"Early in my career as a Medical Lab Tech, one of the senior techs in my small department was very cold to me when I would ask questions or try to talk to her. Day after day, I didn't let this bother me, and I kept trying to build trust with her by picking up extra work and asking for her assistance when I needed it. Finally, after a few weeks, another colleague I had gotten to know told me that the senior tech was upset because I had been hired over a friend of hers that had applied for the position. In not wanting this issue to fester any further, I spoke with the senior tech late one evening when we were the only two left on the job. I told her I was sorry to hear about her situation but also stressed that I didn't want hard feelings between us because I wanted to work closely with her and learn from her while on the job. This simple approach opened the gates, and she apologized for acting as she did. To this day, we remain very close colleagues that work well together now."

The interviewer wants to see that you have the interpersonal, communication, and conflict resolution skills they seek in a candidate. You can describe a situation you encountered with a teammate or one you witnessed. The interviewer wants to hear that you stand up for yourself and others and will be an excellent team player if hired for the position.

"In my previous job, I had a colleague who constantly talked poorly about other team members behind their backs. She would say things to our supervisor that I knew were a lie, and I think she would say these things because she was trying to get a promotion and make herself look better. It bothered me because we are supposed to be part of a team and look out for each other. I asked her to lunch one day to talk to her about this. I told her that I did not like her talking about my colleagues like she was and asked her what her motivation was for doing this. She was surprised to be called out on her behavior and acted like she didn't know what I was talking about. She said she was unaware of her behavior and asked me to point it out if she talked bad about someone in the future. After that, she was a lot better about talking negatively about others, and she actually started complimenting people on their work."