eventually were able to come up with a cost-effective solution that increased our performance across the board. It was a great experience, as it showed me how collaboration between each department can lead to successful problem-solving.”
“When I was preparing for my final exams in university, I faced the difficult challenge of managing my time so that I could complete all my studying. With most of my free time taken up with extracurricular activities and university work, finding a way to fit all the necessary studying into my schedule seemed almost impossible.
Balancing all these commitments was especially difficult as I wanted enough time to take care of myself and have some spare time too. To tackle this challenge effectively, I started reviewing all the topics during short slot breaks between classes and other engagements.
I also set aside exclusive days and slots on weekends solely devoted to preparing for the exams. This innovative solution was ultimately successful as it allowed me to cover a significant amount of material while maintaining a healthy balance in other areas of my life.”
“At the weekends, I volunteer with a church group and help to organise donations for a local food bank. We were having problems with getting too many unsuitable donations and we needed to find a way to quickly update people about which items were most needed at that time.
I implemented a social media tracking system where food banks could give us daily feedback on the items they needed the most. We could then relay this information through social media posts and Whatsapp groups to ensure that members of the public could donate the items that were most useful at the time.
This helped to cut down on printing costs, as the food banks were previously providing this information in written form, and the requirements were often out of date by the time they had distributed the leaflets.”
“When it comes to solving problems, I’m a firm believer in breaking them down into their component parts. After identifying all of the necessary pieces, I develop an action plan which outlines the specific steps to resolve the issue.
My goal is to be as rational and logical as possible as I work through each step, although I also allow myself to think outside of the box and explore new ideas if necessary.
As I move towards a solution, I remain open-minded and adjust my strategy as needed. Ultimately, this helps me arrive at resolutions that are creative yet structured in nature.”
“When I was working as the supervisor at my old job, I noticed a sharp decline in customer service calls that were being answered by the team. I realised that if we didn’t quickly adapt to this decrease in service calls, the team would become overwhelmed and unable to answer the calls resulting in customers not receiving help.
To address this potential issue, I designed a schedule for the team and introduced more flexible shifts so that people could come and go when needed. This proactive approach allowed us to accommodate any fluxes in service call activity ensuring that our customers received timely assistance from my department no matter how busy things got.”
“Last year, I experienced a particularly challenging problem, which required creative and out-of-the-box thinking. After much research and deliberation, I was able to identify and utilise an unusual solution that ultimately resolved the issue.
This experience taught me the importance of looking at a problem from different perspectives, allowing for maximum creativity. By doing so, I was able to go beyond the initially presented solutions, thus delivering an uncommon yet effective result.”
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