How often do you give yourself challenges outside of your comfort zone?

Question

Rachelle Enns · Accepted Answer

"I welcome new challenges, whether they come from me or my employer. The last time I gave myself a challenge outside of my comfort zone was when I committed to doubling my cold calls for an entire month. I wanted to see how the increase in activity could boost my sales numbers. So, rather than making 50 cold calls per week, I made 100 calls, for a total of 400 for the month. My sales numbers nearly doubled, which I found exciting and rewarding. Although this increase meant that I worked late a few days and came into the office early on others, the reward was well worth the sacrifice in the end."

Rachelle Enns · Answer

The interviewer wants to understand how eager you are to grow in your career and gauge your willingness to go outside of your comfort zone to reach new heights. The goal of your response is to show the interviewer that you have ambition and a desire to try new approaches to achieve success in the workplace.

Rachelle Enns · Answer

Avoid answering in a way that makes it sound like you are idle in your professional growth. When we remain overly content with our tasks, our work-life can begin to feel mundane over time. In those instances, it's easy to start feeling unfulfilled. Instead of focusing on the lack of challenges in your current role, show that you are proactive by describing how you actively search for new and exciting challenges.

Rachelle Enns · Answer

Employees who commonly face new challenges in the workplace tend to be happier and stay in their jobs longer. Think about the last time you performed a task outside of your comfort zone. Perhaps you helped a coworker reach a deadline, but the initiative required you to learn a new skill. Maybe you volunteered to lead a project when you typically do not take on a team lead position. Whatever your example is, show enthusiasm for growth within your company.

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"Bravely facing challenges is the fastest way to grow in the workplace, so, although it can be uncomfortable at times, I believe that it's always a rewarding move. I recently volunteered to take on a client most of my coworkers find difficult to please. I decided to do this because I knew it would allow me to learn more about overcoming objections and creating meaningful rapport through solution-based approaches. So far, I was right! I have learned a lot about myself in the process and have grown my critical thinking and problem-solving skills exponentially."

Anonymous User · Answer

"The last challenge I gave myself outside my comfort zone was to obtain my Solidworks software accreditation. I wanted the challenge of increasing my knowledge of the software, which would boost my work productivity. I exceeded my expectations and completed the accreditation exams in 6 weeks. Although this meant working late many days, the reward was well worth the sacrifice."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Quite often. Each day brings new challenges, and I am there to be a resource."

Anonymous User · Answer

"As often as possible. I am a change agent and always jump at the next opportunity to learn something new, be challenged, and grow my knowledge and skills."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I think challenging yourself is an important part of life and self-development.

I spend time weekly with self-reflection, asking tough questions; how has the day and week been? Where could I have been better, more thorough? Where could I have gone the extra mile?

Helping out a teammate is a way I like to add dimension. Asking them questions to help them get where they need to be. I enjoy seeing the light come on for them."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Always, I feel that if I'm always in my comfort zone, I'm not growing professionally or personally. I made a career change from a clinical background to a sales career, and this was one of my biggest steps out of my comfort zone and proving I could do something that I was initially uncomfortable with and felt that I would not be able to achieve. When I proved to myself, I could achieve this; it gave me a great sense of accomplishment."

Anonymous User · Answer

"As often as I can. I love a challenge as it literally is a task that I need to solve. I have come across many of my accounts that are competitor-led and where my predecessors have stated that they aren't "rep friendly". This hasn't phased me, there is a reason that customer feel that way and doesn't mean I am the cause, so I approach accounts offering value and support that I can deliver and has won me a business where it hasn't for my colleagues based on uncovering a particular need."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I welcome challenges. I approach them with enthusiasm.

I see a challenge as an opportunity for growth, an opportunity to gain experience as well as an opportunity to express my loyalty and my strong work ethic. My clinical coordinator had to put together 30 binders for site initiation visits. He was clearly concerned that he would not be able to get it done in time. I offered to take on this task for him knowing that I would have to commit my weekend in order to get them done on time. Each binder was approximately 500 pages. It was tedious work but I got it done."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I love challenges. Our COO visited our site once and had a plant overview. In our closing meeting, the COO expressed their happiness with the successful visit and appreciated the site for acquiring stage 3 operational excellence, and also commented that the site looked much better than some of the sites which already were in stage 5. They asked to push forward to qualify for stage 4 operational excellence in six months. As a leader, I accepted the challenge and we achieved stage 4 on time."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I regularly challenge myself with tasks outside of my comfort zone, as I believe this is the best way to grow and develop your skills, and also give yourself a chance to show what you can really do. I recently accepted a project taking on a new and challenging territory that has a history of being difficult. I was given 3 customer names and have had to start completely from scratch mapping out teams. Very challenging, but already making progress in building relationships in competitor areas."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I always welcome new challenges. They are the fastest way to grow in the workplace. While it can be uncomfortable, it is always rewarding. Recently, I volunteered to take on a new contract with a nursing home. While I knew it would be difficult, I decided to do it because it would allow me to learn about overcoming challenges. So far, I was right! I have learned a lot about myself in the process."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I challenge myself daily, it is very easy to settle into routines and let boredom slow you down so I have a game I play with myself where I set a timer for 15 minutes and accomplish as much as possible in that time. It's easy because 15 minutes is not daunting but you would be surprised how much you can get done in such a short period of time."

Anonymous User · Answer

"All the time, even though there may be some stress involved I like it. I moved to Indy to start a commissioned-based job, I started my own business a few times, and even learning and performing new tasks in my current venture can be scary but exciting. Am I bidding the job correctly, will I break something, or will I do a good job at the job they hired me to do compared to another guy who's done it longer..."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I welcome new challenges. Personal and professional growth are very important to me. I often will approach my boss and ask for additional opportunities that will provide experience needed to develop professionally. I am willing to take on responsibilities that fall outside of my normal job functions. Examples of this include managing supply chain, or reviewing HR documents."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I always welcome new challenges, I believe facing challenges head-on will help me grow. Recently, I volunteered to lead KPMG Audit findings for our SAP landscape when one of our senior resources left the company. Even though it fell under security and compliance area, I took it upon myself to deliver the audit results within time. This helped me widen my knowledge of the security audit space."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I challenge myself all the time, as I like the personal growth and it keeps me interested in what I am doing.
I only moved into education and training 5 years ago. After I had my first baby, I returned from maternity leave and felt like I wanted a new challenge. I had been taught microsurgery in a research/surgical capacity but never taught it myself. The opportunity arose to learn how to run and teach this course, and I jumped at the chance. I was very nervous but also excited. I'm glad I took on this challenge, as since then my teaching skills and public speaking and presentation skills have also improved. All of these skills I have acquired from joining the education and training team."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I always welcome new challenges and enjoy pushing outside of my comfort zone. Over the past month, I have challenged myself to demo a new product for my customers each day. My goal was to strengthen my presentation skills. This has led to further strengthening rapport with my customer base and an increase in sales."

How often do you give yourself challenges outside of your comfort zone?

How to Answer: How often do you give yourself challenges outside of your comfort zone?

24. How often do you give yourself challenges outside of your comfort zone?

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