Tell me about a difficult decision you had to make in one of your previous roles.

When answering this question, choose a situation in which you made a decision involving a personal sacrifice or two equally undesirable outcomes. Explain the choice you made, your rationale, and the outcome. Then briefly discuss what, if anything, you would have done differently based on the outcome.

"During a recent downturn in business, I was required to reduce my staff. Every team member was well qualified and valuable to the organization, so choosing who to let go was difficult. After much consideration, I decided to dismiss one of the more experienced workers, knowing that they could easily find another job within the industry with my recommendation. This allowed me to develop one of the junior staffers, increasing their skills and making them more valuable to the organization. I would make the same decision if presented with this situation again."