Interview Question: Tell me about a time you handled a difficult situation

[@shaneyk3620]

I watched all of your videos before my interview and It helps me a lot ! Today I got hired and I want to Thank you for it!

[@careerly]

+Shane08 Mamagat That's awesome! Congrats!

[@ahmedrezk82]

me too

[@elansings]

Shane08 Mamagat congrats

[@joannaherring83]

Shane08 Mamagat 1😇

[@wrednymaz]

Way to go!

[@ms.marybenjamin1652]

my problem is I get too nervous and dread interviews because of the questions.. sounds silly, I know. but it's a part of life. everyone has to work and this is what you have to go through to get work..

[@careerly]

We hear you- most people on the planet hate interviews and get nervous. Try to re-frame it as: these people are looking to solve a problem - how can I help them? If they call you for an interview that means they are interested in talking to YOU! So, think of it more like you are a consultant walking into a client meeting, and they want to hear about what your ideas are.

[@ms.marybenjamin1652]

thank you.. I'll give it a try.

[@anac8448]

ms.mary benjamin I agree ! But keep in my mind that employers are well aware of nerves, and if you happen to stumble or get a little shaky , just stay focused and answer the best that you can. It won't impede on you getting the job. Good luck

[@texasstrong9605]

Omg I get super nervous too!

[@debbiezenaida]

I hear you. It is THE WORST stress ever!

[@davidwalker2289]

The acronym S.A.R., (Situation, Action, Result), is a great formula used to remember how to efficiently answer modern day interview questions by 1) Explaining a scenario, 2) Focusing your answer on the actions you took - there should be three - and finally 3) Provide an explanation of what the outcome (result) was by the actions you took.

[@dotterel]

Love this. Thanks, David.

[@letstalkcareerswithsara]

This is my favorite question. It is being asked to check your critical thinking and decision making skills. I always advice to mention not just at work but in any crisis happened in life. You answer will determine if you are going to be independent thinker or not.

[@Brissieskater1]

I have attempted to answer this question in an interview but didn't do so well, this video is certainly food for thought.

[@stevenftw2]

I remember one time when I was playing Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell on my Xbox and I was in the middle of a mission where I had to sneak past a large group of enemies. I ended up tripping an alarm and alerted all of the enemies of my presence. I quickly proceeded to exterminate the enemies until there were none left. I ended up beating the level and resolving my difficult situation.

[@anirudha6843]

Steven C LMAO 😅😂

[@brownjellow1]

The tough thing about this kind of question is that requires improvisational skills

[@edwigekafui1865]

I love that you give example for each situation....thank you, it's very helpful!

[@frankellis6335]

I am glad someone decided to drop the "T" from the STAR method. T can be the part of S, if necessary.

[@JosephUsher]

@@810Celery It's a good thing you don't need to use any of them to pick up your unemployment check.

[@nyinawumwamiespe157]

@@JosephUsher upp

[@deltadawnize]

Thank you so much for helping me ace interviews. Through watching and learning from you I've had job offers whereas before I used to fail interviews.

[@SheilaSydnorRiddick]

Hi:-) I just wanted to let you know that your videos were very and extremely helpful to me. You made me realize and unlock the answers to a lot of the behavioral questions that employers ask. I thank you and landed an internship at Deloitte in the cyber risk department. Thanks again, Keep doing what your doing!!! By the way, your very pretty and I know your parents are proud of you;-)

[@girizh11]

She definitely is pretty :) And worthy to spend time on her videos.

[@SheilaSydnorRiddick]

Thanks.............

[@raknoknak]

"you're" very pretty is the correct usage.

[@shashikans6647]

She is really charming & her style of explanation of each point is so cute that it increases our concentration & positiveness towards our profession which is not possible in watching other technical videos. & enough to relive my tress for an upcoming interview.

[@viewersr]

Agreed. Where can we see more of this presenter?

[@milzijex7340]

she's too fidgety and nervous, she can't leave the pen alone!

[@tandrace8622]

Some employers may ask these type question as a weaving out process. Although they're looking for the most skilled. They are also placing heavy wieght on those who are most mentally skilled to handle challenging situations. And trust me, I have seen challenging situations break a lot of physcially capable people down to the ground. I love the slogan "When the tough gets tough; The tough gets going!" Just keep it on a positive note regardless and things should work out. Love this lady's message.

[@Hoops590]

tell the interview person i dont answer these bizarre questions

[@MrVilst]

Thanks for sharing. Really helpful.. I have two questions and will appreciated having your answers thanks 1- how would you go about resolving a customer's issue that is not covered under our Return Policies? 2- how would you address an issue that was not covered in your training, and work to resolve it?

[@ARYAN-KHAN78654]

Here in the uk we use the STAR (Situation Task Action Result) formation

[@agatastaniak7459]

It's forced upon everyone worldwide now and honestly it's so generic and artificial than no matter how hard people try to answer it well HR team is never happy. And well, in general there is a lot hard scientific evidence that torturing people with so artificial questions requiring artificial answer under circumstances in which normal people are not familiar with HR latest fashion and methodology gives very poor results. And well, the truth is everyobody wnats to just suck in personal data into latest tracking software. What should be forbidden since people are looking for a job not for another spyware to spy on them. If they would like to apply in the future for the same job they hae brains and now how to contact a company. Plus research proves that majority of people answering this question in a completely different way would do the job equally well, so what the point of asking such questions if it's artificial question providing an artificial answer which doesn't translate at all into quality of job performance? Unless of course companies want to just spend money on organising all this circus. I guess even electricity consumption in a room in which people are asked these questions costs pretty penny.

[@marydickinson1695]

I am grateful for your videos. Once I view them, I feel more comfortable answering the questions!

[@yjenny8028]

Situation,Action and Result---Done!

[@paragpitti6215]

I think this is one of the most informative video on interview tips. I would like to know if its better to be candid and impromptu or " prepared " for a job interview.

[@careerly]

+parag pitti Prepared. That said, what you want to prepare are outlines and stories and what aspects/attributes you might highlight. You should prepare, for example, "what are the three key attributes/skills you bring to this job?" in advance. However, your delivery of that content should be natural, not memorized. Prepared and candid are not mutually exclusive!

[@feloniousmonk321]

scriptwriters are at an advantage.

[@ish562]

+Andrew James Scriptwriters and Actors/Actresses.

[@chrisread4455]

Except scriptwriters may well be competing for work against other scriptwriters!

[@kyresereid8825]

Andrew James

[@ofentsentshabele4362]

And liars 🤨😂

[@yahyadhashiru9507]

Of more than the 100s of videos I have watched, I think this is the best for situational interview answer I have watched. Because I got to learn that i have to have at least 3 actions. One was not enough. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. Cheers

[@careerly]

Yahya Dikeni WOW! What a compliment Yahya! Thank you! I'm all about sharing and helping others reach their career goals! If you ever need additional guidance, check out Careerly's online webinars: www.careerly.co/careerly-webinars/

[@JShel14]

Being a military guy transitioning to civilian life, I just wanted to say that I've seen a few of your vids and they're very helpful!!!!

[@careerly]

Justin Shelton Thanks for the feedback! We are in the process of uploading a whole new set.. so watch this space! Good luck w your 'civilian' job search/interviews!

[@careerly]

Careerly Justin, I hope your transition has been going smoothly and that you've been successful in your job search. If you ever need some additional guidance, check out Careerly's online webinars: www.careerly.co/careerly-webinars/ You might find these helpful- and best of all you can enjoy the content from home! :-)

[@JShel14]

Thanks for checking back. I actually got a job with General Motors as an Engineer. Thank you so much again for the pointers!

[@myemmotion]

You've done a great job with this video!

[@lucyslivingroom5087]

I agree

[@EmceeSpawn]

What if we didn't have a difficult situation to handle? I was a manager and can't recall a truly difficult situation as far as employees go...they all did their jobs... :-/ ....my main issue was the constant thieves I had to kick out and get arrested!

[@careerly]

+EmceeSpawn That sounds like a good example of a difficult situation to us! LOL.

[@jacksdjfam]

Its a very common question so make one up in advance. They are looking how you might handle a situation, your thought proceses

[@JosephUsher]

Invent one.

[@bespokecustomstudio1565]

I am married with children. It comes with package. Difficult is my normal. Because I live outside my comfort zone. I used to be a bachelor. Obviously, I am on unstable terrain with a Toyota Corolla when I should be on a off road jeep. But, here we are. And that’s my difficult situation. If you know - you know!!! 😀

[@4unavi1]

Hi ... I have been a constant viewer of your video and helped a lot during the interview times .. I would recommend the videos to any one who is looking for a job change

[@amank88]

Your videos are amazing. I am usually good with getting to the interview stage based on my resume. However, I do not interview well. I actually used your tips and directions for interviews with my dream company. Just received the offer two days ago! Thank you so much, keep up the great work!

[@careerly]

amank88 Thank you for the feedback! And more importantly- congrats on getting your dream job. Very few people are in that enviable position. Enjoy!

[@careerly]

Careerly Hope your first few months at your dream job have been everything you imagined! If you ever need additional resources, check out Careerly's online webinars: www.careerly.co/careerly-webinars/

[@chrisread4455]

I have been having issues with questions like this in recent interviews and I'll prbably work my way through your other video because I like your style... I'm aware of the SAR structure to answers, though the person who taught me it called is STAR - the extra T standing for 'Task'.... Anyway for this question I have difficulty deciding which exaple to use. Some of the examples I can think of from my working life seem too trivial, and this may be where I have failed with this question. And some seem too big.. I'm not saying I've ever had a big bust up with a manager - because I havn't - but I don't think one would be advised to use such an example in an interview because it suggests you are a person who gets into bust up situations. Your example is perfet though I can't think of an exactly similar situation.

[@alinwater1715]

I actually had this exact situation and had the sames actions and results. Unbelievable.

[@bayou__]

If you're technically you must understand about flow. And actually action can significant result

[@waro808]

that scratch on the wall isn't my monitor, thank goodness.

[@vanessadennis3575]

I get very nervous when in interviews. I start stuttering and messing up my words. My mind goes blank. Easy jobs like McDonald’s don’t ask questions like that but it’s more to like than McDonald’s.

[@najwaemir1564]

Can you do a session for the final interview with the chairman?

[@kelseymatarese]

This is great but what if you don't have a story? I honestly never had anything at work that was that difficult to fix. I've said this in interviews before. I don't understand why hiring managers do not like my honesty.

[@careerly]

HOW did you fix the situation? That's all the hiring manager is trying to gage -> your problem solving skills, especially under challenging circumstances. Figure out a way to answer the question to your benefit.

[@CalmMeditationalMusic]

Kelsey Matarese Photography better make a fake one...haha

[@sarahf2022]

Careerly You're missing the point, the OP just said that they haven't had to deal with any particularly challenging to fix situations at work. You can't fix a situation that doesn't exist. The only other alternative I can see here is to make something up.

[@jeffreyvillanocha4280]

The managers only listen your answers

[@suhrobnaimov9057]

Hello I'm Suhrob indeed its helping me a lot and I became fluent thanks

[@maryedith5614]

Great topic! We've all encountered managers who had expertise in their fields, but didn't necessarily have the appropriate people or communication skills to effectively manage their staff. Looking forward to hearing your TED talk!

[@Jazminn26]

This helped me so much! Thank you!

[@awd786]

Attempting good job interviews and giving good results when get hired are two different things, they have nothing to do with each other. I agree with Gary say that job interviews are FFBS.

[@careerly]

We hear you. Agreed on some level. But how can they know if you haven't worked for them yet? We would hate to see a good candidate not get a job because of the nterview process. Can't cure the problem but doing our bit where possible. Good luck!

[@nurealam1206]

Great tips. Thanks a lot.

[@torydzuricsko4284]

You could say "I covered my tracks as much as I could...then I transferred the blame to everyone else". Answer this way and you'll get that government position!

[@iamami4161]

hahahaha...spot on

[@anisah6089]

Great stress relief before my interview tomorrow :D thanks for the laughs!

[@quraniclawofattraction3677]

Very informative Thanks for sharing this video 🌺

[@darsanlal7]

SAR is really wonderful. It helped me a lot for the answer.

[@livinghealthierandhappier]

Hey you seem pretty good at this are you not uploading any videos anymore?

[@lakesidemission7172]

A Favorite video

[@gayathrikarthik9041]

I'm told that for most behavioral questions try to include stories involving technology you are working on to sound like you know tech. Is that true? There are questions where there is nothing to do with technology but purely people.

[@anujsharma-xd1hd]

Today I had my interview.. I didn't watch it yesterday but I hopefully performed well. Can you people wish me luck?

[@jeanetejostcollet3111]

Great, thanks a lot!

[@onyinyechichukwuma689]

I love this. Thanks

[@tanishagarg9890]

I miss your content, you are very professional in your approach. Please post more videos

[@integritysurveyingltd1833]

Great advice

[@HafeezKhan-gv1rx]

Every time i get very nervous and not in a position to say some things. I can I overcome my this weakness. I am great-full to you. secondly how can I improve my English speaking effective. THANKS

[@abbassheik7431]

Your explanation was very good. Good Job.

[@muhammadabbasarif4394]

Like the example...thanks

[@ajayjha1894]

Really structuring the answer is important

[@dkg5168]

Ma'am thanks for these videos,I got placed , great vidoes and advice

[@CorcoranAL]

Excellent...!!!!...

[@faramarzmajedi7961]

she is really good.

[@AdilaI8]

Loved it. U r really superb. 😍😍😍

[@isiltop2787]

Example starts at 2:08

[@rosemurphy-mathis2866]

Excellent video.

[@tobymarks9211]

I’m so bloody stressed about this interview

[@MsShanku]

you are real HIRA, for me precious

[@leogenseeds3052]

this helps alot.....! Thankyu

[@mothersdormlife]

Great video! Thank you for sharing! God bless you!

[@anwarsaeed1415]

Thank u for giving such an impressive & instrumental guidelines. i really appreciate your spirit and to deliver great knowledge to the people like me who have no ideas how to articulate and decorate the real best answers in these critical situation at your dearest goal of professional career enhancement endeavor

[@kerrypeebles629]

Situation Role Outcome

[@mensworldrul]

Do we have to create a SAR or STAR:- situation action tasks result,...

[@careerly]

+Sharath P That is correct. All behavioral Qs should be answered using SAR. We prefer SAR because its simpler and gets to the point faster. The most important part of your answer is the "A" - the key 2-3 actions you took to solve the problem.

[@mensworldrul]

Thank You on clarifying.

[@FranciscoHernandez-ow2hg]

Sharath P

[@fcg243]

Thank you! This will work awesome for my interview tomorrow!

[@careerly]

You are welcome! How did the interview go?

[@fcg243]

Careerly It went great! I got the job the next day of the interview. It was actually a promotion from a Technical position I currently have to a Management Analyst position. I also subscribed to your channel. Thanks a lot

[@rafzibi9188]

Great video and deserves LIKE Great channel and deserves Subscription

[@dijonnestricklen7840]

This is so much more New Tip's thanks a lot.

[@nagarajan5234]

Nice talk about a time you handled a difficult situation ma'am.

[@MrChinmay1992]

How to answer this question by Fresher Candidate as they don't have any industry experience. It would be great if you can make new video for Freshers on same question. "Describe difficult task you were faced with and how you address it?"

[@ahmetvlaeev]

Video is very useful and interesting! Thank you! P. S. May be too much "all right" while speaking.

[@577Pradeep]

The problem is most of HR people have predefined questions & answers & they expect the answer should match 70% of their predefined answer

[@careerly]

Possbly true.. in which case all the better.. we can preempt and prepare good answers! Most behavioral Qs are indeed looking for specific underlying skills and abilities: problem solving, managing conflicts, excellent inter-personal skills if its a sales or client-focused role etc..

[@577Pradeep]

so in case if we dont mention the keyword which is on their answer then we are not selected

[@kisakisakye9809]

Job interviews are like going on a 1st date; you have to fake up yr self to please the other party! The same way bad boys get many gf, is the same way mediocres triumph on each interview!!

[@danatogans2455]

We have to handle difficult situations nearly everyday, use your wit to think things thru by dismantling the problem piece by piece and realize it wasn't that insurmountable after all

[@makhorubhiyo4053]

This is a great video. Thanks

[@Parthsean]

Thank you! Great information.

[@careerly]

Thank you for the feedback!

[@user-cg9il1lj9v]

ur accent juz ...mind blowing

[@branbeelotus]

I was asked this exact question during my interview.

[@TheWalter1214]

this is certainly the best example of a job interview that you might encounter, beatifull, Thank you Hira, iis helping me a lot , I hope you upload more of this helpful videos with some other questios or senarios. Thank you.

[@careerly]

+Alfonso D Thanks for the feedback - much appreciated! Check out some of the new videos we've added in the last few months.

[@Dearmknight]

great video and advice - thank you.

[@MultiLux2]

good advice! thanks

[@careerly]

Thank you!

[@martinjarvis9687]

I was asked about a difficult work situation at an interview and told them sorry I had signed an NDA on previous contracts.... end of subject

[@louisj2985]

Does this really work lol

[@Lilreeces10]

Good one.

[@kevindrone]

I like the painted shelf in the background!!

[@careerly]

kevindrone Thanks for the compliment Kevin! It's one of my favorite pieces :-) Thanks also for checking out the Careerly KZbin channel- if you ever need additional resources, we offer online webinars: www.careerly.co/careerly-webinars/ A great way to get guidance-- all from the comfort of your couch (pajamas optional!)

[@stonecold9573]

How do you answer this question if you've never encountered a difficult situation? I'm a military veteran and we just know how to figure things out. We don't consider anything difficult.

[@Eagle_Vu]

8years ago 😮 how you look now ? More beauty ?❤

[@MrRajbir1980]

How can I answer describe a situation in which you had to really depend on your ability to get along with others

[@devulapallivenkatesh1888]

Great stuff madam thanks a lot for the inputs

[@charterpilot65]

Great information, what about tell me about a time when you had a conflict in the workplace?? question.

[@careerly]

charterpilot65 We are about to upload a whole new batch of videos- and the Conflict Question is among them. Check back in a week!

[@careerly]

charterpilot65 Here are the conflict Q videos: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmm3qJWod956eZY kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqXCl2CXj7Zrd9k

[@careerly]

charterpilot65 I hope you found the conflict question videos helpful! If you're ever in need of additional guidance, check out Careerly's online webinars: www.careerly.co/careerly-webinars/ (you might be especially interested in the Interview Tips webinar: www.careerly.co/careerly-webinars/interview-tips-strategy-and-follow-up)

[@Hoops590]

say someone was rude to me at work so i challenged them to a fight outside and broke their nose

[@BonnetClaw]

Awesome video, I subscribed. Can you give me any advice on juggling two part-time sales positions. Basically I want to know if I should tell my employers that I am working for another retailer when I'm not working for them. Or do I give another reason for why I can't work certain days? Is it important for them to know, especially if they are competing with another.

[@careerly]

BonnetClaw good question! The short answer is No- however it depends what your employment letter/offer letter/verbal agreement indicates- was there anything about working for others while employed with X? Normally, full-time offers will have a restriction clause. But part time- the assumption is that you will have a second job elsewhere. Now in terms of 'good faith' behavior, building good relationships w employers.. that's another story :) You'll have to determine what feels right/honest/has integrity with these two sets of people.

[@careerly]

BonnetClaw I hope that you've found a way to balance the needs of both your employers (--and props to you for being able to handle TWO jobs). If you ever need some additional resources, check out Careerly's online webinars: www.careerly.co/careerly-webinars/. Thanks for being a fan of Careerly!

[@varalakshmitalur6330]

How do you hire the genuine candidate?how do you zero in on who is likely to be an asset?

[@dijonnestricklen7840]

Great video. this. can make. me more alert.

[@musiccollector]

I love interviews! After all, this is not nuclear war! I get some answers wrong, big deal! It's not the only job in the world. Better to be honest, and move on with the notion that it was not meant for me.

[@Deepsu20]

Hi - can you help us with how to answer intreview question - Do you have any other interviews lined up for you.

[@frequentuser1045]

Hello Hira, your example would be appropriate for the question ((Tell me about a time you had a conflict at work) and less relevant to the topic you mentioned. Sorry if I have interpreted it wrongly. Please clarify. Thanks.

[@Danny-wy5rf]

Hehe I have no work experience but I do have game experience, the ones that require strategy. (Moba) to be specific (multiplayer online battle arena) anyway would this count as experience. Let me use vainglory as an example. you see there is 3 roles in this game a (Captain), (carry) , and (jungler). The captain is the support of the team. Tells the team what to do when struggling, Heals, protects etc...kinda like a manager trains their employees or fix issues😂yeahhh. The Carry is usually the one who pushes the team closer to victory like taking down objectives ...kinda like a full time employee who works to keep the business running. The jungler usually assists the team by helping every once in a while like a part time employee...ya know. What im saying is this game requires team effort to win. So would this be more or less as experience. 😅 There has been challenging times when I had to play as Captain and lead the team to victory by giving them suggestions to solve the problem like how a manager finds solutions to issues.

[@iamabm2184]

Nicely Explained..

[@alexeado8494]

Conflicting priorities: How did you determine the top priority? What steps did you take to make sure you were progressing on all of them?

[@agatastaniak7459]

My life exeperience- if there are any conflicting priorities it's usually the case of a company which has no sensible pririoty policy and expect the person or persons on the lowest level of a structure to do the impossible like being in several different places at the same time.

[@dijonnestricklen7840]

Great job on everything

[@Ajjueditz00]

What if the interviewer ask ,what is the current scenario of your city??

[@s.reneeperkins8134]

This is an excellent interview question and the advice is perfect for the best way to answer this type of question. Thank you for sharing!

[@kuistanmhamad3257]

Any idea about teacher aide school district interview?