Question: Describe a time when you were asked to do work that you felt was too difficult for you. What was the work and what did you do about it?

Alternative Question Phrasing:

Give me an example of an assignment that was too difficult for you, and how you resolved the issue.

Follow-up questions:

Why was the work hard for you?
Do you feel your solution was effective?
Would you be able to do that same work now?

Question Details:

Question Type:

Behavioral

Skills:

Basic – Active Learning,Basic – Critical Thinking,Basic – Learning Strategies,Complex Problem Solving

Abilities:

Cognitive – Inductive Reasoning,Cognitive – Problem Sensitivity (Problem Recognition)

Other Factors:

Big 5 – Conscientiousness (Work Ethic),Big 5 – Neuroticism (Emotion Regulation)

Work Activity (Task):

Information Input – Estimating Characteristics of Objects, Events, or Information,Information Input – Gathering Information,Information Input – Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events,Interacting with Others – Assigning Tasks to Others (Delegation and Direction),Interacting with Others – Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates,Mental Processes – Judging the Value of Things, Services, or People

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

Job Structure – Consequence of Error,Job Structure – Level of Responsibility (Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Organization Results)

Work Style (Person-Job Fit):

Achievement/Effort (Action/Result Orientation),Adaptability/Flexibility,Analytical Thinking,Handling Ambiguity,Independence,Initiative,Persistence/Perseverance,Stress Tolerance

Question Frequency

Question Difficulty

What to look for in an answer:

Look for their ability to overcome challenges. The common answers to this are either to speak to a coworker to get help or to delegate the work, or to learn new skills to be able to overcome the challenge.

Red Flags to Watch For:

If the interviewee ran away from or avoided their problem.

Sample Answer:

N/A

Question Source: Unknown