In this instructional video, Natalie Fisher explains how to tackle the situational interview question “Tell me about a time you suddenly changed directions at work.” She first clarifies that the question probes mental flexibility and resilience, not physical flexibility. Natalie then introduces the SARI (or STAR/SAR) framework—Situation, Action, Result, and Interesting features—as a structured way to craft a compelling answer. Using a concrete personal story, she walks through each component: the situation of planning a large corporate retreat that had to be abruptly canceled; the swift actions she took to cancel flights, venues, and negotiate refunds and credits; the positive results of salvaging funds and earning future credits; and the interesting features, emphasizing a proactive attitude, learning mindset, and the importance of rolling with the punches. The video concludes by prompting viewers to reflect on their own experiences, and promotes an “Ultimate Situational Interviewing Guide” with templates and example questions to further help candidates prepare.
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Hi, in this video we'll answer the situational interview question, tell me about a time you suddenly changed directions at work. In this video, we're going to cover a sneak peek into the mind of the interviewer and what's going on and how to answer the question in a concrete example of my experience to get you thinking. So stay tuned. Okay, so what's the point of this question? This question is to find out how flexible you are. So not physically flexible, although yoga is really good for you, but I'm talking about mentally flexible. And this is really tough for many people. So they want you to tell them about a time when you were asked to do something And perhaps all your hard work wasn't needed anymore and because something had changed. Have you ever been there? I know I have several times. So it's to see how you deal with things changing on the fly. How resilient are you, in other words? So do you get frustrated? Because honestly, in most situations like this, most people When they're asked to change directions from what they're doing, they get frustrated. They get mad and angry because a lot of the times their hard work has been wasted. So they get in a bad state because they're feeling like they wasted all this time and effort when really they are wasting their energy because they should be focusing on moving forward and getting where they need to go now. So here's how you answer the question. So we're going to answer this one like we answer all the other tell me about a time when questions with the SARI formula. So if you're not familiar yet, the SARI formula stands for situation, action, results, and interesting features. The SARI formula stands in many forms. It could be called STAR, which is situation, task, action, results. Or it could just be SAR. Either way, they all work. So you want to tell an impactful story that paints a good picture of the situation and how you rose to a challenge and how it ended. So let's, let's dig into an example of my own experience. So step 1, the situation. This is where we set the stage. So for example, I was working on planning a large corporate retreat for the company executives. We had a lot of it already done. Flights were booked, accommodation was booked, meeting space, AV, everything was booked. Then suddenly the president of the company had a sudden important meeting come up overseas and the retreat needed to be postponed or canceled immediately. So they want to see how you're going to be flexible and adaptable And how you're going to move with things quickly when things change. This story is a perfect example of that. So step 2, action. What did I do? What were the actions that you took here and what outcome did they lead to? So for example, going with my story part 2, I said, no problem, I'll get on this right away. I immediately canceled the flights, the meeting space, the hotel bookings, trying to get as much money back or credits for the future as I possibly could. I was able to negotiate some credits that I wouldn't have otherwise been able to do because I did it immediately. Therefore, the deadline was just about to be up, but I did save us some money. I was able to negotiate some extra points for the hotel, and I let them know that if they helped us out, we would be much likely to use them in the future. So this was my response. It was quick, immediate, and just, let's get to it. This sucks, we got to cancel it, but let's go, let's go for it. So in other words, just rolling with the punches and moving quickly. That was my action. And so that leads us to step 3. What was the result? So the result here was that they appreciated the fact that I was able to salvage some of the funds spent on the retreat and and negotiate that extra credit and some of those extra points. It was before the deadline, so canceling the reservation was still just in the nick of time. If I had waited even a day, then I wouldn't have been able to do this. So a lot of people would waste time just being angry and complaining, and that might set them back from being able to do the best thing possible in the situation. And step 4, this is where you highlight the interesting features. So whatever it was, how you did something differently, what do you learn from the experience? And here I would highlight attitude. So my attitude and approach to things like this when they happen is just really quick, roll with the punches, because these things happen all the time. So for example, I looked at it more like a learning than an inconvenience. I realized that this happens all the time in life and no one can predict, and sometimes there's unavoidable circumstances that come up. So being understanding and quick to get to it. Getting frustrated and upset just takes time away and energy away from your own self to deal with the things more efficiently. So just rolling with it, going with the flow, getting what— getting done what needs to be done at a moment's notice. And there we have it. So what's your go-to response when you're faced with switching gears without warning? How do you deal with unexpected challenges that happen in a moment? How do you move forward? How do you feel about it? And how did it turn out? Thank you so much for watching. And remember, nailing the interview questions is great, but there's a lot more to interviewing than just answering the questions alone. In fact, if all you do is answer the questions, you've already lost the interview. There is a whole interview strategy at play, and a lot of it is subconscious or most people are unaware of. And if you'd like to learn more about that, you can get started with me by clicking the link below. When you sign up, you'll get free instant access to the Ultimate Situational Interviewing Guide. In the guide, you will receive a breakdown of the SARI formula and why it works so well. You will get 10 concrete examples of the most commonly asked situational interview questions. You'll get access to the fill-in-the-blank templates, so all you need to do is just fill in your own stories and you're good to go. And you'll also get a little bonus I threw in there. 25 questions to get you thinking about your own stories. Because if you're like me, coming up with those initial stories from scratch is challenging, and that's the way it is for everybody. So if you need some help with that, I've got you covered. Thank you so much for watching, and I'll see you next time on Natalie TV. Yay! 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