Question: Describe a time when you used your creativity or imagination to solve a complex issue?

Alternative Question Phrasing:

Can you tell me about a situation where you used your imaginative skills to solve a very difficult problem?

Follow-up questions:

How did you come up with that idea?
What was the outcome?

Question Details:

Question Type:

Behavioral

Skills:

Basic – Critical Thinking,Complex Problem Solving

Abilities:

Cognitive – Category Flexibility (Mental Flexibility),Cognitive – Fluency of Ideas (Idea Generation Frequency),Cognitive – Originality

Other Factors:

Big 5 – Openness to Experience (Open Mindedness)

Work Activity (Task):

Information Input – Estimating Characteristics of Objects, Events, or Information,Mental Processes – Thinking Creatively (Creativity),Work Output – Quality Improvement

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

Job Structure – Freedom to Make Decisions,Job Structure – Level of Responsibility (Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Organization Results),Job Structure – Structured versus Unstructured Work

Work Style (Person-Job Fit):

Independence,Innovation

Question Frequency

Question Difficulty

What to look for in an answer:

The candidate’s innovativeness and resourcefulness.
Answers that reflect complex issue management

Red Flags to Watch For:

Lack of any contribution related to innovativeness/resourcefulness.

Sample Answer:

There was a time when we lack the budget to implement a particular project. We resorted to using the current resources that are available, without sacrificing the desired work output.

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