S-T-A-R in Initiative

Let's look at how this competency interview works.

The interviewer is answered the question:

Give me an example of a time that you were able to take the lead in changing financial policy or practice for your organization

What competency is the interviewer looking for?

Generally, he's looking for leadership and initiative. Here we go. If you have prepared 2 examples, pick one and reframe your answers like this:

Situation: It was back in 2000 When I became the Chief officer in Investment at ABC company, the senior managers and board were used to taking very little risk with portfolio. The problem at that time was that by playing it so conservative, the returns were lower than what our customers would expect.

Task: As this problem continued, it became obvious to me that I needed to review the company's best offer in portfolio management.

Action: I spent six months educating key senior managers and board members from BBB about the potential benefit of taking at least 15% of portfolio and using hedge funds and other nontraditional investment strategies. As they responded negatively in the beginning, I met with them one-on-one and presented my recommendations at the end of the year board meeting........

Result: With support from the chief financial officer and the CEO, I persuaded the board to change the company's investment policy to allow up to 25% of the investment portfolio to be invested in selected hedge funds and other, more esteric investment. It turned out that in 2001, we gained an 15% increase in portfolio return.