‘’We don’t grow when things are easy, We grow when we face challenges’’. Life gives us challenges unannounced, sometimes we are ready, but sometimes we are not. We are always looking forward to something in life, be it future returns on our investments, a promotion at our workplace, or buying something for ourselves. How to answer this question- What Challenges Are You Looking For?
The challenges that we face and overcome define our personality. So if you are asked that ‘what challenges you are looking for in an interview, remember that the interviewer wants to assess your personality, whether you are someone afraid of challenges and running away from them or you are someone who is looking forward to facing challenges, to grow.
What is a Challenge?
A Challenge is a situation or difficulty that pushes you to learn and do things differently. A challenge can be different things at different places. The homework can be a challenge for a child, convincing their clients can be a challenge for a salesman, employing the best candidate is a challenge for a hiring manager. For a company staying innovative and customer-supportive is a challenge.
Imagine what if there were no challenges then, no one would be willing to push themselves, and our world would be without innovation. Hence it’s necessary that we challenge ourselves and face our challenges boldly. You might not know how to handle a potential client or how to approach a problem, but there are always people around us who can help us, and all we have to do is try to overcome the challenge, and we will find ourselves doing things, we were once afraid to even try.
Why do interviewers ask, What challenges are you looking for?
Every company wants to grow and become the best in their field, and to do, so they need people who are not just efficient but are also willing to go the extra mile to achieve their targets and are ready to grow according to the needs of the environment. Employees who view challenges as an opportunity and strive to be the best contribute to the growth and become an asset for the company in the long run.
This question shows whether you are qualified for the position you are applying for, are ready for your role, and are aware of the challenges. It gives an insight to the employers about your personality and how you view challenges at the workplace. Hence, the interviewer analyses the following-
- Your problem-solving skills, how you approach a difficult situation.
- What is your motivation for the job?
- If you have faced any challenges in your previous role
- Your thoughts about the position you are applying for
- If you are ready to handle responsibilities
- What unique skills do you possess that can help the company in some way?
- If your career goals align with the job you are applying for
- If you are aware of the objectives and goals of the company and ready to learn new skills to achieve your goals.
These characteristics help the employers judge your suitability for the company and the role you are applying for. It does not matter how many years of experience you have or how talented you are if you are not capable enough to handle challenges and achieve goals.
How to answer what challenges are you looking for?
While answering this question can be challenging with little preparation and understanding of the context in which it’s asked, you can list your challenges confidently in front of the employer. Hence before going for the interview, prepare yourself with such questions and understand their meaning. Here are some tips before you answer ‘what challenges are you looking for-
- Talk about your skills – We challenge ourselves to learn and grow. We should talk about what skills we have learned and how you plan to use these skills in your new role and improve your expertise and talent to achieve your goal. So, remember to demonstrate your skills.
- Be honest- whether you are looking for challenges or not, be sincere to the hiring manager, let them know your thoughts about your expectations and how you view challenges. Talk about the natural difficulties that you may face, do not make up tough challenges that are not related to the job. Be yourself and be authentic.
- Be brief- When answering any question in an interview, use at least three or four adjectives to answer the question. If you are going to be emotional or over-confident and keep on talking about how smart you are, it becomes boring, and the interviewer might lose interest at that point. So, be brief and concise with your answer.
- Talk about what motivates you – There is a reason why we leave our bed every morning because we are motivated or desire to do something. The challenges in our everyday life, be it our work or desire to learn something drives our energy levels. Hence, talk about what motivates you about the job profile and how you will challenge yourself to achieve your goals.
- Relate your answer to the job profile– Imagine you are applying for the role of a software engineer so, you cannot say that you are looking forward to building your skills and enhancing your communication skills. Instead, you can say that you are looking forward to upgrading your programming skills and working on user-friendly software.
- Confidence speaks- It does not matter whether you are ready for the interview or not or if you feel your answer is not impressive enough, leave all these thoughts aside when you are in an interview. Be honest, and answer ‘what according to you represents your best personality. Do not answer negatively, but confidently, and positively.
- Talk about your previous experience- If you are a fresher or an experienced person, you might have faced challenges in your earlier role. Talk about how you overcome those challenges and how you plan to do the same and solve your challenges analytically.
- A background search – Before you go for the interview, run a quick google search and understand the company work culture and its goals and objectives and what possible challenges are to be expected there, align your answer on the same line.
How to construct your answer to what challenges are you looking for
| Step 1- describe your skills in brief. Step 2- what challenges you faced in your previous job. Step 3- How you are planning to use your skills to overcome challenges. Step 4- What are you willing to learn to grow and contribute to the growth of the company? |
Sample answers to help you answer better
Example 1 – If you are a fresher
| I have always been curious about learning new things. While in college, I learned about management, sales, and leadership roles, but I never had an opportunity to implement what I learned. I believe this job is an opportunity for me to practice what I learned and learn by application. I’m looking forward to being part of a team that strives to achieve its goals, and I don’t want to let myself down. I want to push forward and enhance my capabilities. At last, the biggest challenge I am expecting is adaptability to the role because I have no prior experience. I’m looking forward to adapting myself to this role and exploring the challenges and find solutions. |
As a fresher, one needs to demonstrate that they are willing to learn and grow, not just for the organization but for themselves too.
Some common examples-
Example 2
| As a sales manager, convincing my clients has been the biggest challenge for me, but with time and experience, I have learned that sincerity and honesty are appealing to the client. I am looking forward to building a secure customer base for the company, which might be challenging when you have to start all over again in a new place, but I’m looking for a change. These challenges are common, and I believe with my abilities and the support of the team I can do better. |
Example 3 – If it’s a graphic designer position
| I’m aware that this company believes in innovation and creativity. I have recently acquired my certification in AutoCAD, and I have worked on a few projects where I have built 2D and 3D models. I’m looking forward to working on real-time graphics. I have established my profile on various projects, but it will be challenging to work upon a customer-centric model. Lastly, I want to apply my skills in an industry-centric approach to learn more about graphic designing and work within deadlines. |
Example 4 – sales and marketing
| I have been in the digital marketing field for the past five years, and it’s been exhilarating, there have been ups and downs, but in the end, I have always learned something new. I’m looking forward to applying my skills and leading a team of marketers who aim high. It will be challenging to market products where customers have thousands of options to choose from, but I have relied on my skills and building support through honesty. So, it is going to be interesting to lead from the front and design my marketing strategy. |
Example 5 – If you are aspiring to be a writer
| I have been passionate about writing. At times it feels like words come naturally to me, but working as a content writer has been a different experience. I have realized that it requires a lot of research, adept grammar skills, words at suitable places, and you need to sound convincing and easy to be understood. I have challenged myself to learn the art of creating content by hook or by crook. Hence, I’m looking forward to approaching my skills for a technical audience, and I need to update my jargon. I’m curious about learning this new side of content writing because nothing comes naturally. It’s all practice and passion to try what you have never done. |
Example 6- If you are applying in the tech field
| Ever since I started my career, I have worked as a software developer, and over time I learned programming. I realized that it’s more challenging and fun, there are always new languages to learn, new ways to write a program, and it’s something that has been challenging yet fun. So, I’m looking forward to using my programming skills to provide a haven for people who will use our end product.These days privacy concerns, compulsory log-ins have led to people feeling insecure about using a website, and I want to quell such fears by providing them secure data options and building customer-friendly websites so that it’s easy for everyone to access our product. |
Example 7- If you are applying in the investment industry
| I’m looking forward to learning more about stocks and derivatives. However, I have more than three years of experience as an investment banker. I feel the stock market is a stumbling market, and your analysis is never enough. You always need to be prepared for new challenges. I want to provide a safe base for the clients where they are not scared to invest and can generate profits, and this is done through better communication and negotiation between the client and the investor. Lastly, the biggest challenge for me is to get into your company, and I feel whatever challenges will come after that, I am ready to face them and take advice from my superior whenever required. |
Example 8 – jobs related to product manager
| I believe that every job is challenging and that’s what makes it interesting. I have been upgrading my skills since I’m working. The journey from a trainee to a product manager was filled with challenges but with the correct problem-solving approach and patience I have been able to overcome them.As a product manager, I’m looking forward to introducing environment-friendly products by using technology and innovation. It would be interesting to work with a customer base that is concerned about the environment and loves technology-driven products. |
Example 9 – If you are applying to be a teacher
| I was always passionate about teaching, so I’m positively aware that it can be challenging to handle kids, but what I have learned is that they are just innocent kids who want someone to understand them, and if you try to listen to them and think through their perspective it becomes easy to teach and understand them. I’m looking forward to teaching them that they develop curiosity about the subjects and are ready to learn on their own, not just through reading but learning by application. |
Example 10- If you are applying to the Design industry
| As an Architect, I have worked on various designs, sometimes there are deadlines to meet, and customers can be specific about the kind of design they want. It’s not always easy to draw, and sometimes it requires research and lots of discussions and teamwork to design the product you envision. So, I’m looking forward to testing my leadership abilities by leading a team that aims high and strives to be innovative. I believe as an architect, you cannot work upon the same thing again and again, and every design that I make or supervise must be unique. |
Example 11- If you are applying as a chef
| I have worked as a chef in restaurants and what I have observed Is that customer satisfaction is directly related to food uniqueness. I mean, Pizza is available at almost every restaurant, but how you make your Pizza different and delicious is what appeals to a customer. So, I’m looking forward to bringing dishes that are unique in the way they are cooked. I want customers to remember the restaurant for the variety that it provides. |
Example 12 – If you are changing your job profile
| I have worked as a team leader, but I want to test my management skills as a manager. I believe that learning and aiming high is what promotes growth in any business. Hence, I’m looking forward to enhancing the manufacturing capacity of the company branch and improving quality management through teamwork. I want to contribute to the company’s growth, not just as an individual but as a team member leading from the front. |
What If I’m Not looking for any challenge?
Everyone is not looking for a challenge. Some people desire a simple lifestyle and a regular salaried job. So they can have enough time for themselves and other activities which may include spending time with family. Do not worry in such situations because honesty wins the heart. Even if you are doing the same job every day, you become so efficient that you are an asset to any organization that you work for, Hence in such a situation, you can answer as
Example – I have been a part of many jobs since I turned into an adult, and my previous role required multitasking and handling projects with deadlines which are not always easy to achieve, now I feel that I want a quiet life so, I’m looking to explore something that many regular salaried people do, I’m not looking forward to any sort of challenges, but even If there are any I will give my best and use my experience to overcome any difficulty I have gained enough knowledge in this field hence, I’m looking forward to a simple job.
Some Common Challenges to expect in any industry
When you apply for any job, always remember to go through the job profile and company profile. These two things can help you understand any question in a better way. There are few challenges that everyone faces in every industry. Those difficulties need to be solved through a person’s abilities rather than skills. Hence, one can mention them during the interview and explain how you will overcome such challenges. These challenges are-
- Adapting to company culture – This can be a challenge for everyone, and one needs to rely on their social and vocal abilities to overcome them.
- Transitioning to a new role: Maybe you will be a regular employee from an intern or a manager from a team leader. When you are changing your job profile, it always comes with new challenges.
- Meeting targets – A big challenge in any industry is to meet your daily, weekly, or monthly target. You need to be patient and put in extra work to achieve goals.
- Learning skills- It does not matter how equipped we are. There is always something new to learn. Hence look forward to learning more as a challenge.
Common mistakes to avoid while talking about Challenges
There are a few points to remember, which you must avoid at any cost while answering ‘what challenges are you looking for?’
- Avoid being emotional – Don’t talk about all the hardships you have faced in your life, answer professionally about what challenges are you expecting from this job.
- Do not feel intimidated- Sometimes, candidates think too highly of the company and the job profile and end up answering how nervous they are about the job profile and want to learn more. These kinds of answers will let you down, so avoid answering negatively.
- Your challenges don’t need to be intellectual – When an interviewer asks ‘What challenges are you looking for?’ he wants to know about the overall challenges that you think you might face as an individual not just in terms of skills and goals but also in terms of working with new people, communicating more, understanding clients, etc.
- Don’t sound insecure- Answer honestly and cheerfully, don’t let the pressure win over your thinking ability. If you feel that you may have some difficulties then, be frank and express the same to the hiring manager. They will appreciate it if you voice your opinions openly, whether those doubts are regarding your abilities or the company’s abilities.
Concluding a challenge
Questions asked in an interview are often simple, and sometimes they even sound vague, but remember the people who will hire you are experienced and are well above your capabilities so, it is useless to doubt them. Instead, you should develop a habit of thinking well before answering any interview question. When you think deeply, you will be amazed to know that there are hidden capacities within you that need to be explored. Hence if an interviewer asks about challenges, they want to assess your thoughts about the job profile and how far are you aware of your role and the company’s role.
