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Plaid Mock Interview

Question 3 of 33 for our Plaid Mock Interview

Plaid was updated by on December 1st, 2021. Learn more here.

Question 3 of 33

Give me an example of a time when you had to solve a problem without having all of the necessary information at hand to do so. How did you handle that situation?

At a small but growing business like Plaid, it's critical that each team member takes initiative when problem-solving to find solutions to projects. This means being analytical and resourceful even when you are missing certain pieces of information. Before your interview, think of a time in the past where you encountered this specific situation and talk through it by laying out the problem and walking through the step-by-step approach you took to solve the problem. Be as detailed as you can to explain your thought process and how you used the resources available to you to ultimately solve a problem. Your interviewer will be relying on these fine details to truly see how you will perform on the job with Plaid.

Many positions at Plaid will require you to work independently without having all the details you need - a common situation within the start-up culture. Senior-level leadership isn't there to hold your hand through a project, so make sure your interviewer knows that you can do your job well, even if you're missing a few of the puzzle pieces.

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How to Answer: Give me an example of a time when you had to solve a problem without having all of the necessary information at hand to do so. How did you handle that situation?

Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Plaid job interview.

  • 3. Give me an example of a time when you had to solve a problem without having all of the necessary information at hand to do so. How did you handle that situation?

      How to Answer

      At a small but growing business like Plaid, it's critical that each team member takes initiative when problem-solving to find solutions to projects. This means being analytical and resourceful even when you are missing certain pieces of information. Before your interview, think of a time in the past where you encountered this specific situation and talk through it by laying out the problem and walking through the step-by-step approach you took to solve the problem. Be as detailed as you can to explain your thought process and how you used the resources available to you to ultimately solve a problem. Your interviewer will be relying on these fine details to truly see how you will perform on the job with Plaid.

      Many positions at Plaid will require you to work independently without having all the details you need - a common situation within the start-up culture. Senior-level leadership isn't there to hold your hand through a project, so make sure your interviewer knows that you can do your job well, even if you're missing a few of the puzzle pieces.

      Written by Rachel Hills on December 1st, 2021

      1st Answer Example

      "Back when I first joined my current organization, I took a role that had been vacant for many months, and I had to start with a backlog of work along with my regular daily activities. This customer service role included logging daily visitors and calls, and the interim rep only kept brief notes. After taking the time to walk through training, I realized that the current workload wouldn't allow me to catch up on the backlog of work that had been missed. While I had ideas about how to play catch up on the work, I approached my supervisor with a few ideas, and we settled on having me log hours from home on our system as overtime to get caught up. I worked with our IT staff on getting set up on our network from home and was more than willing to help out with some extra hours."

      Written by Rachel Hills on December 1st, 2021

      2nd Answer Example

      "Working for a large financial institution, our advisory staff help cover for each other when we are on vacation, sick, or simply out of office for the day. We typically team up in groups of three to help provide coverage for each other. A couple of months ago, I fielded a call from a colleague's client while she was away on vacation and completely out of phone coverage. The client had several questions about their personal finances that I couldn't help resolve off the top of my head. I let them know that their advisor was away on vacation but I would take the next hour to research their questions and get back to them shortly. This was a very acceptable path of action to the client and I took the time to get their questions answered quickly."

      Written by Rachel Hills on December 1st, 2021