Sample interview questions:
How are you at dealing with conflict?
What do you do when you disagree with others?
Do you open up or close down in conflict situations?
How do you handle disagreements?
1. Pick a Good Example:
• Choose an example that shows you taking an active approach to resolving an important conflict.
• Be specific. Don’t give a general answer like, “I deal with conflicts all the time and have learned to stay calm and that communication is key.” It’s boring and it doesn’t answer the question.
• Don’t choose a minor disagreement (“He didn’t want Italian for lunch”) or a conflict that was resolved by someone else or just went away without direct action. The idea here is to show off your interpersonal skills and problem-solving ability.
• Avoid examples that could make you look bad. For example, don’t share a time when your mistake or miscommunication CAUSED a conflict.
2. Get Specific About Your Actions
• The most memorable and compelling stories include enough detail to paint a picture. Show why this conflict was important and that you handled it capably.
• However, you must make an effort to keep the story concise. It’s very easy to go off on tangents (especially if you haven’t prepared in advance). Keep it focused.
• Stick to bullet points. Don’t try to memorize a script.
3. Practice
Take the time to practice telling your story. This is especially important when telling a story about a conflict.
Conflicts often lead to arguments, problems, and damaged/broken professional relationships. You want to feel confident discussing the sensitive details in a way that gets your points across.
How are you at dealing with conflict?
What do you do when you disagree with others?
Do you open up or close down in conflict situations?
How do you handle disagreements?
1. Pick a Good Example:
• Choose an example that shows you taking an active approach to resolving an important conflict.
• Be specific. Don’t give a general answer like, “I deal with conflicts all the time and have learned to stay calm and that communication is key.” It’s boring and it doesn’t answer the question.
• Don’t choose a minor disagreement (“He didn’t want Italian for lunch”) or a conflict that was resolved by someone else or just went away without direct action. The idea here is to show off your interpersonal skills and problem-solving ability.
• Avoid examples that could make you look bad. For example, don’t share a time when your mistake or miscommunication CAUSED a conflict.
2. Get Specific About Your Actions
• The most memorable and compelling stories include enough detail to paint a picture. Show why this conflict was important and that you handled it capably.
• However, you must make an effort to keep the story concise. It’s very easy to go off on tangents (especially if you haven’t prepared in advance). Keep it focused.
• Stick to bullet points. Don’t try to memorize a script.
3. Practice
Take the time to practice telling your story. This is especially important when telling a story about a conflict.
Conflicts often lead to arguments, problems, and damaged/broken professional relationships. You want to feel confident discussing the sensitive details in a way that gets your points across.
Similar interview questions:
How are you at dealing with conflict?
What do you do when you disagree with others?
Do you open up or close down in conflict situations?
How do you handle disagreements?
How are you at dealing with conflict?
What do you do when you disagree with others?
Do you open up or close down in conflict situations?
How do you handle disagreements?
Why the interviewer is asking this question:
The interviewer is looking for information that normally would not be offered on the resume or as part of the standard interview response--how the candidate deals with conflict. Many otherwise excellent employees have seen their downfall in how they handled (or didn't handle) conflict. The interviewer knows that most candidates will not offer up true conflict situations, so the practiced interviewer will continue to drill until a real example is provided.
The interviewer is looking for information that normally would not be offered on the resume or as part of the standard interview response--how the candidate deals with conflict. Many otherwise excellent employees have seen their downfall in how they handled (or didn't handle) conflict. The interviewer knows that most candidates will not offer up true conflict situations, so the practiced interviewer will continue to drill until a real example is provided.
The best approach to answering this question:
Talk briefly about the conflict, but focus on the resolution of the conflict.
Talk briefly about the conflict, but focus on the resolution of the conflict.
An example of how to best answer this question for an experienced candidate:
"I recently had a conflict with an employee in another department who had a project which was dependent on work being done by myself and two other members of our team. He had sent a rather urgent e-mail accusing us of derailing his project. I had never met him before, so I asked to get together with him for coffee. I asked him to walk me through his project and the inter-dependency of his project with our project. I then walked him through our project and timelines. Once we had the opportunity to communicate our independent priorities, we could begin talking about our shared priorities. We agreed to a timeline that would help us both meet our goals and the conflict was resolved before it became a major incident."
"I recently had a conflict with an employee in another department who had a project which was dependent on work being done by myself and two other members of our team. He had sent a rather urgent e-mail accusing us of derailing his project. I had never met him before, so I asked to get together with him for coffee. I asked him to walk me through his project and the inter-dependency of his project with our project. I then walked him through our project and timelines. Once we had the opportunity to communicate our independent priorities, we could begin talking about our shared priorities. We agreed to a timeline that would help us both meet our goals and the conflict was resolved before it became a major incident."
