3M Mock Interview
Practice 33 3M interview questions covering innovation, technical problem-solving, and collaboration.
Question 13 of 33
Have you ever taken a role in a company that hasn't fit into your long-term career plans?
Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
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What You Need to Know
Community Answers
Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
In most interviews, an interviewer may ask several similarly phrased questions that have different meanings, which test your attention to detail. They may also embark on a line of questions that are after specific information. With this question, they are curious what work past might inform them about your future, and whether a candidate who accepted a position with a company knowing it wasn't the best fit would do so again. If you have accepted positions that weren't aligned with your goals and resulted in short-term employment, it's best to discuss the circumstances, what you learned from the experience, and how you are looking for a long-term opportunity at this stage in your career. You want the interviewer to imagine you working within their organization. So try to always end each answer on a positive note, and your pursuit for professional growth.
Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
"Yes, you will see that from March to May 2007 I held a role as Executive Business Development Manager with Company XYZ. This particular role was not what I was expecting and had little to do with management and more to do with cold calling onto C-suite level clients. This wasn't nurturing my plan to grow the management side of my career, so I resigned after just 2 months. It was a tough call, as I feared how it would look on my resume. But I realized it was better than throwing off my career plan and my trajectory toward my goals. Luckily I landed a wonderful job immediately after and grew with that company for the following 6 years."
Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
"Fortunately, no. I have been very conscious of the changes and moves that I have made in my career so far. I would rather have a period of unemployment than choose the wrong employer or a position that wasn't the right fit."
Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
3M places a lot of emphasis on their culture of mentorships. "At 3M, wisdom is shared. Just as we share and combine our technologies, we also share and combine our knowledge through mentorship and storytelling. We define mentoring as a unique relationship in which a mentor (a more experienced person) helps a mentee (a less experienced person) with their development in a particular area. From executive, regional and functional mentoring to cause-based and informal, 3M offers a mentorship opportunity appropriate virtually for every individual. We value your unique career journey and want each employee to learn and grown in a nurturing, challenging and respectful environment. We understand the important role that relationship-based development can play in helping employees navigate 3M culture, environment, opportunities and more."
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Anonymous Answer
Yes, I currently am. Apparently, we are also receiving calls from normal customers who have nothing to do with its support. However, the company needs additional support so we are doing the job anyway. Furthermore, we are can expand our knowledge.
Amanda's Feedback
Your response shows your willingness to be a team player and work outside your normal role to support the company's objectives. You can make your answer more impactful by sharing how taking on these extra responsibilities can help you expand your knowledge or skill set.
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