Questions at Western Digital interviews
We analyzed 540 interview reviews for Western Digital 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.
10 frequent non-technical questions at Western Digital:
According to our research, hiring managers at Western Digital ask soft skills interview questions 18% less than at other companies.
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.
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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.
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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?
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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 9% more frequently at Western Digital than at other companies.
2. Describe a time when you resolved a conflict with a colleague in your past role
How to answer
Wherever you go, you will always have to work with people and this means that there is always going to be a chance for conflict. Employers ask this question to gauge how well you handle disagreements and how you resolve contentious issues with your coworkers. Remember, if conflcts are not properly handled they may cause disruption in the running of the department or even the entire organization.
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About Yourself
Think of the times you had to deal with conflict.
- What were the different ways you were able to address the situation?
- If you were the cause of the conflict, how did you handle it and what role did the other person play in helping to resolve the conflict?
- What were the key lessons you learned through your experience?
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About The Company
Research the company and its culture.
- What do they value?
- Is there anything that you can find about how they deal with conflict resolution?
- Do sites such as Glassdoor give any indication of the kinds of conflicts that might occur and how they are handled?
Reading comments on the company's social media posts often prove helpful to see how they react to customers' complaints.
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About The Fit
Consider the Present-Past-Present method to tell a story of how you addressed conflict and how it turned a negative into a positive.
Start with the Present to expain to the hiring manager how you always ask questions and listen carefully to your coworkers perspective to understand both sides of an issue and apply your sense of fairness when it comes to resolving potential conflicts with others.
Then go back to the Past using the STAR method to frame your story. Here is an example of how someone might relate just such a story:
"My coworker, who started with the company about 6 months before me explained the process the department used for tracking certain data metrics. In my "wisdom" I thought I had a better way. Without telling my colleague what I was doing I went ahead and tried my own way. Unfortunately my way did not quite do the job and as a result we had to start again. He was naturally upset but I brought out my best listening skills to understand his perspective and we agreed to start again with the next reports. I learned a lesson and we have worked together very well since that time."
Finally, come back to the Present to explain how you skills at listening to and doing your best to understand the other person's point of view is a valuable asset and makes you a strong candidate for the position.
Pro Tip
A key to addressing conflict is listening, communication and emotional intelligence. Highlight these skills.
If you're able to, turn the question around and ask the interviewer if they have experienced the same thing. This will start a conversation, which is the goal of an interview.
Statistics
This question is asked 7.0x more frequently at Western Digital than at other companies.
3. 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.
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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?
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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?
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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 2.3x more frequently at Western Digital than at other companies.
4. Tell me about a successful project you were involved in. What was your role? What was the result?
How to answer
At first glance you might think that this question is only asked of project managers. That is clearly not the case. In the modern business environment, work is often organized in the form of projects across multiple disciplines involving many people at many different levels.
Projects allow companies to plan objectives and milestones in order to reach their goals, to monitor progress and performance, to clearly define deliverables and success.
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About Yourself
Think about a few projects you have been involved in, regardless of your level of participation. These might range from small projects like organizing a party to large-scale multinational projects with participants and teams across the globe, million-dollar budgets and high risk and reward stakes.
Develop one or two project-based STAR stories.
Remember, all project-based STAR stories should start with the following descriptive elements:
- Project name
- Its purpose and goal
- Your role in it
- The duration of the project or its phases (in case only some phases were successful)
- The approximate number of people or stakeholders involved in it.
Once you have establish the base facts, its time to describe the challenges and results:
- What were the top 3 challenges?
- What was the end result?
- How did the company (or other stakeholders) benefit from the results?
- How can you define your contribution in 3-5 key phrases?
If you received any praise for your efforts from your boss, peers or clients, what did they say exactly?
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About The Company
Based on the research you did on the company, what kinds of projects can you expect here?
- What do you know about the goals they are trying to achieve?
- What do you know about their current challenges?
- Can you imagine what success will look like for the projects in this company?
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About The Fit
Once you decide which project best fits this question, use the Present-Past-Present approach to answer it.
Start with the Present by explaining your thinking on what you believe makes a project successful. You might say that your approach to all new projects is to set up the right project framework and tools before you begin, to help ensure that you get off to a good start.
Next go back to a Past situation in which you and your team took on a project and used your method of clarification to ensure that everyone knew their assignment and through hard work and focus, brought it to a successful conclusion.
Finally, come back to the Present to show how you will use your approach to help the employer tackle projects going forward.
Practice telling your story, using the STAR method.
Pro Tip
End your answer by asking the interviewer how they define success for the role you are applying for.
This will provide you with an insight into the company's environment and expectations for this role, as well as helping to transform the “interrogation” into a conversation as the interview continues.
Statistics
This question is asked 5.5x more frequently at Western Digital than at other companies.
5. How would you describe yourself?
How to answer
This question is like the Tell me about yourself question usually asked at the beginning of an interview, but there are some subtle differences. It belongs to the family of reflective questions where the interviewer is assessing your cognitive abilities, as opposed to the more factual and matter-of-fact “Tell Me About Yourself” question.
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About Yourself
Think of how your bosses and peers would describe you.
Throughout your professional experience, you have probably heard them giving you some labels – try to remember the exact words they used.
If you have received LinkedIn recommendations from someone, read those and think why people wrote them and what work situations prompted those descriptions. Remember the context of those situations and frame them as stories.
Make a list of keywords, or short key phrases, that can describe you. Your Key Selling Points should definitely appear on this list, but try to also use some adjectives here, to add a positive emotional touch.
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About The Company
Research the company's values, standards and policies. Make a list of keywords or short key phrases.
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About The Fit
Which of your keywords correspond best with those of the company? Highlight 3-4 matches. Now try to imagine being a peer or a boss of yours and compile statements about yourself, in the 3rd person, mentioning these keywords. Remember to use adjectives, and don’t be afraid to mention real references from real people.
For example, if you are applying for a position that requires good people skills, and your boss at your previous job called you a “conflict resolution guru,” don’t be shy to mention this reference, and provide a brief context that caused your boss’s praise. Use the STAR method to craft your story.
Don’t limit yourself with just one keyword. If you are concise and don’t ramble with your answer, your interviewer will probably want to hear more than one. Just be observant and watch the interviewer’s reaction. You want to keep them interested.
Pro Tip
If you haven’t yet received any LinkedIn recommendations, try to obtain them. Also, offer to write your own recommendations for them - both received and given recommendations will be visible in your profile and will tell the interviewer exactly what you want to be known about your values, your attitude towards work and relationships.
Statistics
This question is asked 2.7x more frequently at Western Digital than at other companies.
6. Why did you choose your major?
How to answer
Everyone has his/her reasons to pick a major.
There are hundreds and hundreds of careers to choose from and most people pick a major that will give them a background in the career they want to pursue.
When you come to a job interview you will be definitely asked this question.
The interviewers are seeking to understand your underlying motivations for selecting this career.
It is also a good question for them to learn how much planning and thought actually went into your career selection. It is a window into your personality and interests.
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About Yourself
This is your chance to highlight your strengths and how your major prepared you for your future plans.
Your answer to this question should reflect your passion and interest in the field you chose. Be genuine.
There’s every reason to display your passions and interest in your major. They will give interviewers a sense of who you really are.
Think about who or what influenced your career choice and include the positive influences, not the negative ones.
- How does this tie into your major?
- How will you bring your passion and unique knowledge to the new company?
Emphasize your strong people skills and excellent communication skills, allowing you to connect with others.
Think of the skills and experiences you gained through your major, think back to assignments and projects from your studies, internships and previous jobs. Consider the skills you developed working on those projects.
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About The Company
Write down a list of skills and experiences you gained through your major studies.
Then, look at the job listing itself.
Match up any of your skills and experiences that relate to the requirements of the job. How can you apply them to your new position, as well as the future?
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About The Fit
Use this question as an opportunity to mention a few skills related to your chosen major that would also be relevant in the workplace.
Point to a good culture fit.
Be positive, showing your enthusiasm. Let them know you're excited to be where you are.
Discuss what you enjoy about the industry you’re considering and why you could see yourself working in it. Even if your major is not directly related to the job, you can likely find connections between the two.
This is also a chance to explain other ways you have developed skills that will fulfill the role you're applying for.
For example, perhaps you were a biology major who is applying for a job in computer programming. You might explain that you took a number of online and extracurricular classes on programming to develop the skills needed for the job.
Pro Tip
Let your past decisions and accomplishments shine through. Once you nail your interview, you'll be on your way to a successful career path.
Statistics
This question is asked 4.9x more frequently at Western Digital than at other companies.
7. 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.
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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.
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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!
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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 54% less frequently at Western Digital 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.
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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?
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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.
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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 56% more frequently at Western Digital than at other companies.
9. What are your strengths? Give an example
How to answer
Many people think they know their personal strengths and consider this question simple. However, to impress your interviewer you must be ready to turn your response into a meaningful and insightful answer.
It’s an open invitation to talk about your Key Selling Points, your accomplishments and to show how you match the employer’s values and requirements.
You must be ready to stand out and demonstrate your unique value as a candidate.
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About Yourself
Reflect on your best professional qualities. What are they? Are you dependable, flexible, friendly, hardworking, a strong leader, formal, punctual, good team player?
Pick at least three personal strengths that will help you at your new workplace, and make sure you can give specific examples to demonstrate why you say these are your strengths.
If no key strengths spring to mind, ask your friends or colleagues what they think your greatest strengths are. What examples can demonstrate your success due to these qualities?
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About The Company
Make sure to research the company and read the job description thoroughly in order to identify the key strengths required for the role.
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About The Fit
Recruiters and hiring managers want to know how your strength relates to the job you’re applying for.
Match the skills required by the position with your list of strengths. Choose up to 5 top skills. These are your Key Selling Points! Prove your point by providing examples.
Craft your stories using the STAR method.
Pro Tip
Tip 1: Aim to strike a balance between over-confidence and underselling yourself. If you list too many strengths, you risk sounding arrogant. Listing too few implies a lack of confidence or even a lack of skills.
Tip 2: One of the most in-demand skills nowadays is being adaptive. In order to emphasize your adaptiveness, try to think of an example when you had to quickly learn something new, or quickly become a team member with a completely new group of people, or started contributing quickly in a new environment or project.
Statistics
This question is asked 4.5x more frequently at Western Digital 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?)
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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?
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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?
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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 4.1x more frequently at Western Digital than at other companies.
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This page has been updated on February 23, 2024.
