A difficult person you had to work with - Most Common Interview Questions, #6

A difficult person you had to work with - Most Common Interview Questions, #6 ShareShare1 This post is an excerpt fromGet That Job! The Quick and Complete Guide to a Winning Job Interview, available from Amazon as a softcover or eBook. How should you answer this tricky interview question? Sometimes the question is phrased a little differently: Tell me about a time you had to work with someone you didnt like, or who didnt like you. However the question is asked, dont project an image of yourself as someone who dislikes or is disliked by others. Reframe it as a situation where it was a challenge to work effectively with someone. This question requires you to say something negative about a co-worker, which is generally a no-no in interviews. So be tactful by not giving any information that could identify who this person is. Take an emotionally neutral tone. Resist the urge to kvetch, even if the interviewer encourages it by offering you sympathy. Avoid characterizing the co-worker in judgmental terms like Nothing was ever right as far as he was concerned or She wasnt a team player. Instead, describe the specific behavior objectively: He would often make negative comments about team members or We needed her to provide a report every Monday, but it usually wasnt done until mid-week. Be very brief about the difficult behavior, focusing primarily on what you did to make the best of the situation and how well it turned out. Treat this as a success story, emphasizing the positive results. If you werent able to get any positive results, tell a different story! Remember, this question is not about the other person, its about you and your ability to collaborate with or manage others, to manage your own emotions and behavior, to resolve conflicts, and to use discretion and fairness in discussing a difficult situation. Looking for more tips on handling tricky interview questions? For a more complete interview guide, read Get That Job! The Quick and Complete Guide to a Winning Job Interview. Interested in more tips about answering the most common interview questions? You can start with the first post in the series: What are your weaknesses? A difficult person you had to work with - Most Common Interview Questions, #6 ShareShare1 This post is an excerpt fromGet That Job! The Quick and Complete Guide to a Winning Job Interview, available from Amazon as a softcover or eBook. How should you answer this tricky interview question? Sometimes the question is phrased a little differently: Tell me about a time you had to work with someone you didnt like, or who didnt like you. However the question is asked, dont project an image of yourself as someone who dislikes or is disliked by others. Reframe it as a situation where it was a challenge to work effectively with someone. This question requires you to say something negative about a co-worker, which is generally a no-no in interviews. So be tactful by not giving any information that could identify who this person is. Take an emotionally neutral tone. Resist the urge to kvetch, even if the interviewer encourages it by offering you sympathy. Avoid characterizing the co-worker in judgmental terms like Nothing was ever right as far as he was concerned or She wasnt a team player. Instead, describe the specific behavior objectively: He would often make negative comments about team members or We needed her to provide a report every Monday, but it usually wasnt done until mid-week. Be very brief about the difficult behavior, focusing primarily on what you did to make the best of the situation and how well it turned out. Treat this as a success story, emphasizing the positive results. If you werent able to get any positive results, tell a different story! Remember, this question is not about the other person, its about you and your ability to collaborate with or manage others, to manage your own emotions and behavior, to resolve conflicts, and to use discretion and fairness in discussing a difficult situation. Looking for more tips on handling tricky interview questions? For a more complete interview guide, read Get That Job! The Quick and Complete Guide to a Winning Job Interview. Interested in more tips about answering the most common interview questions? You can start with the first post in the series: What are your weaknesses?