If assigned more tasks than you could handle, what would you do?

"Early on, I wanted to display myself as an overachiever by taking anything and everything on, all on my own. But I realized this was hurting my performance more than it was helping. I realized my supervisors were distributing the workload based on what every member of the team promised to deliver. But when one person on the team has taken on too much work that will then need to be redistributed, that'll hurt these big picture goals and set everyone behind. Once I realized I needed to recruit help or risk over-promising and under-delivering, I took on fewer responsibilities first, then when I'd finished early with high-quality results, I'd step up to help wherever I was needed."

Demonstrate how you back up your decisions. Exhibit your ability to adapt, detailing how quickly you react. Keep your eye on the big picture and that it is more supportive of your superiors and your team to be honest and ask for help when you've taken on too much. Intentions to overperform won't go very far if those intentions weren't actualized. So, avoid examples that reflect poorly on your performance. Describe the situation, the obstacle, and how you overcame them.

Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.

Show more answers Create a free account to add your own answer →