Tell me about the last time you undertook a project that demanded a lot of initiative.
This interview question allows you to demonstrate your ability to be a self-starter. Show the interviewer that you are a motivated individual by telling the interviewer about a specific time that you took the lead. Include details of your project timeline, who you led, or what you had to teach yourself for the project to be successful. Be sure to complete your answer by telling the interviewer about the outcome.
"Recently, the corporate head office requested a major inventory count. At the time, our manager was away on holiday. No one 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."
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.
Anonymous Answer
A project that consisted of multiple engineering students required our team to build a solar water heater. Our short timeline to get the project done had the team scrambling because there was lots of work such as woodcutting and soldering. Because I had the most experience with using shop equipment I learned all throughout high school, I decided to take the initiative and use my extra time to get most of the work done in order for the team to meet the project deadline. This initiative inspired the others to take on tasks they are comfortable with resulting in a project's success.
Amanda's Feedback
This is a great example! However, because project success is about more than meeting a deadline, consider taking it a step further to talk about the project's success. Did the solar water heater work? Also, share how your team felt about your willingness to take on the cutting and soldering that you had more experience with? Did this bolster team morale? Did this inspire others to take initiative in other areas?
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