Can you give an example of a time when you experienced failure or rejection in your professional life, and how did you use it as an opportunity for growth?

Question

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Situation: After completing my bachelor’s degree in business administration, I
applied for a quantitative master’s program in Bologna. Unfortunately, I wasn’t
accepted, missing the cut-off by just one point. The main reason was that my
background in quantitative subjects was insufficient, as my bachelor’s degree
had focused more on business administration.
Action: Despite this setback, I remained committed to my goal of improving my
quantitative skills while continuing to pursue finance. In my master’s program,
I chose as many quantitative courses as possible, and I also participated in
several classes from the Master in Quantitative Finance program. Additionally,
while working as a librarian in the economics library, I had the opportunity to
engage with students and professors from the field, gaining valuable insights
and expanding my knowledge.
Result: My efforts paid off when I wrote a highly quantitative thesis, which was
reviewed by the director of the Master in Quantitative Finance, who served as my
co-examiner. This experience validated my hard work and determination, and
reinforced my belief that with perseverance, curiosity, and a commitment to
continuous improvement, I can achieve any goal I set. Applying for this position
is the next step in pursuing that ambition.

Anonymous · Answer

Situation: In my previous company, we redesigned the API layer to optimize
performance and improve reliability. However, after the launch, we received very
negative feedback and multiple escalations from leadership regarding the
application's performance.

Task: As the team lead, my task was to address the concerns raised by
leadership, understand the root causes of the performance issues, and
demonstrate the improvements made by the new API layer.

Action: I attended calls to understand the concerns, which centered around the
new performance dashboards and incident reports. We realized that previously,
not all error scenarios were tracked and reported. To address this, we created
high-level reports similar to the old ones to prove that the new API was better
performing. We highlighted that through context propagation, we were now
identifying potential and previously unreported failures and moved from average
response times to 95th percentile reporting. Additionally, I recognized the need
to set expectations for other involved teams, explaining the current process,
the changes being rolled out, and educating them on the new process. This
allowed them time to adjust their processes or align with our approach.

Result: Although it was a tough week, we successfully demonstrated that the new
API was indeed performing better, which helped restore confidence in our team's
work. This process also highlighted the importance of clear communication and
expectation-setting with other teams to ensure alignment and prevent unnecessary
doubts and morale issues in the future.

Anonymous · Answer

Situation:At my early-stage startup, I led the engineering team on a high-stakes
project that required close collaboration with design and QA teams. Despite
completing my assigned tasks on time, delays from other teams caused us to miss
the project deadline, creating significant issues for the company.
Task:I was responsible for ensuring that our engineering tasks were completed on
schedule and seamlessly integrated with the work from the design and QA teams.
Action:After the project failed to meet its deadline, I took several steps to
improve future project outcomes:
 1. Implemented Daily Stand-Up Meetings:We had a specific issue where a critical
    design update was not communicated to the engineering team. During the new
    daily stand-ups, we identified such gaps early. For example, a design change
    was discussed in a stand-up meeting, allowing us to adjust our engineering
    work in real-time and avoid significant delays.
    
 2. Introduced Regular Risk Assessments:We identified a risk of the QA team
    being overwhelmed with testing volume. Regular risk assessments highlighted
    this risk, prompting us to temporarily reallocate resources from the
    engineering team to assist with testing. This proactive approach helped us
    keep the QA process on track and prevented further delays.
    
 3. Utilized Project Management Tools:We used Jira to track progress and set
    clear milestones. This tool allowed us to maintain transparency across teams
    and keep everyone aligned. For instance, the tool’s visual dashboard helped
    us monitor task dependencies and adjust our schedules based on real-time
    updates.

Result:These changes led to improved synchronization between teams and more
timely identification of issues. For example, the daily stand-ups and risk
assessments allowed us to resolve issues more efficiently, and the project
management tools enhanced overall transparency. As a result, subsequent projects
were completed on schedule, and the improved processes contributed to more
successful project deliveries. This experience reinforced the importance of
daily synchronization, proactive risk management, and effective communication in
managing cross-functional projects.

Anonymous · Answer

I failed to implement a full fledge feature that i had overcommitted in a
particular release. However, looking at deadlines and other constaraints I
decided to break down the feature into current and next release take out only
most feasible items in the current relase. This helped me showcase the feature
in the current release as well as avoid any last minute burnouts of the team.

Can you give an example of a time when you experienced failure or rejection in your professional life, and how did you use it as an opportunity for growth?

Did you come across this question in an interview?

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