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Interview question "When have you made a decision?"

Claire

I have a job interview next week, its for a company I applied for before, and the question i got stumped on was "Tell us when you've made a decision". I'm pretty certain it will come up again. The role is for an assistant HRBP role, so they aren't looking for a basic answer such as "determining what level of disciplinary sanction to give". This will be more strategic, weighing up pitfalls and choosing the right direction.

I know I would have done this, but, I just can't think of anything that I think would fit the bill. I've asked my colleagues and they are all stumped too.  Looking to see what someone else would answer and it might help jog my memory and inspire me.

Cheers

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  • You can look outside work, too. A question of mine that I've used for roles that are relatively junior but in which the qualities of judgement and decision-making are required has been "Tell me about a significant purchase you recently made. How did you reach the decision to spend the money?"

    It has stumped a lot of candidates because they made significant decisions without going through any sort of articulated process. They didn't weigh up the options. They didn't consider alternative solutions. They didn't consult with other stakeholders. Their decision-making process was "Ooh, shiny!"

    So you might look at buying a house or just moving to a new rental, or purchasing a car or a rail season ticket (or a football season ticket!) or a holiday, or buying a pet...

    All of these are major, life-changing decisions either because they represent a shift in lifestyle, or because they involve an outlay of cash that might otherwise be spent on other things that you forego for the thing in question. The interviewer in my case or in yours is looking for the same thing: that the interviewee not only had a decision-making process but that he or she is capable of articulating what it was.
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  • You can look outside work, too. A question of mine that I've used for roles that are relatively junior but in which the qualities of judgement and decision-making are required has been "Tell me about a significant purchase you recently made. How did you reach the decision to spend the money?"

    It has stumped a lot of candidates because they made significant decisions without going through any sort of articulated process. They didn't weigh up the options. They didn't consider alternative solutions. They didn't consult with other stakeholders. Their decision-making process was "Ooh, shiny!"

    So you might look at buying a house or just moving to a new rental, or purchasing a car or a rail season ticket (or a football season ticket!) or a holiday, or buying a pet...

    All of these are major, life-changing decisions either because they represent a shift in lifestyle, or because they involve an outlay of cash that might otherwise be spent on other things that you forego for the thing in question. The interviewer in my case or in yours is looking for the same thing: that the interviewee not only had a decision-making process but that he or she is capable of articulating what it was.
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