Question: Imagine this scenario: Your manager rushes into your office and gives you an assignment to do. Your manager then rushes out of the office without giving you complete and clear instructions on how to proceed. What do you do?

Alternative Question Phrasing:

What would you do if your manager gave you unclear instructions for a new project?

Follow-up questions:

Why would you take this approach?
If you could not figure out the work just by looking at it, what would you do?
If you were unfamiliar with the work, what would you do?
How would you find out more information about the piece of work?

Question Details:

Question Type:

Situational

Skills:

Basic – Speaking,Social – Coordination (Adjusting one’s own actions in relation to others)

Abilities:

Cognitive – Deductive Reasoning,Cognitive – Inductive Reasoning,Cognitive – Oral Expression,Cognitive – Problem Sensitivity (Problem Recognition)

Other Factors:

Personality-Team Fit,Practical Intelligence (Street Smarts)

Work Activity (Task):

Information Input – Gathering Information,Interacting with Others – Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

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

Interpersonal Relationships – Face-to-Face Discussions

Work Style (Person-Job Fit):

Adaptability/Flexibility,Handling Ambiguity

Question Frequency

Question Difficulty

What to look for in an answer:

You are looking for the interviewee’s ability to find information despite the situation or the constraints placed on them.

Red Flags to Watch For:

There are no exact wrong answers here as there are different ways of finding information. However, if the interviewee mentions ignoring the lack of information and attempting to do the work anyway, that is a potential red flag.

Sample Answer:

N/A

Question Source: https://resources.workable.com/interview-questions/