"I like thinking outside the box. I was once tasked with better tracking our inventory to make sure small parts, like nuts and bolts, were ordered on time and not too early causing a surplus. I spent time counting how many screws were in a full bin vs. avg how many we used per day. I then took a piece of red electrical tape and made a line on the bin that would give us a rough estimate of a week's worth of screws left, enough time to order and receive some more. A simple and free solution."

"Our sales organization was struggling with the buyers and salespeople. We were supposed to be working collaboratively, but it became a finger pointing battle when a deal would fall apart. I suggested that, instead of having the buyers and salespeople report to different bosses and essentially working against one another, we switch it up to force collaboration. We reorganized the sales teams, so there were pods where a salesperson worked with two buyers, and they were a team. They became experts on the same customers, and their financial targets were tied. Very quickly the attitude shifted in the office, and people were teaching each other and learning from one another rather than pointing and placing blame."

"I have a student mainstreamed for only Spanish and no other specials. He doesn't have an aide for it, either, and while he's very good at language, following all classroom instructions isn't easy for him without one on one instruction. So rather than let him flounder, I made him my assistant. I was able to give him one on one instruction, he got to be a special helper by passing out papers or organizing students, felt like a million bucks, and was super engaged in the lesson every single day."

"Black Friday, two years ago, my company at the time launched its new website. I noticed it was going rather haywire when people were trying to place orders, so rather than basking in the glory of a turkey leftover breakfast, I was on the phone with our backup provider in India getting the ordering issues sorted out. Since our website builder is in the US, they were off that day, but knowing that it was just another Friday evening in India, I was able to get the problem resolved and get our orders pushed through."

"Last week we were all systems down. A complete technical crash! In our office, we have all glass walls, so I made the recommendation that using dry erase markers, we turn our walls into a giant project management board. It worked well, and we ended up keeping the notes on the walls for an extra few days."

The interviewer wants to see that you are capable of creative solutions to everyday problems. Think of a time when you had a fantastic suggestion in the workplace. Employers love to hire candidates who are innovative, and able to implement their ideas. Focus more on your creative approach, rather than the problem itself.

"Our company canceled this year's annual holiday party due to budget cuts. Everyone was disappointed because it's a fun way to get to know your teammates on a different level. I decided to take my team out, on my dime, because it is a significant way to build engagement and excitement. They appreciated the gesture, and I was happy with how well they performed in the weeks to come."