Interviewers like people that are good at setting goals and achieving them. It is more impressive still if those professional aims are related to the company, and not merely to money or status. However interview queries about professional goal setting aren’t necessarily common, they do come up specifically during managerial or leadership job interviews.

Interview Queries About Setting Goals and Achieving Them

Behavioral Interview Query: Give me an instance of a significant career goal which you set yourself and tell me how you reached it. What hurdles did you encounter? How did you overcome the obstacles?

This query has the potential to be dangerous. Most professional goals don’t sound that positive to the employer. Making more money, getting promoted, initiating your own business is great but these professional goals are less likely to get you the job. It is better if you can find a goal that is related to work and give details that shows how and why you met it. This kind of goal greatly improves your chance of getting the job.

Tips to Answer

“When I initiated at XX, I set myself the professional goal of assisting the baby care department, become brand leader for Australia and New Zealand. I also set a long term goal to pursue my personal passion for developing environmentally sustainable products. In terms of XX, this included the development of organic, biodegradable diapers. I knew that to build that brand presence, I would have to show my talents at internet marketing strategy, and convince the company to implement these new ideas.

I encountered various hurdles along the way. The company was more traditional, and invested heavily in TV advertisements. I was in management, but there were various other project leads above me, and not all of them shared my marketing perspective. We also did not have the infrastructure to complete large scale, measurable online marketing strategies.

But, step by step, I was capable to overcome each obstacle by using data, persuasion, evidence, and a considerable amount of hard work. I completed projects myself, in my down time. I observed the strategies with the best immediate ROI, and leveraged the growth that I was capable to display into acquiring more resources for the team.

I sustained to move up the corporate ladder, and while I was not able to meet the goal of assisting the team create an organic diaper line, I did become head of the Baby Care department for over three years.”

Surely, this can be a tough interview query to answer. But those that answer it in an effective way are instantly going to impress the hiring manager.