In this post, we’ll answer Behavioural Interview Question – Tell Me About A Time You Had A Conflict At Work.

We’re going to cover:

• Why this question is asked – what the interviewer is thinking behind the scenes

 

• What to say when you’re answering this question – how to answer it

 

• And how to wrap it up so that you don’t keep going and ramble your way into nothingness.

 

So, stay tuned!
 

All right, what is the point of this question? Why is it asked?

This question is designed to see how you approach a stalemate, a draw, a situation where there’s no clear move because you are at an impasse.
 

You disagree, so what do you do next? This is really important. They want to know how you are going to react when you get into a disagreement with somebody or a group.
 

When you a different opinion to someone else, how do you communicate with that person to get to a resolution?
 

Communication is the #1 skill that you’re going to demonstrate when you answer this question.
 
 

How do you answer this question?

So, as all these questions go, you answer it by telling a story,, and you use the S.A.R.I. formula. If you’re not familiar with the S.A.R.I. formula, it stands for Situation, Action, Result, and (as a bonus) Interesting features.
 

The S.A.R.I. formula comes in many forms. It’s mentioned in other online resources as the S.T.A.R. formula or the S.A.R. formula, which is essentially the same thing. You want to tell a memorable story that’s interesting to listen to and includes enough detail to paint a picture. So, let’s get into it.
 

DON’T LOVE READING? Watch video here:

If you do love reading, let’s get back to it…

Step 1: Situation

So, the story should be pretty concise. You want to keep it short and sweet, so set up the situation, set the stage. What was the disagreement about, and who was it with? Why was it important? Why did you want to pursue this disagreement? Why didn’t you just let it go and say, “Whatever, it’s OK”? Why did you see this as an important thing?
 

Step 2: What did you do?

How did you communicate to get through the disagreement?
 

How did you approach the topic?
 

What communication strategies did you use?
 

Step 3: The Result

So, here is where you tell them the ending. How did it work out? What was the end result? Make an effort to keep the story concise. It’s very easy to off on a tangent, especially if you haven’t prepared beforehand, so keep it focused, and tell the result. Every story needs a happy ending, so make sure you choose something that makes you sound awesome, and make it positive.
 

Step 4: Interesting features

Anything you learned here? Or did you take away from this experience any nuggets of wisdom to share?
 

Basically, anything that makes the story more interesting and more fun to listen to and shows how insightful you can be.
 
 

 
 

In conclusion

And there we have it! The answer to the Behavioural Interview Question – Tell Me About A Time You Had A Conflict At Work.
 

What is your attitude towards conflict?
 

How do you deal when someone or a group of people disagrees with you?
 

How do you proceed to communicate?
 

What tools or resources did you use to get to the result that you wanted? And what was the end result?
 

Zero in on what you learned to keep it interesting.

Share any books or resources. And there we go! Another one of those bugger situational interview questions answered.
 

The good news is that if you understand one of these questions, you’ll understand all of them. They all have the same framework and the same basic way of answering them. You just need to fill in the blanks with your own story.

Thank you so much for reading. If you’d like more help with these types of questions, I’ve put together a comprehensive guide. You can click the link below and get free instant access, and it’s called The Guide to Situational Interviewing.
 

What you’ll get inside the guide:

• Top-ten examples of stories that have proven to be impressive interview answers

 

• The S.A.R.I. formula breakdown of how to answer these questions

 

• The step-by-step of why it works

 

• Fill-in-the-blank templates for each question so, you’ll be able to fill in the blanks and get going!

 

• Now you’ll need to come up with your own stories! (You can steal the ones in the guide if they apply to you though too, I don’t mind)

 

If you are still getting stuck because you can’t think of your own stories…

I’ve included 25 questions that you can ask yourself to come up with your stories much quicker!

You’ll get all this in a beautifully designed workbook prepared specifically for you to prepare for your interviews.

By the end of working through this guide, you’ll be feeling confident and ready for any situational interview that comes your way!

Here is some feedback I’ve gotten from this guide, and I get new emails like this every day, and they NEVER get old!

By the end of working through the guide you’ll be totally ready for any situational interview question that gets thrown your way!
 

Click below and grab it now.
 

Do you know one person who could benefit from the information in this post? If so, do your friend a favour and share this info with him/her.

And remember, the current system isn’t perfect, but you can outsmart it. I’m here to prove to you that you do have what it takes.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you on the other side and next week. Join me back here next time!
 

In Work & Life
 

-Natalie Fisher