Can you give me an example of a time you took the initiative to improve something at work, even though it wasn't part of your assigned duties?
Why This Is Asked
Although no verbatim initiative question is publicly documented for Bayer GBS Manila, the company's 'LIFE' values framework explicitly includes Leadership, and interviews often probe for self-starting behavior to see if candidates can contribute beyond their core tasks.
General Approach
Pick a small but impactful improvement you made. Explain the problem you observed, the self-motivated steps you took, and how you brought others on board. Show how your initiative aligned with team or business goals.
Sample STAR Answer▾
Situation
I noticed that our team spent about two hours every Monday manually cross-checking data between two legacy systems for the consumer health division's weekly POS report. No one had formally asked to fix this because we met the deadline, but I saw a chance to reduce errors and free up time.
Task
I wanted to create a more efficient process that would minimize manual work and improve data accuracy, even though it was outside my job scope.
Action
On my own, I studied the export formats of both systems and designed a simple reconciliation template using lookup formulas. I tested it after hours with sample data, documented the steps, and then presented a working prototype to my supervisor. I offered to train the team and also built in error-checking flags so any mismatches were highlighted automatically.
Result
Our Monday report prep time dropped by 70%, and data entry errors were eliminated. The team adopted the template immediately, and my supervisor included the initiative in my quarterly review as an example of showing leadership without a title.
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- •STAR Structure
- •Specificity & Numbers
- •Ownership Language
- •PH Workplace Context
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