What was the most challenging aspect of your previous job? How did you overcome it?

Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
How to Answer
Pro Tip
1st Answer Example
2nd Answer Example
Community Answers

Your answer to this question will give the interviewer insight into what you perceive as a challenge. It will also show the interviewer how you overcome a challenge. Some things continue to challenge us, paving the road for self-growth.

Sometimes the greatest workplace challenge is a laborious task that puts you outside of your comfort zone. It could be something that requires skills you haven't mastered yet. Explain to the interviewer why the situation was difficult, highlight the actions you took to overcome the challenge and explain how you continue to improve.

Again, don't offer examples that will paint you in a poor light. Avoid talking about things like your attendance, or challenges you overcame to meet the bare minimum. The last thing you want to do is outline ways in which you'd prove a liability should they hire you. Focus on challenges you've overcome in your pursuit to be an overachiever.

"The most challenging aspect of my last job was troubleshooting some of the older technology we worked with. We needed some serious upgrades, but they weren't in the budget. Learning how to work around this problem was quite a challenge, but I learned how by referring to old manuals and online forums. I ended up becoming one of the stronger users of this program, in our entire office! I quickly became the go-to person when anyone had questions about the technology."

"The most challenging aspect of my previous position was to maintain a positive attitude at all times. The workplace culture was not a positive one, but I tried to make it so through words of encouragement to my coworkers, trying to facilitate small events for our team to get to know each other better, and also keeping a smile on my face throughout the day."

Anonymous Answer

"The most challenging aspect was the overlapping responsibilities between the consultant coverage, design, and marketing tasks that I handle. I learned to train members of my team to be able to delegate smaller tasks to them when I get conflicting priorities. I also plan ahead of time for consultants meetings and visits to avoid sudden urgent meeting requests as much as possible."

Cindy's Feedback

Good. It's a good approach to dwell on how you managed these challenges.

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Anonymous Answer

"The most challenging aspects were to overlapping the general administrative tasks with the travel needs to create good relationships with key customers. So, I got to delegate administrative tasks to make time to travel and keep visiting my key customers, so I got to create important opportunities for my company without creating a lack of governance as country management."