Tell me about a time you had to think outside of the box to solve a problem.

"Our department was coming in over budget. We'd recently implemented new systems that were streamlining all our processes and would increase productivity and our quality of work. However, we knew it would save us money and time over the next few months, but unless made cuts immediately elsewhere, it wouldn't be sustainable. So, anticipating this, we cut expenses dramatically across our entire department. But a week later, reports came in, and we were still slightly over budget, and something else had to go. Then, I had an idea. We were using an overpriced vendor for our office supplies, and they frequently shipped the wrong products or had significant delivery delays. I knew someone who managed an office supply company, and I was able to negotiate a bulk buyer's discount for our company while cutting out the vendor. Our annual savings provided us with a budget surplus, which then allowed us to readjust our company budget in innovative ways."