How to Answer: Talk about a time when you led a training course that did not live up to your expectations. What did you learn from the situation?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Training Specialist job interview.
26. Talk about a time when you led a training course that did not live up to your expectations. What did you learn from the situation?
How to Answer
As a training specialist, there will be times when your training courses don't live up to the expectations of you or other stakeholders. This situation doesn't mean ultimate failure! If you focus on the lesson you learned, this situation becomes an important teaching moment that will help you to improve your future performance. Show the interviewer that you are the type to learn and grow from these experiences rather than become defensive or give up in the face of failure.
Talk about a training course or session that didn't live up to your expectations. Describe who you were training as well as the training topic. Next, share why you were disappointed with the outcome, what caused the disappointment, and most importantly, what you learned from the situation. Finally, share what you would do differently and how this professional lesson will benefit the hiring company when choosing you as their next training specialist.
When delivering a response to behavioral questions, try using the STAR answer method. STAR is an acronym for Situation, Task, Action, Result.
- Situation: Provide the contextual information the interviewer needs to know to make sense of your story.
- Task: Continuing to set the stage, give the interviewer an idea of your role and responsibilities in this story.
- Action: Next, offer a detailed description of the steps you took in this story.
- Result: Last, talk about the specific, measurable outcomes that resulted from your actions.
Written by Christine Pasqueretta
Focus Your Answer On
Start by being transparent that even experienced training professionals still have sessions that miss the mark sometimes. Share briefly an example training program that was well-intentioned but did not drive expected outcomes based on low engagement scores or minimal observed behavior change afterward.
However, the focus should be on the valuable lessons you learned about content relevance, delivery techniques, or types of reinforcement/support needed post-training. Discuss 2-3 improvements instituted for subsequent program iterations targeting areas the initial version fell short on.
Importantly, convey positivity and humility around not always getting training perfect on the first try - it's about listening to feedback with an open mind for continuous improvement. Demonstrate analyzing your personal development opportunities as a facilitator, designer, or strategist. Let your growth mindset around lifelong learning shine through.
The goal is exhibiting authenticity you hold yourself accountable to the same high standards expected of workshop participants afterward. Share key insights gained that now make you an even more skilled, self-aware, and responsive training practitioner able to design, deliver, and measure program impact at an even higher level based on reflecting on early missteps.
Written by William Rosser on February 23rd, 2024
1st Answer Example
"(Situation) My current company recently launched a new software program that came with an employee training course. (Task) As the training specialist, it was up to me to review the existing training course and decide if we needed to supplement the training with an additional workshop. (Action) I reviewed the training material and found that it was well-paced and covered a lot of material. I took the course on my own and overall felt good about the training. When it came time to deliver the software training, I received a lot of feedback that the review did not meet the learning needs of some of our associates. They found that the information was broad and did not include specific deep dives necessary for our team to understand the new program fully. The existing training also offered little multimedia and hands-on learning exercises important to some team members as visual learners. (Result) As soon as the constructive feedback came in, I switched gears and went to work reinventing the training to be more engaging and visual. I re-delivered the training the following week, and the feedback was much more positive the second time. I learned that I need to be more mindful of different learner types and, even though the material looks good to me, it might not be the right type of delivery for another person. Should I be hired as Company ABC's next training specialist, I will be sure to develop training sessions that keep every type of learner in mind."
Written by Christine Pasqueretta
2nd Answer Example
"Early in my career delivering customer service training, I designed a full-day workshop on dispute resolution techniques for call center representatives. Though I felt well-prepared with a variety of engaging roleplaying activities and case studies, post-session survey results showed a lower-than-expected impact on confidence levels for managing complex complaints.
In hindsight, I packed too much content into a single day without allowing space for sufficient reinforcement of each concept before building on it. Participants felt overwhelmed. Additionally, the high emphasis on simulated scenarios did not properly translate tools for applying lessons directly back on the job through closing action planning discussions.
From this experience, I learned the importance of scaffolding curriculum into multi-session formats allowing for concept digestion rather than content overload in an info dump format. I also changed the facilitation methodology to incorporate more repetition, skills practice opportunities over time, and peer accountability coaching.
The customer grievance de-escalation training is now a certification series with supplemental coaching and behavioral modeling. Since iterating based on initial design flaws and facilitation limitations I observed, satisfaction rates consistently average over 90% in preparing learners to navigate difficult interactions. This example shaped my participant-centric commitment to program excellence by acknowledging then addressing my development areas as an early training leader."
Written by William Rosser on February 23rd, 2024