Tell me about a time you had to deal with a co-worker who wasn’t doing their fair share of the work. What did you do, and what was the outcome?

When answering questions, keep in mind that your tone of voice is as important as your response. No one likes a whiner, especially within a collaborative work environment. Keep your tone positive and steer away from criticizing former managers and colleagues. The best way to answer this question is to use the STAR interview response technique, which allows you to describe a situation that occurred in your past. In your response, you'll convey the relevant Situation, a Task (or challenge) you needed to address, the Action you took, and the Result of your action.

"I worked closely with a co-worker who, for the most part, always carried her fair share of the workload. During the pandemic, working on a project with a tight deadline, I realized her contributions to the project were very minimal. I decided to wait until after the project to speak with her. I'm glad I did because I learned she'd been going through a tough time in her personal life, and she appreciated my willingness to go the extra mile to complete the project on time. As a result, we developed a close working relationship, and our ability to work well together significantly increased."