Interview questions: Tell me about a time when you faced a major obstacle at work?
Answer tips/answer samples:
In answering this question, you may refer to the question about the most rewarding experience in doing your job (if possible!). Otherwise, you should know that the real intention of the interviewer is to examine your behavior in a certain problem and to check if you have the ability to overcome difficulties at work.
So, first thing to do is to pick up on out of your experiences about a major difficulty you have to face in the past. But make sure the outcome of such situation was a positive one. It might be an unrealistic task, a key personnel, a strict boss… anyway, the next step you must do is to explain the process how you handle such situation. Just be as detailed as possible.
Finally, include your analysis as a closing. Point out how that situation is a major problem, how you reacted, how you decided the solution, how the outcome turned out to be, and so on. One more tip for you is that breaking the answer into clear sections will help keep the interviewer’s interest with your story.