How to Answer Behavioral Interview Questions About Overcoming Obstacles

Behavioral interview questions about overcoming obstacles are designed to assess your problem-solving abilities, resilience, and how you handle challenges in the workplace. Employers want to see how you approach difficulties and whether you can maintain a positive attitude and persevere. Here’s how to answer these types of questions effectively:

1. Understand the STAR Method

The STAR method is a structured approach to answering behavioral questions that can help you craft concise and compelling responses:

• Situation: Describe the context or challenge you were facing.

• Task: Explain what your responsibility or objective was in that situation.

• Action: Discuss the specific actions you took to overcome the obstacle.

• Result: Highlight the outcomes of your actions, emphasizing any positive results.

2. Focus on a Specific Example

When asked about overcoming obstacles, provide a clear, specific example rather than speaking in general terms. The more detailed and relevant your example, the better it demonstrates your problem-solving skills.

For example, instead of saying, “I’ve faced many obstacles,” focus on one particular situation, like:

• “I was working on a project that was behind schedule due to unforeseen technical issues.”

3. Describe the Obstacle Clearly

Be straightforward about the obstacle you faced, whether it was a personal challenge, a difficult situation at work, or a problem with a project. Ensure you don’t exaggerate the problem, but explain the context enough for the interviewer to understand why it was significant.

Example:

• “The team I was working with faced a significant obstacle when our main supplier was unable to meet the delivery deadline, which put our entire project timeline at risk.”

4. Emphasize Your Problem-Solving Process

The interviewer wants to see how you approach challenges. Describe the specific steps you took to overcome the obstacle. This is your chance to demonstrate critical thinking, creativity, and persistence.

Example:

• “I initiated a series of discussions with other suppliers and managed to negotiate expedited shipments. I also collaborated with the team to identify tasks that could be completed in parallel to make up for lost time.”

5. Highlight the Positive Outcome

After explaining the actions you took, focus on the results. Whenever possible, quantify the outcome to show how effective your actions were. Highlighting a positive result demonstrates that you can overcome obstacles in a way that benefits the company.

Example:

• “As a result, we were able to deliver the project on time, and the client was impressed with our ability to handle unexpected challenges efficiently. This also led to a long-term partnership with the supplier.”

6. Show Personal Growth

Discuss what you learned from overcoming the obstacle. Employers value employees who can reflect on their experiences and grow from them. This shows that you are adaptable and able to use past experiences to improve your future performance.

Example:

• “This experience taught me the importance of having a backup plan and communicating proactively with stakeholders to avoid any last-minute surprises.”

7. Stay Positive and Professional

Even if the obstacle was frustrating or caused a setback, try to keep the tone positive. Focus on what you learned and how you persevered rather than dwelling on the difficulty itself. Employers want to see that you can maintain a professional attitude, even when things don’t go according to plan.

Example:

• “Although it was a challenging situation, I stayed focused on finding solutions and keeping the team motivated, which ultimately helped us succeed.”

Example Answer Using the STAR Method:

Question: “Tell me about a time when you faced an obstacle at work and how you overcame it.”

Answer:

• Situation: “I was working as a project manager on a new product launch, and two weeks before the scheduled release, we encountered a major obstacle when our primary software vendor had a technical failure that delayed their product update.”

• Task: “My task was to ensure the product launch proceeded on time, despite this setback.”

• Action: “I quickly gathered the project team to assess the situation and brainstorm solutions. We identified a potential workaround by leveraging an alternative feature and negotiating with the vendor to expedite the update. I also kept our stakeholders informed about the situation and our new timeline.”

• Result: “We successfully launched the product on schedule, and the alternative solution we implemented worked well for our customers. As a result, the launch received positive feedback, and we were able to maintain customer trust. The experience also helped me strengthen our risk management strategies for future projects.”

8. Be Honest

While it’s important to frame your answer in a positive light, don’t fabricate or embellish your story. If the outcome wasn’t perfect, it’s okay to mention that, as long as you focus on the lessons learned and how you would handle things differently next time.

Example:

• “While we didn’t hit our original sales target due to the delay, we learned how to better manage vendor relationships and set more realistic timelines for future product launches.”

Final Tips:

• Prepare a Few Stories: Think about different obstacles you’ve faced in your career—whether they relate to deadlines, teamwork, or technical issues—and how you overcame them. Having a few examples prepared will allow you to pick the most relevant one for the interview.

• Don’t Shift Blame: Avoid blaming others for the obstacle. Instead, focus on your role in overcoming it and how you contributed to the solution.

• Be Concise: While it’s important to provide enough detail, try to keep your answers concise and to the point. Avoid going off on tangents or over-explaining.

By following these strategies, you’ll be able to answer behavioral interview questions about overcoming obstacles confidently and effectively, showing potential employers that you can handle challenges with a positive, solution-oriented approach.