3M Mock Interview
Practice 33 3M interview questions covering innovation, technical problem-solving, and collaboration.
Question 12 of 33
Tell me about the last time you undertook a project that demanded a lot of initiative.
Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
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Experienced
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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.
Your interviewer is using this question to assess how determined you are to progress your skills and career, and whether you take charge of your own development. This is a trait they promote within their employee culture, where there is an expectation to "Grow Through Challenging Work. At 3M, asking 'what if' is a way of life. Whether you're working in one of our labs, offices, manufacturing facilities or research centers, you will be learning, growing, and doing challenging, rewarding work that benefits you and 3M."
"We recently had a major inventory count requested of us by the corporate head office. At the time, our manager was away on holiday. No one quite knew where to start or who should take the lead. I took the initiative to lead my co-workers through the inventory project. I taught myself the tracking software in a short amount of time and created a schedule for the inventory counts so everyone knew what was expected of them. We completed the project three days ahead of schedule! It was a great success."
"I was tasked with changing our health benefits provider. Completing this project successfully was crucial to our employees and our bottom line. I made a lot of calls and RFQs, and spent a lot of time hearing proposals to make the best choice before enrollment time."
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Anonymous Answer
My last project was to optimize documentation and workflows of the it- support of die ZA. I have to establish work guidelines and confluence guidelines.
Amanda's Feedback
This sounds like a good example to use in your response! You've shared what the project was. Now, take it a step further by telling the interview why and how this project required you to take initiative. Did you have to assemble a team, do proactive research, recommend solutions, or resolve issues independently?
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