Behavioral Interview Questions
Master 31 behavioral interview questions covering past experiences, conflict resolution, and decision-making.
Question 17 of 31
Tell me about a time when you showed initiative by taking the lead on a team project.
The Goal
Example Answer
Admin
Marketing
Sales
Teacher
Manager
Retail
How to Answer
Pro Tip
What to Avoid
Community Answers
Christine Pasqueretta is a human resource and recruitment professional with experience creating, developing, implementing, leading, and measuring HR impact initiatives.
The interviewer wants to see that you are confident enough to take the initiative when the opportunity arises. Provide the interviewer with evidence that you are a motivated and passionate person who is ready to be an active leader in the workplace.
Christine Pasqueretta is a human resource and recruitment professional with experience creating, developing, implementing, leading, and measuring HR impact initiatives.
"(Situation) In my previous role, I recognized that we needed a better training program to onboard new hires at a quicker rate. (Task) As the leader for onboarding and training, it was up to me to create such a program. (Action) I took the initiative to create this training program, incorporating all the work we did in a way that new hires could easily learn and replicate. (Result) The team loved having this guide and enjoyed feeling empowered when it came to training new hires the right way."
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.
"(Situation) When I first started my current admin role, I took it upon myself to organize the digital files for the company. (Task) The files were a mess, and I was the person who had the time to take care of it. (Action) Organizing these files was a huge challenge, but I tackled 100 documents per day on a schedule that I had created for myself. In 20 days, I finished. (Result) I was pleased with my ability to take on a project that nobody else wanted to do, and my boss was thrilled with the initiative that I showed."
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.
"(Situation) Last year, our company was discussing a potential product launch in the European market. (Task) As an intermediate project researcher, I knew this was my chance to be noticed. (Action) I reached out to the head of the marketing department and asked if I could be the lead product researcher. I stated my case by discussing why I would be the best fit for that opportunity. She agreed and allowed me to take the lead. (Result) The project was a great success, which gave me the confidence to speak up again. Next week I will be starting another project where I'll be the lead product researcher."
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.
"(Situation) Last year, I identified the need for ongoing learning and sales training for my company's junior sales reps. (Task) As the Sales Manager, I knew I had a lot of ideas to offer for mentoring and growing these reps. (Action) I founded Friday lunch-and-learns with a different topic presented every week. I worked across departments to feature guest lecturers and industry experts via Skype. (Result) As a result, I was able to educate the sales team further, improving retention. Today, we are all more effective in our sales pitches, and our numbers have increased by 15% overall."
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.
"(Situation) This year, I took the lead by testing a new tech platform for our online learning students. (Task) I am quite a tech-savvy individual and had already been researching the topic of online learning for quite some time. (Action) I performed more specific research, spoke with many tech gurus, and created a presentation for our Board of Directors that included three viable options. I presented the data in a way that was easy to absorb and considered multiple critical factors to student learning. (Result) The board decided on my top recommendation, and now, four months into the launch, the revised online learning platform has proven very effective."
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.
"(Situation) In my previous role, I took the lead on a critical communication project. (Task) As the morning Shift Manager, I needed help passing along pertinent information to our 2nd and 3rd production shifts in a more effective way. (Action) I recommended hanging announcement screens throughout the building, ensuring that everyone had the same information at all times. (Result) We installed these announcement screens, and we encountered much less stress and confusion during shift changes."
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.
"(Situation) In my current store, when the merchandise for the next season arrives, our team needs to put in a lot of extra hours to get everything out onto the floor. (Task) Although I am not a manager, I see the importance of jumping in to help. (Action) During our last season change, I helped to organize the team while ensuring that the sales floor remained attended. I showed a positive mindset and enthusiasm. (Result) Because of the energy I exuded, others naturally wanted to follow me. The change-over was a success, and our team had more fun than usual."
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.
Describe any project or learning experience where you saw a chance to lead and took advantage of it. Talk about the success of the project and your biggest takeaway from experience.
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.
Behavioral-based interview questions that begin with 'Tell me about a time...' are best answered using the STAR method. STAR is an acronym for Situation, Task, Action, Result. Organizing your response using this framework will ensure that you provide the interviewer with the right amount of information and detail to form a compelling answer.
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.
Avoid giving a general answer regarding your willingness to take the lead at work, in school, while volunteering, or during extra-curricular activities. Stay away from vague statements like, 'I am very comfortable taking the initiative and acting like a leader. I did this while in school and even during my latest internship.'
Anonymous Answer
I recalled a time when our timetabling team was in the process of upgrading the system, which caused some delay in generating the class numbers. Our team was, therefore, having limited time to check and validate all the class numbers for enrollment to start as planned. I made the suggestion that it would be more efficient if we divided the workload equally within the team and we lock the time in our calendar so we could all work on this urgent task, and I would like to collect the data of problem classes and resolve them with the timetabling team. The task was big but we worked as a team together at the same time which really demonstrated a great team effort and we would be able to provide the final feedback at once.
Rachelle's Feedback
Teamwork makes the dream work! Great response - the interviewer would be happy to see that you took an initiative which worked well, showing your good sense and leadership capabilities.
Anonymous Answer
In my current job, I recognized that to do another genome annotation we needed a detailed pipeline, once it has several steps along the way and we could bring others in at a quicker rate. I took the initiative to create the pipeline, incorporating all the work we did in a way that people could easily replicate. My supervisor loved having it, and more so, enjoyed having others using it.
Rachelle's Feedback
Wonderful! Your example is specific and showcases your ability to take creative initiative.
Anonymous Answer
I initiated a project to put the business online which involved getting buy-in at a time when online selling was just taking off. I had to put a team together involving the store manager, admin person (to set up stock items) and myself. If was a great success where online sales became 5% of store sales.
Rachelle's Feedback
It's amazing that you offered up the 5% stat, to fully support your answer. Nice job!
Anonymous Answer
A few years ago we had a roll out of a new ordering and inventory maintenance system. We were low on staff at the time and the full-time technician was having trouble keeping up with the drug requests from other stores.
I called the makers of the inventory system and spoke to the technician; also I e-mailed corporate office, set up passwords for the new system, and I learned the system. This way I was able to pull drug transfer requests and print out transfer invoices and help pull the drugs to be sent to other stores as well as cycle fill inventory sheets. The full-time technician was able to concentrate on the packaging and mailing of the drugs to other stores.
In less than a week after I learned the system we were totally caught up on our Orderinsite tasks and projects. I also was able to help to keep our inventory up to date and generate cycle fill count sheets which my technicians and I counted. I utilized the system even when I was transfered to Shopko West and assisted with inventory control.
Rachelle's Feedback
This example really showcases your ability to take control in a situation, and create solutions. Very well done!
Anonymous Answer
Late 2017 early 2018 there was an increasing number of sexual harassment cases. I took the lead in redrafting the Sexual Harassment policy; training employees and the formation of sub-committees that was tasked to go round all branches collecting data and interviewing certain employees. Relying on these reports and conducting further research, I made my recommendation to the HR committee which was adopted. The cases have since reduced.
Rachelle's Feedback
Sexual harassment in the workplace is a very important topic and it's great that you have addressed your positive involvement when it comes to change. The interviewer should really appreciate this answer.
Anonymous Answer
I often take the lead in my current job by looking at the new product display setup, then implementing when the new products arrive. This helps assist people in their job.
Mary's Feedback
This is a great start and a specific example. Try adding some detail to provide the interviewer more context.
I often take the lead in my current job whenever there is a new product launch. I review the product display prior to the product arriving in order to know exactly where items should go. When new products finally arrive, I guide the set-up team on where to place items so it gets done correctly and quickly.
Anonymous Answer
The company I work for decided to change phone systems to save money, I volunteered to take lead on it because of my IT background. I worked with voice team to migrate all of our users from our old phone system to new phone system and I helped them do the testing ahead of time. We worked through several different issues including re-recording our phone system message and made the switch successfully without any issues.
Kristine's Feedback
Great answer! You share a great example of a time you took the lead at work. There was contradictory information in the final sentence likely due to wording, so I revised that part for clarity.
When the company I work for decided to change the phone system to save money, I volunteered to take the lead on it because I felt my IT background prepared me well for the role. I worked with the voice team to migrate all of our users from our old phone system to the new phone system, and I helped them do testing ahead of time. We completed tasks such as re-recording our phone system message and made the switch successfully without any issues.
Anonymous Answer
I managed a team of sales reps with various degrees of experience in sales and almost no knowledge in medical sales. I developed a training program that paired those on my team with the most experience with those who hardly had any. What I found was that it created a cohesion on my team as it allowed me to delegate some of the coachings. As a result, everyone had something to learn from one another while also instilling some valuable leadership skills to each member of the team.
Rachelle's Feedback
Smart move, to delegate some of the coachings. This example shows smart leadership and a willingness to put trust in your more seasoned team members.
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