"I rate my problem-solving skills as an 8/10. I will, on occasion, have times when I am not as efficient as I would like to be but all in all, I do feel that my problem-solving skills are above average. My supervisor and co-workers will attest to my fast reflexes when a problem arises, and they would also say that I remain calm under pressure and am able to communicate effectively with all that I work closely with. If I were fortunate enough to join your team at Boeing, you would quickly find out that I bring great critical thinking skills to help solve your greatest of problems in this department."

"I would rate my problem-solving at a 6 out of 10. Compared to my peers, I feel I do a good job at solving problems in life and in a professional setting. However, I am early in my career and I realize I have not yet had exposure to many of the integrated and complex problems that arise in a more demanding role. I feel it would be unfair of me to rate my skills any higher until I have the opportunity to test them in a role such as the entry-level Quality Specialist position here at Boeing.

I would like to add that I do love challenges, puzzles, and digging in to better understand complex concepts. I feel those traits will serve me well if I am offered the position."

"I would rate my problem-solving skills as a 9 out of 10. As a senior manager, the majority of my day is spent supporting others through their own problem solving processes, solving problems for my teams, solving problems for the groups we support, or working with my peers to solve problems on behalf of our managers. I am able to remain calm, gather the information needed to analyze the situation, brainstorm solutions, anticipate outcomes, develop action plans, and measure the quality of the solution. I feel confident I will be able to leverage these same skills effectively here at Boeing."

"I would rate my problem solving skills at an 8. I learned formal critical thinking and problem solving techniques at a young age while enrolled in various gifted educational programs. We learned to solve problems using critical and outside of the box thinking techniques within individual and group settings. I have been working with those skill sets ever since.

I am also formally trained in several root cause analysis techniques. I believe that uncovering the root cause or causes of an issue is a critical step in the problem solving process that is often overlooked or skipped to save time. In my experience, skipping this step can lead to solutions that mask symptoms without solving the problem.

I believe my experience solving problems daily as an analyst combined with my critical thinking and root cause analysis skill sets justifies my score of an 8 out of 10. I know there is always room to grow, and I look forward to a life long pursuit of continual improvement in this area."

"As a project manager, one of my main duties is to solve problems on behalf of my team. I also spend ample time anticipating problems that might occur and developing strategies to mitigate them. Additionally, I am usually involved in the development of solutions for business critical or customer-focused problems. Given my experience, and the fact I continually use and refine my problem solving skills on a daily basis, I would rate myself a 9 out of 10 in this area."

"I rate my ability to solve problems as an 8 out of 10. Developing software is like working on a never-ending puzzle. There are always issues to resolve or opportunities to improve. I have been engineering software for a long time, but my experience is limited to enterprise application software. I feel I need to grow my skills by working with problems within different industries. That is why I am interviewing for the position here at Boeing. I feel I can immediately put my experience to use within this department while ultimately learning about and solving problems within the aerospace and defense industry."

When asked questions about your problem-solving abilities, you of course want to give yourself a healthy rating. However, it's crucial that you remain realistic as you answer. Try to avoid giving yourself a 10 because nobody is perfect and you do not want to come across as overly confident or someone who has no room for feedback and improvement. Alternately, avoid giving yourself too little credit. You do not want to paint the picture that you are a problem-solving dud! Try to remain in the 7.5-9.5 range while staying honest and accurate. Everyone has room to learn and improve! Be sure to justify your score as well.