Describe a situation where you had to work with a difficult person. How did you handle it?
This behavioral question will offer a meaningful glimpse into your personality. It will reveal how capability you navigate the bias geared against your role when entering a new work environment. Its aim is to reveal how well you deal with those in subordinate positions, and how well you work with the client's teams. The interviewer needs to know if you respond defensively to situational conflict, or approach such instances diplomatically, working swiftly towards a communal end goal. They want to know whether you're part of the problem or part of the solution.
"In my current role, I have a customer that flies off the handle very easily if things don't happen just right. I learned this from my first interactions with him. In seeing this happen from the start, I have always maintained a calm demeanor when he was upset and showed empathy by asking questions about his expectations and how to fix situations for him. To this day, I expect difficulty from him when we work together and the years we've had a working relationship together have better prepared me for more clients like him in the future."
"A couple of years ago, a close colleague of mine had a very abrupt turnaround in her attitude and performance on the job. She was very curt and abrasive in conversations when she was normally very talkative and friendly on the job. After noticing some concerns in her work, I approached her with an open mind and asked her what was going on to cause these things to change. I showed concern and approached her as a friend and this approach prompted her to tell me about some issues happening in her personal life. By taking this approach, rather than getting upset or even made with her, I showed her that I cared and valued her as a person and my approach helped her open up and turn her life at work back around to the positive side."
When an interviewer asks you how you deal with conflict, focus your example on the solution rather than the problem. Always focus your example on the situation and never steer your focus to any one person.
Rather than detailing why the person in your example was difficult, offer insights into how you handled the situation, and what you did to foster relationships. Focus on empathy, tolerance, understanding, and great communication skills when delivering your examples.
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