Describe a circumstance in your life in which you faced adversity, failure, or setback. What actions did you take as a result and what did you learn from this experience?

Sample One

When I was fourteen years old my mother died of cancer, which has indelibly shaped my approach to my own life. My mother had always been the organizer of our family, making sure that we all knew our activities for the week andthat the bills were paid and the house was well run. With her energy fading and her increasing time in the hospital, my father found it difficult to maintain our daily activities.

At first my older brother and I resented that both of our parents were distant from us as they dealt with my mother’s illness. Finally we realized she wasn’t getting better and we needed to be more responsible as nearly grown teenagers. I clearly remember the day I sat down with my brother and drew up the chores list we would share, and how we worked out a schedule so he could drop me off at my sports games and make it to his own after-school activities. We focused on helping each other through each day and then started to focus on helping our father in his caretaker role and with the practical realities of running the household. While my mother’s illness was still emotional for me, I felt better knowing that we could handle anything that came our way as a family.

In time my relationship with both my father and my brother grew closer as we turned to each other for comfort after my mother’s death. The legacy of my mother’s illness has been that I now see every day as important and I consciously choose how to spend my time. I have prioritized my family and friends and focused on academic pursuits that would lead toward my long-term goals. Because of my mother I am now pursuing a career that has meaning for me, helping younger women in sports, and I have an amazing relationship with my father, brother, and husband.

Sample Two

It was incredibly challenging for me to move from Standard Corporation to a small tech startup, New Tech, after I was laid off in late 2008.In the wake of the financial crisis, the strategy group that supported operations at Standard Corporation was cut down from fifteen employees to five. All of the employees with the least tenure at the company were offered the option of a generous severance package. I decided to take the package and look into opportunities at startup tech companies, as I was interested in a new challenge.

I was thrilled to land a position as Director of Business Development at New Tech. The company had just landed additional financing after launching a successful e-commerce business-to-business product. However, moving from the culture of a global Fortune 500 company to being the tenth employee at a startup was more challenging than I expected.

At Standard I was a manager in the strategy team, and my boss dictated my work day to day. I was asked to perform analysis to support our projects, and I contributed to the rationale behind our actions as a company. I was often frustrated by the lack of freedom at Standard, but I was comfortable with my role and felt that my skills were valued. At New Tech I immediately realized that I was required to demonstrate my value in an extremely tangible way: bringing in more revenue for the company. I reported directly into the CEO, who did not spend his days concerned about my activities.

At first I was paralyzed by the requirement to sink or swim at New Tech. I knew that I had an incredible opportunity, and I didn’t want to demonstrate my lack of knowledge by asking too many questions. I simply attended meetings and tried to follow along. I was starting to feel like I had made a mistake by moving from my comfortable and prestigious job into an ambiguous role. After several weeks I decided I needed to be more proactive. I sat down and mapped out my strategy for the next 30 days. I would familiarize myself with the product, reach out to our existing customers to see if there was opportunity to expand our contracts with them, and research new customers with whom I could instigate incremental business. I set up a meeting with the CEO to discuss my plan, and he appreciated my initiative.

One of my first lessons was that it’s impossible to plan at a startup, but setting my own priorities helped me kick start my ability to contribute to the company. Within six months I had increased our revenue by 50% and brought in three new b-to-b clients. Additionally, as part of a startup I have had the opportunity to learn all about the product development process, marketing plans, and operations. This experience has been invaluable, and I am grateful that I was able to turn a layoff into a positive experience for my growth as a leader. I know that these lessons will shape my future career decisions and help me to face new challenges and leadership opportunities with greater confidence.