What was the most difficult decision you have had to make?

Question

Christine Pasqueretta · Accepted Answer

"(Situation) The most difficult decision that I have had to make was changing my major from Accounting to International Business. (Task) I was a second-year student and knew that the decision would set me back as far as graduation. (Action) However, after weighing the pros and cons, I knew that this added time was well worth the overall reward, (Result) I am so happy that I chose this path because I have built a very lucrative career."

Christine Pasqueretta · Answer

The interviewer wants to know how you weigh your options when facing a difficult decision. The goal of your response is to showcase your strong critical thinking and decision-making skills.

Rachelle Enns · Answer

Use an example relevant to your work, such as changing majors in university, quitting a job that wasn't healthy for you, selling your business and re-entering the traditional workforce, relocating to a new city for better opportunities, or even starting a new professional venture. Be sure to highlight how you approached the decision and take the interviewer through your critical thinking and decision-making process. You should also include details of how your decision worked out for the best. At the end of your response, remember to connect your critical thinking skills and how they will benefit the hiring company, should you be the successful candidate.

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

One common mistake that interviewees make is to give a highly personal response. This question is not the time to talk about the hardest personal decision you've ever had to make. Be sure to keep your answer career-focused and related to the job opportunity.

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"(Situation) The biggest decision I have ever made was to quit my last job and move to Denver. (Task) I have a lot of friends in Denver, which made a choice a bit easier, but leaving my hometown to explore other opportunities was certainly a major decision in my life. (Action) I decided, despite my fears, to move forward and make the location change. I actively looked for a new job opportunity and leveraged my existing network to make valuable new connections. (Result) Today, I have zero regrets, as I love this city. It's my home for good!"

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"(Situation) In 2016, I earned acceptance into my top two universities, which I did not expect. (Task) I was a strong student and was thrilled to have options; however, I underestimated how difficult the decision would be. (Action) I weighed the pros and cons, including location, reputation, my major, past alumni, and more. I also made an Excel spreadsheet and pie chart to help me make the decision based on data and analysis. (Result) Thankfully, I made the right choice in the end and flourished at U of ABC!"

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"(Situation) Choosing my major was one of the toughest career decisions I have made. (Task) I was on the fence between B2B Marketing and Consumer Behavior. (Action) After some contemplation as well as interviewing alumni and existing students, I chose B2B Marketing as my major. (Result) Today, I am thankful that I made that choice. B2B strategies are changing fast, and I love to learn new ways to position my clients in this incredibly competitive marketplace."

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"(Situation) Last year I chose to stop working for my parents at their print shop. (Task) I wanted a more fashion-oriented job since clothing has always been my passion. (Action) I mustered up the courage to give my notice, and I helped them to find a replacement before leaving. It was a tough conversation because I wanted to tell them about my dreams without offending them at the same time. (Result) This decision has improved our relationship, and I am thrilled that I chose to put myself and career desires first."

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"(Situation) The most difficult decision I have had to make was to let go of the business I started and get back into the regular workforce. (Task) The business did well, but my partner and I had differing ideas about where to take the company. (Action) He offered to buy me out, and I accepted. (Result) I love being in software sales now and don't regret the choice I made. It was one of the most challenging choices of my career but well worth the initial hardship."

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"(Situation) Initially, I started my education training with a focus on being a high school math teacher. One year in, I decided to switch to an Elementary focus. (Task) I knew there were more job opportunities for male teachers in elementary, and my focus was to make myself highly employable. (Action) I made the change, moved around some classes, and lost some credit, but I also gained wisdom. (Result) I am still very pleased with the decision that I made, as I have never had trouble finding work in the elementary realm."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision I had to make was to turn down a job with the company that my father works at. I tested and interviewed extremely well. I was offered the job and knew that it would make my father extremely proud to work with him. It was a good job opportunity with great pay and benefits, but I didn't want to put my education on hold as I knew I wouldn't be able to do both. I chose to continue my education which put me on the path to a better career that has made me happier."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision that I have had to make was changing careers and considering a Master's in Project Management and Business Analysis. I had five years of experienced in my career, and I was aware of the pros and cons of quitting a well-paid job to go back to school. I knew that the investment of time was well worth the overall reward. I am so happy that I chose this path because I have built a very lucrative career and am here in the US interviewing for an outstanding company."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult, and greatest decision I ever made was to change my major from sociology to nursing while I was a semester away from graduation. I came to the USA when I was one semester away from graduation with a Sociology degree. However, after my experience with nurses during labor and delivery here in the US, I knew that nursing was the way that I could give back. I couldn't have chosen any better career."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Moving from a previous big company to a small companybecause of the project."

Anonymous User · Answer

"(Situation) In academia, it is very important to show mobility and to gain international research experience. (Task) In 2018, I received a grant for a research visit as a post-doctoral researcher for two years abroad. The location decision on where to spend these two years was a very tough one since there are many top universities in Europe and in the US. (Action) In order to be able to make an informed decision, I first selected the universities with the largest overlap in my research agenda at that time. Then, I further selected those locations where my husband would be able to work as well. In the end, there were two locations in Europe and one in the US that fitted the best. (Result) I decided on the US location. Although this location was very far away from family and friends, I felt that the fit of my research topics at this university is almost perfect, and it was also possible for my husband to join. It was the right decision. I learned so much from the researchers there, developed many new skills, and expanded my network. Needless to say, that the experience of living in another continent was very valuable and informative in many ways.""

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision I had to make was leaving the last company I worked at. I had a lot of customers that were dependent on me and they had become like family to me. I still keep in contact with a lot of the customers that I once helped with that company and I trained my replacement to help them the way I did. He always knew he could call me if he ran into an issue that he needed assistance with."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I think the most difficult decision I had to make was leaving my job where I was a Social Media Student Assistant. I had been working there for two years, needed to do internships for school credit, found that I wasn't growing in a way that I wanted to, and I lacked certain tools that I would need access to if I were to successfully take on these kinds of roles in my career path. It was a risk to leave somewhere I had stability and had made so many friends, but in the end, I was able to complete two additional internships that led me to where I am today and experience the exposure to working in a fast-paced tech environment, which is something I love.

I'm someone that craves growth, and I want to grow with my position. I'm happy to have taken that risk in my career and for myself."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision I had to make was moving several states away for a job after just learning that a family member had a terminal illness. Although I had the love and support of my family, it never felt right to be so far away, no matter how satisfying my career was. I've since returned to my home state to be near my family, and the experience has taught me what's most important in my life."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I worked for a national news agency for four years overseas and based on my efforts and experience, they decided to post me to New York City to be a field reporter. I worked there for nearly two years and loved every minute of it, but when the posting ended and I returned to my post overseas, I needed to make a choice. The management had given a huge boost to my career by sending me to the United States, but coming back, I quickly found that my progress was faltering. I was deeply invested in the agency, but when an exciting opportunity in the form of a new challenge presented itself, I took it. I pursued a different career path, and it paid off in the long run."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision I've had to make was when I left my hometown to pursue the job that I currently hold. I have a lot of friends and family nearby and it was difficult for me to pack up and go to a new city to pursue my career. But in hindsight, it was the best decision I've made so far."

Anonymous User · Answer

"About a year and a half ago I started getting intense pain in my right shoulder. As the weeks went by the pain damaged the nerve on my right hand causing me to not be able to lift or feel anything. I ended up seeing a surgeon after an MRI and he discovered all my discs on my neck were resting on each other and they were not functional. I was given two options to deal with the pain and take continuous steroids or had metal plates installed for four discs but there was a slim chance I could not turn completely. I took the chance and did the surgery with intention of being able to use my right hand again. Thankfully everything went perfectly and I recovered with no complications."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision I had to make was choosing to leave this job as an intern. At that time, I felt very overwhelmed with my sister in the hospital, two jobs, and a year of rotations ahead of me. It was a tough decision because I had no idea what I wanted to do with my career and retail pharmacy is what I was more comfortable with. The last three years have given me time to emotionally heal from a personal loss, achieve my goals in retail pharmacy, and finally decide that I want to work in a hospital setting based on my experiences in rotations."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Having the need to lay off a very competent architect in the Greater China region. The business was just not there for the role to be there, I am proud that I am still in touch socially with that person, a testament to the good-natured result of the unfortunate action I had to take, as I clearly justified the reasons for the action, I attempted very seriously to keep him in another role, but he is eventually better off as he could cut the strings and move to a much more desirable geography he desired for himself."

Anonymous User · Answer

"¢	S: When I was the social secretary for a school society, I oversaw the subcommittee made up of 7 fresher's whose purpose was to run events for freshers. "¢	T: They were told they would be able to deliver a final end-of-year event. Unfortunately, the committee went over budget, which was a problem since we had the responsibility to leave funds for the next committee. "¢	A: We decided that the event could not go forward. I understood that they would be upset and even angry. I conveyed the situation and what the immediate effects would be. "¢	T: I answered all their questions with as much detail as I could and also focused on the positive which was that they could run events for the actual committee next year."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Leaving California to start a teaching career was the most difficult decision for me - I was working at a silversmith's shop in Berkeley and was interested in potentially taking over that business. But when the opportunity came to be a sabbatical replacement in Oxford OH, I decided to take that position. While I was nervous about that decision, it led to my full-time position at ______, which has been a delight."

Anonymous User · Answer

"(Situation) The biggest decision I have ever made was to quit my last job in the industry and move to the US for pursuing higher studies. (Task) I have a lot of friends in the US, which made a choice a bit easier, but leaving my hometown to explore other opportunities was certainly a major decision in my life. (Action) I decided, despite my fears, to move forward and make the location and career change. I worked very hard in grad school to learn new things and leveraged my existing network to meet with valuable colleagues during this journey. (Result) Today, I have zero regrets, as I love being a researcher and contribute towards complex problems that I never thought of solving before"."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision I have had to make is going overseas for higher education. I know that it would be hard for me to work and study together in an unknown country. But after weighing advantages and disadvantages. I am so happy that I choose to study overseas now I have a lucrative career."

Anonymous User · Answer

"My most difficult decision was in University, I was torn between staying in Engineering (that I didn't enjoy much but this major had promising job opportunities) and switching to Business. I asked Business students for more information and the major and gathered enough positive information to make a decision. I switched to Business and I am very thankful that I made this move as I discovered my passion for Marketing."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Soon after graduating college my fiancé and I decided that we were going to relocate from the Midwest to New York City. We had family that we could stay with for a while in NY but that was the extent of our support structure. My first job out of college was for a national company and I was doing well but I gave notice, we packed and got ready to leave. The night before we were leaving my former boss called me and told me he spoke to his counterpart in NYC and that I had an interview next week... basically a formality. We moved, I immediately went back to work and we've never looked back."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision I had to take has been to relocate to Dublin again, as the job market in Barcelona was not that good. After I lost my job, I sent a few CVs out, but I didn't get any interviews and, after a couple of months trying without any luck, I decided to back to Dublin, as there was more jobs in the market and the most of my experience had been built here. Even with the pandemic situation, I am starting to get interviews and hopefully will get a job within a month."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision I had to make was when I got to college, I wanted to be a nurse then I applied for the school of nursing as my first option but I wasn't admitted. I then applied for accounting and nursing the following year, I got admitted on both of them but when I get admission for nursing I have already started a class for my accounting, I decided to continue with accounting and I am doing well in my career."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision I had to make was quitting my QA role in 2010. I realized that I did not enjoy QA work at all. I had started learning web development and design on the side. I took a leap of faith and quit. I decided to study and learn to code websites. I landed my first FE engineer role at a prestigious company 1.5 years later. I believe this single decision has made me happier. I believe one needs to find work that they are passionate about and that fortunately happened for me."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Moving to the USA is the most difficult decision I have had to make. My husband and I relocated here many years ago. At that time, I do not know anyone in this country and I could not work for at least a year until I have my paperwork in order. I spent my waiting time taking some online classes to keep my skills updated. Today, things are easier for me. I adjusted to a new culture, got a job, and made new friends."

Anonymous User · Answer

"While working in _______ Police Department there was a colleague with clear signs of bad behavior. He was quite aggressive both with citizens and colleagues. He was never on time and once, while on duty he took out his gun from the holster without any reason to do so. Initially, I tried to talk to him and figure out what was his problem. He seemed not interested to explain anything to me. For the safety of me and my colleagues, I made a report asking my superior to arrange a psychological assessment for that colleague. The result was that initially he was not allowed to carry his gun and was asked to perform administrative related tasks. Later on, the committee assessed that he was not suitable to work as a police officer. It was a difficult decision to take, knowing that there was a chance for that colleague to lose his job. But in my opinion, it was the right thing to do for the common good."

Anonymous User · Answer

"My most difficult decision was switching my major from management engineering to math. I realized man eng was not my personality - I was not a business person. However, I was more analytical and focused more on programming so I knew math was a better major for me, not to mention it was more flexible and cost-effective. In the end, I switched to math even though it held back my graduation, I was happier and fulfilled studying what I actually loved."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I knew that my department at the hospital was going to be phased out and I had to make the difficult decision to leave. I loved that job because it combined my clinical background with quality and process. I believe I have found my way back to it with the CRA role."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision I've made is to work aboard. I got a dream offer in Japan and due to visa reasons, I had to go alone without families. Finally, I decided to take the offer. I overcome a lot of difficulties working abroad, from cultural to language barriers. I used video calls to contact my family. I also learned and contributed a lot in the job because I could be very concentrated. I got a promotion in only a year. It was a tough but great decision for me."

Anonymous User · Answer

"My most difficult was leaving my previous job. I worked as a paraprofessional for pre k students. I thought it was what I wanted to do. But it isn’t. So I decided to go back to an office job."

Anonymous User · Answer

"(Situation) a difficult decision I made was to leave the workforce at 40 to stay home with my newborns. (Tactic) I hadn’t ever planned on staying at home and I was very conflicted. (Action) I decided to return to work for six months before I made a decision (result) I realized at that time I was not giving 100% to anyone. I was giving 50/50 and I was exhausted. I decided to leave my job until I felt I could better balance everything. And I can say I am 100% ready!"

Anonymous User · Answer

"I had to make a tough decision to leave a company I enjoyed working in, where I built good relationships with both internal and external co-workers. It was a tough choice because I wanted to move into a role that was more challenging with higher compensation. I had no idea if I would like the culture at the new company and starting over is always a challenge but I am resilient to changes."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most significant decision I have ever made was to follow my husband's will to move to the US. During the last few weeks, I came across different people in the service industry; I'm so impressed and grateful for their spirit of generosity and serving."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I had the opportunity to choose between two colleges. I weighed my pros and cons, including reputation, quality of the university, the possibility to improve my language skills, and more. I have always loved data analysis, so I made an Excel spreadsheet and pie chart to help me make the decision. Thankfully, I made the right choice in the end!"

Anonymous User · Answer

"A few years ago, during a weekend when I wasn't working we had an incident were the wrong prescription was sold to the wrong patient. I found out about it on Monday morning from my staff pharmacist, and I called the patient who received the other patient's drug. I spoke to her and collected information and the drug and went ahead and document the incident.I then filled out an incident report for accidental disclosure and documented what happened. About 2 days later I received an email from my DM about how this was the second accidental disclosure within a few months. The DM wanted to know what happened in both cases and I discovered from the sales transaction in the computer system that the same technician was involved in both disclosures. I then received a phone call from the Vice President of Pharmacy, and he told me that this could not continue since these disclosures can lead to troubles with OCR. He told me that I would need to partner with HR for progressive disciplinary action. He told me that he would be watching this closely and that he expected there to be no further HIPPA disclosures from the pharmacy. I partnered with HR and asked the store manager to assist me as a witness in providing a written warning. I told the technician that the continued accidental disclosures would no longer be tolerated and that she needed to double check name, date of birth and address for every receipt for every prescription bottle sold since HIPPA violation was considered a serious breach, and that any further disclosures could result in further disciplinary action including termination. The technician, although she was upset, was much more careful in selling prescriptions, and I did not have any further incidents of accidental disclosures from her or the team while I was the pharmacy manager."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I was torn between pursuing a Global MBA and LLM in International Business. I weighed both options and decided to master my field first before venturing into the business field. I believe I made the right choice however, I will still pursue the course after I finish my papers in company secretarial."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision that I have had to make was to let a coworker go. He was a good friend who supported me in the field but was continuously coming in late and was a bad example to others by being on his cell phone. I counseled him a few times on his actions. He would change for about a week, and then he was back to getting on his cell phone or coming in late occasionally. He had been written up so many times, so when management came to me to see what I thought, I did the responsible thing and said we had to release him. He was affecting productivity in the shop "” what a hard thing to do, to release a friend."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision I had to make was whether to leave my last job. I was pregnant and in nursing school. My client was a stroke patient who had complete left paralysis. It meant there was a lot of heavy lifting involved; I knew this would not be safe in my condition. I ended up leaving the job but made sure to visit every other Sunday until he passed away."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The hardest decision I have had to make was leaving the pharmaceutical industry as I was very successful and joining a new start-up business in medical sales. I made this decision because my dream has always been to get into medical sales, and I figured this was an excellent opportunity to get my foot in the door. It was a hard but successful transition because not only have I been getting the experience I desired, but I am growing the business in my territory rapidly."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision I made was when I moved to a new country and left my home country, a loving family, and a well-established career. The country where I was moving to is a dream country for everyone because of quality living standards. Still, I was aware of the challenges that I have to face socioeconomically, sorting new friends, adopting the new culture, language, and obtaining the same career I had before were not easy."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision that I have had to make was taking Engineering over Pharmacy. As my whole family has a background in pharmacy, and they wanted me to continue in the same field, but I liked Physics more than chemistry in high school."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision was to let go of the employees when the company had a very limited budget."

Anonymous User · Answer

"We discovered one of our clients was not happy with the duration of creating a BP. I have decided to change the way of blueprint creation and using another technology. We developed an API integration for this technology. It turned out well since our qualitative and quantitative feedbacks was improved."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision I had to make was leaving the last company I worked at. Being with the company for 20 years, I became a subject matter expert in quite a number of processes,. I had helped so many customers with production issues and helped in mentoring team members, including offshore employees. They knew they could call me any time if they ran into an issue and needed assistance."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Recently, I resigned from my role as a recovery specialist which I've been in since May 2018. I'd been working two job rotations and after working 14 straight days at one job, I was constantly feeling overwhelmed and unable to give 100%. I realized that the job didn't fit with my career goals. Resigning would help me focus on my online classes. These are some of the things that led me to resign."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I had a really difficult time trying to figure out what to do with my law degree and spent most of law school exploring different options but never resolving the issue. Through persistent research and many sleepless nights spent in self-contemplation, I finally discovered that government contract work, in particular, within the aerospace and defense industry, is what I wanted to focus my career on. The prospect of playing a crucial role in the process that outfits America and her allies with the means to protect our way of life, for example, motivates me and I can't wait to begin."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I made the decision to leave my job as a teacher to work in a corporate world. It was very hard for me because I was scared. I was scared because I was leaving my comfort zone. I'm glad that I made the decision because I was able to gain more perspective in life, meet new people that are now my best friends, and become more adaptable to change. This decision always reminds me that everything will simply work out."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The hardest decision I've had to made was deciding whether or not to do a double degree and study analytics along with finance or finance alone. By taking up analytics, I would get real-world experience working with data, something very important for finance professionals in the real world. However, by doing a double degree, I would be spending an extra year at university, and it would be a lot more costly. I weighed up the pros and cons of each and really asked myself what I wanted to get out of university. I realised I was going there to make myself more employable, and the extra cost was worth it as undertaking analytics would give me real-world experience that I wouldn't get with just finance. Overall, I think deciding to do analytics has been a great decision as to its really given me a leg up on my peers."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision I had to make was to leave my position as a pharmacy manager and, ultimately, my traditional role as a pharmacist. Looking toward the future, I want to work for a company that shares my beliefs, goals and will create a positive work environment that encourages growth. I am excited to use all the skills I have acquired over the many years in pharmacy to start a career in a different area of healthcare where I can still be apart of improving health."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The most difficult decision I had to make was not returning home to work with my mom in an independent pharmacy. I had to make this difficult decision because I always wanted to work as a clinical pharmacist, and I knew I had to advance my career."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I decided to move into a Solutions Architect role. I began my a developer and had multiple roles throughout my career. Due to organizational need, I was required to shift from a delivery role to an architecture role. This was a big and difficult decision since it was a complete shift away from what I was doing. This was a hard decision, but it has been empowering and helped me to learn more."

Anonymous User · Answer

"One of the hardest decisions that I ever had to make was when we lost my uncle to suicide, and I decided to go back to school the day after we found out. I was mourning my uncle, but I knew that it would do me no good staying home and being away from school. Many family members were telling me that it was okay to take time off and take the semester off. At the end of the day, I decided that I needed to go back to school and make my uncle proud."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Situation: My most difficult decision was to choose between the majors of math or biology. Task: I knew that there were more opportunities for a math student, but my focus was to become a biologist. Action: I weighed the pros and cons of biology and future prospects. Result: Today, I am happy that I have taken that decision and stand as a successful scientist."

What was the most difficult decision you have had to make?

How to Answer: What was the most difficult decision you have had to make?

21. What was the most difficult decision you have had to make?

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