Question: Describe a time when you encountered a project or assignment that you felt was difficult to finish. What was the work and what happened in the end?

Alternative Question Phrasing:

Give me an example of an assignment that you found difficult to finish? How did you go about it?

Follow-up questions:

How did you deal with it?
Why did you consider this difficult to finish?
What difficulty did you encounter?
Did you ask anyone else for help or support around this difficulty?

Question Details:

Question Type:

Behavioral

Skills:

Basic – Critical Thinking,Basic – Learning Strategies,Basic – Monitoring (Making observations of self and environment),Complex Problem Solving

Abilities:

Cognitive – Category Flexibility (Mental Flexibility),Cognitive – Problem Sensitivity (Problem Recognition)

Other Factors:

Big 5 – Conscientiousness (Work Ethic),Motivation/Ambition/Aspiration,Personality-Job Fit

Work Activity (Task):

Mental Processes – Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Work Context (Person-Job/Team/Org Fit):

Job Structure – Freedom to Make Decisions

Work Style (Person-Job Fit):

Achievement/Effort (Action/Result Orientation)

Question Frequency

Question Difficulty

What to look for in an answer:

You are looking both at the interviewee’s motivation to work through problems and their problem-solving skills. To a smaller extent, (if applicable based on the answer,) you are also looking to see if the interviewee will request or ask others for help.

Red Flags to Watch For:

If the interviewee is unable to solve problems or meet critical deadlines, it is a red flag.

Sample Answer:

N/A

Question Source: https://www.jobbankusa.com/interview_questions_answers/