Wayfair Mock Interview
Practice 40 Wayfair interview questions covering e-commerce, customer obsession, and data-driven decision-making.
Question 26 of 40
What steps do you take to solve a problem?
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Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
Wayfair leaders are enormous fans of proactive problem-solving! The interviewer would like to know that you understand the importance of taking calculated steps when problem-solving in the workplace.
Most candidates want to sound like go-getters, and their first instinct would be to say that they jump right in. Jumping right in can cause costly mistakes and oversights. Assure the interviewer that you will workshop the issue before diving in!
Here are some steps to take:
1. Identify The Problem. Proper problem-solving involves ensuring that you are very clear on the nature of the problem. Be sure that you fully understand the core of the problem before trying to repair it.
2. Identify The Stakeholders. Ask yourself what the best case resolution will be for all stakeholders, not just for yourself. Ask yourself what is best for the company, your coworkers, and your clients.
3. List Your Options. The third step is to figure out your options when it comes to your course of action. Write them down if you need to.
4. Evaluate Your Options. Take a look at your list of potential actions and see if you can solve the problem using just one or a blend of them.
5. Execute! Finally, execute your well-researched action plan. Be sure to set up a follow-up time to ensure that your solution worked.
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
"When I need to solve a problem, I first stop to ensure that I understand the issue at hand. Once I do, I will think of potential fixes and the pros and cons of each. Whichever solution or a blend of solutions is best for the customer, I will choose that option."
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
"Problem-solving in an e-commerce environment is challenging in the sense that the issue is often something that needs to be fixed immediately, like a faulty product or an upset customer. When faced with a problem, I ask questions first to ensure that I fully understand the core of the issue. Once I fully understand the core of the problem, I can more easily troubleshoot from there."
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Jaymie
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Anonymous Answer
First, understand the problem, and see if you can work your way back to identifying a root cause. The second step would be to brainstorm and come up with a list of possible solutions. Then converge on the single-most effective, affordable solution with the least side effects. After implementation, keep an eye on results and iterate if you have to.
Rachelle's Feedback
Your answer is clear and easy to follow. You have expressed yourself very well here.
Anonymous Answer
First, I will understand why it is a problem and who is getting affected. Then I would deep dive into the context, such as when and where the problem arose. I would make a list of ideas with the help of stakeholders and prioritize them according to the resources and impact. Once the plans are prioritized, I will figure a way to quickly produce them for validation.
Rachelle's Feedback
It seems you have an excellent process in place for problem-solving and that you take a careful approach by first identifying the issue and who the issue impacts. Well done!
Anonymous Answer
First I would try to understand what caused the issue and how quickly it needs to be solved. In e-commerce, it's usually very quickly.
I would then start to find a few different solutions, if possible, giving someone alternatives is usually helpful. I would probably, if I'm unsure check with a manager or a coworker, just to make sure I'm on the right path or if there's something I haven't thought about. And finally, I would propose my solutions to the person affected by the issue, or solve it myself, depending on the case.
Jaymie's Feedback
It sounds like you're able to work quickly to identify the root cause of a problem, and then take action based on the situation. You're able to determine if it's something you can resolve on your own, and you know when to seek out a colleague or manager for support. These are all valuable skills to the interviewer!
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