Describe a time when you helped someone grow significantly in their career.
Why This Is Asked
Interviewers want concrete evidence that you've had meaningful impact on someone's development. They're assessing your ability to identify potential, provide support, create opportunities, and follow through—and whether you can articulate the specific actions that made a difference.
Key Points to Cover
- The person's starting point and what they wanted to achieve
- Specific actions you took: feedback, stretch assignments, advocacy, coaching
- Obstacles you helped them overcome
- The outcome: promotion, new role, new skills, or increased confidence
STAR Method Answer Template
Describe the context - what was happening, what team/company, what was at stake
What was your specific responsibility or challenge?
What specific steps did you take? Be detailed about YOUR actions
What was the outcome? Use metrics where possible. What did you learn?
đź’ˇ Tips
- Use a real example with enough detail to feel authentic—avoid generic stories
- Emphasize what you did, not just what the person achieved on their own
- Include how you knew they'd grown (feedback from others, measurable outcomes, their own reflection)
✍️ Example Response
STAR formatSituation: Sarah joined my team as a mid-level engineer. She was capable but lacked confidence—she'd defer to others in design discussions and rarely volunteered for visible work. She'd been passed over for a lead role on a project she wanted. In our first 1:1, she said she wanted to grow into a senior role but didn't know how.
Task: I committed to helping her grow significantly. I needed to identify her gaps, create opportunities, give feedback, and advocate for her—not just hope she'd figure it out.
Action: I identified two main gaps: technical ownership and influence. I gave her a stretch assignment—owning a small but visible project end-to-end, including the design doc and cross-team coordination. I coached her before key meetings: "You know this best—lead the discussion." I also paired her with a senior engineer who could model design review and architecture discussions. I gave her direct feedback: "In that meeting, you had the right idea but didn't assert it. Try saying 'I recommend we...' next time." I advocated for her: when a lead role opened, I recommended her and prepared her for the interview. When she struggled with a difficult stakeholder, I role-played the conversation and debriefed after. I checked in with her manager and peers to gauge progress—they noticed her stepping up.
Result: Sarah was promoted to senior within 18 months and later became a tech lead. She told me the stretch assignment and direct feedback were the turning points. Her project delivered on time and became a model for how we run initiatives. I learned that growth requires a combination: opportunity, feedback, advocacy, and someone believing in you before you believe in yourself.
🏢 Companies Known to Ask This
| Company | Variation / Focus |
|---|---|
| Amazon | Hire & Develop the Best — "Tell me about someone you developed" |
| Team building, collaboration | |
| Meta | Building high-performance culture |
| Microsoft | Growth mindset, coaching |
| Apple | Deep collaboration, mentorship |
| Stripe | Cross-functional mentorship, building great teams |
| Salesforce | Ohana culture, coaching and development |