Talk about the most difficult work-related decision you had to make recently.
To consider you further for their opening, Pfizer will want to know more about how you approach complex decisions because you will likely be facing them in the role you are considering. The goal of your response is to showcase your strong critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
One common mistake that interviewees make is giving a highly personal response. This question is not the time to talk about the hardest personal decision you've ever made. Keep your answer work-focused and related to the job opportunity you are being considered for at Pfizer.
Behavioral-based interview questions like this, where the hiring managers are looking for a real-life example, are best answered using the STAR method. STAR is an acronym for Situation, Task, Action, Result. Organizing your response using this framework will ensure that you provide the hiring company with the right amount of information and detail to form a compelling answer.
Use an example relevant to your work. This can include big-picture items like changing majors in university, quitting a job that wasn't healthy for you, selling your business and re-entering the traditional workforce, relocating to a new city for better opportunities, or even starting a new professional venture. It can also involve small-scale decisions like improving a work process or giving constructive feedback to a colleague.
Highlight how you approached the decision and walk through your critical thinking and decision-making process. Then, discuss the result of your decision. At the end of your response, explain how your critical thinking skills will benefit Pfizer should you be the successful candidate.
The average HireVue interview takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. This one-way video interview typically includes three to five questions. Depending on the hiring company's parameters, the HireVue platform will generally give you 30 seconds to prepare a response and up to two 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.
"A few months ago, I learned that a colleague was having difficulty performing their job duties due to some personal issues in their home life. While their poor performance impacted our whole team, I was unsure how to approach this situation. I pondered leaving it alone and not making it my business, directly approaching our director, or talking with my colleague to improve the situation. I opted for the latter and had some difficult conversations with my colleague. In the end, they decided to approach our director and were given a two-month leave to straighten things out. While it was hard being short-handed for a couple of months, it was the best possible result for my colleague and our team."
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
As a lead nurse practitioner at ______ Medical, I was tasked with cutting costs by 10% across the board. Many of my colleagues wanted to lay off clinicians to save money however I wanted to find another way. I created a committee with the goal of streamlining some of our processes. Out of that committee came centralized inventory and ordering across studios which lead to a large decrease in spending. We managed to meet our goal of 10% less spending without eliminating any positions.
Jaymie's Feedback
Great answer! Your initiative shows how much you care about people. This is an excellent example to share because of the positive outcome you influenced.
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