Tell me about a time when you went out of your way to help someone.
"I spent this summer volunteering clean up for the city parks. I had a woman come up to me, distraught because her dog ran away. I dropped what I was doing, and helped her search for her pet. Luckily, we found him about 10 minutes into our search. She was thankful, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to help a stranger."
"This year I volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters. The young girl assigned to me was having some difficulties at home and did not know how to talk to her mom about them. We talked our way through the scenario, and I helped her brainstorm a variety of ways to bring the situation up to her mother. I love volunteering with this organization and plan to continue my involvement for years to come."
"During my internship, I was stationed with the Director of Marketing for a local digital advertising agency. I noticed one day that the receptionist was very overwhelmed, due to an influx of calls coming in from a very effective ad campaign. I jumped in and helped her by answering the other line. It was a good experience for me and showed my team that I was willing to get out of my comfort zone and be a team player."
"I worked for my parents' business this past month because they were short staffed. I did not ask for any compensation - I simply wanted to help them out for a bit because that is what family does. I believe it's essential to help people without any expectations in return."
"In school this year I noticed one of my classmates sincerely struggling with one of our modules on e-commerce. I asked her if she was interested in some additional tutoring because this is an area of strength for me. She agreed, and for four weeks we met every Tuesday and Thursday, going over concepts and case studies. She passed the class and was very thankful for my assistance. It felt great to coach someone and, at the same time, my knowledge strengthened."
"I recently signed up to be a young adult mentor in my church. This initiative is a new mentorship program my church community is putting together. I am still waiting for my mentorship match, but it will be a teenage girl who has asked for a reliable mentor. I am thrilled to get started with this effort. I want to mold people's lives positively, as both a teacher and a stand-up member of the community."
The interviewer would like to see that you have a natural inclination to help people. If it is too hard for you to think of an example off the top of your head, this may be a red flag to the interviewer that you are not a team player. Mention a time as recent as possible, and remain brief. Discuss the situation, what you did to help, and what the result was. Keep your example professional and related to work, volunteer, school, or athletics.
"Our basketball team made regionals this year, and we were playing our final game when my opponent tripped on the court and sprained her ankle. I was the only one to notice right away, so I helped her to get up, and to the sidelines. My coach was impressed that I was so aware, and willing to help someone from the opposite team. It felt nice to be kind and do the right thing."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
When I was working on my group project, I was with one of my group-mates who was having trouble finishing her part of the task. I figured that it was something I knew how to do, so I helped her to solve the problem and finish her part.
Rachelle's Feedback
You are starting to form a good story-based example for this situational style interview question. I recommend using the STAR answer method to create a fuller, more detailed, and informative story:
Situation: The background information an interviewer needs to make sense of your story.
Task: Continuing to set the stage, you then give the interviewer an idea of your role and responsibilities in this specific story.
Action: Next, you offer a detailed description of the steps you took to tackle the situation.
Result: Last, you talk about the specific achievements and outcomes that resulted from your actions.
Anonymous Answer
In the Hindu society, we held weekly religious events called aartis, Committee members were expected to attend every week. Some members did not, what I did was reach out to them to see how university life was going, as many things outside of university could cause the absence. They were not handling the responsibilities of their positions well, I offered to support their roles and they quickly began attending again.
Cindy's Feedback
Good. This is a good example of initiative and mentorship and translates well into a work setting.
Anonymous Answer
In my last internship, there was a new intern who joined our group 1 month later than me. And he has some trouble with setting up the coding environment and he asked me for help.
Marcie's Feedback
It's great that you helped a fellow intern. This shows that you're compassionate and have a helpful nature, which the interviewer will appreciate. What kind of trouble did he encounter and how exactly did you help him? Did you end up resolving the issue for him? The more details you can give, the stronger your answer will be! Also, consider using the STAR method to answer this kind of question so your response is logical and structured. Great job!
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