Question: Describe a time when you attempted to do a job for which you were not fully qualified for. What happened and did you manage to do the job successfully?

Alternative Question Phrasing:

Have you ever tried to do a job for which you were unqualified for? How did you react at that time? Were you able to accomplish your task?

Follow-up questions:

How did you manage to perform the task? Did you ask help from anyone?

Question Details:

Question Type:

Behavioral

Skills:

Basic – Learning Strategies,Basic – Monitoring (Making observations of self and environment)

Abilities:

Cognitive – Category Flexibility (Mental Flexibility)

Other Factors:

Personal Improvement (Growth),Personality-Job Fit,Personality-Organization Fit

Work Activity (Task):

Information Input – Estimating Characteristics of Objects, Events, or Information,Mental Processes – Judging the Value of Things, Services, or People,Mental Processes – Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work,Mental Processes – Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge

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

Job Structure – Structured versus Unstructured Work

Work Style (Person-Job Fit):

Achievement/Effort (Action/Result Orientation),Adaptability/Flexibility,Dependability

Question Frequency

Question Difficulty

What to look for in an answer:

The candidate’s pressure management skills.
The candidate’s ability to handle challenging situations.

Red Flags to Watch For:

The candidate’s failure to deal with challenges.

Sample Answer:

There was a time when I was assigned to do some accounting tasks. It was not really my major but I had to study and upgrade my skills to get the tasks done. Fortunately, I was able to pull it off.

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