IntermediateSITUATIONAL
Think about a time in your current or last position when you were given an ambiguous goal (for example, ‘improve this process’ or ‘fix this recurring issue’) without clear instructions. How did you structure your approach, what data or input did you gather from stakeholders, and how did you decide which concrete steps to take first?
Resume-Based
General

Sample Answer

In my last role, my director told me, “We need to clean up our onboarding process, it’s too messy,” and that was the entire brief. I started by defining what “messy” meant. I mapped the current workflow end‑to‑end, from signed offer to day 30, and pulled three months of data: time‑to-productivity, ticket volume, and drop‑off in training completion. I also ran 30‑minute interviews with 8 new hires, 3 hiring managers, and HR ops to understand pain points. The data was clear: new hires took 45 days to reach productivity targets, and 60% said they “weren’t sure what success looked like” in month one. I prioritized two things: a standardized onboarding checklist for managers and a role‑specific 30‑day success plan. We piloted this with one org (about 40 new hires per quarter) and cut time‑to-productivity by 22% within two quarters while reducing onboarding-related tickets by roughly 30%.

Keywords

Clarified a vague directive by mapping the current process and defining success metricsGathered both quantitative data (45 days to productivity, ticket volume) and qualitative input from new hires and managersPrioritized a small set of high-impact changes (checklists and 30-day plans)Measured impact with concrete improvements in time-to-productivity and ticket reduction
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