Every day we face a ton of mishaps — from a glitching messenger app to a compliance update, sending your industry into chaos. Compound this with rapid technology change and shifting customer behaviors, and it becomes apparent that strong problem-solving skills are highly important in the workplace.

So much so that 60% of employees want to see evidence of problem-solving skills when evaluating candidates. In interviews, candidates will be asked problem-solving questions. 

In this post, we provide common problem-solving interview questions employers use to screen candidates (with sample answers!). But first, let’s recap the basics. 

What Are Problem-Solving Interview Questions?

Problem-solving interview questions assess critical thinking, data analysis, and decision-making abilities. Candidates face hypothetical situations or case problems to test their analytical, critical thinking, and conceptual skills. 

Nail the problem-solving questions, and you’re likely to get the role: 70% of employers consider strong critical thinking abilities as a huge indicator of job success. 

Why Would Employers Ask Problem-Solving Questions During an Interview?

Problem-solving questions are a good way to evaluate your ability to overcome work challenges. Most employers want to be sure you can resolve issues and move past bottlenecks independently.

In other words: They want to see how you apply deductive reasoning or analytical frameworks to determine the root cause of the problem and then determine the best solution for troubleshooting.

The purpose of interview questions for problem-solving may also vary depending on the role. 

• For customer-facing roles, problem-solving questions are a great way to assess conflict management and issue-resolution skills. 

• For management roles, they provide insights into the candidate’s strategic thinking and planning abilities. 

• For technical roles, these help evaluate your approaches to issue troubleshooting and process optimization. 

In every case, the employer expects to see how you apply your cognitive, analytical, communication, and decision-making skills.

Popular Types of Problem-Solving Interview Questions (and Answers) 

Because problem-solving assumes using a range of hard and soft skills, there are multiple types of interview questions employers may ask. To help you practice, we organized popular problem-solving interview questions into different groups. 

Situational Interview Questions

Situational interview questions ask you to describe your line of thinking and actions in a certain setting. Most ‘mock’ situations will be directly related to your role. For example, as a social media marketing manager you may get asked “What would you do if you noticed a typo in an update 10 hours after publishing when people have already been commenting on it? 

The best approach to situational problem-solving questions is using the STAR interview method. First, describe the situation. Next, talk about the task (problem) you’ve had. Then explain what actions you took. Finally, conclude with an outcome (result) gained. 

Here are several sample problem-solving questions with answers for this category. 

A customer asks for a product, but it’s out of stock. They’re unhappy. How would you respond? 

For customer-facing roles, you may be probed with a problem-solving interview question presenting some sort of a customer issue. Such questions are also common in the hospitality, restaurant, and retail industries among others.

Your goal is to showcase your stellar customer service and conflict resolution skills. 

Sample answer: 

First, I’d ask the customer if they’d be open to some alternatives — and provide a range of similar products we currently have in stock. If neither works for them, I’d look up the restock information and offer to put them on a notification list. Or, if they are open to that — suggest placing a backorder. If they are still not happy, I’d politely ask them to wait for a moment and approach the manager about the possibility of issuing a discount for them or offering free expedited shipping once the product is back in stock.

You are last to leave the office, but can’t find your keys. No one else is around. What would you do?

This is another sample situational interview question, prompting you to talk about your approaches to responding to unexpected circumstances. The other party wants to understand whether you’d be following the protocol or acting erratic (or unprofessional).

Here’s how you should answer this question:

Well, I’d first re-check if I haven’t misplaced my keys and search all my belongings. If I truly don’t have them on me, I can’t leave the office without properly securing it, right? So I’d try calling my manager to see if they could help — or another employee, whom I know to leave close by. I believe one of them would be able to come and help me out or direct me towards the right HR person to contact about this.

You’ve hatched a detailed plan. But there were some last-minute changes from the senior stakeholder, affecting your timeline. How would you respond?

Not all projects go as planned. The purpose of this question is to test your adaptability skills. The interviewer also wants to understand whether you’ll push back on the change or try to implement it even if that would result in extra work for you. 

Sample answer:

 This happened quite a few times in my last job, where the CEO liked to propose last-moment tweaks to investor reports. At first, I just went along and adjusted the copy and design myself before publishing. After the second time, I started sending an investor report draft to the CEO 7 days before the publishing date and set a hard deadline for her edits. This helped fix the issue. 

You and your team are stuck in a traffic jam. You are running late for an important client meeting. What would you do?

That’s another common situation, that plenty of people can relate to. The interviewer wants to see a demo of your communication and on-the-sport decision-making skills. 

Sample answer:

Assuming I’d be still late if I walk or use public transport, I’d do this: Phone in the client with my apologies. Then propose to either order lunch/refreshments for them while they’re waiting or propose to start the meeting on video conferencing from the car if that’s possible. 

Scenario-Based Interview Questions 

Scenario-based interview questions present you with a specific problem the interviewer asks you to solve.  Rather than assessing your immediate response, problem-solving scenarios aim to test your and ability to strategize.  In most cases, there’s no right or wrong answer to such questions. Your goal is to demonstrate your thought process. 

Below are several examples of problem-solving scenarios for interviews. 

You have two vendors: One has lower prices and another proposes faster shipping. Which one would you pick and why? 

Many interviewers like to pose such questions to evaluate a candidate’s decision-making skills. The interviewer wants to understand how you access different options when making operational calls. Give them a walkthrough.

Sample answer: 

I’d check two metrics first — planned deadlines and current budgets. If a later delivery doesn’t affect the manufacturing schedule, I’d go with a cheaper vendor. If the materials are time-sensitive, I’d approach the CFO regarding the matter and explain why paying a higher supply price is more favorable than risking manufacturing delays (and bearing direct and indirect costs of that). To make my case, I’d use ERP data and a business intelligence app to model different scenarios.

You need to kick off the project but don’t have full data. What are your next steps? 

For most companies, the current economic realities are rather volatile — from ongoing supply chain disruptions to rapid changes in consumer preferences. Thus, operational decisions have to be taken fast, often with incomplete data. 

By posing this question, the interviewer likely wants to assess your general business acumen skills, as well as approaches to strategic planning. 

Sample answer

As a marketing manager, I fully understand that good data may not always be available. In such cases, I try to generate my own data and test assumptions. First, I try to split-test different types of creative and run them by a sample target audience group. Based on the response rates (e.g. average click-through rates), I then select the main creative to use in the campaign.

A senior colleague asks for your recommendation on a new policy. How would you prepare it?

A good answer to this problem-solving interview question will include a list of steps you’d follow and the type of resources you’d use to make an informed decision. Explain how you usually collect data, make assessments, and synthesize findings to present them to others. 

Sample answer:

I’d kick things off with an impact assessment to understand the context, objectives, and outcomes of the proposed change. I’d model different scenarios using a custom script on Power BI that I’ve made. Once I have the hard numbers (e.g., impact on revenue, efficiency, cost savings), I’d analyze the cultural impact of policy change. That usually involves conversations with other stakeholders and department heads. I’d incorporate their feedback and provide summarized findings to the colleague. 

You’re asked to identify cost-saving opportunities for a company. As you review the financial statements, you notice that operating expenses have increased significantly over the past quarter. How would you approach this? 

This is an example of a precise scenario-based question you may get for a financial analyst or accounting role. Other positions also receive similar questions, based around a difficult on-the-job situation. Your goal is to demonstrate your approach to issue resolution. 

Sample answer:

I would first analyze all the groups of expenses to determine what drives the increase. If the company is spending more to grow, I’d calculate the ROI of that spending to justify it or, on the contrary — challenge it. If the cost inflation is due to excessive spending on low-value initiatives, I’d suggest several optimization strategies.

Behavioral Problem-Solving Interview Questions 

Behavioral problem-solving questions aim to learn more about your personality. They encourage you to provide examples of how you’ve acted in the past and showcase your general attitudes towards different challenging situations.

These provide room to demonstrate your self-management skills and mental resilience. So be sure to prepare some problem-solving examples for interviews beforehand. 

Tell me about the time you’ve faced a major challenge at work

This question can be more context-specific. For example, the interviewer may prompt you to talk about meeting an unrealistic deadline, resolving a professional mishap, or dealing with another type of out-of-the-ordinary work situation. In every case, you must not just describe the problem, but communicate what you’ve done to resolve it. 

Sample answer: 

My sales team spent 6+ months preparing for a major demo for this manufacturing client. It was an important strategic deal for Acme Inc. Two days before the presentation, the main Account Manager fell sick with COVID-19 and couldn’t do the meeting. Since I worked closely with him, I volunteered to moderate the presentation and facilitate the discussion. We’ve notified the client team about the changes and I’ve invited their management to a quick lunch a day ahead to meet up and “break the ice”. Then helped negotiate. We’ve successfully closed this deal.

What’s your standard approach to resolving blockers at work? 

The answer to this problem-solving interview question will be somewhat different for regular employees and managers. As a regular employee, you should focus your reply on your organizational skills. As a manager, you should lean more towards your administrative and leadership skills. 

Below is a sample answer from a manager’s perspective: 

I’d describe my management style as a facilitator. As a UX Design Lead, I spend a lot of time prioritizing our backlog in line with the company-wide product roadmap and collecting regular input from other teams. Based on it, I set different levels of priorities for design tasks and map dependencies between them. Then I communicate the main priorities in this Sprint to the design team every 2-3 months. Weekly, I go through the work backlog to analyze progress and reach out to individual members on status reports. If the person is stuck, I try to figure out the root cause for that first, then get back to them with different suggestions on how to move forward.

What does “being resourceful” mean for you? 

Employers want autonomous go-getters, who know how to accomplish tasks, given the existing constraints. The hiring manager wants to understand how you make the max out of the available resources. Illustrate this with a quick example.

Sample answer: 

I treat constraints as an opportunity to be creative and innovate with frugality. I maintain an inventory of all creative assets available to me and like recycling content for different channels. For example, one podcast episode = 1 more blog post, 5 social media updates, and a collection of quotes the team can then use for other marketing assets without bothering the SME again. 

Could you exemplify your “self-sufficiency” abilities? How do you ensure high personal performance? 

This interview question prompts you to talk about your approach to staying motivated and methodical in your work. The interviewer wants to understand how you solve problems on your own and ensure that temporary setbacks don’t affect your performance.

Sample answer: 

I’ve been working remotely for three years now and my current employer prioritizes async communication, so I’m used to solving issues on my own. When I’m dealing with a coding problem, I usually head to Stackflow exchange to see if there are existing threads, plus search for reference architecture of similar solutions. There’s so much information available these days, so it’s easy to find answers to even the most niche problems. 

Problem-Solving Questions for Teamwork

A lot of issues arise due to misunderstanding and interpersonal dynamics. The employer wants to understand that you can diffuse tensions, handle arguments, and prevent conflicts professionally. So be prepared to answer some problem-solving interview questions around teamwork.

Your colleague proposes an alternative approach. The team can’t decide between your idea and theirs. What would you do? 

Here the interviewer wants to see how you reach consensus. Few teams like managers with their “my way or the highway” attitude. Your goal is to show that you’re not making decisions with your ego. 

Sample answer: 

I’d once again analyze both approaches holistically together with the team, pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of each. I always encourage everyone to probe my ideas, even though I’m a Senior Architect. Then ask again to contribute further thoughts and vote for the best option.

How do you usually handle workplace conflict between employees of the same level? 

A variation of such interview questions is common for managerial roles. After all, much of your job involves team-building. A good answer will include an example from your experience, demonstrating your conflict resolution strategies. 

Sample answer: 

I would have informal conversations with both at first to understand the source of animosity. In my last role, I had a UX designer and front-end developer constantly clash due to differences in communication styles. The developer lacked active listening skills and the designer wasn’t best at expressing their thoughts verbally. I’ve suggested they start a shared handover documentation file, where both documented the requirements from each side and leave helpful notes on design animation or tech constraints/compromises. Matters got better after this.

One of your team members is underperforming. This negatively impacts the group dynamic. How would you address this issue?

According to Gallup, 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined by the manager. Hence, employers want to ensure that you can identify and effectively address performance issues. The best answer to this interview question will include an example from your past work. 

Sample answer: 

A couple of months ago, I noticed that one of our senior developer’s velocity fell by almost 20%. Her code commits were also getting rejected by our CI/CD pipeline at the unit testing stage more often, slowing up the release cycle. Sarah was going through some family issues as learned in a 1:1. I suggested she take a 7-day PTO and also reminded her that we have free mental counseling available. She signed on for a couple of sessions and returned to her best in two weeks.

A stakeholder comments on the quality issues in your project. But these are not your team’s fault. How would you address their concerns while maintaining high team morale? 

Lack of appreciation and recognition of efforts from senior stakeholders can weigh heavily on the teams’ morale and, by proxy, performance. The purpose of this question is to test how you can advocate for your team. Your answer must demonstrate high emotional intelligence and professionalism in managing expectations. 

Sample answer: 

I would have a private conversation with the person to better understand the source of their concerns about quality. Then explain to them what part of work my team is responsible for and how this relates to the quality issues origination. I would then reassure them that I would speak to the manager, responsible for that line of work myself, and we’ll jointly work on optimizing this problem.

Problem-Solving Exercises 

Some interviewers also like to throw in a couple of weird interview questions, aimed at challenging your on-the-stop problem-solving skills. For example, Jeff Bezos once asked an interviewee to try counting the number of windows in Seattle. While the question may sound absurd, it gives the interviewer a good idea of how you structure your reasoning and employ logical thinking skills. 

In other cases, an interview may include several problem-solving exercises — cognitive puzzles or quiz-style questions you need to complete within a certain time. Some of these may require you to do some arithmetics to arrive at a precise answer. Others are just meant to test your logical reasoning abilities. 

Examples of problem-solving exercises for an interview: 

1. Can you count how many tennis balls would fit into this room? 

2. As a pizza delivery man, how would you benefit from scissors?

3. You have 1000 bottles of wine, and one of them is poisoned. You also have ten rats to test which bottles are poisoned. What’s the fastest way to find a poisoned bottle?

4. You have 3 critical production tasks, requiring the same specialized equipment, but you can only afford to rent one at a time. How will you prioritize and schedule tasks to optimize resources? 

5. You have 3 containers with 20 balls. You have enough room to sort all balls of the same color into separate containers. How will you make sure that each container only has balls of the same time and that no two balls of the same type end up in different containers? 

Case Studies 

Case studies (or case problems) are context-rich, mock business scenarios, designed to test your problem-solving skills. They are common for roles in the consulting and financial sectors. However, many IT companies have also adopted them into their interviewing process.

Generally, you have 15 minutes to review the case study and ask supporting questions from the interviewer. Then another 15 to 30 minutes to prepare your answer. These tasks demand good business acumen — an understanding of the typical business goals and commercial awareness of the market and operating model. 

Your goal is to demonstrate that you understand the key issues and have a structured approach to finding the solution. You need to demonstrate which factors you’ve considered and their implication for the business. Then provide high-level recommendations, based on the data you have. 

Sample case studies for an interview: 

1. If you were a competitor entering a new regional market, how would you convince customers to select our product? 

2. A sports brand wants to launch an online employee advocacy program, where employees act as micro-brand ambassadors — showcase the goods on their social media and provide customer advisory. How would you recommend them to structure this initiative? 

3. A French wine producer wants to enter the Australian market. Prepare a summary, explaining why the market may be a good choice for them and which products may have the highest chance of success. 

4. A friend asks for your advice: They want to launch a new vegan DTC cosmetics brand. What type of go-to-market strategy would you recommend?

You can also find more sample case study interviews to practice at websites from big consulting firms like Bain, BCG, or Deloitte.   

How To Approach Problem-Solving Interview Questions?

When presented with any type of a problem-solving interview question your main goal is to narrate how you’ll use your analytics, situational analysis, and critical-thinking skills to best navigate the matter. You should always clearly communicate what you plan to do and why. Then highlight the outcome you’d aim to achieve. 

Demonstrate structured thinking and a logical progression in your response:

1. Reiterate the problem and ask clarifying questions if necessary. 
2. Explain your first action. Mention why you’ve chosen it over the others. 
3. Be precise with your arguments. State what data you’ve used for decision-making.
4. Explain your next steps and/or alternative course of action if the first option fails to work. 
5. Summarize the outcome you’ve achieved or expect to achieve as a result.  

Remember: the interviewer doesn’t expect you to come up with a highly elaborate multi-step roadmap. They just want to hear how you’ve solved similar issues in the past and how you might react to new challenges!

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