Innovation & creativity

Walk me through a problem where the standard approach wasn't going to work. What did you try instead, and where did that idea come from?

Describe a time you replaced a way of working that was doing its job. Why change something that wasn't broken?

Tell me about a problem your team had learned to live with — you included, for a while. What finally made you fix it, and how?

Tell me about an idea of yours that made it all the way into everyday use. Which part of getting it there was nothing like having the idea?

Describe a time you solved a work problem with an idea borrowed from somewhere else entirely — a different field, industry, or discipline. How did you make it fit?

Describe a time something that landed on you as a problem became, in your hands, an opportunity. What did you see that others didn't?

Tell me about a clever solution of yours that backfired or caused new problems. What did the cleverness cost, and what did you do next?

Describe a good idea of yours that never got adopted. Looking back, what killed it — and how much of that was in your control?

Tell me about an idea from someone else that you initially dismissed — and that turned out to be good. What changed your mind?

Tell me about a time the people around you had stopped offering new ideas — and you needed some. What did you do?

senior

You've inherited a weekly report that takes a day to build. You can see how to automate most of it, but you've been told to keep it as-is — what do you do?

junior situational