Senior Software Engineer Mock Interview
Practice 47 Senior Software Engineer interview questions covering system design, architecture decisions, and technical leadership.
Question 36 of 47
Can you give me an example of when you had to work with someone difficult to get along with? How did you handle the situation?
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Example Answer
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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 to which the interviewer expects a 'STAR' formatted answer: Situation, Task, Action, Result. Interviewers ask behavioral questions to determine how you react to challenging situations in the workplace. Your description of how you handled this in a previous job will indicate what you will do if hired by the organization. Behavioral questions typically involve challenges, relationships, conflict, or communication errors.
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.
"In one of my recent jobs, I was partnered with another employee who was not open to new ideas and suggestions. Their attitude was 'my way or the highway.' We were tasked to develop a new process for using advanced encryption techniques more effectively. I asked for their ideas and noted that while they were good, it would be more efficient to modify them slightly. We developed a consensus about the new process by accepting their initial suggestions and only recommending minor modifications. We recommended this to management, and the new process was implemented. This resulted in significant savings for the company and made it easier for my colleague and me to work together on future projects."
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