Timeline for How should I answer "Tell me about a time you had a conflict at work" if I've never had conflicts?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
18 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Apr 21, 2020 at 17:04 | comment | added | Z. Cochrane | @Chronocidal It's absurdly broad for an interviewer to ask something that could include but is not limited to scheduling conflicts, disputes over what flavor of coffee to stock, or critical project decisions. I understand the reason for the question. It's still broad. | |
| Apr 20, 2020 at 21:32 | comment | added | barbecue | Scheduling conflict is not the same thing as conflict any more than it means the same thing as armed conflict. Workplace conflict does not mean either of those things. People, English is not algebra. | |
| Apr 20, 2020 at 20:24 | comment | added | R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE | @Tim: All the unhappy customers just happened to be married. | |
| Apr 20, 2020 at 12:20 | comment | added | Theoriok | @Tim ... the best kind of correct? | |
| Apr 20, 2020 at 12:11 | comment | added | Tim | @stannius - 'never had a single unhappy customer' - not one, maybe loads..? | |
| Apr 20, 2020 at 11:21 | comment | added | Matsemann | I see a lot of conflicts in the comments here... ;) | |
| Apr 20, 2020 at 8:36 | comment | added | Chronocidal | @BSMP Conflict (noun) "An incompatibility, as of two things that cannot be simultaneously fulfilled". A standard dictionary definition is hardly "an absurdly broad definition". Even a scheduling conflict when trying to arrange a meeting with someone not only counts as a "conflict", but literally has the word in the description. | |
| Apr 19, 2020 at 17:06 | vote | accept | My Full Name | ||
| Apr 18, 2020 at 17:09 | comment | added | Kat | @BSMP I'm sure you've been in plenty of situations where you had a civil but meaningful conflict with someone else. Not everyone is able to deal with normal conflicts, which is why this is a common question. | |
| Apr 18, 2020 at 16:17 | comment | added | jamesqf | @BigMadAndy: Perhaps you folks have done more interviews than I have, or perhaps that sort of question has become more common in recent years. I don't offhand recall having been asked things like that. If I had, I'd probably draw a total blank. | |
| Apr 18, 2020 at 4:57 | comment | added | BigMadAndy | @jamesqf, that's true but holds for most behavioral questions. This one is at least quite general, so it's easier to answer than more specific ones. I've been on the receiving end of questions like: "Tell me about a situation when you flagged a problem/ risk and people didn't agree with you". | |
| Apr 18, 2020 at 4:27 | comment | added | A N | @jamesqf that may be the case, but when it's a common interview question, it's worth it to try to note some down when they happen or be prepared to speak about some before an interview. | |
| Apr 18, 2020 at 3:03 | comment | added | BSMP | That the answer is, “take such an absurdly broad definition of ‘conflict’ that anything other than 1000% instantaneous agreement applies” is depressing, yet typical when it comes to interview questions. | |
| Apr 18, 2020 at 1:07 | comment | added | jamesqf | The problem is that such minor differences of opinion are both so common and so trivial that I would never remember them off the top of my head. | |
| Apr 17, 2020 at 22:32 | comment | added | stannius | I had a (housing renovation) contractor claim that he had been in the business 14 years and never had a single unhappy customer. That simply could not be true, there is no way he interacted with hundreds of customers and houses, each with its own quirks, and never had a single problem with any of them. All it told me that he was a liar, or delusional, or something like that. | |
| Apr 17, 2020 at 13:15 | history | edited | BigMadAndy | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Apr 17, 2020 at 13:07 | history | edited | BigMadAndy | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Apr 17, 2020 at 13:01 | history | answered | BigMadAndy | CC BY-SA 4.0 |