Tell me about a time you worked with a person who did things very differently than you. How did you collaborate effectively with them?

"I spent three years working as a waiter at a high-end restaurant in my college town. During that time, I worked with another wait staff member who was very demanding and, at times, rude to staff. Their rude demands were hard to handle at times. To work as part of an effective team with this person, I learned to keep a smile on my face and use humor to help them relax a bit when things got hectic on the floor."

The goal of your response is to describe your approach to collaborating with others while highlighting how your collaboration style will be a good match for the dental program you are interviewing with. Tell the interviewers about a specific time you worked with someone who approached their tasks or communication style differently than you. Outline the situation, and describe why it was a challenge to collaborate with this person. Focus on the specific actions you took to ensure a successful collaboration.