Tell me about when you took advantage of an opportunity to learn a new skill.
The interviewer is hoping to learn more about your approach to your own development. One's level of ambition can be revealed in how frequently someone takes advantage of learning new skills. It may also serve to reveal if someone is overly ambitious and frequently takes on too many tasks. Whether you're more likely to underperform on many tasks, over-perform on one task, or fall somewhere in between is what they're after here.
Taking on too many tasks, and trying to overachieve without having a firm grasp on time management, can result in poor work quality, thereby not meeting expectations. Being a perfectionist, and focusing too long on performing one task, may result in not meeting deadlines and slowing a team's productivity. They're trying to determine where you come in on this scale. The aim here is to strike a balance of quality and quantity.
"I remember this time I had to deliver a report to a group of people who were ultimately there to judge my work, and in effect judge me. Now, I'd never done any form of public speaking, and I was not only nervous but in the dark about how to go about presenting myself. I'd seen others present eloquently, and others who got nervous and spouted out gibberish. So I padded the job like never before. If I was going to get up there, I had to anticipate every question that would come my way. I had to be a top expert on what I was about to speak about. 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 if I presented the information well. I watched videos with tips and tricks to speaking before a crowd with confidence. I believed in myself and delivered my report with conviction. I got a lot of pats on the back for that one. I felt like it was a success because of how I have further developed my skills since that day. It set a precedent which I have outshined repeatedly since."
Unlock all 30 Honeywell questions
Prepare for behavioral and technical questions Honeywell recruiters ask interns.
Get Started