What is the most valuable thing YOU have learned this year?

What is the most valuable thing YOU have learned this year?

 

The pandemic and lockdowns have been tough on all of us, but as with all things, something positive can always be taken from it.  Many of us will have talked about what we will do differently when going back to normal, whether it’s wasting less food, or spending more quality time with the loved ones that we have missed during lockdown, but what is the best way to answer if you are faced with this question in an interview?

 

Firstly you need to understand what it is they are actually asking:

 

‘Are you able to learn and grow in the face of adversity?’

 

This is a question about character and competency. So in order to answer this question you need to think about what you have learned over recent months that you can apply to the role.

 

Depending on the role you are interviewing for, will very much determine your answer to this 

question, but here are a few tips that may help you prepare.

 

First of all, you need to think of some of the challenges that you have faced professionally.  Write down a few examples of areas you have improved on or situations that you have learned from.  Perhaps a change that you have had to adapt to, for example remote working. Think of situations where you have had to be flexible and resilient.

 

Once you have a few ideas on paper, come up with some detailed examples of how you handled these situations.  Maybe you have undertaken additional training to learn a new skill, or you have researched and developed processes to ensure that a mistake that you’ve made doesn’t happen again.  Whatever example you use it’s important that you are able to give details to explain how you overcame the challenges and the results.

 

Now all you need to do is put everything together. Remember to include details of the situation itself, the way you adapted to overcome this challenge and finally how the outcome has had a positive effect for you in your role. Perhaps your team has been more productive as a result of some changes you have implemented, or maybe your new working practices have enabled you to prioritise your workload better, but make sure you finish with a positive. 

 

We have all had many mountains to climb over the last 18 months, but don’t forget how much we have learned from it.