Conflict Resolution Job Interview Questions Flashcards
Why the interviewer asks you about how you handle conflicts
As you know, in a diverse workplace, there are going to be different opinions because people are not going to get along with each other all the time. However, most jobs require you to get along with different types of peoples and personalities.
To succeed in these situations, you must be able to handle conflicts as a professional.
Job interview questions about conflict resolution are used to filter out the candidates whose approaches and actions match the requirements and company culture of the hiring company.
Questions the interviewer wants answers to
So, how do you think you handle conflicts?
Are you a person that tries to avoid conflicts at all costs?
Or are you a person who pretends there is no conflict and just ignores the situation?
Are you a person who just goes with the flow and is more accommodating?
Or are you a person that sees conflict as an opportunity to compromise and collaborate?
What are your conflict resolution skills?
Facilitating a productive dialogue Being assertive Asking questions and active listening Perspective & Empathy Problem-solving Mediation Responsibility
Red flags for the interviewer
If you cannot provide the interviewer with an example situation in which you resolved a conflict situation, this is considered a red flag. Your resume only offers a glimpse into your work history, but this is only a starting point for an in-depth conversation about your background. If the job that you’re applying for requires you to deal with conflict situations, you should prepare example situations before the interview.
What’s also considered a red flag is if you cannot provide the interviewer with learning experiences you had in your previous work experience. Asking what you learned from a specific situation is a very common follow-up question if you have not already provided a learning experience in your answer yourself.
Being able to reflect on situations and discussing what you’ve learned is a big factor for interviewers if they want to assess whether or not you have grown over time and learned from your experiences.
Negativity - Focusing too much on the conflict and not enough on the actual resolution dodging the question is considered a red flag.
How do you handle conflicts in the workplace?
Based on my experience, the best way to handle conflicts is to approach the situation professionally and directly. The situations that I have been in taught me that the best strategy is to try to see things from someone else’s perspective and to approach the situation with an open mind. Understanding the perspective of others allows you to get a better feeling of how they really feel. In conflict situations, this gave me the opportunity to get to the core of the issue and the ability to reconcile. Also, creating an environment where the situation is less ‘personal’ is a good starting point to resolve a conflict.
In my previous job, my team got into a discussion about the quarterly budgets that needed to be allocated. An argument started about which department should receive what part of the budget. During the meeting, I saw the team split up in two sides. Both sides thought they were right and tried to convince the other side of their choices. In my experience, conflicts usually arise due to differences in priorities, whether it be internal or external.
It was my responsibility to prevent this minor conflict from escalating into a large one. As it often goes, the way things were said influenced the discussion negatively, and the substantiation of priorities was not clear to the other side. Both sides of the team made assumptions of why the other side felt a certain way. I mediated the conflict to understand their differences by asking specific questions to both sides to get a feeling of where their train of thought came from. Within 15 minutes, both sides were able to remove a large part of the tension and started working on a constructive solution because they understood each other’s logic behind their choices.’
Tell me about a time you had difficulties working with a supervisor.
‘In my previous position, our department was assigned a new manager where I initially had some trouble getting along with. In terms of job performance, and I received less feedback than I was used to, which made it difficult at times to meet expectations because they were not fully clear. Due to this situation, it was difficult for me to evaluate my own performance. This led to some disagreements on the work floor, but these are based on misunderstandings from both sides.
I asked her if we could schedule a meeting. During this meeting, I directly asked her if she could provide me with more direct and specific feedback on crucial moments on the work that needed to be done. Based on what I told her about my experience with working under her, she indicated that she understood what I meant, and from that day on, we were on the same page in terms of work expectations. We had a successful professional relationship for over two years and worked together on several large projects. Eventually, she got promoted to head of the department, and I got a new manager to run the team. My most important learning moment was that I should take time to discuss management styles with new managers and make sure that expectations from both sides are clear in order to perform as well as possible.’
Tell me about a time you had to resolve a conflict between two colleagues
I was tasked with resolving a conflict between two of my team members. There was an issue that caused a situation where they could no longer work effectively in the same team. As the conflict escalated, it started to affect the productivity of the other team members but other employees on the floor as well. I asked them both if I could talk to them privately to calm the situation. During that conversation, I invited them to talk together to calm the tension and resolve the conflict. I took the position of the mediator to make sure emotions would not get the better of them during the conversation, which often happens during conflict situations.
At the start of our conversation, I told them that a compromise needed to be reached. My main objective was to get an understanding of each person’s position, without siding with one of them. I gave them both a chance to tell why they felt a certain way while asking them to respect the perspective of the other as well. I emphasized that a solution needed to be reached to create a workable situation, not only for them but also for other colleagues.
After discussing their differences, they found out that there perspectives and views were not so far apart, and their conflict was based on a misunderstanding in communication. Based on this conclusion, we all agreed that future disagreements should not lead up to a point where a conflict impacted other colleagues and team productivity. Also, if such a situation would occur in the future, they would handle this in a professional and considerate way while leaving out any emotions. The result of our meeting was that their work relationship was restored and all tensions within the team were gone.
Negativity
Negativity is always considered a red flag.
When you’re discussing a situation in which a conflict needed to be resolved stick to the facts and stay objective.
The interviewer is not interested in any complaints, and bringing negative energy is considered disconcerting — the way you discuss a former employer, colleagues, or industry matters.
The interviewer will notice if you’re making unnecessary comments about former teammates or if you’re minimizing their work.
Any indication that you might have interacted poorly within the team is a red flag.
Therefore, make sure to leave a negative attitude out of your answer.
Facilitating a productive dialogue
The first step in resolving a conflict is getting people to open up to facilitate a productive dialogue.
Communication is always key to bring cohesion in moments of conflict.
Being assertive
Assertive behavior is a form of communicating to others in an open, direct, and honest way. Being assertive means that you’re able to stand up for either your own or for other people’s rights in a positive and calm way. This is a valuable skill to possess and highlight in your answers.
Asking questions and active listening
Asking the right questions and listening carefully to what people involved are saying is an essential part of resolving conflicts. Through this process, you are more likely to gain an understanding of the origin of the complaint and how you should go about solving it.
Perspective & Empathy
These regard the ability to understand someone else’s feelings and points of view. This is an important element in resolving conflicts. If you can understand other people’s thoughts, observations, and triggers, you are more likely to solve the conflict.
Problem-solving
Problem-solving skills help to determine the source of a conflict or problem and find and an effective way to solve it. For instance, during a conflict situation in the workplace, problem-solving skills can be used to identify certain areas of compromise between the people who are in disagreement.
Mediation
Positivity in the work environment is brought my employees who are open-minded, kind, and also considerate of other people’s feelings and thoughts. Therefore, empathy is important in various jobs but especially in customer-facing positions. Example questions are:
Responsibility
Accountability and holding people responsible for their (follow-up) actions is an important part of starting the resolution of a conflict. For instance, when an agreement is reached, a senior supervisor can check-in a couple of days later to ensure that everybody is still on the same page.
