Have you ever experienced conflict on the job? If so, how was it handled?

"My first manager was a challenging person. His expectations were often unreasonable and would come with little explanation. I worked with him for two years and left when I knew I was no longer benefitting from his leadership. I was pretty green and did not feel I had the years behind me to openly challenge his working style. I did keep my head down for the most part, but the benefit came to me at a later time when I took on my first leadership role. I knew what I did not want to be like; thus, the experience helped shape my communication style as a healthcare project manager."

"I have disagreed with fellow students during various group projects, but there have only been a couple of times where it has become a true conflict. One instance that comes to mind was the distribution of work when a new group project was assigned. The group leader created a meeting schedule that conflicted with most team members' other commitments. This schedule was a problem because it was obvious the group would struggle with keeping in timely communication. I laid out the reasons why this schedule would not work. Although the group leader had little empathy for anyone else's commitments, in the end, we identified other times that we could meet, keeping everyone's project schedule's more achievable."

The interviewer is looking to see your conflict resolution, leadership, and problem-solving skills in the workplace. It is essential that healthcare project managers can resolve conflict and keep a peaceful work environment. You want to avoid saying that you avoid conflict and hope it resolves on its own. If you avoid conflict and do not help resolve the situation, it shows the interviewer that you do not have these essential skills.