When Were You Most Satisfied in Your Job?

  
When were you most satisfied in your job?

When asked a question such as, when where you most satisfied in your job, an interviewer is trying to determine more than just the answer from you. What you say will have a meaning that the interviewer will take from the way you choose to answer. It is designed to be an unexpected question that takes you by surprise to put you slightly outside the realms of your comfort zone. This will help to determine your ability to think through a problem.

Avoid giving an answer that is self serving or can create a negative opinion of you. For example, "I was most satisfied when I received a large Christmas bonus." Although you may be trying to put a point across that you deserved a bonus due to some outstanding work on your part, this statement will have a negative effect and make you appear greedy.

Another bad example:"I was most satisfied in my last job when I was promoted". Although this could seem like it should be a justifiably satisfying time in your career, the interviewer will take away a negative opinion of your answer because it centre’s around you.

Try instead to give an answer that has relevance to the job you have applied for. For example, if the job involves maintenance of machinery, you could answer with: "The most satisfied I am in my job is when I see a defective piece of machinery brought back online as a direct result of my involvement." This now makes you seem to have pride in your work. You could follow this up with a specific example and if you worked in a team say so, taking the glory for yourself can highlight your skills, but sharing the glory with the team shows you have the ability to work in one. Which of course is a characteristic employers look for.