Utica Candidate Question No. 3: Tell Us About a Tough Decision You Made

Tell us about one time you had to make a difficult decision. How did you arrive at your decision? Did you have to deal with any effects (good or bad) that came from it?

.:  One decision that stands out to me is when I decided to leave a job I loved to be able to care for our daughter when she was young.  I took a third shift position and my wife, who worked during the day, and I could care for her at home, with a lot of help from my Mother.  We did this so that we could afford to stay in the neighborhood and in the Utica School District and be sure all Jennifer's needs were met. A bad effect was the change in lifestyle going to the midnight shift from days, which was very difficult, but we managed for five years until she was school age.  You do what you have to do when it comes to your family.

: I had to make a decision on my livelihood. I had a job that paid good for the time, but the product I made was being used less. As time went on my hours were being cut. So at the age of 51, I started a new job less pay, and only part-time. I was hired on full-time and eventually made the wages I made, and more. This decision was hundred percent improvement.

: The decision to take an early retirement does not come easy. I took my time on this decision, as I have done with any difficult decision, weighting the pros and con. After I made the decision, I embraced it to the fullest. There has been no bad effects from this decision.

: At this time, I cannot think of a specific “difficult decision.”  Let me say, that I prefer to take the time to weigh the positives and negatives, and listen to the opinions of others, before making a difficult decision.  Once I make my decision, I generally have no regrets.

: As a bank branch manager I had to think quickly and make decisions that impacted both employees and clients on a daily basis. One extremely difficult decision that I had to make was whether or not to terminate an employee who had incurred a large loss to the branch. The employee was a long-time employee who was well-liked by the staff and clients. To make the final decision I considered many factors; the bottom line within my balance sheet, the overall performance of the employee, the circumstances of the loss, the impact of the termination on the office, and the impact it would have on the clients. After much thought about both the pros and cons of the termination I made the decision not to terminate the employee. I felt this was the right decision for the following reasons: since the branch income statement was at more than 125% of our goal, the dollar amount lost was a minor impact overall; my branch had a home-town feeling that would be negatively impacted with the termination of an employee, and although not impossible, it would be difficult to replace a good employee who had established a positive rapport with clients.

This is the third in a series of candidate questions.