Decision Making and Risk Taking Interview Questions

Decision Making and Risk Taking

Sometimes you have to make a decision even when others believe that it may be premature. Can you tell me about a time when you made a decision even when others were not ready to do so?

While being planful is usually important, there are time when being spontaneous can lead to success, too. Tell me about a time on the job when you were able to be spontaneous with good results.

Describe an important decision you made that affected the course of a project or an activity.

Tell me about a time when you made a decision that at the time was risky.

Describe a situation in which you had to defend your actions or recommendations because they were challenged by others.

Please describe an experience that demonstrates your ability to evaluate a situation on the spot.

What was the most difficult decision you have made in the last six months? What made it so difficult?

What was the biggest obstacle you had to overcome in order to incorporate a new idea or process? Why was it an obstacle? How did you overcome it?

Give me an example of a time when you had to analyze another person or a situation carefully in order to be effective in guiding your action or decision.

Tell me of a time when you were told by two different people how to handle a project two different ways. What did you do and how did you arrive at that decision?

Give me an example of when you’ve demonstrated the ability to make quick and accurate job-related decisions.

Tell me about a time when an upper-level decision or policy change held up your work.

Give me an example of a time when you stuck to procedure when it may have been easier to go around policy.

Give me an example of when you weren’t successful in dealing with a tough decision you had to make.

Tell me about an experience when you had a limited amount of time to make a difficult decision.

Tell me about a decision that you made while under a lot of pressure.

Describe a situation where you heard of some new technology and implemented it.

Describe a situation where you were not supported in a task and how you dealt with it.

Do you think of yourself as an internal entrepreneur and why?

How do you determine if a plan is worth the risk of rocking the boat?

If it were apparent that there was little support for something you felt strongly about, would you try it anyway? Why?

What do you think of the phrase, “no risk, no reward?”

Describe a time when you weighed the pros and cons of a risk and why you decided to take it?

Describe a time when you were criticized for taking a risk. What was your reaction to the criticism?

Do you believe in the concept of calculated risk and what does it mean to you?

Describe a time when you seemed to be on the wrong side of an issue and what you did or did not do.