How to Answer: We expect our team members to solve complex problems. 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 Standard Bank job interview.
9. We expect our team members to solve complex problems. 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
For this question, your interviewer is looking to test your ability to be analytical and resourceful in a specific situation in which you had to dig further to solve a problem. Before your interview, think of a time in the past when 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 in your explanation of your thought process and how you worked hard to use the resources you had to ultimately solve the problem. Your interviewer will be relying on these fine details to truly see how you will perform on the job with Standard Bank.
Many positions at Standard Bank will require you to work independently without having all the details you need. 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.
1st Answer Example
"Back when I first joined my current organization, I took on a role that had been vacant for many months. 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 and get running on my own, 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."
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 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."