Tell me about a time when you had a plan but ran into some obstacles. What did you do about it?

This question is asking you to share an instance where you faced a problem in executing a plan. The interviewer wants to evaluate your problem-solving skills, resilience, adaptability, and how you perform under stress. To effectively answer this question, you need to break down your response into the Situation, Task, Action, and Result (STAR) interview response method:

1. Situation: Describe the context within which you were working. This could be a specific job, project, or task where faced a challenge.
2. Task: Explain what your responsibilities were regarding that situation.
3. Action: Tell the interviewer about the steps you took to address the situation. Here you need to explain your decision-making process, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
4. Result: Finally, explain the outcome of your actions.

In my previous job as a Project Manager, Situation: we were working on releasing an updated version of our product. Task: As the Project Manager, I was responsible for ensuring the product was developed and finished in eight months. However, Obstacle: two months into the project, there was a total system breakdown that affected our progress for several weeks. Action: Instead of allowing this to derail our project, I re-evaluated our project plan with the team and decided to add additional resources to ensure the task could be completed on time. We also implemented a data recovery plan to mitigate future occurrences. Result: Despite the setback, we were able to release the updated product within the planned time frame.

Situation: As a Marketing Executive, I had developed a comprehensive marketing plan for a new product launch. Task: My role was ensuring that all the marketing activities were executed in time for the launch. Obstacle: However, a week into the execution phase, one of our main marketing platforms suffered a significant outage, causing a hindrance in our advertising campaign. Action: We changed our strategy and redirected our focus towards other effective marketing platforms and invested more in social media marketing and influencer partnerships. We also negotiated with the platform company for extra ad credits due to the outage. Result: This immediate action not only resulted in seamless marketing of the product but also helped us reach a wider audience than initially planned. We successfully launched the product, and it recorded higher initial sales than we had anticipated.