Aboitiz places high value on teamwork. Tell us about a time when you collaborated with a difficult team member to achieve a project goal.
RoleBusiness Development Associate
DifficultyMedium
TopicCultural Fit
Asked at
Why This Is Asked
Teamwork is a core Aboitiz value because their conglomerate success relies on cross-unit collaboration. The interviewer wants to see that you can handle interpersonal challenges constructively, not just work in a harmonious team.
General Approach
Choose a real example where you took initiative to resolve friction. Emphasize communication, empathy, and the positive outcome, showing you would bring the same cooperative mindset to Aboitiz.
General Answer
Start by choosing a specific example where the friction was real but resolvable, and frame it around the project goal rather than the person. Explain that you first took time to understand where the difficulty came from, whether it was a difference in work style, a misunderstanding about priorities, or pressure the teammate was under. Say plainly that you initiated a private conversation, kept your tone neutral, and asked open questions instead of assigning blame. Show that you listened before proposing a solution, and that you found a compromise that played to both of your strengths, such as dividing tasks according to each person's capacity or setting clearer checkpoints. Emphasize the concrete result, whether you met the deadline, improved the deliverable, or strengthened the working relationship afterward. In a Philippine context, you can mention that you were mindful of pakikisama, but be careful to frame it as proactive respect, not avoidance of conflict. Close by tying the lesson to Aboitiz, noting that you see teamwork as a daily practice of alignment and trust, not just a one-off collaboration.
PH Interview Gotcha
Avoid complaining like "Ang pabigat niya, wala siyang kwenta." Instead, demonstrate you first try to understand and resolve issues collaboratively.
Sample STAR Answer▾
S
Situation
During my capstone project, our team of five was building a predictive model for a retail client, but one member regularly missed deadlines, creating bottlenecks.
T
Task
I had to find a way to keep the project on track without alienating the struggling teammate.
A
Action
I organized a casual one-on-one chat to understand his situation, discovering he was unclear about the data requirements. I suggested we pair him with a stronger team member for knowledge transfer and broke his tasks into smaller, more manageable pieces. We also implemented brief daily stand-ups to address blockers quickly.
R
Result
His performance improved markedly, we finished the project two days early, and the client praised our collaborative spirit. He later credited the supportive approach for his turnaround.
Key Takeaway
Empathy and proactive support can transform a weak link into a team asset.
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