"What Are the Most Difficult Decisions to Make?

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BY ALISON DOYLE

 
(Taken from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-are-the-most-difficult-
decisions-to-make-2061256, updated September 05, 2019)

Objectives:
1. The students are able to mention why interviewer asks regarding decision
making skill in job interview.
2. The students are able to answer the question “Have you ever had to make
a really tough decision at work?" in a job interview.

There are no right or wrong answers to interview questions like, “What

are the most difficult decisions you have to make in your position?” or, “Have you
ever had to make a really tough decision at work?"
Employers ask these questions in job and promotion interviews simply
because they want to see that, when you face a difficult decision or situation,
you’re able to handle it. They also want to see what kind of decisions you
consider difficult.
These are behavioral interview questions designed to discover how you
have managed certain situations. The logic behind these types of questions is
that how you behaved in the past is a predictor of what you’ll do in the future.

The Best Ways to Respond 

Essentially the interviewer is assessing your decision-making skills. When
answering these questions, give one or two concrete examples of difficult
situations you have actually faced at work. Then discuss what decisions you had
to make to remedy the situations. A few of the most challenging decisions that
people in mid-management and senior management have to make include:
 Deciding who to terminate if layoffs become economically necessary
 Terminating well-meaning, but incompetent, team members
 Deciding who to promote when you have several great candidates
  Deciding whether you have to cut benefits that employees are used to
receiving (like holiday bonuses) to help stabilize company finances
You want to come across as confident and capable of making big decisions calmly
and rationally. Avoid examples that make you seem indecisive or uncertain.
Whatever answer you give, be specific. Itemize what you did, how you did
it, and how your difficult decision ultimately profited your team and your
employer.
Also, keep your answers positive. For example, "Even though it was a
difficult decision to lay-off that particular employee, I did so in an extremely
professional manner, and this decision ultimately led to improvements in
efficiency and productivity throughout our department.”
The best way to prepare for questions where you will need to recall
events and actions is to refresh your memory. Skim through your resume and
reflect on some special situations you have dealt with or projects you have
worked on. You can use them to help frame responses. Prepare stories that
illustrate times when you have successfully solved a difficult situation.

Examples of the Best Answers

Take a look at these examples and think about how you could come up
with similar responses:

Decisions I have to make within a team are difficult, only because these
decisions take more time and require deliberate communication between team
members. For example, I was working on a team project, and my colleagues and I
had to make a number of choices about how to use our limited budget. Because
these decisions involved group conversations, our team learned how to
communicate effectively with one another, and I believe we ultimately made the
best decisions for the team.

Why It Works: This is a good example of how to use the STAR interview

response technique, where you reflect upon a past situation, describe an
assigned task, explain the action you took, and conclude with an analysis of
the result of your action. Responding in this way not only answers the question,
but also shows that you have reflected about past approaches and their
outcomes.
 As a manager, the most difficult decisions I make involve layoffs. Before
making those tough decisions, I always think carefully about what is best for the
business and my employees. While I don’t relish making those kinds of choices, I
don’t shy away from this part of my job. A few years ago, I had to let some
employees go due to the economic climate. It was a hard decision that was
ultimately necessary for the good of the company and everyone working for the
organization.

Why It Works: This is an honest answer in which the candidate takes

ownership of his actions in “making the hard calls.” He explains the approach he
takes in making weighty decisions, acknowledges their necessity, and concludes
that is actions were made for the greater good.

I find that the hardest decision I have to make is when I have to choose
between strong team members for a promotion. There have been occasions
when, even though I liked one person better than another, I nonetheless had to
choose the other person based on their potential to assume the responsibilities
of their new role. Sometimes I also had to promote younger employees over
staff with seniority, simply because they were more skilled in the use of
technology and more willing to work overtime. It’s never easy, but ultimately you
have to think about who will be the most effective and productive in the new
position.

Why It Works: Here the interviewee demonstrates that she is able to be

objective in basing her decisions not upon her personal preferences, but upon
what she knows will result in the most positive outcome for her company. Her
tone demonstrates her maturity, her solid analytical process, and her willingness
to make difficult decisions.

Key Takeaways

REVIEW THE SAMPLE ANSWERS: Use these examples as models for your
own answers, using the STAR interview response technique to describe how you
have made a difficult work decision in the past.
OWN YOUR DECISIONS: Explain the rationale behind your past choices
calmly, owning your ability to make difficult decisions with thoughtfulness and
objectivity.

FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE: Conclude your story of a hard choice you had to
make by explaining the positive outcome of your decision in the overall picture or
the long run.

ASSIGNMENT:
1. Mention the reason why interviewer asks regarding decision making skill
in job interview.
2. Answer the question “Have you ever had to make a really tough decision
at work?". (See the examples above. Answer the question in 300 words.)