Page 105 - How To Answer Interview Questions (II)

Job Interview Question 52

Tell me about a time when you helped someone

It would make the most sense that this question would be asked in service-related jobs, where you’ve
helped a customer or client, but it could be asked in relation to other jobs if they want to find out
more about your personality or character, or whether or not you’re a team player.

If you are in a service-related job, answer this as an example of how you work. Set up the
situation, talk about what you did (action) and then tell what happened (result).

A great example to choose is one where the customer or client was unhappy and you turned the
situation around.

If you suspect that this is a personality or character question, then you can choose almost
anything. But be prepared to talk about specifics, and tell the story.

Tell your story using theSTAR format:

Situation or Task (Set up the story—what happened? What was your goal?)
Action (What did you choose to do and why?)
Result (What happened as a result of your actions? Quantify this wherever possible.)
If you’d like to highlight that you are a team player, choose to tell about a time that you helped
someone on your team—maybe this would be to finish a project, or maybe this would be helping train
them to be better at their job.
If you are in management, you could choose to talk about a time you helped an employee having a
hard time—maybe you saved their job and turned them into one of your better performers.

*** It’s best to come up with a work-related answer.