Computer Science Mock Interview
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Question 5 of 25
When is the last time you had a disagreement with a peer? How did you resolve the situation?
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William Swansen has worked in the employment assistance realm since 2007. He is an author, job search strategist, and career advisor who helps individuals worldwide and in various professions to find their ideal careers.
This is a behavioral question. Behavioral questions seek to understand how you would act in a specific situation. These types of questions are best answered using the STAR framework. You state the Situation, describe the Task you are trying to achieve, talk about the Actions you took, and then discuss the Results you achieved. Make sure you emphasize the results and share that they are similar to what you will be expected to accomplish in this role.
William Swansen has worked in the employment assistance realm since 2007. He is an author, job search strategist, and career advisor who helps individuals worldwide and in various professions to find their ideal careers.
"While it is rare, I do occasionally have disagreements with my coworkers. An example of this is when one of my peers thought we should use a different manufacturer's collaboration tool. My concern was that the tool had not been properly vetted and may not interface with the company's current software products. When it became clear that we would not be able to reach an agreement, I suggested that we meet with our manager to put forth our recommendations. He agreed, and we had a meeting shortly after that. The manager felt both recommendations were valid but chose to go with my coworker's. This turned out to be the right choice. What I learned from this was that I need to keep an open mind and that when I reach an impasse with a coworker, it is the role of the manager to intervene and resolve it."
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In school this past quarter I had a disagreement with my lab partner on how we should go about answering and solving a problem in one of our labs. Our labs our timed and high stress, so we didn't have time to logically work through both solutions and explain them to one another. Therefore, we tried their solution and got it returned with the wrong answer. Then we tried my solution and also got the wrong answer. However, looking at both answers we realized that we needed a combination of strategies to get the correct value. This was helpful in the end because it reminded me to keep an open mind with my work, even in situations that are high stress.
Stephanie's Feedback
You provide a great specific example here, but I suggest further developing the part where you show how you resolve conflict. What was the result of this situation, after you and your lab partner both took a step back and found a different way to move forward together? You mention learning to keep an open mind, but you don't explicitly mention what you learned about resolving conflict, which would deepen the outcome of your response.
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