In a job interview, you're likely to be asked: “What challenges or obstacles have you overcome? Or: “What's the biggest challenge you've overcome? But what kind of challenge should you describe? And do you need to choose a working example? Be honest when discussing challenges, but be brief with your response. Don't spend too much time on the difficulty you are presenting, just say it and briefly explain how you faced it and what you learned from it. Don't talk about any extreme challenge that ended in disaster. Choose challenges that have presented learning opportunities.
This job interview question can be asked a number of ways, for example, tell me about any challenges you've had to overcome in the workplace? Tell me about a time when you overcame an obstacle. Or simply, how do you deal with a challenge? All employees will face challenges from time to time, so the interviewer wants to get an idea of their approach to the challenges. If you're a student or have little or no experience, think about facing challenges with school projects or volunteer and community projects. Next, I'll explain why employers ask interview questions about challenges and how to give a satisfactory answer, with examples of complete answers.
The next time you're faced with an interview question like: “Describe a challenge you've overcome,” remember the tips above. So, telling them about a time when you managed to overcome a challenge makes them feel that hiring you involves less risk. If you've overcome some obstacles and you think that one situation would be difficult to describe in a minute and the other would be more suitable for this length of response, then choose that option. Giving a clear and concise answer in this case has the advantage of impressing the hiring manager.
When asked in an interview about your challenges, be specific with your answers, don't be vague or too general. Remember that the best answers to the question “tell me about a challenge you have overcome” will show that you will also be effective in your next job. Whether in your career, your studies, or your personal life, if you've planned an important and complex event and faced challenges along the way, this can be a good story to share in the interview. While a personal challenge may not be as relevant to the work you'll do at a company, there's no doubt that it can turn into an emotional and impressive story.
There are many ways to answer this question, but what I recommend to my clients to reserve interview preparation is that they use the STAR method for behavioral questions that require an example to answer them. If you can combine some of those traits in your answer, you'll be more likely to be hired for this new job. By using the SAR formula, this candidate was able to quickly explain the challenge, show how he had solved it and the results of the measures he had taken, which was a positive result. Keep in mind that you can use the same type of answers above to describe the biggest challenge you've overcome if, instead, the hiring manager asks you to.
Use your professional discretion to describe a challenge without going into details about emotions or drama.
