Each Tuesday, the CSE Connect “Top Interviewing Questions Series” will highlight a different question from the CSE Top Interviewing Questions Guide, detailing 1) How the question is typically asked, 2) Why interviewers tend to ask the question and what the interviewer is looking for when asking the question, and 3) Tips for a successful response.
This week’s question is : “Tell me about a time when you had to work on a team with someone difficult”
How the Question is Typically Asked/Common Variations
- Tell me about a time when you had to work on a team with someone difficult
- Tell me about your experience with conflict resolution
- Tell me about a time when you experienced inter-personal conflict and how you resolved it
Why Do Interviewers Ask/What are their Expectations
In any professional situation, you’re likely to work with people who are difficult, people who aren’t “team players”, or people who don’t do their share of the team’s work. The interviewer seeks to confirm that you are a diplomatic problem-solver who can help your team overcome team conflicts while also being committed to getting the work done.
Tips for Success
Your aim is to demonstrate your awareness of team dynamics and your commitment to diplomatically working with team members while ensuring that the team’s work is done in a quality way.
Share an example that concludes with you overcoming the issue to get things done and focus on the positive.
Avoid being too negative, you definitely want to avoid seeming like you have a bias against a particular type of individual.
Additional CSE Advice
“Cut to the important part. “I was on a team for X and our object was to complete X project by X date. In order to do so, we needed to do X, but one of our team members was doing X that prevented us from achieving our goals. I did X to resolve the situation.” I sometimes ask this question during Career Captain Interviews, and the worst is when a student spends so much time setting the scene and providing unnecessary details about the project/conflict, that I stop paying attention by the time they get to the resolution part of their response.
Remember, employers care more about the RESOLUTION part than the CONFLICT (even if that’s the tea)” – Natalie
Alumni Advice
“All of us can be good team players when things are going well. It’s about how you handle teamwork when things aren’t going great, and how you handle working with different people that really matters”
For practice with this question please visit: Big Interview > Practice > General
Visit the CSE Top Interviewing Questions Guide for more information regarding top general interview questions!
