The airline industry is full of unexpected scenarios. When have you faced an unexpected difficulty?
How you face unexpected difficulty on the job can say a lot about your character and your adaptability in your work. Whether you would be working with an unruly passenger or last-minute flight changes, your interviewer needs to be assured that any candidate that they hire at Qatar Airways comes with the ability to handle the unexpected things that come up on the job with ease.
"The biggest difficulty that I have faced was my unexpected lay off during the pandemic. I had to adapt to a new economy and search deeply for other skills and opportunities. I was able to earn enough to avoid financial strain and am quite proud of my ability to be versatile when required. This experience has put a new focus in me and I feel would greatly benefit me aboard the Qatar Airways team."
"In my current role, we had a large client need a customized order on extremely short notice and our CEO told my entire team that we needed to make it happen no matter what. Having never faced a situation like this, a true team effort was needed and I didn't hesitate to take the lead. I started by brainstorming with my team on a timeline we needed to hit key targets for the completion of the order. From there, I delegate the work to the team and we put our best foot forward. I'm happy to say that we met the expectations of the customer while being on time and our ability to plan, think and operate rationally in the face of pressure was key."
Discuss a specific time on the job when you have faced an unexpected difficulty. Be sure that your situation clearly demonstrates what the situation was, what made it unexpected, and shows how you worked through the situation to provide a positive outcome. Be sure to reiterate to your interviewer that you would join the Qatar Airways team as a flexible team member that comes ready to think on your feet and solve any problems that come your way.
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
I faced difficulty when I already created a plan for one project, but there are several things made me not follow my plan, such as device delivery, unprepared configuration, the customer wants a more fast schedule, etc.
Kevin's Feedback
Good example. I assisted with wording and sentence structure to demonstrate the variables you faced when dealing with that particular project and the outcome.
There was a time when I was assigned to a specific project. I devised a plan for the project, and was confident in my approach and was ready to move forward, when I experienced some issues with device delivery, then unprepared configuration issues. Then the customer changed the timeline, moving up the deadline. So I had to start my plan from scratch with several additional variables and had to get the project done much earlier than previously anticipated. I completed the project to the satisfaction of the customer. I had to think on my toes and adapt fast.
Anonymous Answer
I have faced unexpected difficulty in this industry on several occasions:
An A380 transit, which had a very pungent oil smell in the cabin area with the night curfew lurking in the background. It was a tough situation that required some good communication and strong decision making.
There wasn't much the MCC could do other than provide me with basic guidance as it was entirely based on my judgment and reaction on the real-time situation at hand.
I had to brief the traffic staff about the situation and also delay the boarding until we could determine the serviceability of the aircraft.
The departing flight crew was already on board, and I had to request them to run each engine individually so that we could isolate the source of the smell.
Finally, we managed to isolate the source and deactivated the bleed of the associated engine and dispatched the aircraft before the curfew time.
It was a difficult situation that required some quick thinking, decision making, and teamwork!
Rachelle's Feedback
It sounds as though you handled this situation perfectly. Great choice in giving this story as an example of your ability to face and overcome unexpected difficulties.
Anonymous Answer
Dealing with claims means handling angry customers. I have, on occasion, had to deal with a customer who has breached the conditions of carriage and still expects to be compensated and turns to be abusive. I have learned to separate issues.
Rachelle's Feedback
Wow, it sounds like you have heard it all! You remain diplomatic, and it's great that you can separate issues, not taking it personally when a customer becomes upset.
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