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Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
This question focuses on your emotional intelligence, and how you respond to, and move on from, your setbacks. The example you share may serve as a future job performance indicator. For example, someone who adapts and adjusts their perspective to learn from their failures is more likely to take ownership of their mistakes and less likely to repeat them. Whereas someone who tries to cover up their mistakes or failures is less likely to take responsibility, nor to learn and grow from the experience, and will probably repeat that same mistake again in the future.

Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
Based on their rating system, Aon's Natural Language Psychometric Talent Assessment will score you on your emotional style, which they will break up into three scaled categories. Based on your choice of words, they'll evaluate your composure, on a scale from passionate to calm. They will also rate your positivity, on a scale from concerned to hopeful, and your awareness, on a scale from insulated to self-aware. So, considering this, a high-scoring, mature individual is someone who is calm and doesn't allow their decision-making to be influenced by their emotions, likely has a positive attitude, and a clear perspective of how others might perceive them.

Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
Here's some basic advice from UBS's recruiters concerning your self-presentation, and how to focus on the content of your answers. For example, your emotional state during the interview may impact your choice of words, and influence the messaging of your answers. "It's normal to be nervous. Most people feel the same way as you do! Take a moment to calm your nerves before starting. Take a deep breath. You want to appear confident, engaging and prepared. Think about what we'll ask. Those who are well prepared rarely have a reason to be nervous. We want you to do your best. Stand out in all the right ways. This is the best chance we'll have to find out more about you, so try to think about what you want us to know. Whether it's why you want to train with us, what your strengths and weaknesses are, or even how the person closest to you would describe you. You don't have to overthink this, but the better prepared you are, the more you'll stand out. It's not just what you achieve, but how you achieve."

Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
"I was part of a group of five who were all competing to train for one available leadership position. One leader was training us together as a group, and after two weeks that person would narrow the pool down to two, and a week later, down to one individual who would eventually fill that available position. So, I went in with the approach of learning everything I could about the training program, the position, and what it takes to succeed. But, my gross miscalculation was that I didn't put effort into understanding the communication style and leadership style of the person who would ultimately decide our fates. So, every time I aimed to be a go-getter and impress, I actually annoyed the mentor, who preferred those who were active listeners, who stayed silent and said yes, learning to do things their way. So, I was eliminated in the first round. That was a valuable lesson, and instead of competing for the next leadership position that came available, I focused on my communication skills, adaptability, and interpersonal skills, knowing that developing those first would inevitably make me a better leader later on."

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Written by Kevin Downey
25 Questions & Answers • UBS

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