Interview questions › Self-driven initiative
Tell me about something you built or set up from nothing.
Self-driven initiative · commonly asked in most interviews
No account, no credit card for the first three questions.
How to answer it well
Give the first version, who you got to use it, and the earliest sign it was worth continuing.
Two mistakes that cost you points
- Listing features rather than the problem it solved for someone.
- No mention of anyone else adopting or using it.
What to do with this question today
- Answer it out loud once, without stopping. Do not write it down first.
- Read back exactly what you said. Mark the filler words, and the length of your longest pause.
- Answer it again and change one thing — usually the opening line, or the number at the end.
This question is not in the free run yet — practise the same skill with a free run, or paste a job description and we build the set around that role.
More questions
- Tell me about something nobody asked you to do that you started and finished. · Self-driven initiative
- Tell me about a time you asked for more responsibility. How did you make the case? · Self-driven initiative
- Tell me about a process you changed for the better. What was it before and after? · Self-driven initiative
- Tell me about a time you noticed something was wrong before anyone else did, and acted on it. · Self-driven initiative
- In one minute, introduce yourself and explain why this role should consider you. · Communication
- Walk me through your resume. Tell me about the choices you made along the way. · Communication
Also searched as: tell me about something you built from scratch; entrepreneurial initiative interview answer
Dimension: Self-driven initiative — the same skill is probed again with different wording, so practise the pattern, not just this sentence.