How Do You Handle Conflict? (With 10 Sample Interview Answers)

An interview is a collection of some inter-related and expertly drafted questions that have the ability to evaluate and examine your personality, approach, behavioral aspects, and core thinking ability. This is a behavioral question that is found in interview sessions held for various positions. Through this question, an interviewer wants to know about your perception of difficult situations and strategies or techniques using which you can solve those issues. Considering the cut-throat competition for a limited number of openings and vacancies, each and every question of an interview session matters and requires serious and sincere preparation, which could be done by studying the tips and sample answers.

Three Tips For Effectively Answering This Interview Question

1) Tell Your Strategy

The basic aim of this question is to share with your interviewer your mindset as well as approach whenever you find yourself in some upsetting or inconducive working situations. Whatever strategy you follow, or the thoughts that prevail in your mind during these tough times must be shared with your interviewer, so as to enable him or her to conduct a complete and comprehensive evaluation of your personality.

2) You Can Explain Using A Real Example

Interviewers simply love to hear professional and practical stories, that might have occurred to you during your professional tenure. If you have experienced and handled any such situation during your own professional tenure, then you can share the same with your interviewer. However, always remember that the story must show your adeptness and dexterity in resolving any conflict, rather than putting on display your attitude, ignorance, or negligence.

3) Never Respond Diplomatically

The basic aim of an interview session is to evaluate your personality and attitude towards a variety of problems and situations. Hence, you simply can not avoid any tricky or tough question as that would clearly show that either you are unprepared for the interview process or not serious about the position advertised. Whatever the case may be, your chances of selection would deplete to the bare minimum. Consider the answers mentioned below, and try not to respond in the same tone:

• Sir, being a settled man who loves to stay away from controversies, I have never found myself into any conflict and expects to be the same during my enire professional tenure.
• I do not believe in any types of conflicts, and never find myself into any such aburdity, as I am focus only on my tasks and suties to be performed and executed
• In my humble opinion, there are no conflicts that needs to handled or prepared for. There are only a few situations, which can be avoided if a person is good and willing.

Ten Best Sample Answers To Study and Prepare

Sample Answer One

Sir, when professionals work in the offices, issues and conflicts are bound to happen. However, one must always think and consider about the solutions and never let those conflicts impact one’s productivity and efficiency. Whenever I find myself in any such situation, I always try to absorb the situation and endeavor to close the matter as soon as possible rather than prolonging it unnecessarily. This is done by me through my effective communication skills and my will to subside all the issues and focus on the tasks and duties that I am supposed to perform and execute.

Sample Answer Two

Conflicts, controversies, and issues arise a lot at the workplace. Hence, it is pertinent that an employee is able to resolve them and manage them using his or her intelligence and willpower to overcome them. Whenever I face and experience any such situation, I never let the conflict extend rather try to nip it off at the very beginning of the crisis. In order to do so, it is necessary that there is impactful and mature communication between both parties. I believe some of the biggest issues could be resolved and discussed upon if both parties let go of their respective ego and decide to resolve the matter

Sample Answer Three

Conflicts and issues are like pests on the mind, which have the ability to impact your overall mental health as well as professional performance if these are not eliminated and removed within time. In my humble opinion, parties must try to resolve the matter through their own initiatives and if not, the help of a mediator must be taken. On a personal note, whenever I enter into any conflict with my colleagues or even my seniors, I always enable them to speak whatever they like to me and I actively listen to the conversation without objecting or even defending myself. Post this, I use some positive words and motivate them to put an end to the conflicts and begin a friendly relation.

Sample Answer Four

The best way to handle and resolve the conflicts is to not let them expand and prolong for a substantial period of time. The most common and basic reason for such extension is the lack of communication between the two aggrieved parties. I always try that there is no creation of any communication barrier and me as well the second party are able to sit at a table in an amicable manner. In my humble opinion, effective communication is the only method or way, using which conflicts of all sizes and statures can be finished and decided.

Sample Answer Five

Sir, there have been several conflicts, and issues during my professional tenure of ten years. However, I never got upset or even affected my performance because of them, rather tried to eliminate them as quickly as possible. I remember an instance during my previous tenure when I was working as a project manager, handling an urgent task and my team was pretty resilient to work for an extended hour.

There were a lot of complaints about me to my seniors and some even threatened to conduct a strike, However, I stood by my decision, and as a part of the strategy, I took my entire team for a lunch in a private suite. I conversated with them for almost an hour and tried to convince them and even persuaded them to stay motivated and remain loyal as well as committed to the organization they are working for. This speech worked wonders and I was finally able to succeed in my actions and avoided a possible conflict.

Sample Answer Six

Sir, no matter how hard you try or endeavor to avoid a conflict, you certainly find yourself in such messy situations. However, I always try to resolve the conflicts as soon as possible by striking hard exactly at the bone of contention. I remember when during the early days of my career, I was in a similar situation. I had a conflict with my immediate senior, who wanted me to design an advertising campaign in a completely different direction using an alien theme, which had low success rates and efficiency.

I vehemently opposed this and was soon in the middle of a conflict. At this juncture, being a settled person, I tried hard to communicate with my concerned senior and literally requested him to have a private meeting and discuss the matter. In the meeting, I showed him all the evidence and hypotheses so as to convince him that the desired theme of advertisements would not work at all and we will fail miserably. At first, he was quite resilient but soon after that he was all convinced and we ended the conflict amicably.

Sample Answer Seven

Sir, conflicts, and issues are pretty common in the professional lives of people. However, these are, as dangerous as driving an Overspeed car towards the dead-end of a street. These issues have the capability to destroy your mental health considerably. Hence, I always try to resolve these issues and conflicts as soon as possible using my communication skills as well as persuasive abilities. I always say to the other party, to let not argue and try to meet so as to discuss the matter following a thoughtful and comprehensive process. Mostly, this technique works, and I am able to overcome these messy situations.

Sample Answer Eight

Sir, conflicts are bound to happen no matter how smart, committed, or intelligent you are. I experienced a similar situation when I was working as a retail manager of a reputed consumer store. One of the salesmen of the store showed a particular limited item to a prospective customer and that customer booked that item by paying the booking price and promised to return in a few hours. The salesman then kept the booked item back on the shelf again, which was his sheer negligence and ignorance.

Unfortunately, the same item was sold by another salesman after receiving the full purchase price. As promised, the previous customer returned to the store and wanted to claim his booked item. This led to vehement chaos and the entire store was in the middle of a conflict. I then took the matter into my own hands and after extending a deep apology to the customer, offered him another product of the same make with an additional 10% discount. Though reluctantly, but he accepted the offer and this marked an end to our conflict.

Sample Answer Nine

The basic reason for the conflicts to arise is due to disagreements between the employee and his or her seniors. I have been in such situations several times, wherein the senior, in a bid to satisfy the ego, wants his or her subordinates to perform the duties and tasks in the manner expected by him. However, I am a believer in the fact that such situations and conflicts must be ended as soon as possible so as to ensure productivity and efficiency. I do so, my engaging myself in an active discussion with my concerned senior and take the help of my colleagues or other seniors.

Sample Answer Ten

Sir, when people of different backgrounds, diversities, ethnicities, and cultures work with each other, issues and conflicts are bound to happen. However, one must strive to resolve those conflicts and issues, as soon as possible using active persuasion and communication skills. If this does not happen, then these conflicts like fungus in the food, would spoil and rob you of your mental peace and happiness. I always persuade and prompt the other person to engage in an active discussion with me and talk on the key matters which are the real bones of contentions. By focusing on the root cause of a problem, a person can always resolve the conflicts, provided both parties are willing to do so.

References

1. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/02683940510602978/full/html
2. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8094445/