In this video we walk you through how to answer "Tell me about a challenge you faced in the workplace and how you overcame it."

This video is part of the jobapplications.com Ultimate Guide to interviewing. Our goal is to teach you how to give the best answers to common interview questions. How it works is we examine a common response from a real person, evaluate it, then give you tips on how to give an even better answer.
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[Transcript]
I really like this answer. It’s genuine and he really picked a tough situation. His choice pays off because the response reflects a number of positive traits. First, it shows that he cares about improving how his company runs and is proactive in doing so. His answer also shows that he was brave enough to offer constructive criticism to a supervisor, which isn’t a pleasant thing to do. Finally, the fact that the boss listened to his advice and amended his managing style shows how respected and trusted our participant was as an employee.
When you answer this question, pick a compelling story that will engage the interviewer. Remember that any question phrased like “tell me about a time when” or “describe a situation where you” is a behavioral question, which requires you to pick a reallife example. Try to think over your past accomplishments before the interview so you will have quality stories to share. The worst answer would be “I can’t think of anything.” Something irrelevant to the job, like a struggle in your personally life wouldn’t be much better either.
With your story, you want to pick a situation where you used a key skill to turn a bad situation around. Make sure to choose a situation that will reflect relevant skills to the job. Also, try to highlight something that happened in your recent career history. Relevant work is always the best, but an example from school or athletics may suffice.
The best way to tell your story is though the C.A.R. method.
Make sure to keep your story succinct and to the point. You’ll lose the interviewer if your response is more than a minute or two. If you look back at our participant’s response, you’ll see he kept it brief and on target. If you want to watch an example of an answer that goes on a little too long click on the video here.
One final note for answering this question, avoid painting former coworkers or managers in a negative light. It only reflects poorly on you. Our participant successfully illustrated a difficult situation without disparaging anyone, and you can do it too. Thanks for watching.