Interview Questions About Challenges as a Student

Interview Questions About Challenges as a StudentInterview Questions About Challenges as a StudentWhen you are applying for an entry-level position, a typical job interview question asks about your biggest obstacles. This question is a way for interviewers to get a sense of how you tackle problems and adversity. More important than the challenge is how you handled it Use this as an opportunity to highlight strengths that would be helpful on the job, such as persistence, communication skills, time management abilities, etc. Be Honest Its tempting to toss back a humble-brag as a response, e.g. My biggest challenge was that Im such a perfectionist Dont do this. Everyone has flaws and areas for improvement. By pretending you dont, youd force the hiring manager to assume that youre either lying or not self-aware. Neither makes a good impression. Focus on Challenges Youve Conquered By the same token, now is not the time to present yourself in an unflattering light. Theres no need t o share challenges youre still actively trying to resolve. For instance, if you currently have trouble keeping your cool in stressful situations, dont tell the hiring manager that you tend to freak out when the pressure is high. Instead, look for examples that show how you faced a challenge and overcame it. (So, if you used to feel stressed out before presentations, talk about how you solved the problem by taking a public speaking course and creating a schedule that allowed you to prepare ahead of time.) Look for Opportunities to Show That Youre the Best Person for the Job When answering this or any job interview questions, your goal is to show the hiring manager that youre the best candidate for the position. That means matching your qualifications to the job and using your answers to show that youd be a good fit. For example, if the job listing specifies someone with good time management skills, you might talk about how you developed a ordnungsprinzip to help you juggle a chal lenging course load and a part-time job. Practice Your Answers Its a good idea to have a couple of answers in mind, in case the interviewer nixes your first reply, or the interview goes in a direction you dont anticipate. Regardless, you should devote some time to practice interviews before you meet with the hiring manager. Ask a supportive friend to conduct mock interviews with you, to get a feel for how to answer questions effectively and organically and change tracks when necessary. Examples of the Best Answers Here are sample interview answers that you can edit to fit your personal experiences and background My biggest challenge as a student was being the student Sitting through the conventional lectures was sometimes difficult. My mind and body were always going and I couldnt wait to get out of my seat, move around, share my thoughts, and interact with my peers. I handled it by focusing all my energy into my listening and note taking. It helped keep my mind busy and my body moving, and I also left with some great notes. During my freshman year is when I faced my biggest challenge as a student. I had never lived away from home before, and I experienced severe homesickness. I was almost defeated by it, and had the opportunity to go home and attend a local college. I decided to try to overcome my homesickness, which I did. Acquiring successful time management skills was the biggest challenge I faced as a student. It was an aspect to college life that I underestimated the significance of. Now that I am in the workforce, I continue to use the skills I gained, and I am always trying to improve on them as well. One of my biggest challenges my first year in college was the volume of work. It was a big change from high school, and standards were also much higher I tackled this in a few different ways I looked for opportunities to start or join study groups, met with my professors for advice on where to focus my attention, and set up a structured schedule to make sure I was putting in the required time studying.