Interview questions at Fujitsu

We analyzed 594 interview reviews for Fujitsu from various job sites, social network groups and forums.

Here are the most frequent job interview questions asked by HR managers during initial phone or onsite interviews. This list does not include technical or factual questions.

12 frequent non-technical questions at Fujitsu:

According to our research, hiring managers at Fujitsu ask soft skills interview questions 9% less than at other companies.

Fujitsu interview question statistics

1. Tell me about yourself top question

How to answer

Most job candidates expect this to be one of the first interview questions and probably think of it as an “icebreaker” to get the interview started. It is much more than that! It is your opportunity to show the interviewer your relevance for the job. You want the employer to know that you are qualified to do the job, you are interested in doing the job and capable of getting it done.

  1. About Yourself

    What is your current occupation? Define yourself professionally in one statement.

    Pick 3 key skills that make you great at your work (your Key Selling Points). How have you applied these skills?

    Try to give some numbers to support your statement.

  2. About The Company

    Your first step is to Research the company to find out as much as you can about what they do and their approach to their business and their employees.

    Based on what you know about the company and the job description, why are you interested in the position you are applying for?

  3. About The Fit

    Now is the right time to show the fit between your skills and the company's requirements. Your answer works best if you emphasize your relevance. How do you do this? You will have already researched the company, studied the job description to identify their needs and possible pain points and prepared the relevant Star Stories that show how you addressed similar issues in the past. Your next step is to develop your Present-Past-Present approach.

    Start with the Present. Focus on the skills and experience from your most recent positions. What has enabled you to get the job done successfully and how this relates to what the employer is looking to accomplish.

    Next go back to the Past. Here is where your Star story comes in. Explain how you were able to use your skills and experience to accomplish a task that relates to an area of concern for the employer.

    Finally come back to the Present – summarizing the lessons you learned and how they shaped your response and approach today.

    Remember, the whole conversation is about the present, not the past. Just one sentence can summarize why your approach works, and its applicability and relevance to this position.

Pro Tip

You can also end with a question like:

“Do you know what the current needs in the company/department are, where my skills and experience can help?”

That can help you learn more about the company and the job, turn the “interrogation” into a conversation and will allow you to relax some tension.

Read our blog post to learn more about how to answer this question.

Statistics

This question is asked 22% less frequently at Fujitsu than at other companies.

2. Why did you leave your last job?

How to answer

This question may be a little touchy for some people, but it's a question asked by interviewers, to find out why you left, in order to better understand how you may or may not make a good fit with their company.

Remember, never speak ill of your old company (this will not go over well).

  1. About Yourself

    There are a number of reasons why people leave or plan to leave their jobs. One very important recent factor has been the impact on jobs and job security due to Covid-19 and all of the issues raised by remote vs. on-site work.

    Regardless of the causes, there are three possible reasons that you left your last job or are planning to leave your current job:

    • You are looking for a career change
    • You are unhappy with your current employment
    • You were let go.

    Whatever the reason, it's best to always speak in a positive light.

  2. About The Company

    Based on your research about the company and the position you are interviewing for, what do you like most about the company? What excites you about the work as it is outlined in the job description?

  3. About The Fit

    Let's take a closer look at how you might respond to each of the three reasons for leaving your last job.

    1. You were let go

    You should simply state the facts (e.g. the company was downsizing, your position was eliminated, your department was offshored, etc.). Focus on the positive. You might want to share your accomplishments at your previous employment by relating a pertinent STAR story if you feel that would be relevant.

    2. You are looking for career advancement or a career change

    In your response you should be upfront, honest and as enthusiastic as you can be about the position. Consider using the Present-Past-Present method when giving this answer. Start with the Present by describing a career goal that is important to you. For instance you are a data analyst applying for a data management position and you are ready for this move. Then go back to the Past to indicate that at your previous job, there were little or no promotional opportunities in your field. Then come back to the Present and say that you are ready to take on the manager role and know that you will do an outstanding job for the company.

    3. You are unhappy with your current employment

    Sometimes a job just isn't going to take you to the next step in your career.

    Keep two things in mind when answering this question, 1) never "bad mouth" your current employer and 2) focus on the postive when speaking about the job and your reason for wanting to leave.

    The following is an example of how this question might be answered. This individual was looking to move up to a project manager position and did not feel that her current employer was the right place to achieve her goal. You might find her answer helpful in crafting your own response.

    "I really like my job as assistant project manager and love working with all of my coworkers on the team. However, the way the department is set up there is no real path to promotion. There are currently 3 project managers and they are all relatively new in their jobs. As far as I can see, they are all doing a good job and opportunties for promotion may not be opening up in the foreseeable future."

    Her comments were positive and her reasoning was clear and consise. Always try to keep your reasons positive and try not to create an impression that you were unhappy with the way you were treated.

Pro Tip

Whatever the reason you are looking for a new opportunity, make sure you are able to show how you are the perfect fit for the job for which you are interviewing!

Statistics

This question is asked 2.8x more frequently at Fujitsu than at other companies.

3. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

How to answer

This question belongs to a family of behavioral, or even more precisely, reflective questions.

The interviewer wants to learn two things about you by asking this question.

  • They want to know what you think about the job you are applying for. Remember, they are interviewing you for the job that's open right now. Are you a good fit and will you do a good job for them?
  • Just as important, they want to get an idea of your ambitions and goals for yourself and if your goals align with their needs, especially going into the future.

In this way the employer should see how you see yourself today, and whether you are ambitious and strive to grow as a professional, and whether you like to learn and develop your skills.

  1. About Yourself

    What challenges do you like overcoming? Where are you starting from and where might you be going?

    For example, let's say the position you are applying for is junior accountant. It includes a wide range of tasks such as basic bookkeeping, financial analysis, and reporting. If accounting is your chosen field, then you would most likely want to move in the direction of obtaining your CPA so that you might step up to more responsibility as an accounting manager or senior auditor within the next 5 years. Your responses should make sense in how you see yourself growing in your professional career.

    However, at this point, if you are happy just where you are and want to further your current skills, that is also fine as long as there is a growth path for you that can be imagined and described.

  2. About The Company

    Research the company to learn what career opportunities may be available in the department you are applying to, and what the trends are in the company in general.

    • Is the business expanding, are they opening new locations, or starting new projects?
    • Or are they heavily automating and cutting staff?

    Let’s say you are applying for a UX designer position for a brand-new product.

    In the future, if the product becomes a success - which is what the company hopes for - the company will hire more designers and you may become a lead designer, or you may become a product manager.

    On a side note: If you train your mind to be open to opportunities you will be amazed at how much this world has to offer to you!

  3. About The Fit

    And, of course, try to see where the perfect fit lies between your own potential and aspirations, and the company’s trends and hopes.

    However, beware of the risk of showing too much excitement for future opportunities compared to your attitude towards the current position.

    As we said earlier, you must show interest and enthusiasm for the position you are applying for. If the interviewer senses that you are more enthusiastic about future growth than about the current position, they may conclude that you are not the right person for the job at hand.

Pro Tip

This question gives you a good opportunity to showcase your Key Selling Points (e.g. “As I am very good at delegating tasks, I can easily see myself leading a team of software testers in the future…”), and end your statement by asking about current initiatives and goals at the company.

In thinking about the possibilities that may lie ahead, you also might want to consider taking a personality test (I recommend 16Personalities which is based on the Myers-Briggs test), research the internet on what career paths are possible with your skills and current job.

It is generally NOT a good idea to say something like:

“Oh, I cannot imagine what happens to me tomorrow, let alone in 5 years”.

This will show you as a person who is unimaginative and not forward-thinking enough to grow with and be a good fit for the company.

Statistics

This question is asked 8% less frequently at Fujitsu than at other companies.

4. What is your greatest weakness?

How to answer

This question ranks as the most challenging for many people. Fortunately, Mr. Simon is here to help!

Interviewers are not out to trick or trap you! They ask this question to gauge your level of self-awareness, your honesty and openness, and your capability for self-improvement.

  1. About Yourself

    No one is perfect and your interviewer doesn't expect you to be perfect either.

    While it is good to be honest and open, it will not help you to put yourself down.

    What's important is to find a weakness that you have overcome. How you turned what might be considered a negative into a positive.

  2. About The Company

    Research the company (website, social media, etc) to learn about the company culture.

    What personal and professional qualities do they value?

  3. About The Fit

    This is the time to clearly state a true weakness that you have overcome.

    Be as specific as possible and stay away from vague cliches like “I work too hard.” It would be difficult for anyone to try and explain how they overcame a weakness like that

    Mr. Simon emphasizes the Present-Past-Present method of responding to behavioral questions. When you are asked about your greatest weakness, you should be able to successfully use this approach as well. Here is an example of how someone might answer this question.

    Present - "I have always had a fear of public speaking, and believe this may have held me back in my career, especially when having to make presentations to management."

    Past - "Last year I learned about Toastmasters International and decided to join this group to help me gain confidence in myself and improve my ability to present to others in just about any situation."

    Present - "By overcoming this weakness I believe that it has made me a much stronger candidate for this position, someone you can count on to make presentations to management, conduct training and communicate at a high level."

    It's important to show how well you've overcome a weakness by motivating yourself and learning a new skill to grow professionally.

Pro Tip

Use this question to sell yourself!

Statistics

This question is asked 12% more frequently at Fujitsu than at other companies.

5. How would you handle a customer with difficult behavior?

How to answer

People skills are highly valued in every company, especially in a company that occasionally deals with difficult customers. It is important to show how you can manage difficult personalities.

  1. About Yourself

    Look back on your experience. Have you dealt with a difficult or disruptive customer? Remember how you diffused the situation and how you turned things around.

    • Do you have certain principles, or methodology, to deal with difficult people?
    • Do you have strong people skills, are you good at conflict resolution?
    • Are you high on emotional intelligence? Can you give an example?
  2. About The Company

    • What have you found about the company and its culture?
    • What have you learned about how the employees value each other?
    • How do they treat their customers?
    • Knowing their line of business or industry, what can be some examples of difficult customers?

    Do your research.

  3. About The Fit

    When a question like this asked in an interview, it is an indication that you will probably encounter difficult customers, or other difficult stakeholders while working for this company.

    This would be an excellent opportunity to use the Present-Past-Present approach to respond to this question.

    Start with the Present. Speak about your “conflict resolution” skills and how you apply these today.

    Next go back to a Past situation - remember your Star Stories to relate a relevant situation that happened in a previous job where you resolved a problem for a difficult customer.

    Finally, come back to the Present, summarizing what you learned from past experiences and how you will apply them to the job you are interviewing for today.

    If you can give an example of how you handled a difficult person in the past in a situation similar to what this company may require from you, this will strongly increase your chances of showing yourself as a good fit.

Pro Tip

One methodology for diffusing a difficult situation is called “the triple A” approach:

  1. Acknowledge - what the other person is feeling,
  2. Apologize - for the way the other person is feeling,
  3. Admit - that there was an issue that you are working on to get it resolved.

If the difficult situation involves a customer, it would add that extra touch if you added another "A" to your approach by Asking for the customer's contact information so you can update them of any progress on their issue.

Statistics

This question is asked 41% more frequently at Fujitsu than at other companies.

6. What is the biggest lesson you've learned from a mistake you made?

How to answer

It’s important to know how to answer a job interview question about mistakes.

They ask questions like this to learn if you are upfront and honest about mistakes that you made.

They also want to know if you learned from your experience and how you met the challenges to improve your performance.

  1. About Yourself

    Do your best to tell a positive story about how the mistake was made, how you dealt with it and what learned from it.

    We all make mistakes from time-to-time. Answering some of the following questions will help you understand your own view of dealing with mistakes and their consequences.

    For instance:

    • How do you use a mistake to improve your abilities?
    • Are you self-aware enough to acknowledge failure and weakness?
    • Do you take smart risks?
    • How do you view success, failure, and risk in general?
    • Do you take responsibility for past mistakes instead of putting the blame on others?
    • If the situation repeats, what would you do differently? What would you do again?
  2. About The Company

    Before the interview, look over the job listing, research the company.

    Try to think of a mistake you have made in the past that is not too closely related to the requirements of the job you are interviewing for. What kind of challenges might you face if you get the job here?

  3. About The Fit

    It’s your opportunity to emphasize the skills or qualities you gained from your past negative experience that are important for the job you’re interviewing for now. The best way to answer a question like this is to use the Present-Past-Present method.

    Start with the Present by ensuring the interviewer that even though you have made mistakes in the past, the lesson that you learned is to always carefully double-check your work and to make sure you plan ahead for any possible contingencies.

    Next go back to the Past to relate a STAR story that will tell the interviewer about a time when you made a mistake but were able to make the right adjustment to turn a potential negative into a positive. You might say something like: "I was responsible to provide one of our best customers a time frame for completing an important project. In my eagerness to impress them I miscalculated how long it would take and we missed the deadline. The customer was very disappointed and we nearly lost their business. After my manager explained the problem to me I worked very hard to improve my approach to project management and meeting timelines and nothing like this has happened again."

    Finally come back to the Present to tell the interviewer that you have the ability to learn from negative experiences and going forward you will approach all tasks with a mindset that will enable you to adjust quickly.

Pro Tip

Make absolutely sure that the interviewer understands that you learned from the experience.

Never blame others for what you did (however, if you were part of a team failure, you could relate this experience, just be sure to own up to your part in it).

Always be accountable for what you could have done differently in the failure. Demonstrate that you’ve had the maturity to benefit from previous “lessons learned” and you can move on with increased wisdom and competency.

Statistics

This question is asked 8.8x more frequently at Fujitsu than at other companies.

7. Tell me about your greatest professional accomplishment

How to answer

Of all your accomplishments (and I am sure you’ve had a great many of them!), you should choose the one most relevant to this job position.

  1. About Yourself

    In preparation for answering this question, list the top 3 professional accomplishments that you are most proud of. No need for lengthy descriptions, just a sentence or two for each one to help you recall each situation.

    Write down your Key Selling Points - your top 3-5 skills that make you a strong professional.

    Make sure you have developed the story behind each accomplishment and have a strong command of the details of what happened so that you can tell the story clearly and distinctly.

    Along with each accomplishment, mark which of your Key Selling Points they showcase. How exactly?

  2. About The Company

    Based on your research of the company, what are their current needs?

    • What are the major projects going on?
    • What are the expectations for the position you are applying for?
    • Think about which of your accomplishment stories best fit their needs and expectations?
  3. About The Fit

    Once you have decided on the appropriate accomplishment story, think how you will relate it in an interview and how you will make it relevant to the the job you are seeking. One approach is to use the Present-Past-Present technique.

    Let's say that the accomplishment was leading your team in installing a new billing system and bringing it in on time and under budget.

    You might start off in the Present by talking about the importance of having good leadership skills.

    Then move to the Past to relate your story about how you successfully lead your team in accomplishing the objective.

    Finally, come back to the Present to address how you will be able to help them reach their goals (the ones you learned about when researching the company) going forward.

    Be sure to keep practicing your accomplishment story until it flows naturally and convincingly.

Pro Tip

Most enterprises are now going through major transformations, often called Digital Transformation.

Do your research on what it means and what is often involved, to get a better idea of the current goals and environments in companies. But one thing that definitely characterizes this transformation is striving for agility.

Whether the prospective employer is a long-established company or a startup, they are looking for people who demonstrate qualities like agility and adaptability, which are generally considered to be both helpful and quite a safe choice in most circumstances today.

Statistics

This question is asked 90% more frequently at Fujitsu than at other companies.

8. What experience do you have in this field?

How to answer

This question may help you convince the interviewer how smoothly you would fit into the position to which you are applying. It's your chance to WOW them! Be sure to focus on the experience that is relevant to the company and position.

  1. About Yourself

    Start with defining your Key Selling Points you want to emphasize for this position.

    • What job experiences brought you to those points?
    • What were the job titles and the most relevant responsibilities?
  2. About The Company

    Do your research of the company and the requirements for the position.

    • What is the company looking for in terms of experiences and qualifications?
    • What problems are they trying to solve with this position?

    Most importantly, make sure you are able to highlight and speak about at least 3-5 of your key experiences that match up with the requirements listed in the job description.

  3. About The Fit

    Using the Present-Past-Present method is a perfect way to answer this question.

    Starting with the Present, speak about your experience as it relates to one of the key requirements in the job description. You might say "I noted that the job description requires experience in employee training and this is an area in which I have a great deal of knowledge and skill."

    Then go back to the Past to describe how you improved overall training of staff from 82% to over 97% within your first year on the job. Senior leadership took note of this accomplishment for which you received a company commendation.

    Finally, come back to the Present to describe how you will help ensure that the company maintains the highest possible compliance with all employee training requirements.

    Nowadays, every hiring manager wants results, so think in terms of specific achievements and try to structure your example accordingly.

Pro Tip

When telling your story, remember to talk about your STARs!
S - What was the Situation?
T - What was your Task?
A - What Action did you take?
R - Talk about the Results.

Statistics

This question is asked 27% more frequently at Fujitsu than at other companies.

9. What are your drivers? What motivates you?

How to answer

Motivation is what we use to drive ourselves forward to complete tasks and bring results.

Why do hiring managers ask this question?

They want to get a sense of your personality. But more importantly, they want to see your resiliency and determination.

They do not want to hire someone who will quit when encountering difficulties, whose focus will be elsewhere, or who will just waste their time.

Enthusiasm ranks very high on the list of qualities employers are looking for in a candidate.

If you can demonstrate that you are genuinely passionate about your profession and interested in the position you are applying for, your chances of getting hired will improve significantly.

  1. About Yourself

    This question requires serious self-examination; you should be asking it yourself long before the interviewer does.

    Look back on everything you’ve done in your life, job, and career so far.

    • What was it about your best days that made them the best?
    • Can you take those feelings and apply them to specific moments from your life and past work experiences?
    • Are you ready for tough projects or for being asked to do something that isn’t quite on your job description, or for having to stay at work till late instead of another team member?
    • Will meeting deadlines, learning new things, finding a way to solve problems or overcoming a challenge inspire you and make you want even more?
    • What gives you a sense of accomplishment when you can look back on and say "I achieved that"?

    Look deep inside.

    Analyze your experience by types of tasks, by type of environment, type of feedback, level of responsibility and stakes? Do you prefer independence, or being part of a team?

    1. Task type: if you were given a whole day or even week at work to focus on just one of your tasks, without interruptions or multitasking, which one would that be? Why?
    2. Environment: do you feel motivated in a dynamic environment with lots of action, communications, deadlines? Or would you rather disconnect from the outside world and immerse into a single task, with your headphones on?
    3. Feedback: are you better motivated by positive feedback, or by healthy criticism? Or maybe by customers’ smiles and “Thank you” messages?
    4. Responsibility and stakes: are you motivated to do your best when you know that the stakes are high and your contribution will make a great impact on the bottom line? Or do you feel better in a more safe and relaxed environment when someone else is responsible for making big decisions?
    5. Financials: what is the salary range that makes you feel comfortable and respect yourself? Let’s be realistic, this is one (although definitely shouldn’t be the first) of the drivers.

    Be creative, this list is not exhaustive.

  2. About The Company

    Take a long look at the job you’re applying for.

    • What kinds of tasks will you be responsible for?
    • What will the environment be?
    • What do you know about the possible kinds of feedback you will be receiving?
    • What is the level of stakes in this role?
    • What do you know about the salary they can possibly offer?
  3. About The Fit

    How comfortable are you with the drivers the company can offer, comparing to those of your own? Pick those that have a match and give some examples.

    For instance, if you’re applying for a software engineer job, describe how you are motivated by solving complex technical challenges.

    If the job involves teamwork, give an example showing that you love collaborating and accomplishing big things as a part of a team.

    That is what drives you to do your best each day. You can say you enjoy meaningful work creating products that change people’s lives, if this is relevant to the company.

Pro Tip

Be enthusiastic. The more enthusiasm you have for what motivates you, the more enthusiasm the interviewer will have for you!

Statistics

This question is asked 3.8x more frequently at Fujitsu than at other companies.

10. What are your current professional goals?

How to answer

This question is your chance to show yourself as a focused and results-oriented person (and this is exactly who you are, aren’t you?)

  1. About Yourself

    Define up to 3 goals. Think about each goal:

    • Why is it important to you?
    • What are you doing to achieve it?

    Imagine a company where you would like to work, ideally. How can working in that company help you achieve your goal? And what about the opposite - how can the company benefit from your reaching your goal?

  2. About The Company

    Based on the research you did on the company, what are their current goals and initiatives? How would its goals and initiatives help lead you to achieve your goals?

  3. About The Fit

    From your list of goals choose the one with the most synergy between yourself and the company. Explain how your professional passions will help the company achieve its success.

    Craft your story around these 4 points:

    • The Why: Why is this goal important to you, what makes it so exciting?
    • The What: What steps are you taking to reach your goal?
    • What’s in it for you? How can this company and job role help you reach your goal?
    • What’s in it for them? How can the company benefit?

Pro Tip

Try to validate your assumptions by asking the interviewer what they think.

For example, you can end your answer with this question: “And do you know what current goals the company/department is trying to achieve?”

It can help you learn more about the company and the job, turn the "interrogation" into a conversation and will allow you to relax some tension.

Statistics

This question is asked 3.3x more frequently at Fujitsu than at other companies.

11. Walk me through a scenario of a process you invented or improved

How to answer

Businesses are constantly on the lookout for ways to improve their delivery of services and/or products to their customers.

They want to streamline each of the individual activities all along the process so that they may reach their organizational goals.

The interviewer wants to learn how you recognized the need to improve a business process, how the improvement was accomplished, and what outcome was achieved.

  1. About Yourself

    Although you may not have had the opportunity to invent a new process, undoubtedly during your career you have come across a process or two that benefited from some form of improvement.

    Although processes will differ to some extent, depending on the type of business, the important thing to remember is the ability to recognize problems and make improvements where needed.

    • What roles did you play at previous (or current) companies?
    • Was your job repetitive, and if so, did you look for ways to make it more efficient or more interesting?
    • Did you help to introduce a technology solution to an operation that eliminated an error-prone manual input process?

    Think carefully, you may have done far more in this area than you realize.

  2. About The Company

    Research the company.

    • What are their core businesses?
    • Are they product-oriented or service-oriented (or perhaps they are both)?

    Check the website closely to determine where the company stands on the use of technology and what the plans are for the future. These are good indicators of how agile they are and how ready they are to take on new challenges.

    Review the job description to understand what the position requires and whether there are opportunities and needs for process improvements.

  3. About The Fit

    Use the STAR method to help you bring your story to life.

    You want to show the interviewer that you have the analytical skills to see the big picture and how you helped your employer improve efficiency and cut down on errors and delays by coming up with the right solution to a problem.

    Even if a process is working fairly well, there may be a way to improve it.

    Here is an example of a scenario that responds to this request:

    “At my last employer, a large hospital system, we were having a problem with moving the correct drugs from the central pharmacy to the nursing stations. The issue involved both accuracy and timeliness, one that presented a potential danger to patients. To improve this process, I worked with pharmacy management as well the nursing department to review and document each step of the process. As a result, we found several “pinch points” in the delivery schedules that needed to be revamped. In addition, we determined a better method for ordering drugs through the Electronic Ordering System used by the hospital. As a result, the improved process greatly cut down on ordering errors and improved delivery times to the nursing units.”

Pro Tip

It is always helpful if your story of process improvement relates to the job you are interviewing for.

However, even if it is not a perfect match, the important thing to remember is that you are able to show how you took on a problem and were able to determine a solution.

The skills needed to improve a process are transferrable.

Statistics

This question is asked 128.4x more frequently at Fujitsu than at other companies.

12. Describe a time when you had to overcome a significant obstacle on a job

How to answer

Why do employers ask this question?

It is designed to help the interviewer understand your problem solving and decision making skills. They want to know that they’re hiring someone who can think on their feet and who is resilient when facing challenges.

Think of this question as a great opportunity to turn what may have been a big challenge into a great accomplishment on your part.

  1. About Yourself

    The employer is looking for the skills needed to overcome a significant obstacale on the job. This is not the place to discuss the ordinary problems that you might face on a daily basis at work.

    Start with recalling a few examples of real obstacles and challenges you faced. For each of them, consider:

    • What was the project or task you were trying to accomplish?
    • What was the obstacle? This can be a specific problem related to your job or a higher-order issue across the organization.
    • What steps did you take to address the issue?
    • What decisions did you have to make?
    • How did the company benefit from your decisions?
    • How would you describe your approach, or what lessons have you learned?

    Be careful how you respond to this question. The problem you faced and resolved for the company should not have been of your own making.

    See this as your chance to show how you stepped up by turning to your skills and inner strength to find the right solutions.

  2. About The Company

    When you research the company, try and find out what kind of challenges they are facing. Try to find out what they need in terms of problem resolution.

    Search for online reviews, complaints and any other useful resources. What problems and obstacles can the employees face with this position?

    Pay particular attention to the requirements listed in the job description. It is quite possible that you have a a STAR story about overccoming an obstacle that relates directly to one of their needs. This would be a great opportunity to answer this question.

  3. About The Fit

    This is your opportunity to showcase your problem-solving skills, resilience, and strength of character. We recommend that you use the Present-Past-Present method to answer this question. The following is an example of how this method might be applied for the position of Blog Writer. The job description mentions that a successful candidate must have experience working “in a dynamic environment.”

    Starting with the Present you might say "I really enjoy working in a fast-paced and dynamic environment" (repeating the words used in the job description is reinforcing to the interviewer).

    Next go to a Past situation in which you had to write an article on extremely short notice. Your boss came to you at the last moment because your coworker failed to complete a very important assignment. The pressure was on but you worked extra hours to prepare the article successfully and on time. This story shows your sense of responsibility, ability to achieve results under stress, your willingness to go the extra mile, and your problem-solving skills.

    Finally come back to the Present to again reiterate how working under pressure is a skill that you are proud of and you will bring to any assignment for the employer.

Pro Tip

This question is not about your past, it's how you deal with things that will happen in the future, so try to keep your answer short and focused.

After all, the interviewer is really looking for what you took away from the situation and doesn’t need to know the full backstory of what happened.

Use the STAR method to prepare your story and practice it so that you can stay within 1-2 minutes.

Make sure to show that you remained positive when overcoming a hurdle at work. Positive attitudes lead to positive outcomes.

Statistics

This question is asked 2.0x more frequently at Fujitsu than at other companies.

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This page has been updated on February 23, 2024.

You can practice answering this question, as well as over 160 other common job interview questions from Fujitsu by engaging in a mock interview with Mr. Simon. As an artificial being, his undeniable benefits include:

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