Tell me about a time when you had to deal with conflict on the job.
Think about the last time you experienced conflict at work. Maybe your neighbors disliked that your snow removal person dropped a pile of snow in their parking lot or you had a tenant who was upset about something. Or, maybe you had a manager who didn't like the new lights you installed in the entryway. The key to this question is showing the interviewer that you worked through the problem without losing your professionalism or positive attitude. Begin by providing the interviewer with a summary of the conflict, expressing how you learned about the problem. Next, share that you apologized for the issue, and discuss how you resolved the conflict. Be sure to mention how happy the other person was when all was said and done!
"The latest conflict I've had to deal with at work was between two tenants in a commercial building. Their spaces were right next to each other in the building and one complained to me that the other always had his radio on too loud. Apparently, the one tenant had already gone directly to the other and asked him to turn down his radio, as it was noisy and distracting to her and her employees. The other tenant agreed to her request, but the tenant was still unhappy with the noise level. I headed over to the building soon after to see if I could hear the music from the hallway. I could barely hear the music, but I still politely asked the tenant to keep the volume of his radio at an appropriate level. Days later, I got another call from the tenant complaining about the radio. I drove over to the building and stood in her space to listen. Come to find out, it was not his radio that she was hearing, but a loud piece of equipment he had in his space and used regularly. To ease the tension and work out the conflict, I recommended that the tenant move this large piece of equipment into a vacant space down the hall to keep the noise level to a minimum. The tenant agreed to it and both tenants left that meeting feeling heard."
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