How to Answer: Take us through a time when you needed to adapt to a significant change.
Advice and answer examples written specifically for an EY job interview.
3. Take us through a time when you needed to adapt to a significant change.
The Goal
Change is prevalent in the workplace, and the hiring managers at EY want to know that you can embrace change. The goal of your response should be to help the decision-makers feel confident in your ability to adapt to unexpected changes in a workplace setting.
Written by Rachelle Enns on May 23rd, 2022
Pro Tip
Avoid focusing on a time when you encountered negative change. For example, "When my company hired a new manager with a horrible temper, my entire work environment changed."
Also, avoid examples that sound like you are blaming others. For example, "I recently had to do an entire project by myself because my co-worker quit unexpectedly."
Written by Rachelle Enns on May 23rd, 2022
How to Answer
Adapting to change takes practice, experience, and confidence. While working at EY, you will come across change big and small. In these situations, EY leaders expect you to adapt. The hiring managers at EY want evidence that you are an adaptable person who will contribute amid change rather than feel stuck by a potential roadblock.
This question is behavioral-based (Take us through a time when you...), so the hiring managers are looking for a specific story-based example of when you successfully responded to and dealt with change. Depending on how far you are into your career, your example can be from work, school, sports, or a volunteer experience.
Deliver your story using the STAR answer method. STAR is an acronym for Situation, Task, Action, Result. Pick an example of a time you faced a change, and your response was constructive. Explain how the change directly impacted you and discuss how you maintained a positive approach during the transition. Perhaps your job duties shifted, there was a significant revision in policy, you had to welcome a new manager, or your company was acquired. These situations make excellent examples to draw on when you form your story-based response.
Written by Rachelle Enns on May 23rd, 2022
What You Need to Know
The average HireVue interview takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. This one-way video interview typically includes 3-5 questions. Depending on the HireVue parameters set by EY, the asynchronous interview platform will generally give you 30 seconds to prepare a response and up to 2 minutes to answer each question. It's important to note that HireVue stops recording as soon as your time limit is up, so it's better to run under time than overtime.
Written by Rachelle Enns on May 23rd, 2022
Answer Example
"(Situation) Last year, my company shuffled around many of our team members with no notice. (Task) This shuffle meant that, overnight, the team of 40 that I was leading became a team of 60. (Action) I had a great rapport with the current 40 and needed to develop a fast strategy for connecting with the additional 20. I chose to throw a team-wide after-work event so that everyone could get to know each other and make meaningful connections. (Result) My idea worked like a charm, and everyone clicked right away, making the best of an abrupt situation."
Written by Rachelle Enns on May 23rd, 2022
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