When have you shown a willingness to learn a new method or new approach to solving a problem?
UnitedHealth Group is continuously trying to invent a better future by learning through the past and by having innovation as one of its top core values. In recent years, the company has led the way in digital tools and data to help improve outcomes and lower costs and they will continue this innovative mindset into the future. Your interviewer wants to get a sense of your ability to think outside the box when facing new challenges. Be sure to talk about a time that clearly outlines the situation you were in, your thought process into how to do things differently, and the great outcome that came because of it. To earn bonus points here, think about some ways you can bring new thought processes to the team at UHG.
"Early in my career, I joined a customer service team that was experiencing some very serious response time issues and it was leading to a lack of customer retention. After spending some weeks on the job and assessing processes, or lack thereof, I approached my manager with some ideas on creating workflow processes and defining specific roles and duties of the team I was on. She loved the ideas and asked me to lead a workgroup moving forward on creating and implementing these new workflows. I was very proud to be asked and grabbed the bull by the horns and went to work on processes that are still used to this day. I know this same creative and innovative mindset will be important for me here at UnitedHealth Group and I'll be glad to bring it to this job."
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 am always open to new ideas. During the financial crisis a few years back, we were faced with trying to hold our room rates while providing a great value in a market that saw a sharp rate decline. My team and I created some value-added packages that included dinner, wine, and several other extras for an extremely reasonable price and showed them great savings. In the first year, we sold approximately 400 of the newly created packages and created approximately 15,000 in additional revenue.
Rachelle's Feedback
You are creative and proactive, which are skills that any interviewer will appreciate seeing. The detail you provide is excellent.
Anonymous Answer
In my Health Information Systems class, I worked on a project proposal for a client, which required that I dive deep into the Healthcare domain and understand healthcare-related Infections. I was unaware of the term before the project, but I took the initiative to thoroughly understand it, studied various types of HAI's, analyzed the cause of its spread, mined data from different sources, and also talked with industry experts to understand the severity of this problem. After dwelling on the root cause of the problem, I came up with a solution to mitigate the problem.
Rachelle's Feedback
Good for you! It seems that you were very active in finding a solution for this particular client. I recommend adding a touch more information regarding the situation and the final result. You can achieve this by closely following the STAR framework. If you'd like to learn more about using the STAR framework for forming answers to 'when having you...' or 'tell me about a time when...' questions, we have a guide here: https://www.mockquestions.com/articles/Master Behavioral-Based Interviews Using The Star Method/
Anonymous Answer
Change was constant and responsibilities always increased. I maintained a positive attitude and used it as an opportunity to gain knowledge about every aspect of the job.
Cindy's Feedback
Good. Can you give an example about taking on additional responsibilities?
Anonymous Answer
I researched and found new ways of dealing with old and tedious problems. Like the time I proposed outsourcing a part of the work. My proposal included the benefits, all pros, and cons, at the end I was able to establish the benefits reaped from sourcing out were completely justified. My boss reviewed it and outsourced the job.
Marcie's Feedback
Great! Your example will show the interviewer that you are open to learning new things and using new methods to solve problems. Consider providing more details about why you suggested outsourcing and how this ultimately helped the company. The more details, the better!
Anonymous Answer
I am a very flexible person, and I can adapt to change quickly. Our office EMR had some significant changes after updating. I was able to assist others who didn't quite understand it yet, and I enjoyed being able to help them.
Amanda's Feedback
Terrific! You can expand your answer further by sharing what aspects others were struggling with, the skills you used to provide assistance such as clear communication and technical proficiency, and the outcome you were able to achieve for the team.
Anonymous Answer
In my ever-growing desire to better myself, I am always open to learning new methods or approaches to solving problems we face in our roles.
Marcie's Feedback
That's great! It's best to answer this question with a specific example, however. Can you talk about a time when you learned a new method or approach to solving a problem? What was the problem and what new method did you learn? The more details you can provide, the stronger your answer will be. Good job!
Anonymous Answer
Being flexible and able to handle change is an essential skill in any job within the organization. I am open and willing to approach a problem using new methods and think out of the box. Working capital metrics tracking example (why I suggested this) and going green with online payment options for fundraising. I am an agile and flexible employee.
Marcie's Feedback
It's great that you're adaptable and open to learning new things. Make sure to expand on your examples in order to show how you successfully solved problems by thinking outside the box. Good job!
Anonymous Answer
We were looking for creative ways to save across the business. I took this to heart and looked at something that would have been a pretty drastic change for us, changing the entire model of our HR department, but I believe it would have been effective. I presented it to the management committee - ultimately it was decided we wouldn't go in that direction because at that point we knew our company was being sold, but it was a radical idea that I believe would have otherwise gotten traction.
Marcie's Feedback
Awesome! The interviewer will be impressed that you're an out-of-the-box thinker. Can you go into more detail about how you would have changed the HR department? Why do you think this idea would have been effective?
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