Every employer’s success relies on the people who work there, the ideas that they can bring to the table and their ability to have a positive impact on the company’s work. So don’t be surprised if your graduate job interview includes a question on how innovative you are. Show
Several graduates have told us that they find the word ‘innovation’ intimidating, are worried that they aren’t innovative enough or struggle to think of an example of when they have been innovative. It can be tricky to come up with a good answer on the spot. However, if you take the time to prepare an answer before your interview and use our advice below, there will be no reason for nerves. Get help on answering more difficult interview questions with our article on the top nine tough tricky interview questions and answers . You can practise tricky interview questions using resources from our partners at Shortlist.Me . How not to reply to the interview question ‘Are you innovative?’ 1. ‘I’m not really sure if I’m innovative.’ 2. ‘Without a doubt. I’m the most innovative person I know by far.’ 3. ‘Yeah, I’d say I’m innovative. I just completed a group project at university. We needed 30 students to complete our questionnaire but were struggling to recruit enough people. My friend Bill came up with a great idea: all of the participants were entered into a prize draw and the winner got a pizza on us.’ What is the graduate recruiter really asking?Innovation will mean slightly different things to different employers; while an engineering company may be looking for a graduate who is committed to developing cutting-edge technologies, a marketing agency will be impressed by a candidate whose instinct is to think outside of the box for different ways to reach people. Ultimately, though, the recruiter is asking whether you’re the kind of person that sticks to the status quo and doesn’t challenge how things are done, or whether you’re eager to find new and improved ways of doing things. They’re also asking whether you have the potential to help their company succeed. So how should you tackle the question ‘Are you innovative’?Think about what innovation means to you – and to the company. Its website could give you some clues, especially what it says about its values and priorities. It might also help you to think of somebody who you would describe as innovative. Why did you pick them? What skills and qualities do they possess that you admire? Some skills and qualities that go hand-in-hand with innovation are:
While it isn’t essential, the recruiter will be impressed if you can draw on your work experience, extracurricular activities, university studies and so on to explain how you’ve developed these skills and qualities. Your examples don’t need to be extraordinary. The recruiter will appreciate that you’re just starting out in your career; they won’t be expecting you to have invented a time machine, given the prime minister tips on how to make a success of Brexit and come up with a way to cut the queueing time at Heathrow in half, all by the time you graduate. More realistic examples include:
Focus on what you did, although that doesn’t mean the example shouldn’t be team-based. Just highlight how you led the team and worked well with others. If possible, use an example that shows how you had a positive effect. For example, maybe your idea to introduce a student-only meal deal on Thursday evenings, alongside a loyalty card scheme, saw a 50% increase in repeat custom. Other interview questions you could be asked about innovationThere are several competency-based questions that you could be asked, such as:
Other questions about innovation that an interviewer could ask include:
Careers where innovation is in demandIf you’re applying for jobs in any of the following areas, you could be asked about innovation at interview, as it is seen as a particularly important quality by employers in these industries:
What is an innovative approach to problem solving?THE PROCESS. Innovative problem solving is a process that is part of innovating solution stage of social enterprising. The innovative problem solving process has five sub-stages: framing, diagnosis, generating solutions, making choices and taking action.
How do you answer an innovative interview questions?Here are some steps you can use to respond to interview questions asking for examples of creativity:. Find an appropriate example. Brainstorm to think of examples of times that you came up with creative solutions in the workplace. ... . Use the STAR method. ... . Focus on the creative process. ... . Highlight collaboration and communication.. Can you give me an example of a situation where you used creative thinking?There are plenty of examples of creative thinking/doing skills in a work situation, from devising a social media strategy for a new product; to arranging an in-store display for maximum impact; to devising a new way of processing reimbursements; to strengthening the quality of customer service (with proven results).
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