Behavioral Questions Flashcards
Why do you want to work for X company?
- Company specific. Come up with answer before interview
Why do you leave Citigroup?
I had a very rewarding experience at Citigroup, where I was fortunate to work with supportive and knowledgeable managers who provided me with valuable guidance and opportunities for growth. However, over time, the nature of the project I was working on shifted from large-scale development to smaller changes and tweaks to meet evolving project specifications. While this work was important, I found that I wasn’t learning as much or feeling as challenged as I did initially. Additionally, I had always wanted to spend more time learning and working on my personal projects and I also wanted to travel the world. Taking a sabbatical between jobs made the most sense.
What are you looking for in your next role?
- Role specific. Come up with answer before interview
Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with a co-worker.
At Citigroup, we had a new hire who joined our team through a program aimed at helping individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds gain employment in IT. Unfortunately, she lacked the relevant skills needed for our team. This led to a challenging situation where she felt unsupported when assigned tasks, and frustrated when asked to spend work hours learning.
Recognizing the conflict, I took the initiative to address it. I had a one-on-one conversation with her to understand her concerns and provide some guidance on how she could balance learning and contributing to the team. I suggested creating a structured learning plan with clear milestones and offered to be a point of contact for any questions she had while working independently.
Despite these efforts, she continued to struggle with finding the right balance and became visibly discontented and disengaged during meetings. It was a difficult situation, but it taught me the importance of clear communication, setting expectations, and providing support while also encouraging self-reliance.
Ultimately, the experience underscored the need for a more comprehensive onboarding process for new hires, especially those coming from non-traditional backgrounds. It highlighted the importance of patience and empathy in team dynamics, as well as the necessity for structured support and clear communication.
Tell me about a time in which you had a conflict and needed to influence somebody else.
During my senior project at the University of Florida, my team and I developed a website and mobile app for large corporations with large offices and campuses. The platform allowed users to create profiles, including their team and skills, and used QR codes around the office to update their location, making it easier for colleagues to find and collaborate with each other. I was in charge of developing the mobile app, while my three teammates were responsible for the website.
As the project progressed, I noticed that my teammates had fallen significantly behind schedule. They struggled to create a basic login page, which was crucial for the functionality of the website. This was concerning because we had a strict timeline to meet, and their delay was putting the entire project at risk.
To address this conflict, I first tried to understand the root of the issue. I scheduled a team meeting to discuss their challenges and offer my support. I discovered that they were struggling with certain technical aspects and lacked a clear plan for completing their tasks. I proposed creating a detailed itinerary with specific milestones and deadlines to help them stay on track.
What project are you currently working on?
Last project I’ve worked on was TimeWise Planner and I’ve also been working on an Unreal Engine open world game.
What is the most challenging aspect of your current project?
The most challenging aspect of my current project, TimeWise Planner, is making the app simple, intuitive, and easy to use. As a productivity app, it needs to balance functionality with user experience, ensuring that users can effortlessly navigate through features like time tracking, scheduling, and goal setting.
Designing an intuitive UI/UX has been particularly challenging because I want the app to be powerful yet not overwhelming for users. Achieving this requires careful consideration of every design element, from the layout and navigation to the color schemes and typography. I have to constantly iterate on designs, gather user feedback, and make adjustments to ensure that the app remains user-friendly.
Additionally, implementing complex features, such as hierarchical activity tracking and customizable recurring tasks, while maintaining simplicity has been a delicate balancing act. It involves writing efficient code that supports these features without compromising the app’s performance or usability.
Despite these challenges, I find the process highly rewarding. It pushes me to think creatively and critically about design and development, ensuring that every decision enhances the user experience. The positive feedback and high ratings from users motivate me to keep improving the app and tackling these challenges head-on.
What was the most difficult bug that you fixed in the past 6 months?
Absolutely. One of the biggest bugs I faced while developing TimeWise Planner happened towards the end of the development process. Up until then, I had been running the app through the Expo app to avoid paying for Apple’s Developer account, which costs $100 per year. Everything seemed to work perfectly during development.
However, once I felt the app was ready for deployment, I paid for the Developer account and installed it on my phone via TestFlight. That’s when I discovered that the app was broken. The main issue was with how I navigated between screens using modals. This approach worked fine while running the app through Expo, but it didn’t function correctly in the installed version.
I suspected the problem was due to a race condition that allowed the modals to work in the slower streaming environment of the Expo app but not in the faster, installed environment. To fix this, I had to uproot the entire foundation of the app and implement React Navigation for screen navigation, which forced me to integrate Redux for state management.
This rework involved a significant amount of effort. I had to refactor the entire app to use React Navigation for handling screen transitions and Redux to manage the app’s state efficiently. This was a daunting task because it meant going back and redoing a lot of what I thought was already finished. But in the end, it paid off. The app became more robust and scalable, and the navigation issues were resolved.
This experience taught me the importance of thorough testing in different environments and the value of using proper navigation and state management tools from the beginning. It was a challenging but ultimately rewarding process that significantly improved the quality of TimeWise Planner.
How do you tackle challenges? Name a difficult challenge you faced while working on a project, how you overcame it, and what you learned.
I tackle challenges by approaching them methodically and maintaining a positive, solution-focused mindset. I start by thoroughly understanding the problem, breaking it down into manageable parts, and then systematically addressing each part. Let me illustrate this with an example from my work on the TimeWise Planner app.
One of the major challenges I faced was ensuring that the app was simple, intuitive, and easy to use while incorporating complex features like hierarchical activity tracking and customizable recurring tasks. Initially, the app’s design and navigation felt cluttered and overwhelming, which was contrary to the user experience I aimed to deliver.
To tackle this challenge, I took the following steps:
1 Research and Analysis: I researched best practices for UI/UX design and studied successful productivity apps to understand how they balanced functionality and simplicity. I also gathered user feedback to identify pain points and areas for improvement.
2 Breaking Down the Problem: I divided the challenge into specific tasks, such as improving the layout, simplifying navigation, and enhancing the visual design. By breaking it down, I could focus on one aspect at a time without feeling overwhelmed.
3 Iterative Design Process: I created multiple prototypes and iterated on the design based on feedback. For example, I experimented with different layouts and navigation schemes to find the most user-friendly solution. Each iteration brought me closer to the desired simplicity and intuitiveness.
4 User Testing and Feedback: I conducted user testing to gather real-world feedback. This was crucial in understanding how users interacted with the app and identifying any remaining issues. Their insights helped me make informed decisions and fine-tune the design.
5 Continuous Improvement: Even after launching the app, I continued to monitor user feedback and app performance. This ongoing process allows me to make incremental improvements and ensure that the app remains user-centric and easy to use.
By approaching the challenge methodically and remaining open to feedback, I was able to transform TimeWise Planner into an app that is both powerful and user-friendly. This experience reinforced the importance of persistence, adaptability, and a user-focused mindset when tackling challenges.
What are you excited about?
I’m excited about the future and the incredible potential technology has to solve complex problems and improve people’s lives. With each technological advancement, we gain new knowledge and open up possibilities for innovations that can transform industries and everyday life.
I’m particularly excited about how technology can address global challenges, from improving healthcare and education to tackling climate change and enhancing communication. The continuous progress in fields like artificial intelligence, renewable energy, and space exploration fills me with optimism about the positive impact we can make on the world.
Moreover, I’m excited about the opportunity to be part of this journey. Contributing to technological advancements and being involved in creating solutions that have a meaningful impact on society is a driving force for me. The prospect of working on cutting-edge projects and collaborating with like-minded individuals to build a better future is incredibly motivating and inspiring.
What frustrates you?
Imagine it is your first day here at the company. What do you want to work on? What features would you improve on?
What are the most interesting projects you have worked on and how might they be relevant to this company’s environment?
Tell me about a time you had a disagreement with your manager.
Talk about a project you are most passionate about, or one where you did your best work.
