If you have participated in the Smeal Ethical Leadership Challenge (SELC), you have demonstrated initiative and intellectual curiosity, added valuable experiences to your toolbox, demonstrated a willingness to understand diverse perspectives, and added content to your resume. Do you know how to talk about SELC during an interview?
Image Source: FreeP!k
Recruiters like to talk with candidates who are committed to integrity, fairness, and accountability because these are the skills that help employees successfully navigate ethical challenges in the workplace and become successful business leaders. Interviewers will want to understand what motivated you to participate in SELC and how the experience has shaped your leadership and decision-making ability.
To prepare for your conversations with recruiters, reflect on your SELC experience, craft meaningful stories, and practice using those stories effectively in interviews. Practicing the STARR method for behavioral interviews will enable you to deliver clear, structured responses.
Reflect on Your SELC Experience
Before you can talk about SELC with a recruiter, it is important to reflect on your motivation for participating, what you learned, and how it applies to your future career. Ask yourself:
- Why did I get involved with SELC?
- What was the most meaningful workshop or activity for me?
- How will I apply what I have learned in future workplace situations?
Even if you are not directly asked about SELC in an interview, you can use your SELC experiences to answer behavioral interview questions.
Behavioral Questions Matter
Behavioral (or situational) interview questions give recruiters insight into how you approach challenges, work with others, and make decisions. Your answers demonstrate problem-solving skills, leadership potential, and your ability to reflect and grow. The STARRmethodprovides a structure to help you organize your story effectively.
How the STARR Method works (Source: DDI):
- Situation: What challenge or circumstance did you face?
- Task: Explain your specific responsibility or goal in that situation.
- Action: Describe the steps you took to address the challenge.
- Result: Share the outcome of your actions.
- Reflection: Highlight what you learned from the experience and how it applies to the employer you are speaking with.
This framework helps you avoid rambling or giving vague answers. It ensures you deliver a clear, concise, and relevant example in response to the interviewer’s question.
SAMPLE BEHAVIORAL QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
Example 1: Why did you become involved with SELC?
Your answer will differ from this example but take note of how the framework allows the candidate to provide enough context for the recruiter without providing excessive and unnecessary details.
Situation
- I wanted to learn more about ethical practices in business. SELC challenges me to consider how I can balance my own financial productivity while contributing to my community and benefiting society.
Task
- I have the option to participate in as many workshops as I choose to earn badges in personal and professional development, communication, collaboration, service to others, and strategic planning.
Action
- As a finance major, I decided to earn my first badge in strategic planning. To contribute to a company’s long-term vision, I need to analyze the financial implications of strategic decisions, identify potential risks and opportunities, and ensure that financial goals are aligned with the overall business strategy to maximize profitability and sustainability.
Result
- These workshops helped me understand and strengthen my ability to create effective financial strategies while making ethical decisions.
Reflection
- SELC has encouraged me to think critically about ethics in business and provided me with practical tools to integrate ethical principles into my professional and personal life.
The reflection also provides you with an opportunity to summarize your example based on something you know about company. Always show that you’ve done your research. For example, If you are interviewing with KPMG, you might explain how a specific SELC workshop modeled the Care Squared ethical decision-making process that KPMG uses.
Example 2: Which workshop was most meaningful to you, and why?
Connect your response to values the company prioritizes. For example, “I know Volvo Financial Services prioritizes climate action as do I. I found the workshop on empowering communities for environmental change so meaningful because it aligned with my personal and professional values.”
Situation
- I recently attended a workshop on Ethics and Interviewing to better understand the ethical considerations involved in the hiring process.
Task
- During the workshop we discussed common illegal interview questions that recruiters may ask candidates and explored appropriate ways for candidates to respond professionally while protecting their rights.
Action
- I participated in discussions, analyzed real-world scenarios, and learned strategies to navigate difficult interview situations. I also practiced responding to illegal interview questions in a way that maintains professionalism while redirecting the conversation respectfully.
Result
- I gained a deeper understanding of ethical hiring practices and how to handle challenging interview situations. I feel more confident in identifying and addressing unethical or illegal questions in a professional manner because I understand most recruiters don’t intend to disregard best practices.
Reflection
- This workshop reinforced the importance of ethical hiring practices and equipped me with valuable skills to advocate for myself and others in professional settings. When I interview candidates, I also know how to conduct myself professionally and ethically to protect the company.
Example 3: How will you apply what you’ve learned from SELC in future workplace situations?
Think ahead to how you might handle ethical dilemmas or leadership challenges in your career. How has SELC equipped you to navigate those situations with confidence and integrity?
Situation
- For the communication challenge, I explored the Giving Voice to Values (GVV) framework, an action-oriented approach to values-driven leadership that has changed how business ethics are taught and applied.
Task
- The goal of GVV is not to convince people to be more ethical but to equip them with the tools and confidence to successfully act on their existing values in professional settings.
Action
- I engaged with real-world business scenarios, studied case examples, and applied insights from social science and management research to develop strategies for ethical decision-making. I practiced articulating my values in challenging situations and explored ways to increase the likelihood of successfully upholding them.
Result
- This experience strengthened my ability to navigate ethical dilemmas by focusing on practical action steps rather than abstract principles. I am more confident in advocating for ethical choices in a way that is strategic and impactful.
Reflection
- GVV has reinforced that ethical leadership is not just about knowing what is right but also about having the skills and strategies to act on those values effectively in professional environments.
The more you reflect and practice sharing your SELC experiences, the easier it will be to recall those stories during interviews. Just like practicing a sport or musical instrument, the more you practice interviewing, the more you practice the STARR method, the better you will get.
To learn more about your work values, among other attributes such as your skills, work interests, and personality, visit Focus 2.
