Tell me about a time when you took a risk and received unexpected results.

If you are a risk-taker, they want to know how you evaluate risk. When delivering your example, you want to present yourself as someone who takes calculated risks as opposed to someone who is a habitual risk-taker.

"Once, I was compiling a report, and there was missing information I needed from a professor who was out on leave. So, I decided to start digging in unconventional sources, old records, and archived information. From those, I had several pieces of a puzzle I was able to piece together. From that, I was able to complete the picture from the missing pieces in a way that ensured me I was close enough. Then, once I was able to do that, I was able to quantify the suspected missing data from other sources. It only set off our timeline by one day, still well within meeting our deadline for the project. When the project was underway and I realized the easy resource of my professor was unavailable, I was sure I wasn't going to be able to complete the project. But I was surprised by the results, in that I finished early, and learned so much more by taking the route I had."