Problem Solving
“Give me an example of a time when your efforts
solved a problem.”
■“I headed up a project that involved customer service per-
sonnel and technicians. I organized a meeting to get every-
one’s buy-in on a new project that would increase sales
opportunities. I held a meeting to brainstorm and get
input. One of the problems was that there were technical
and nontechnical people involved, and they had different
ideas of how the project should run. I drew up a plan, tak-
ing the best ideas from both groups and then organized
teams, balancing the mixture of technical and nontechnical
people. We had a deadline to meet, and I did periodic
checks with the teams. After three weeks, we were exceed-
ing expectations, and the team members had a new
respect for each other’s contributions.”
■“One of the most challenging problems I faced as a super-
visor was in creating a strategic alliance with a provider of
chemicals to use its specialized blending equipment and
delivery network. The provider was not interested in a sale
because it was such specialty equipment. What I came up
with was an exchange. My team would provide marketing,
billing, and technical assistance for the use of the equip-
ment. The provider jumped at the opportunity. I convinced
my team that this was a win-win situation, and the project
moved forward without a hitch.”
■“In my last position I faced a challenge of some kind almost
every day. One day that stands out was when we had a ‘sick
out’ day when several of the team members called in sick
as a protest against an unpopular decision to change their
➥