Tell me about a time you stepped outside your comfort zone.
The interviewer hopes to learn more about your approach to your development. The level of a person's ambition can be revealed in how frequently they take the opportunity to learn new skills. It may also reveal if you are overly ambitious and frequently take on too many tasks. They want to know whether you're more likely to underperform on many tasks, over-perform on one task, or fall somewhere in between. Explain why your example was outside of your comfort zone. Specify whether you volunteered for this task or were challenging yourself. Offer what you did to ensure your success and describe the obstacles you faced along the way.
Edith Cooper, one of the top executives with Goldman Sachs, says, "I think in today's economy, operating outside of your comfort zone is really really important."
"When I delivered my thesis, I had to stand up in front of a group of people who were there to judge my work and, in effect, judge me. This was the culmination of everything I'd worked towards. I was nervous, but I believed in myself, so I focused on that and convinced myself that everyone would come around. I delivered my thesis with conviction. In the end, I felt like it was a success."
"A supervisor had to leave for medical reasons. They needed someone to lead the project they'd been working on. Another supervisor asked if I could take over since I'd been the righthand clutch player on this project. I agreed and started by holding a meeting. I have a fear of public speaking, but I got up there anyway, explaining why I was taking over, and asked every team member what questions they had regarding the work they were assigned. From there, we clarified where we were taking the project, why it was important, how this work would impact other departments, and how each of their tasks fit into the puzzle. It turned out most of this was news to them, and my supervisor was only sharing this information with me and not the rest of the team. This made me uncomfortable as well. But I needed every one of them to be my clutch players, and they did. I got used to answering all the questions that came my way. I got used to delivering our daily meetings as well. With a deeper understanding, they all took greater pride in their work and were invested in what they were doing. We delivered ahead of our deadline, and the project was a success."
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