Tell me about the last time you took ownership of something.

As a professional, taking ownership could apply to following through on your commitments, taking charge of your own development, or holding yourself accountable for your own mistakes. This question aims to determine how aligned you are with their core values, mission statements, and value propositions. Convey your like-mindedness and that it will take no time during your onboarding to get up to speed. You want to convey, in principle, that you are already one of them.

As HSBC details in their mission statements, "We ensure we leverage with integrity. What we do has a real impact. We take this responsibility seriously. We set high standards and are each accountable for our actions. We always use good judgement. And if something doesn't feel right, as colleagues, we speak up and act. We build for tomorrow, today. We succeed only by taking the long view, by focusing on the sustainable interests of our customers, investors, and the planet we all share."