Interviewer: What was the greatest challenge at your last job?
Greg: The hardest part about working as an account manager was dealing with both the clients and the production team from my company. The clients always demanded that their products be shipped to them faster, but the production team always complained that they needed more time. As an account manager, I had to deal with both sides.
Interviewer: That sounds like a tricky problem. How did you deal with it?
Greg: I had to find a compromise. I would talk to both sides and I would listen to what they said, then I would try to find some middle ground that would be satisfactory for both sides.
Interviewer: How were you able to get both sides to listen to you?
Greg: I worked very hard to establish good relationships with the production team and with the clients. I think that making strong relationships is one of my strengths and it was a key reason why I was successful at my last job.
Patterns and Examples
My greatest challenge at my last job was ____________________. In order to deal with this challenge, I ____________________.
- My greatest challenge at my last job was dealing with demanding clients. In order to deal with this challenge, I always remained calmed and tried to be a great listener.
- My greatest challenge at my last job was staying up to date with new technology. In order to deal with this challenge, I set aside time each day to study new technology.
The hardest thing about my last job was ____________________. It ____________________. I ____________________.
- The hardest thing about my last job was finding new business opportunities. It was hard because the market was already very saturated. I had to be creative and think outside the box to solve this problem.
- The hardest thing about my last job was finding ways to improve efficiency. It was difficult to improve our production time or reduce our costs without sacrificing quality. I had to think and research a lot in order to find creative ways to accomplish this.
____________________ was the greatest challenge for me. The best way to deal with that challenge was to ____________________.
- Dealing with angry customers was the greatest challenge for me. The best way to deal with that challenge was to remain calm and never take anything personally.
- Finding new business was the greatest challenge for me. The best way to deal with that challenge was to use my contacts in the industry in order to find possible new clients.
