Give me an example of how you solved a problem without having all the necessary information at hand to do so.
For this question, your interviewer is looking to test your ability to be analytical and resourceful in a specific situation where you had to dig further to solve a problem. At the European Investment Bank, they refer to this as change orientation: "You adapt to differences and changes in the environment; you take a flexible approach to reach outcomes." Before your interview, think of a time you encountered this specific situation and talk through it by laying out the problem and walking through the step-by-step approach you took to solve the problem. Be as detailed as you can as you explain how you thought the problem out and worked hard to use the resources you could to help solve the problem. Your interviewer will rely on these fine details to see how you will perform on the job with European Investment Bank.
"Back when I first joined my current organization, I was taking a role that had been vacant for many months. I had to start with a backlog of work along with the regular daily activities. This customer service role included logging daily visitors and calls, and the interim rep only kept brief notes. After taking the time to walk through training and get running on my own, I realized that the current workload wouldn't allow me to catch up on the backlog of work that had been missed. While I had ideas of how to play catch up on the work, I approached my supervisor with a few ideas, and we settled on having me log hours from home on our system as overtime to get caught up. I worked with our IT staff on getting set up on our network from home and was more than willing to help with some extra hours."
"Working for a large financial institution, our advisory staff help cover for each other when we are on vacation, sick or simply out of the office for the day. We typically team up in groups of three to help provide coverage for each other. A couple of months ago, I fielded a call from a colleague's client while she was on vacation and completely out of phone coverage. The client had several questions about their personal finances that I couldn't help resolve off the top of my head. I told them their advisor was away on vacation, but I would take the next hour to research their questions and get back to them shortly. This was a very acceptable path of action to the client, and I took the time to get their questions answered quickly."
Unlock all 35 European Investment Bank questions
Unlock expert responses for multilateral development bank interviews with EU focus.
Get Started