Talk about a time when you succeeded despite being under intense pressure.
The hiring managers at Morgan Stanley want assurance that you can handle working under pressure. The goal of your response is to provide evidence that you have the mindset and tenacity to behave professionally and appropriately while working under intense pressure.
This question presents the opportunity for you to be a storyteller. Using the STAR method, form an engaging story-based response that showcases your proudest accomplishment. STAR is an acronym for Situation, Task, Action, Result.
Use a solid and compelling example of your poise under pressure. Be as specific as you can while remaining concise and on topic. Your answer should include a story of a time when you were under pressure related to the pressures you may face in this new position with Morgan Stanley. Your response should come from a recent work-related scenario.
Talk about a specific time when you were under a lot of pressure at work, yet you succeeded. Outline the situation, explain why you felt under pressure, and describe your actions. Spotlight that you made well-calculated decisions even though you faced strain, pressure, or conflict. If your actions made a measurable impact, discuss the results you generated.
The average HireVue interview takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. This one-way video interview typically includes 3-5 questions. Depending on the HireVue parameters set by Morgan Stanley, the asynchronous interview platform will generally give you 30 seconds to prepare a response and up to 2 minutes to answer each question. It's important to note that HireVue stops recording as soon as your time limit is up, so it's better to run under time than overtime.
"Throughout my career in the financial services sector, I have gained the skills that help me constructively deal with stress. (Situation) Last year, one of our investment managers retired and she passed me one of her most important legacy accounts. I was thrilled to have the opportunity; however, this account was notorious for being high-pressure. (Task) I knew that onboarding this client would be challenging. It would take a great deal of diligence, research, and time on my end. I felt overwhelmed, but I knew that serving this account to the best of my ability would speak volumes about my firm and be a valuable addition to my portfolio. (Action) During this time, I sought out a mentor with more experience than me in the financial sector. This individual taught me incredibly beneficial approaches and tools for managing my time, controlling stress, and regulating my mindset under pressure. (Result) As a result, I successfully onboarded this new account and even received accolades from the client, which reached my leadership team. Now, when I feel immense pressure on the job and in my personal life, I lean on these mechanisms and techniques to get me to the finish line with focus and poise."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
When I started working for ______, a mobile payment platform for emerging markets, I was tasked to help with fundraising from VC investors. By early 2021, the company had a cash burn rate of 100K / month and needed to raise money to stay alive and fund expansion.
After a few false starts and heated discussions with the management team, I was able to convince them to shift the strategy away from a costly direct-to-consumer model to a platform-based approach via partnerships with key stakeholders: 1/government-piloted tax collection, pension payment to retirees, and cash assistance programs during the pandemic. 2/ regional mobile operator that only operates in Portuguese-speaking countries. 3/ second-tier banks who did not have a strong digital platform 4/ universities, consumer staples, and gasoline distribution networks. As a result, we raised 5 m in a series A and grew our user base from 100K to 1.1 m in 12 months.
Marcie's Feedback
Wow! This is definitely a great example of a time when you succeeded at work. Can you talk a bit more about why it was such an intense environment? You might simply state after your sentence about the company '...needing to raise money to stay alive...' that this naturally created a stressful, high-pressure atmosphere. (In other words, spell it out for the interviewer.) Additionally, consider leaving out the 'heated discussions' mention as it negatively implies that you might be heavy-handed or pushy. Otherwise, excellent response and good job quantifying your success!
Anonymous Answer
From my previous exp at NC, I learned how to cope with pressure under limited time and get tasks done.
I was assigned to build a 3m LP fund model from scratch within two days with a bunch of preliminary assumptions, so the team can further position its fund strategy at the next meeting. It was the 1st time I built an LP fund model from scratch at that time.
To build the model efficiently under pressing time constraints, I reached out to an associate on my team who is more exp in the model building than me, I learned the structure of the model quickly and ask for tips.
I finished building model from scratch quickly and take questions to associate for advice. I took his advice and revised it. After doing this a couple of time, my model was refined and acknowloged by my boss. As result, I successfully presented model at the meeting and the team was able to refine the fund strategy further.
Marcie's Feedback
Excellent! You have used the STAR method effectively here to answer the interview question; good job! It sounds like you were under a lot of pressure but handled it successfully, which is what the interviewer will want to hear. You provide plenty of details, making your answer meaningful and memorable. Great job!
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