Behavioral: Teamwork and Solving a Problem Through an Overlooked Observation

In each of two technical-screen interviews for an economist internship, part of the time goes to behavioral questions. Two prompts were reported, and the candidate's advice is to answer in the Situation, Task, Action, Result (STAR) format and to connect each story to the company's leadership principles. Answer each prompt with one specific story. ### Clarifying Questions - For an internship role, may the stories come from research, coursework, a teaching-assistant role or a previous internship rather than a full-time job? - Should the collaboration story focus on my own contribution or on how the team worked together? - For the observation story, does the observation need to come from data, or can it come from watching how people or a process behaved? ### Part 1 — Collaborating with teammates Tell me about a time you worked with teammates to accomplish something. ```hint Show the friction A collaboration story is stronger when the team had to work through something real, such as a disagreement about the approach or an uneven workload. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - A specific situation with a shared goal and your role in it - What you personally did to coordinate, resolve disagreement or support teammates - The outcome, with evidence, and what you learned about working in a team ### Part 2 — Solving a problem through a unique observation Tell me about a time you solved a problem by noticing something others had missed. ```hint Make the observation concrete Name exactly what you noticed and why others had missed it, then say how you confirmed it before acting on it. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - What the observation was and why it was not obvious - How you validated it and turned it into a solution - The result, quantified where possible, and what changed afterwards ### What a Strong Answer Covers - STAR structure with most of the time spent on your own actions and decisions - Clear ownership: "I" for what you did, "we" only for team outcomes - Specific evidence and results, with honesty about what did not work - Behavior that reflects the leadership principles without simply naming them - Reflection on what you would repeat or change, and stories that hold up under detailed follow-up ### Follow-up Questions - What would you do differently if you faced the same team situation again? - How did you convince others that your observation was real, and what did you do when someone disagreed? - What did your teammates say about your contribution, and how do you know? - How did you confirm the problem was actually solved rather than just less visible?