Behavioral Questions This Story Works For

Here are some questions where this story would fit well:

1. “Can you tell me about a time you improved a process or fixed something inefficient?”

2. “Have you ever led a project where others weren’t immediately on board? How did you handle that?”

3. “Describe a time you took initiative on something that wasn’t really in your job scope.”

4. “Tell me about a time when attention to detail made a real difference.”

5. “Have you worked on anything that helped your team get ready for a digital transformation or system
change?”

Failed Engineering support at Bayer

• Describe a time when you took a risk, made a mistake, or failed. What happened,
and what did you learn from it?
Situation:
At Bayer, I was leading procurement for a multi-million-dollar capex project to upgrade utilities at the Shiga
manufacturing site. We were behind schedule in finalizing a contractor for specialized engineering support,
and the engineering team was under pressure to keep the project moving. I took a calculated risk by
recommending a small, local engineering firm that promised faster mobilization and lower cost compared to
established vendors.

Task:
My goal was to fast-track contractor onboarding, maintain project momentum, and stay within budget —
without compromising deliverables or quality.

Action:
Despite internal concerns about their lack of pharma experience, I advocated for the vendor based on their
strong proposal and aggressive timelines. I structured the contract with milestone-based payments and
assigned a technical lead to closely monitor progress. However, within the first few weeks, it became clear
that the vendor struggled to meet pharma documentation standards and couldn't keep up with project
complexity. This created frustration among stakeholders and delayed some design deliverables by 2–3 weeks.
Result:
Eventually, we had to replace the vendor, absorb rework costs, and escalate to recover the schedule. While
the overall project impact was limited due to early intervention, I acknowledged this was a misjudgment.

Lesson Learned:
I learned that technical capability and regulatory familiarity are non-negotiable in pharmaceutical projects,
even when timelines are tight. Since then, I’ve created a vendor evaluation checklist with risk scoring for
technical fit, compliance readiness, and prior industry experience. This has helped avoid similar issues in
later projects and strengthened stakeholder trust in procurement decisions.

Video youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdyiUe7_3cA

Step1: Start with a brain dump

Start writing all experiences and situations that come to mind when you think of below and write every
single one down. It does not have to be an official position of authority or a big situation. Even small
situations count, like I saw something at an event etc.
Step2: Craft your arsenal

At the end, say 1 phrase, like I learned from this experience is XXXX, tie everything, what you took away.
This is where I learnt that challenges and setbacks are normal but I can overcome any new failures
In order to work in a team, you have to understand that everyone’s viewpoint
Show, don’t tell, through a story or experience
Give them a reason to listen carefully to you, they interview 10 other people.
Have atleast 2 different stories. As you can use similar story for another behaviour/quality too
Step3: Practice delivery: How to avoid sound scripted

• Bullet points
• Record
• Remove fillers

Leadership= Taking initiative, tested commonly.

Q: Tell me about a time when you demonstrated leadership. Nuanced Q: When you demonstrated initiative
/ You took the lead even though you were not in a formal position
 Resilience= Understand how you react to challenges and to failure

Asking about success is also asking about failures, challenges & resilience
Q: Tell me about a time you failed / Overcame a challenge
Nuanced Q: Tell me about your proudest achievement, what it took for you to go from pt a to b, to
overcoming some sort of monumental challenge. (Intv. is not interested in actual accomplishment itself)

Teamwork= working or bringing people together, is similar to leadership too

Q: Tell me about a time when you had to worked in a team/ collaborated with others
Nuanced Q: Tell me about a time when you had to bring together a group of people that you didn’t know/
group of people with disparate background

Influencing/Persuasism= How you voice your thoughts

Q: Tell me about a time when you had to influence/persuade someone/ group of people of a certain goal
Nuanced Q: Tel me about a time you had to convince/ influence someone more senior than you on
something/ something he disagreed with you on

Ethical/ Moral conflict= Test integrity, Ambiguous case, you could have not reacted/ but brough to light

Q: Tell me about a time you ran into a moral conflict at work and what did you do? When you saw a
coworker doing something unethical and what did you do. Don’t turn a blind eye to unethical

• Describe a time you had to use outside the box thinking to simplify a task.
Kyowa starting global procurement, identified the problem that local tooling procurement was costly and
slow, which limited competitiveness. Instead of domestic sourcing, you leveraged your experience and
contacts in China to source tooling cheaper and faster. This approach was innovative in your company
context and simplified the challenge of long lead times and high costs by opening a new supplier market. It
streamlined procurement, improved delivery times, and boosted business.

• Tell me about a time when you didn’t know what to do or how to solve a problem.
Bayer CM Plus example. Contractor failing, not enough data initially, but I gathered data, involved sh

• Describe a situation where you had several options and needed to pick one.
Kyowa starting global procurement, Japan or China
• Why do you want to work for Amazon?
I’m excited about the opportunity to work at Amazon because of its relentless focus on innovation,
operational excellence, and customer obsession—values I deeply align with. As someone with a strong
background in procurement, manufacturing, and project execution, I’m drawn to the scale and complexity of
Amazon’s operations and the chance to make a meaningful impact every day. I’m particularly motivated by
the fast-paced, data-driven environment where continuous improvement and ownership are core to success.
The Operations Manager role is a great fit for my leadership skills, hands-on approach, and passion for
driving efficiency and team performance in high-pressure settings. I see this as a place where I can grow,
contribute, and be part of something truly dynamic.

• Tell me about a time you improved the moral productivity of your team
1. In one of my previous roles, our procurement team faced an intense period with tight deadlines and high
workload, (26 packages contracting in 2 month due to budget approval delays, dilemma of not contactin
suppliers too much, but needed to complete contract and PO suddenly when budget approved) which
was affecting team morale and productivity. I organized regular check-ins to openly discuss challenges and
encouraged team members to share ideas for improving workflows. I also advocated for flexible work
arrangements and recognized individual contributions publicly to boost motivation. By fostering open
communication and showing appreciation, the team felt more supported and engaged. This resulted in
smoother collaboration, faster issue resolution, and meeting all project deadlines without burnout.
From this experience, I learned that transparent communication and recognizing efforts are key to
maintaining a motivated and productive team, especially during high-pressure periods.

2. During the MEETs project at AstraZeneca, our cross-functional teams faced frequent last-minute changes
in requirements, causing frustration and delays that risked team morale and productivity. To address this, I
organized focused working sessions with stakeholders from compliance, commercial, IT, and external
developers to align expectations and agree on a final sign-off plan. Although some team members were
hesitant initially, clear communication about the impact of ongoing changes helped build consensus. This
alignment stabilized the project scope and empowered the development team to work efficiently. The project
launched on time with full stakeholder approval.

I learned that bringing teams together with transparency and structured decision-making is essential to
maintain morale and drive productivity during challenging projects.

• Tell me about a time you faced a technical challenge in your current project
Kyowa starting global procurement, design & quality challenges
In my role at Kyowa Japan, we faced a technical challenge when we began sourcing injection molding tooling
from China to reduce cost and lead time. The key concern was whether overseas suppliers could meet our
strict quality and design standards. I arranged detailed site visits, led quality and engineering assessments,
and worked closely with suppliers to align on specifications. Despite some early issues in tolerances and
communication, we solved them through regular technical reviews and design adjustments. The result was a
successful shift to global sourcing—with reliable quality and a 50% increase in customer orders.

From this experience, I learned the importance of hands-on supplier engagement and continuous technical
collaboration to ensure quality and mitigate risks in cross-border projects.

• Tell me about a time you missed a deadline

During a capex project at Bayer, I took a risk by selecting a small local engineering vendor who offered faster
mobilization and lower cost, despite limited pharma experience. I structured milestone-based payments and
assigned oversight, but the vendor struggled with GMP documentation and project complexity, causing
delays and stakeholder frustration. We eventually had to replace them, incurring rework costs and time loss.

I learned that in regulated environments like pharmaceuticals, domain experience and compliance capability
are non-negotiable. Since then, I’ve implemented a vendor evaluation checklist that includes industry
experience, quality standards, and technical fit, helping avoid similar issues in future projects.

• Tell me about a time when you faced a complex problem when a standard approach
was not going to work
Kubota kaizen cost down savings
At Kyowa Japan, we struggled to win new orders due to high tooling costs and long lead times from local
suppliers, as Japan’s toolmaking industry had declined. To solve this, I proposed sourcing tooling from
China, leveraging my prior experience at Kyowa China. I identified five potential suppliers offering 30–40%
lower costs and faster delivery. After quality audits, we started with simpler tools and addressed initial issues
through close collaboration. This shift made our pricing and lead times more competitive, resulting in a 50%
increase in orders by year-end. I received the President’s Award for this contribution.

• Tell me about a time when you left a company better than you came to
Move from Bayer to AZ
When I moved from Bayer due to restructuring and ERP transition, I took on a role that turned out to be
more administrative than strategic. It didn’t fully utilize my skills or allow me to contribute at the level I’m
capable of. I realized that staying in the role wouldn’t benefit the company or my own growth, so I made the
decision to take challenge for a internal digital transformation, associate project manager position. I decided
to leave the door for someone better suited to that role while allowing me to pursue opportunities where I
could deliver greater value.
• Why did you choose a certain strategy for a particular project
In a recent capex project, we had two options: single-source all packages for a potentially faster timeline but
at the risk of budget overruns, or pursue a multi-supplier competitive bidding process. I chose the latter,
recognizing that while it would require significantly more effort from procurement—managing multiple
vendors, aligning technical specifications, and ensuring schedule coordination—it offered a better
opportunity to optimize both cost and value. The easier path wasn’t necessarily the best one. By investing
more time and energy upfront, we were able to achieve 20% cost savings without compromising on project
timelines. All packages were successfully awarded on schedule. This experience reaffirmed my belief that
meaningful contributions often come from taking the more challenging route. Strategic sourcing, when done
right, doesn’t just meet deadlines—it delivers sustainable value for the business.

• Tell me about a time when you responded to a critical feedback and what did you learn
• Tell me about a time you dived deep into a problem
• Tell me about a time you could not meet a commitment
• When you’re working on a team, what roles do you gravitate toward and why?
• Describe a time you identified and implemented improvements to your work Give examples of what
you have accomplished in the past, and relate them to what you can achieve in the future
• Tell me about an idea you implemented. Going above and beyond:
• Give an example of a time you went above and beyond a request that was asked of you.
• What is your most challenging project
• Tell me a time when you face a conflict.
• What is a time you’ve had a challenge working with others and how did you deal with it?
• What is a project you are most proud about

About my starting global procurement at Kubota, it was a project that gave me confidence that I carried
on into my future roles, even till now.

• How do you handle a situation that didn’t go as plan

• Describe a time you were presented with a conflict and how you resolved it.
• If you’re running behind a deadline for a project, how would you proceed?