How to Answer “Tell Me About A Time You Worked With Difficult People”?

Interview questions exist so that they can test your personality. An interviewer may ask different types of questions to know about you and your ability to handle various situations. Asking about “A time you worked with difficult people” is one such question where you have carefully alter your answer to win the interview and get placed in the dream job. In this article, we are going to discuss How To Answer the “Tell Me About The Time You Worked With Difficult People?”

Why Recruiters Ask “Tell Me About A Time You Worked With Difficult People”

Behavioral questions are always a little tricky when compared to technical questions. These are posed to understand your character and your behavior in various difficult situations. Your answer, there creates an overview and determines your eligibility for a certain role. Here are some reasons an interviewer might seek while answering “Tell me about a time you worked with difficult people”. 

1. The Ability to Handle Conflict

Conflicts and misunderstandings are common in any kind of workplace. It is necessary to handle such situations maturely to avoid any kind of damage. Handling various people needs a lot of patience and problem-solving skill. 

2. Communication Skills

It is said that most human conflicts are due to miscommunications and they can be solved by better communication. The ability to listen, understand and make correct statements is becoming a necessity in any kind of workplace.

3. Work Ethics 

Workplace ethics decide the bond between employees and the organization. Also, they build the workplace culture and help in improving the company’s reputation.

How to Answer “Tell Me About A Time You Worked With Difficult People”

Some of the steps you can follow to answer “Tell Me About A Time You Worked With Difficult People”. 

Understand the Question

Your response but focus on the situation you have encountered and how have dealt with it and not on the negative traits of the co-worker. Avoid going into details about his/her personality and your experience while facing them. 

Choose a Relevant Story 

Behavioral questions are to be answered with a good backup story. Choose a story where you have dealt with a difficult co-worker or customer and give the steps you have followed to encounter the situation. End with a note on how this situation has helped in further circumstances productively. 

Also, don’t give answers that are too cliché. For example, ignoring a co-worker and minding your own business or giving a complaint to your higher authorities. This project is a scope of your inability to handle the person you are working with.

Frame Your Response

Structure your response before the interview so that you can be confident while answering. A good structure you can use is the STAR (Situation – Task – Action – Response) method to answer. 

Keep in mind that any behavioral questions make an impact on your entire personality. Alignment with the core values and work ethics of the company can make a standout candidate for the selection process.

“Tell Me About A Time You Worked With Difficult People” Sample Answers 

Sample answers are given for various types of work experience like a fresher, intern, manager, etc.

Example 1

When I was in my third year of graduation, we have to submit a project as part of the curriculum. Our class was split into groups and I have to work with three of my classmates and submit the project before the end of the semester. During the project, one of my project members was unable to submit his part of the share to the project in time. I realized that this delay may make us fall behind the end date. 

On a weekend evening, I met my mate and discussed the problem. He apologized for his delay and said his workload was extra compared to others and he was unable to cope as he was indulged in a certificate course. 

I spoke with my other teammates regarding this issue and asked them to share their work. They willingly agreed with the decision and made changes accordingly. 

In the end, we were able to complete the project in time and delivered an excellent presentation to my faculty. This made us achieve the highest grade in the project in our entire class.

Example 2 

During my initial days as an intern in a service-based company, I encountered frequent complaints from my team lead regarding my performance and my ability to fulfill tasks. At first, I thought it was due to his position, and was trying to control me. 

But one day, I sat down and made a note of all his complaints and I found that they are the areas I fell behind. Then I made enough effort regarding those issues and frequently talked about them with my team leader. 

This build a rapport between us and he was keen on making me learn new things. We were able to perform well with our project and I won the Best Intern award that year.

Example 3 

When I was working as a team member in delivering an important project, I faced some difficulties with one of my colleagues. She was entirely canceling my ideas for the project and projected that her ideas would be a better choice. I understand that there can be a professional battle between colleagues but such communication can alter the productivity of a team. 

One day, I approached her during lunch and made a one-to-one discussion regarding this issue. I appreciated her ideas for the team and how they can elevate the project if it was implemented properly. Also, I took time in explaining her behavior towards my ideas and how it could impact our communication as a team. 

She was not resilient at the moment but with a few more conversations and discussions, we were able to catch up and build a healthy relationship. In the end, we worked together to build an idea that elevated our project and our clients were extremely satisfied. I understood the importance of making a one-to-one discussion when there is a miscommunication.

Example 4 

During my last job as a Sales Manager in a shopping complex, I found out a customer was arguing with one of our sales assistants. I quickly reached the counter and asked for the details. The customer was asking for a refund for one of the products he bought recently. 

As I went into details, the product he brought was out of our refund policies and our sales assistant was insisting on the same. I talked to the customer and emphasized his frustration and I apologized for the poor quality. I took time and effort in making him understand how it was against our refund policy and gave him an offer of a coupon of the same worth. 

Even though he was not accepting an instant, with enough communication he agreed and thanked me for the help. 

As a professional who works for the company’s reputation, I always believe that it is my responsibility to address every customer’s problems.

Tips to Answer 

A few important tips while answering the question “Tell Me About A Time You Worked With Difficult People” – 

• Induce the professional traits the company is looking for in your answer. 
• Avoid talking negatively about your co-worker or customer. Rather, explain in detail how he or she was able to change with enough communication. 
• Concise the answer and avoid bragging about the unrelated details in the picture.
• Choose the answer that is related to your job and the company’s core values and job description. Take time to read the job description for further clarity.

Conclusion

Behavioral questions are a little hard to face. However, with enough practice and the skill to understand the real reason behind the question, you can give a perfect answer that can leave a great impact on the interviewer. Answering “ the time you worked with difficult people” must be filled with enough interpersonal and professional skills to achieve a positive impact.

FAQs 

1. Does the interviewer ask the same question?

There are chances that the interviewer asks this question in another way. For example, Tell me about a time you deal with a difficult co-worker or difficult customer. The core idea of the question is the same.

2. What skills do I need to include in this answer?

Empathy, a Positive Attitude, and Team Work are some of the Personal Qualities you can include. Make sure you have a good backstory to support these qualities.

3. How does this question affect my job ability?

A company always want a person who can overlook problem and solve them effectively. One should be able to make efforts and handle difficult situations. An interviewer wants to test you in this regard.

4. In my interview, I was asked “What if your co-worker is not ready or willing to listen?” How should I respond?

Explain how you are willing to work with the person numerous times until you develop a good relationship with them. Always show that you can allocate time and effort when things go wrong.