“Tell me about a time you solved a problem” comes up in interviews for jobs, internships, scholarships and college programs. In this article, I’ll show you how to answer it in 3 parts, with 3 sample answers you can adapt.
The recruiter doesn’t want a perfect story. They want to see how you think when something goes wrong.
I learned this at an airline check-in counter in Brazil, where I worked for three years. Things didn’t always go as planned: a delayed flight, a lost bag, a passenger about to miss a connection. And do you know what I noticed? People don’t remember the problem. They remember what you did about it.
Recruiters call this the STAR method: Situation, Task, Action, Result. Your bookmark puts the task inside the situation, so it’s easier to remember when you’re nervous.
Look at how each one follows the 3 parts.
1. A school project
The situation: “In junior year, I was in a four-person group for a history presentation. One week before the deadline, two people still hadn’t started their parts.”
What I did: “I split the work into small pieces with a date for each one and shared it in a group chat. I made the slide template so everyone’s part would match, and I offered to meet at the library after school.”
What changed: “We finished two days early and got an A-minus. I learned that most people don’t avoid work. They just don’t know where to start.”
2. A team or club
The situation: “Our robotics club needed $500 for competition fees, and the school had cut our budget.”
What I did: “I proposed a car wash, got the parking lot approved by our principal, built the volunteer schedule and promoted it on the club’s Instagram.”
What changed: “We raised $640 in one Saturday. Now the club does it every year.”
3. A part-time job
The situation: “At my summer job at a frozen yogurt shop, the weekend line got so long that some customers walked out.”
What I did: “I noticed most of the wait was people deciding on toppings at the counter. I suggested a small menu board at the start of the line and offered to make it.”
What changed: “The line moved faster, and my manager kept the board up after the summer ended.”
Did that help?
I hear this a lot. And my answer is always the same: school, sports, clubs, volunteering, your community and family responsibilities all count. You don’t lack experience. You lack practice telling your story.
Write your story on the back of your bookmark, in 3 parts. Then record it and listen. Is it under one minute? Did you say “I”? Is there a result? Then you’re ready.
This article is part of a series of four, one for each VW Academy bookmark:
Want to practice with me? VW Academy runs workshops for high school students on interviews, resumes and workplace skills. See our programs.
Parents: talk to us about bringing these exercises to your teen’s school.
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