BHP Billiton Mock Interview
Practice 35 BHP Billiton interview questions covering safety culture, operational excellence, and mining industry expertise.
Question 34 of 35
Tell me about a conflict you had with a teammate.
Example Answer
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Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
"A member of our team was going through some personal issues and their work-life balance was clearly off. I gave them a heads-up, explaining how their performance was under evaluation and how the department's perception of them on the team had changed. They didn't take kindly to this and accused me of throwing them under the bus. This couldn't have been farther from the truth. Their behavior was erratic, and it was clear for all to see. Well, I realized I wasn't appreciated, so I apologized for overstepping my bounds, detailing my motivation, and explained that I wouldn't again cross those boundaries now that they've set them. Soon they came around to being nice to me again, and we got along as if nothing had happened between us. Two weeks later, they were let go. I tried to help, but in the end, there's only so much one can do."
Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
This question aims to unravel what you constitute as a conflict and how you'd confront it, whether you respond defensively or diplomatically. It aims to gauge your sense of team work, your problem-solving skills, general perception or attitude, and how effectively you work towards reaching a communal end goal. They ultimately want to know whether you're part of the problem or part of the solution. In your answer, exhibit the manners in which you embrace their charter values, including respect and integrity. Detail the situation leading up to the conflict, including the steps you took to de-escalate. Explain how you resolved the situation. Do your best to exhibit your soft skills and your adeptness at non-defensive communication.
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Anonymous Answer
Recently I had one of our technical specialists come to one of my customer sites to perform an audit of their system. He was a new employee in this particular area so I wasn't familiar with his experience and skill level.
When they arrived at the customer site it became apparent pretty quickly that they didn't have the skills required to perform their work adequately. Through no fault of their own, they were put in a position where they couldn't possibly succeed.
Following their visit, I escalated my concerns around the visit to their boss as well as my own, in a way that I felt was fair to the employee.
They were frustrated that I had flagged this as an issue and accused me of "throwing them under the bus" in an email. I immediately called them and applied a listen, share, clarify, problem solve and take action method to alleviate their concerns and assure them that it wasn't the case and explained my position that it was not their fault that they had been placed in that position and offered to call their boss as well as my own to help alleviate the employees' concerns. In the end, everybody agreed that it was unfair to have placed them in that situation. He and I have a great relationship now.
Marcie's Feedback
You've used the STAR method well here to describe a conflict that was ultimately resolved. Out of curiosity, what were the conditions whereby 'they couldn't possibly succeed?' The interviewer might wonder about that too.
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