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aboutjob · Newbie Joined: 28 Sep 2006 Posts: 3 Career Advice: +0/-0

questions:
1. Was there any big problem ever happened in your life?
2. Why you think it was a big problem to you?
3. How do you solve the problem?
4. What is your big learning from it?

safri · Expert Joined: 20 Sep 2006 Posts: 213 Career Advice: +1/-1

Hi there!

These are questions that are destined to find out about your personality and capabilities you have to surpass difficult situations.

Take as example to quote in all questions a personal example. Take mine for example:

1. Yes, I was supposed to be a soccer player. I was nearly called to make the national team when I had an accident.

2. It was a big problem because it affected both my physical health and my moral integrity because it marked me deeply to lose my biggest dream.

3. The problem was solved medically and it remained up to me to get over it. It was hard but I became aware that there was no future for my soccer career so I started my studies in....computer science.

4. It doesn't matter what life hits you with as long as you pay it back to it in the smartest way possible.

Smile

) or something like that.

I hope it helps

aboutjob · Newbie Joined: 28 Sep 2006 Posts: 3 Career Advice: +0/-0

thanks for your reply, safri.

actually, i am a student approaching an end for my master's degree, and i rarely played any ball game in my life. Embarassed

the answer i gave the recruiter is that: the big problem in my life is passing an exam for a course which i have scarcely attended, then i used my methods and techniques and finally got through. and my "big learning" is: always know what resources you have and then make full use of them.

i know my anwser is not appropriate, but i can't find any better one. i don't remember if there is any "big problem" in my life, and even if there is, i believe i definitely could not get any what so called "big learning". maybe the biggest problem in my life is anwering this question so far. Confused

safri can you help me think of a "big problem" and a "big learning" appropriate for me? e.g. something stucked me in study or school/social activity, and how i tackled it wisely.

safri · Expert Joined: 20 Sep 2006 Posts: 213 Career Advice: +1/-1

Hihi...ok.....

I'm glad you cooperate...

The "story" with the soccer thing it matches a little bit my problem. I can see you want something related to SCHOOL PROBLEMS....Me I had to skip a year out of college (actually I've frozen studies) because of a meniscus fracture that prevented me from walking. So I lost track of my former colleagues and when I returned I had to start in a new group which really underappreciated me because they thought I've frozen the year out of intellectual incompetence.
In half a semester I blew them all and got a scholarship as I finished first on class. I won their respect and they began fear me. Smile

)
What I've learned is that self confidence can save your butt... Smile

) (don't you say it like that)

Anyway...if you really didn't have a big problem, just say that.

"I don't consider I have ever had a big problem. I had some problems (school exams, health, stuff stuff) but I didn't take them as being big. I managed to cope with them quite easy"

Your idea with the exams and all is not that bad. It quite matches you because I can see you've good (maybe too good LOL). Just try to find something which makes them understand that you've solved the problem by yourself and by the most legal ways possible (like you didn't cheat on exams Very Happy

...because that's what I've understood from "I used my methods and techniques"). Just say I've set to studying very hard and I was deprived of the things I liked doing, but the results were satisfactory and my work was worth it.

Hey, good luck!

aboutjob · Newbie Joined: 28 Sep 2006 Posts: 3 Career Advice: +0/-0

it helped a lot
thx again
really appreciate it Wink

safri · Expert Joined: 20 Sep 2006 Posts: 213 Career Advice: +1/-1

Don't mention it. I'm glad I could help...

In fact...I wished there was somebody to tell me these kind of things when I was young (not that I'm a senior now Smile

) I had to make things up by myself...it took a while until I got it right.

What can I say...better makin things up than having real problems Very Happy

Katja144 · Expert Joined: 22 Aug 2005 Posts: 177 Career Advice: +2/-0

What does one say if they've never really had a big problem in their life? I know it's not acceptable to say something like "actually, I've been lucky and never had a big problem" but it's the truth (and anything that could possibly be considered a problem in my life is either too personal to discuss in such a situation or did not end well)...what sort of problems do they want to hear about, that I could possibly blow up a small problem?

safri · Expert Joined: 20 Sep 2006 Posts: 213 Career Advice: +1/-1

Basically they are interested to see if you touch a subject that might resemble the interview situation. I mean they want to see whether you had problems with previous work places.
This is why it is not advisable to talk about that, even if one had such problems. The easiest way to avoid that is to "choose" as a problem something which is not of great importance to them . In this way they can only see if you are able to deal with it.
I believe that if you dont have a problem, you should specify this but you should give an example though and just say that you didn't consider that as being really difficult to cope with

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