What is the riskiest decision you have ever made in the workplace?

Question

Christine Pasqueretta · Accepted Answer

"(Situation) The riskiest decision I ever made was to leave the recruitment industry. (Task) I had a desire to move into workforce planning as a consultant. The risk meant that if I were unsuccessful, I would be looking for a new job in a plodding economy. The payoff would be that I would finally be in a sector in which I was truly interested. (Action) Through hard work and leveraging my connections, I made a great career for myself over the next eight years. (Result) This hard work is what has brought me here today with an exceptional career opportunity in front of me."

Christine Pasqueretta · Answer

The interviewer wants to know how you approach making risky decisions. The goal of your response is to show the interviewer that you can analyze a situation and that you understand the importance of making well-calculated decisions, even if there is some risk involved.

Rachelle Enns · Answer

Start with an overview of the decision you needed to make and explain why it was risky. Describe who the situation impacted as well as the outcomes. Complete your answer by sharing how your decision paid off or mention any recognition you received for your success.

Rachelle Enns · Answer

Behavioral-based interview questions like this, where the interviewer is looking for a story example, 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 · Answer

Avoid giving a surface-level answer that sounds like a lesson in risk-taking. For instance, 'Leaving my job to join this company is a risky decision, but if you don't try to achieve your dreams, you will not have the career progression you want.' This type of response does not answer this behavioral-based question directly and tells the interviewer very little about your behavior in the workplace.

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"(Situation) The riskiest career choice I made was asking for a reduction in hours, from full-time to part-time employment. (Task) I was asking for this reduction so that I could pursue my degree in Business Administration. (Action) I approached my boss with the facts and humbly asked that he consider my past commitments to the company when making his decision. (Result) My boss could have let me go, but he didn't. He openly supported my pursuit of higher education."

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"(Situation) One of the riskiest decisions I made was to leave corporate America and join a startup with an innovative idea. (Task) The company was seeking to provide a product/service that would pioneer a new industry. (Action) We worked harder and smarter to launch and create a new space in the nutraceutical marketplace. (Result) We failed a lot along the way, but we learned to fail fast, and it made us all better professionals."

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"(Situation) The riskiest career decision I've made was to leave an established organization in a down economy. (Task) Despite being groomed for a general manager role, I knew I needed to try my hand in a technology startup. (Action) Most of my family thought I was nuts, but I followed my intuition. (Result) Not only did I get to experience a different, more innovative culture, team, and product, but I was able to be a real 'difference-maker' in the organization. That leap brought me to more opportunities I never thought possible."

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"(Situation) I think the riskiest decision I've made is taking steps to pursue a new position. (Task) I am seeking out an opportunity, which means leaving a 15-year tenure at a successful store. (Action) Although I have risen through the ranks in this job and made a name for myself, I have a desire to challenge myself professionally. (Result) I am thrilled to be taking this chance and speaking with your esteemed retail brand today."

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"(Situation) My most considerable risk was choosing between pursuing a role as a high school Spanish teacher or an elementary Spanish teacher. (Task) Choosing to work in an elementary school environment was risky because I knew of budget cut rumors to elementary-based language programs. (Action) Regardless of these rumors, I decided to pursue an elementary school teaching gig. (Result) I was laid off after two years; however, it was the role that I wanted the most, which is why I took the chance."

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"(Situation) My riskiest decision was to ship a customer order late. (Task) I was not satisfied with the quality audit, and as the QA Manager, I took my responsibility seriously. (Action) The numbers were within the correct threshold but not to par. (Result) In the end, while the customer was unhappy to receive a late order, she was happy that we cared enough to investigate any potential problems."

Anonymous User · Answer

"We had a customer that had 2 failed drives on their SAN that was hosting their servers. We decided to shut down the servers and have the employees do without network connectivity until the drives rebuilt to be safe on the rebuild process. The drives took a few hours to rebuild but once they did we turned the servers back on and everything came back up successfully."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The riskiest decision is when we decide to give up stable life in New Zealand and moving to US to pursue American dream. I am looking hard for a job that would utilize my skills and experience that would help me to settle down in the new environment as well as lesson my husband financial pressure to support whole family."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I proposed myself to the ____________ position moving to Miami, to reduce the cost of raw materials for the company, I established new relationships with suppliers and manufacturers and we impacted positively the financial reports of the company."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The riskiest decision I ever made in the workplace is to ask for more challenging work. I found my task repetitive and wanted new projects to work on. I knew this would be risky because this would add more to my workload. But I knew with organizations and communication skills. I could manage more challenging work."

Anonymous User · Answer

"My riskiest decision was to step away from full-time teaching and enter administration. To be honest, I fell into the position originally, and when the college professionalized chair roles, I wasn't convinced it would be as personally satisfying as teaching. It turns out - I find the role more impactful, as I can effect positive change for students, faculty, and staff."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Due to the covid shut down, we had to find a way to retain members even if it was risky. I was given the task of retaining clients during the shutdown. I decided to go with the plan of loaning out all of our equipment to our current members. Even though we still had a loss in membership we were able to retain 70 % of our membership!"

Anonymous User · Answer

"The riskiest decision I ever made was to cut down my hours from full-time to as-needed in order to go back to school for my master's degree. I knew that as an as-needed employee, I wouldn't be able to get benefits, including medical benefits, and I also knew that it was not guaranteed that I would succeed in the Master's program. I took the risk anyway. Today, with my Master's degree, I can care for a larger number of patients in an advanced way."

Anonymous User · Answer

"When I decided to move from Egypt to another country for work. That was risky because I didn't know anyone or anything about Denmark. I moved for work which means that if I failed I had to return to Egypt because my Visa is connected to my employer and I would need to find another job in Egypt. I moved and I worked hard, and they liked my performance, and now I focus on chasing my dream to grow more."

Anonymous User · Answer

"While living and working in Vietnam, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer just as I was promoted to Senior Partner Manager. I decided to move back to Sydney so she can have the best treatment. And I did so without a job. Through my network, I have been offered a fixed-term position as an Admissions officer. I took the risk because of the family, but my experience has taught me just how valuable a strong network can be, how well you need to work with other departments in the company."

Anonymous User · Answer

"(Situation) The riskiest decision I've made is taking steps to leave academia and to pursue a new position. (Task) I am seeking out an opportunity where my knowledge and deep understanding of doing impact analysis and program evaluation is valued by decision-makers and has a real-life impact. (Action) Although I am very successful in my academic career, I have a desire to learn something new and to challenge myself professionally. Therefore, I recently started to scan the job market for suitable positions. (Result) I am very happy to take the chance to talk with you today.""

Anonymous User · Answer

"Since the COVID 19 has been started last year, our business was going down to 60% I was really stressed from upper management to cut down our staff to meet our expenses, at that time I took the riskiest decision and suggested my high-ups rather go for layoff, we share a proposal with our staff in general meeting to cut down our salary voluntarily for 3 months so that no one can be laid off and we all can survive in this pandemic. It was a total blind move and may result in negative to our staff members but this idea was highly appreciated by my high ups and staff and considered as lifesaving."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The riskiest decision I've made in the workplace goes back to my previous job as a music teacher. Although I love to teach, I didn't see much advancement in my career, as well as a low variety of day-to-day tasks. I decided to reduce my hours of teaching to focus on my AINS through the Institutes. This has made me more confident in my career outlook as a young professional as there are more opportunities to grow and advance."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Last year, before the pandemic began, our regional manager was coming for a visit. Naturally, everyone was flustered and trying to get their departments perfect. I was confident in my department and wanted to make a statement, my idea was to build a giant citrus display so it would be the first thing he saw once he walked in. I talked my store manager into it knowing it would fall on me if I failed, and I knocked it out of the park. He walked in and absolutely loved it, my risk paid off and I had made an impact."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The riskiest decision I ever made was to leave my previous workplace where I was permanent, worked for only 4 days, and have got private insurance for me and my family. However, I have desired to move into IT Industry as Data Analyst. The risk is that if I am unsuccessful, I would be looking for a new job in a plodding economy. The payoff would be that I would finally be in an industry in which I am truly interested. Through hard work and dedication, I am getting exceptional career opportunities for myself, like today."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Given degrading customer sentiment at ____---->decide to shake up status quo and bring a small team on board to help with migrations---> had to do this just with gut feel based on 2 interactions with the team lead.-->Could have failed completely, I would have taken responsibility, but that was not needed, fortunately."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I suggested my team use Dynamics 365 CE to replace our existing legacy systems. I customized sales and service modules and trained sales agents and customer service representatives to use the new system. I used my plan to fix DFSR."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The riskiest decision I took was to join the Finance transformation team at XXX. My task involved designing different financial MGMT reports. I did not have much experience in dealing with system architecture and IT teams. However, I took that chance and it turned out to be a great decision as I was able to use my finance knowledge, I was able to collaborate with IT to implement an impactful business analytics view. This helped me in sharpening my collaboration & communication skills but also gave me hands-on experience of a future system-based FP&A process."

Anonymous User · Answer

"(situation)The riskiest decision for me was to pursue a new engineering position. (Task) I decided to leave my role of simulation engineer and took the role of an acoustics engineer. (Action) I had to move to a different team in a different country. (Result) Even though I was totally taken out of my comfort zone, it made me grow as an engineer. I was able to establish connections with new customers and eventually, it led me to pursue my dreams."

Anonymous User · Answer

"In my last place of employment in order to fulfill my goal of getting a new career in the insurance industry I had to make a choice of staying in the same place or moving towards my set goal. I ended up leaving in order to pursue what I wanted. It worked out great because now I have an interview with your company."

Anonymous User · Answer

"There was a colleague in my BCP that recently had lost his brother. He used all the remaining annual and special leaves he had, in order to be close to his parents. After a month, he returned to the island but he was not the same person as before. In the first two days at work, I noticed that he was not focused and not in a mood to work. In that way, bad things can happen and put the performance of our team in danger. After having a private discussion with him, I realized that he needed more time to find himself again. Unfortunately, he had no more leave days left. So, after receiving approval from the rest of my colleagues, we offered to cover his shifts and I was even charging him with overtime. Eventually, thanks to the overtimes, I could release him from his duties officially for another two weeks. It was quite risky, but it worked well. I knew that I could rely on my team to get this done and help our colleague in that difficult period of his life."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I did not wait for backup staff to come and opened a dorm full of 16 prisoners with the minimum required officers during the night shift to attend to a medical emergency. If it was a setup, I might have lost the prison. As my decision is rash and risky but actually it was based on my rapport with the prisoners and their ability to adhere to the directions. More so, I was aware of medical history of the prisoner involved so I took the risk in order to save a life. When we entered, the prisoner was unconscious and not breathing thus provided CPR and used defibrillation, and helped the prisoner till medical assistance arrived."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Being in healthcare often times the decision I make will have a huge impact on the patients' health. One of the riskiest decisions I have made comes when I had to make a pretty significant medication change from one drug to another for a patient with seizures. This medication switch usually does not bode well with prescribers as they are nervous about residents getting a seizure. But given the medications that the patient was on and the potential for the severe adverse effects that may happen in the future. I pulled the trigger and initiated the switch request. The doctor was willing to give it a try, and we ended up successfully switching the patient from the old medicine to the new with much fewer side effect potentials and monitoring requirements."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I don’t typically take risks at my employers' expense but a risk I did take professionally was leaving the workforce to be home with my kids. While I do not regret a single day and I am excited about the unknown to re-enter a career."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Shortly after getting into a new management role, I began to see a pattern in my salespeople where they had too much to focus on. I restructured the sales geography, and coverage creating individual "champions" that focused on one specific business channel. This was risky because I was allocating significant resources to an unproven, never tested sales initiative. Three years later, the entire sales force adopted this method nationally."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Reporting theft from a team member to management. Fully knowing the impact it would have on my relationship with coworkers. Not being able to discuss the details of the event made the repair of those relationships a more difficult task. Through dedication and time, I was able to make most of those relations better."

Anonymous User · Answer

"A good example was in one of my reports whereby I changed the definition and the algorithm on how the formula should be defined. I assessed the situation by looking at before vs after. I highlighted the area where change has been made and how it affected the bottom line.
Whilst the change can be easy I did take some time to strategize how I can take this forward and get the necessary buy-in. I put up so many validation examples and tested the incremental benefits of the change. I arranged a meeting with one of the leadership managers whom I believed could make a sound decision on the choice I made. I explained the rationale and the need for change to him and explained the impact after the change. He was open-minded and challenged me in different aspects but it didn't stop me there as I found out those are important questions. After explained to him, he was satisfied and agreed with my proposal.
I didn't stop there. I then took it to the larger team who had a direct impact on the project and laid down the same and proposed my solutions. This time round I also laid down some of the considerations the Senior Leadership has provided me. The meeting went well and I got a good endorsement on the revised formula. To make it more established, I offered to rerun the last 5 years to gauge the full financial impact and also will be in touch with Finance to back realize those past benefits into this year. The stakeholders were happy with my decision and also the extra effort that I took to prove that the new method is indeed more making sense."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I delayed the release of a compression machine for production because I was not satisfied with the result of the review of the risk assessment. I was able to see that few risks were not given proper thoughts. It delayed the compression task by three days, but eventually, the site management team and the Quality head were very happy and satisfied that we were able to close the high-risk gaps."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I was offered a staff pharmacist position between two different stores with fluctuating hours when I first got licensed. It was a risky decision because I didn't know how long I would get stuck in that position so I decided to decline. Turns out the two stores got split once a Walgreens bought out RiteAid and the hours of that position got cut. I was happy with my decision in the end because I waited for a better opportunity which did come my way."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The riskiest decision I ever made was to move into the data analysis field, as a bioinformatician. The risk meant that if I were unsuccessful, I would be looking for a job in a saturated molecular biology field. The payoff would be that I would finally be in a sector in which I was truly interested. I made a great career for myself, which has brought me here today - with an exceptional opportunity in front of me."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I have not been in a position where I had to make a risky decision, but if I ever were in one, I would analyze all the possible outcomes and who the situation affects. In my last career, we had a specific protocol we followed most of the time. We did not make risky decisions that could put our patients in harm's way."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I asked a boss to allow me to work 1 day a week at another company as an intern. He could have let me go but he didn't and openly supported my goal to begin a career in that field."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I proposed having a shareholders' agreement to the director/shareholders and presented a draft to them. There were some governance clauses in the agreement that did not sit well with some shareholders.In hindsight, I risked my job. However, in the end, the agreement was signed, and there were improved governance and ethics at the shareholder level. That cascaded down to management, and it also contributed to the improved bottom line performance."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Leaving a secure job and moving on to a new job, taking the risk, not just for you but your family also."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I think the riskiest decision I've made is taking steps to broaden my specialty. I worked as an engineer, responsible for a part but I felt that I want it to see widely all over the process. I thought project managing work would be good for it. I discussed with my boss and got a job while keeping the engineering work. With this opportunity, I could meet a bunch of people who worked in each different region and learn how the whole process worked."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The riskiest decision I have ever made was not checking that the paint tin was in the paint shaker properly and when I turned it on paint went everywhere. I learned from what I did, and that was to make sure I double-checked the paint lid was correctly shut."

Anonymous User · Answer

"After being assigned to teach modified high school English, I decided to replace the expository text with text related to jobs and careers. From there, I decided to have them analyze online sources for pertinent job skills information, then use that information to complete mock job applications, resumes, and interview question sets. This decision led to the students with special needs being more prepared for their futures. I received an award from the district professional development office."

Anonymous User · Answer

"My team members had different working styles that were unusual because of the personality differences of the team members, but each worker recognized our overall team's differences, and everyone was able to pick up the slack; consequently, with all of the diverse working styles, every aspect of the job was covered and the overall team met its goal."

Anonymous User · Answer

"While living and working in Texas, my father passed away just as my business was gaining traction. I decided to move back to Florida to be closer to my mother and family, and I did so without a job. Through my network, I have been offered contracts to represent small companies and their medical devices as an independent distributor. I took the risk because of the family, but my experience has taught me just how valuable a strong network can be."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The riskiest decision I have made in the workplace was to take steps to leave a stable and comfortable work environment for one that will promote my own growth. Taking a new position means leaving one that is very sought after and means giving up my pension. Although my current role would be perfect for someone with a good deal of experience, I'm looking for a place to grow and develop professionally. As a result, I am happy to be here speaking with you about this opportunity."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The Operations role I help create was my riskiest decision because it ultimately was starting from ground zero with no direction except what I created as well as taking on more work. I needed to prove then that this was a need in the company and see results which ultimately did happen or the clinic which I found and opened up on my own and it's now doubled it's revenue since it's been opened."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The riskiest career decision I made was transitioning from being a staff RN where there were 2 to 3 other nurses there to being the clinical coordinator where I would take on not only a new role but also be the only RN at the clinic. It turned out to be a great move for me. It allowed me to grow and learn more about the company."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I was assigned a patient during my clinical that was dehydrated. He had flushed, dry skin, dry mucous membranes, urine output less than 30ml, urine was dark in color. It seemed to me like the patient was agitated also. I addressed my concerns to his nurse, who was clearly under pressure; she was assigned eight patients that day. She told me the patient was fine and basically that as a student, I did not know what I was talking about. My gut was telling me something wasn't right. I went to my clinical professor with my concern. She came to see my patient and agreed that he did need IV fluids. She pulled his nurse aside to tell her that he needs an IV. This was risky because if I were wrong about the patient, the nurse on the unit would probably have not wanted me to be assigned to any of her patients again. At post-conference, my professor praised me for my assessment skills."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I received a referral from one of my top accounts. This account needed a large number of pharmaceuticals very quickly; their current supplier was out of stock. This was our opportunity to get our foot in the door. Our credit department didn't want us to ship this many drugs because they did not have a chance to review the accounts' financials. I decided to ship on the word of the accountant to send a check for the amount the next day. I trusted them because they were a referral from a trusted account. The next day we got the check and won the accounts' future business. My manager recognized me at our next meeting for taking the initiative in such a large order."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The riskiest career decision I've made was to leave an established organization where I worked as an Account Receivable Specialist. I accepted an Accountant position overseas for an oil company, but most of my family and friends didn't approve of the decision. However, I knew having international work experience will enhance my career in the future, so I went with my gut feelings. Not only did I experience working with people from diverse backgrounds, but I was also able to be a real difference-maker in the organization and got a chance to sharpen up my Arabic language skills while there. That leap of faith has opened more opportunities in my career."

Anonymous User · Answer

"We had standard steps on how to clean the gym. I decided to clean the floor with a different technique, and my supervisor was so impressed they changed how they clean it now."

Anonymous User · Answer

"When I made the decision to change jobs from banking to pharmaceutical I faced the risk of leaving a very secure job for the unknown. However, I considered the benefits for myself and my family, and ultimately I was glad I made that decision."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The riskiest decision I have made was teaching early child care education. My boss requested that I take a few classes as a trainer when the current trainer went on emergency leave. Although I had experience working in childcare, I had no experience as a trainer. I decided to take the risk and took some classes. I now prepare my own lesson plans and get paid for it. Teaching in different fields has been a good experience."

Anonymous User · Answer

"An employee suddenly quit without notice, and we didn't have time to fill the position as carefully as we normally would. I needed to hire someone with minimal on-boarding time. I took on a new employee without a lot of background checks. I had to trust that they were honest in their abilities. Through the quick on-boarding process, it turned out they had the abilities they claimed."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The riskiest decision I ever made was moving into a telecommunications industry career. I had no experience in the field, and it was only mildly related to what I studied in college. If I couldn't do this job, then it meant I might have to move to a new state for work as there weren't any local jobs in my field. I made a great career out of it for the last 10 years, which provided me with this great opportunity today."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I am responsible for maintaining the MySQL database server of my group. Last year, one day I realized that the data I collected for the past six months was not available in the DB due to a disk failure. All the applications using the data stopped working. Luckily I had the data stored in a raw format in a text file. I had to load it to the database. However allowing query execution and the data ingestion at the same time, made the data load process very slow. I made the database offline so that applications can not query it. It took six hours to complete the data load process and made the server online. Once the DB server was back online all the applications started working successfully."

What is the riskiest decision you have ever made in the workplace?

How to Answer: What is the riskiest decision you have ever made in the workplace?

10. What is the riskiest decision you have ever made in the workplace?

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