Tell me about the last time you had to make a decision without all the necessary information to do so.
"I think it is rare in any given situation that you safely have all the information you need. But when you take every opportunity to keep learning and expanding your skills, you often have all you need. Recently my supervisor, who I consider a mentor since I am always learning from her and actively listening to, had to leave town on urgent business and asked me to complete a project she was working on by day's end. She pointed me in the direction of where all the necessary materials were and said that I could do it. So, I agreed, and when I started, it felt out of my scope, and I didn't quite understand the content of the materials or what the goal was. But I just kept asking questions, doing little bits of research anytime I ran up against something I didn't fully understand, and soon all the pieces fell into place. When I finished her project before the deadline, everyone was super pleased with the end result. The credit was all hers. My accomplishment was learning something totally new, and at speed, and putting it all together."
Questions such as these are designed to determine how self managed you are in your performance or if you need constant hand holding and reassurance. One of the standards HSBC has for their employees is for them to 'Educate themselves', where they elaborate, "Commit to learning more about topics they may be uncomfortable with and acknowledge privilege." So when answering this question, offer an example of a time where you had to be quick on your feet, and how you took a calculated risk that benefitted the company.
As advertised on their website, "Modern Hire's intelligent hiring platform combines a pre-hire assessment and interview experience that measures the problem-solving, leadership, communications, soft skills, and other competencies we have identified as predictive of performance, as well as key metrics for proven and ongoing success among professionals." So, when answering questions about how resourceful you are, and how capably you think outside of the box to get things done, you want your personal space to be organized, tidy, and representative of a high performing individual. Make sure your surroundings are clear of distractions, uncluttered, and professional.
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