It’s a question that rears its ugly head time and time again during interview situations, “Can you tell us about a time interviewswhen you showed initiative”. As far as most people are concerned they may as well be asked, “can you tell us about a time when you breathed?” such is the vagueness of the inquiry.
The real danger with questions like this one, is that they are so obscure, open ended and regularly posed that there is a very real temptation to simply answer it with the first situation displaying the remotest level of initiative that pops into your head, just to get it out of the way and move on to the ‘real’ issues.
A small but potentially catastrophic error (from the perspective of your job search at least). As we have asserted precipitously here at TheEmployable, everything at an interview has a purpose, nothing is redundant and by assuming that the question is merely a formality you risk your prospect of employment sinking like the proverbial lead-filled balloon.
To avoid this sad situation from coming to pass it is vital that you spend time preparing a number of different experiences that you have had in previous employment which will ensure that in the almost inevitable event that this question is asked, that you will have a clear, well reasoned, detailed and (most importantly) impressive story to tell. If you are applying for your first job and do not have any previous professional experience, you can take an example from your work experience, a group project or a skills-related extra-curricular activity.