Talk about a time you dealt with a difficult employee. How did you handle the situation?

Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
How to Answer
Answer Example

In Human Resources, your customers are the employees. The interviewer is looking to determine if you can handle difficult employees professionally and respectfully.

Talk about a time you were confronted with a difficult or upset customer or employee. Tell the interviewer how you handled the situation while remaining calm and professional. Describe the positive outcome you achieved.

"An employee called me a couple of months ago to ask about her vacation balance. Her vacation time had expired. My current company does not roll over vacation, and she had lost her remaining days. She was understandably upset and began yelling at me, saying her manager had promised her she could use the time later because he needed her to work during their busy season. I remained calm and patient until she had finished telling me what had happened, which included a few profanities and a lot of loud yelling. When she paused, I told her I understood why she was frustrated and that it sounded like we needed to make an exception. I asked her to give me a day to look into the situation and told her that I would get back to her with an update the next day. I confirmed with the manager that he had made the promise she stated and got approval from my manager in HR to add the vacation time back to her profile. When I called the next day to give her the news, she was so happy I could hear her jumping up on down through the phone. To this day, she calls me whenever she has a question, and she tells all of her co-workers I'm the best person in HR to reach out to if they have an issue."

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How to Answer: Talk about a time you dealt with a difficult employee. How did you handle the situation?

Advice and answer examples written specifically for a HR Specialist job interview.

8. Talk about a time you dealt with a difficult employee. How did you handle the situation?

Why the Interviewer Asks This Question

In Human Resources, your customers are the employees. The interviewer is looking to determine if you can handle difficult employees professionally and respectfully.

Written by Tiffany McPherson on May 23rd, 2022

How to Answer

Talk about a time you were confronted with a difficult or upset customer or employee. Tell the interviewer how you handled the situation while remaining calm and professional. Describe the positive outcome you achieved.

Written by Tiffany McPherson on May 23rd, 2022

Answer Example

"An employee called me a couple of months ago to ask about her vacation balance. Her vacation time had expired. My current company does not roll over vacation, and she had lost her remaining days. She was understandably upset and began yelling at me, saying her manager had promised her she could use the time later because he needed her to work during their busy season. I remained calm and patient until she had finished telling me what had happened, which included a few profanities and a lot of loud yelling. When she paused, I told her I understood why she was frustrated and that it sounded like we needed to make an exception. I asked her to give me a day to look into the situation and told her that I would get back to her with an update the next day. I confirmed with the manager that he had made the promise she stated and got approval from my manager in HR to add the vacation time back to her profile. When I called the next day to give her the news, she was so happy I could hear her jumping up on down through the phone. To this day, she calls me whenever she has a question, and she tells all of her co-workers I'm the best person in HR to reach out to if they have an issue."

Written by Tiffany McPherson on May 23rd, 2022

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