Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think my go to answer is kind of crappy for this. So I'm looking for a better one and am curious what other folks have said that may make me think of a situation I've been in that was similar and could be fitting.
As for what I've been saying I work in a group home setting. We used to do the shopping on Friday when it was busy. So I suggested to my co-worker we do it on Tuesday when it is less busy and hence would take less time. She disagreed at first, but agreed to try it out. Now we do the shopping on Tuesday.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,104 posts, read 80,155,784 times
Reputation: 56923
No, that doesn't seem to me what they are looking for, but if it's all you have, it's better than making up something. A good interviewer will ask follow-up questions for details and can tell whether you are speaking from memory or making it up. If experience resolving a conflict is required for the job, they are looking more for arguments over someone getting the dirtiest assignments, someone using disrespectful tone/wording in their emails, or disagreement on how to handle a situation where there could be a disastrous or at least significantly negative outcome. I have not done that sort of work, but perhaps something like a person improperly administering medication, not making careful notes on a patient's food intake, or telling you "I'm not going to bath her today because it's too much bother." Then you manage to convince the other person, report them, or whatever that results in the
appropriate outcome.
I think my go to answer is kind of crappy for this. So I'm looking for a better one and am curious what other folks have said that may make me think of a situation I've been in that was similar and could be fitting.
As for what I've been saying I work in a group home setting. We used to do the shopping on Friday when it was busy. So I suggested to my co-worker we do it on Tuesday when it is less busy and hence would take less time. She disagreed at first, but agreed to try it out. Now we do the shopping on Tuesday.
As it's stated, that wasn't much of a conflict. I think it could be an OK answer for "Explain a professional challenge and how did you improve it" type question.
One of my examples-
When I was first transferred from production to HR I was met with a payroll manager that was very difficult to work with, unhelpful, and difficult to approach. In my previous position there had been no issues so I didn't know where this came from. (turns out I was paid a higher salary than her)
Despite her attitude I consciously remained professionally pleasant, volunteered to assist in any way, and never acknowledged her negativity. It took about a year but we both chose to participate in a healthy and helpful working relationship.
I've asked this question in the past as an interviewer. What I'm hoping to hear is that you used active communication (were not passive aggressive), followed the appropriate chain of command, made the best choices for who to get involved, did what was best for the department/team and the company, stayed professional, and learned from the experience. If you're meeting with the person that will be your direct report, it doesn't hurt to say that you didn't know how to handle the situation so you quietly went to your boss for guidance because you wanted to ensure that you acted the best way for the team, and that you learned a lot about being a better coworker. I like to hear that you know when to ask for help, and that you want to do what's best for your team.
What you don't want to do is make yourself sound difficult, that you don't play well with others, or that your way/perspective is more important. Or indicate in any way that you bypassed your superior, even if the outcome was positive. I once had someone say that his boss specifically told him not to contact a vendor to request a price reduction, but he did it anyway and was very proud of all the money he saved his company. All I heard was that he disobeyed a direct instruction from his superior, without even trying to find out why he was told not to do it. Maybe the company was already shopping for other vendors and didn't want to get locked into a new contract or had something else in the works. Or maybe his boss was just an idiot. Either way, I wrapped up the interview quickly thereafter because I needed a team player for that position.
Also, don't ever tell a story that involves HR, no matter how great the outcome. I don't care if you say that your best friend since kindergarten worked in the HR department and she helped you decide how to resolve the conflict and at the end everyone got a free pony for playing so well together; all I'm going to hear is that you involved HR. This is another quick way to end an interview.
I think my go to answer is kind of crappy for this. So I'm looking for a better one and am curious what other folks have said that may make me think of a situation I've been in that was similar and could be fitting.
As for what I've been saying I work in a group home setting. We used to do the shopping on Friday when it was busy. So I suggested to my co-worker we do it on Tuesday when it is less busy and hence would take less time. She disagreed at first, but agreed to try it out. Now we do the shopping on Tuesday.
Not dramatic enough.
How about...
"I wanted to release 100,000 wingbats, but the project manager disagreed because of projections that it wouldn't help reach company benchmarks. I then suggested that we conduct a preliminary market test by donating 5,000 wingbats to orphans in guinea-worm ravaged countries, and it was such a hit and garnered such great PR on Dr Oz that international pre-orders exceeded the supply of wingbats, thereby increasing FatCatMeowCorp's revenue by $7.5 million. Our boss was so pleased with us that he flew us to the Bahamas, where the project manager and I then kissed passionately over Blue Hawaiians."
Mm. Yeah. Something more along those lines.
Last edited by ohhwanderlust; 07-06-2015 at 01:45 AM..
Reason: typo. bugger off!
How about...
"I wanted to release 100,000 wingbats, but the project manager disagreed because of projections that it wouldn't help reach company benchmarks. I then suggested that we conduct a preliminary market test by donating 5,000 wingbats to orphans in guinea-worm ravaged countries, and it was such a hit and garnered such great PR on Dr Oz that international pre-orders exceeded the supply of wingbats, thereby increasing FatCatMeowCorp's revenue by $7.5 million. Our boss was so pleased with us that he flew us to the Bahamas, where the project manager and I then kissed passionately over Blue Hawaiians."
There was the time a co worker called me on a Friday night, told me she was quitting Monday, asked me what I thought about various things (I only said positive things, this wasn't a person I liked)... then I walked in Monday morning and found her and the boss waiting at my desk for me, because of the hateful things I said that made her want to quit... and nothing I said got through to the boss... even offered to show him the incoming call from said co worker but he had made up his mind that I was in the wrong. "She's been working here for 7 years and we've never had a complaint from another co worker"... ummm... never occurred to you that you only employ 2 office workers and you cycle through new people every 3-6 months for those 7 years? (Yes, I said that, and was sent home early for the day)
Got "laid off" two months later... best thing that ever happened to me!
Jim kept giving me dirty looks whenever I would ask him to do something and he refused to follow my directions, so I punched him in the face.
For me to accept that as an appropriate answer, you need to be able to articulate that your coworker looked at you "real hard."
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
