Page 147 - How To Answer Interview Questions (II)

Job Interview Question 77

What is the most courageous action or unpopular stand that you
have ever taken?

This question could apply to you whether you are a manager or an individual contributor. Managers
often have to make tough decisions, and as an individual contributor you might face a situation where
someone asks you to cut corners or otherwise slide around the rules rather than stick to them.

This really is a question to measure your integrity, courage, and leadership, and you need to
show that you are not afraid to make difficult decisions when they are in the best interests of your job
or the well-being of the company.

Use the STAR format to tell this story:
Situation or Task –
Set the scene. What was going on? What was the conflict? Why were you faced
with this problem? What factors affected the situation?What risks did you face?
This situation could be anything…maybe you needed to lay off a certain
percentage of your workforce, maybe you needed to set a new policy you knew
would make some employees unhappy, or maybe you were leading a team where
one member wasn’t pulling their weight. Maybe your boss asked you to do
something you weren’t comfortable with. Maybe this was your decision to leave
the company and start your own business.
Action –
What did you do to address the situation? How did you think about it? Did you
ask for help or input from co-workers, counterparts, your boss, or mentors? How
did you come to the decision you did and what did you do to execute on that
decision?