Tell me about a bad day you have had at work. How did you turn it around?

"Last year, I was tasked with creating a report that highlighted new, active, inactive, and deceased clients from the previous fiscal year as part of a request to our board of directors for approval of a new program. The report was supposed to highlight the ways in which we were stretching our capacity, and the new program would better meet community needs. The task was assigned at the last minute since the board of directors meeting had been rescheduled unexpectedly. I set about running queries for the report, but at the same time, a massive power outage stopped my efforts short. The report needed to be completed by the end of the day, so the outage was frustrating. However, I always make sure to be prepared in case situations like this occur, so I was able to access an offline, backup drive I had created for client records. It took much longer, but I was able to create the report on time using manual methods instead."

"A few months ago, I had a miscommunication with a coworker that led to a disagreement. We were working on digitizing background checks for volunteers and spending several hours a day manually inputting information into our digital database from hardcopy records. I felt this process was too time-consuming and suggested we focus on more complex responsibilities while assigning this task to a data entry volunteer. My co-worker adamantly disagreed and said we should not allow volunteers to access that information. Our disagreement only led to us being even less productive, so I suggested we have a brainstorming session to hash out the pros and cons of ideas for resolving the issue. Eventually, we determined that the task was taking us too long and that we could assign a volunteer and protect private information by crafting a non-disclosure agreement for the volunteer to sign. This resolution strengthened our professional relationship and helped us focus on more relevant tasks."

Do not be negative in your response. Instead, use this opportunity to highlight your ability to maintain poise and professionalism during periods of stress and conflict.