Competency Interview Questions

Master 25 competency-based interview questions covering behavioral scenarios and skills assessment.

Question 7 of 25

How do you deal in uncomfortable situations?

Admin
Manager
Sales
Teacher
Marketing
Retail
How to Answer
Example Answer
Community Answers

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"I have learned over the years that if something makes me uncomfortable, I better dive right into it. Change and growth happen outside of your comfort zone. I embrace this!"

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"Uncomfortable situations do not weigh on me. I have learned how to face my problems and persevere, and I never take my feelings home with me. I encourage this mentality with my team as well."

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"As ridiculous as this sounds, I am comfortable in awkward situations because I've had decades of awkward family dinner parties when one side didn't get along well with the other! I've learned to be the go-between who smoothes things out while finding common ground where all parties can agree. While the foundations are odd, this has proven a beneficial skill in the workplace."

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"Uncomfortable situations don't phase me. It takes a lot to make me uncomfortable, and I just roll with whatever awkward thing is happening and try to either make it normalized, especially in the case of a student, change the conversation, or address the root of the awkwardness. It's all part of the gig."

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"I try to avoid conflict, but I have a high tolerance for discomfort. I've learned to try to let the people in question sort it out, but have no problem rolling up my sleeves and diving in to help mediate the problem."

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"When working with the public so much, awkward situations are going to arise. I have had my fair share and knew enough to either walk away or fake it till I made it! A smile and nod can do wonders!"

Christine Pasqueretta

Christine Pasqueretta is a human resource and recruitment professional with experience creating, developing, implementing, leading, and measuring HR impact initiatives.

Often, our work environment holds the possibility for awkward or tense situations. It can be challenging to know how to respond when you have a coworker who is moody, or when your coworker lacks social skills and continuously asks inappropriate questions. The interviewer wants to know that you can keep your cool in situations like these.

Christine Pasqueretta

Christine Pasqueretta is a human resource and recruitment professional with experience creating, developing, implementing, leading, and measuring HR impact initiatives.

"I have had my share of awkward situations and having raised two kids, I am no stranger to them! In the workplace, if an uncomfortable situation arises I tend to face the issue head-on, but tactfully. Sweeping things under the rug rarely helps. I have no problem being open with my team or colleagues if I am not feeling comfortable in a particular situation."

Interview Coach

Jaymie

A real coach, not AI. I read every answer myself and write back with personalized feedback.

Typically responds within 24 hours.

0 - Character Count

Anonymous Answer

I take a deep breath, tell my self don't panic and try to understand a person's perspective, and if necessary, I clarify the situations.

Rachelle's Feedback

These are great steps to dealing with uncomfortable or challenging situations. Good answer!

"When faced with an uncomfortable situation, I take a deep breath and tell myself to remain calm. If the situation involves someone else, I will take a moment to understand that person's perspective and ask for clarification if necessary."

Anonymous Answer

I try to face the situation head-on. It's hard to avoid these especially having been on the customer comms team, where we deal with complaints on a daily basis, or hear things from customers that we don't necessarily agree with. When these situations come, particularly in customer service I think it's important to take a deep breath and realize that people are going to want to express their concerns and be heard - when they get the chance to do this and I give them the chance to let off steam, then I'm able to help them in a more efficient way.

Stephanie's Feedback

This is a very well-rounded response and highlights your problem-solving skills and strong customer service approach.

Previous Question Next Question

Competency Interview Questions

How do you deal in uncomfortable situations?

25Competency Interview Questions & Answers

1.Tell me the ways in which you brought value to your most recent position.

2.How do you deal with conflict on your team?

3.Why are you the best candidate for this position?

4.What skills did you learn in your most recent position that will help you in this new role?

5.Give me an example of a challenge you overcame in your last position.

6.What decisions did you routinely make in your last position?

7.How do you deal in uncomfortable situations?

8.Name a few things you were asked to do in your most recent position that you weren't necessarily trained to do. How did you cope?

9.What feedback did you receive from your most recent manager?

10.How did you go about suggesting changes in your most recent company?

11.How has your current job changed over the years?

12.How do you explain complicated concepts to those who may not understand?

13.Give an example of when you used your listening skills to complete a task properly, or solve a problem.

14.Tell me about an achievement you are proud of. What skills did you use to achieve this goal?

15.Are you capable of handling disputes in a professional manner? How do you respond to customer complaints?

16.Do you have confidence in your communication skills? What is your communication style?

17.How did you maintain a good relationship with your most recent boss?

18.Tell me about a time when you took a creative approach to solving a problem.

19.When have you taken an unusual risk in the workplace? What was the outcome?

20.In your opinion, why is it important to develop relationships with coworkers?

21.How do you handle a larger than average workload?

22.How do you deal with stressful situations in the workplace?

23.Do you consider yourself a patient person? How do you increase your patience level in challenging situations?

24.Have you requested extra responsibilities in any of your previous roles?

25.With the ongoing changes in this industry, how do you keep your knowledge current?