Page 115 - How To Answer Interview Questions (II)

Job Interview Question 57

Tell me about a work incident in which you were totally honest,
despite a potential risk or downside

This question explores not only your honesty, but also your courage, your judgment, your conflict-
resolution skills, your company loyalty and whether or not you have the tact and communication
skills to handle delicate situations.

The overriding rules for anything you choose to tell here are:

1. Make sure the downside would have been a negative effect for YOU, not your boss or the
company.

2. Make sure the benefit gained would be for the COMPANY or your boss, not you.
This situation could be anything:

You were the only “Negative Nelly” in the group on a project that everyone was enthusiastic
about, because you saw the downside that no one else did—and ended up coming up with a
better solution that avoided an expensive mistake.
You stood up against the group who wanted to hire a particular person, and later found out that
the person had caused major trouble in their last job.
You unintentionally caused a problem that you brought to your boss immediately because you
knew you couldn’t fix it alone, despite the fact that it was going to make you look bad. You did
this because you know that it’s more important to take action to correct a problem sooner rather
than later, when it could become a much bigger issue.

Use the STAR format:
Situation or Task –