The "How do you handle a difficult personality?" Interview Question (job interview, job)

[JustTheTemp]

I have a job interview tomorrow and was wondering how the rest of you handle this very difficult question -- no matter how many times I hear it, I always get a little bit flummoxed.

Typically, I tell the interviewer that I always conduct myself with professionalism in the workplace and show courtesy to my fellow workers. I say that I try to understand that the "difficult personality" might be going through a crisis that I don't know about or might be having particularly bad time and always try to remember that it's not about me.

Is this a good response?

What do you say?

[gea12345]

Well, based on what i have been told, it is better to use a Real Life Situation!

For example:

I have been asked to resolve difficult situations. One of those was where when
My manager and I were faced with a customer or someone from another department/internal customer who placed an advertisment in our monthly business magazine and their company name was spelt incorrectly.

I first validated their perception of the problem, by stating I/not we are very sorry for the inconvenience you have been caused by this problem. And then explained how the problem was important to you to resolve, by stating I will find out what happened. And then followed up with the customer after information has been gathered and how you/ or your manager will deal with it. Lastly, how you allowed the customer/internal customer to express their anger first, by letting them talk by not interrupting until they had finished describing the problem and the inconvenience suffered and how they want it resolved.

Some people call this venting, but to you it is not venting, but having the opportunity to understand the customer and are more efficent than focus groups in identifying ways of improvement. But sometimes, it is a matter of the customer being mistaken and then your displaying empathy with them and providing them ways to avoid the problem in the future.

Just one idea, perhaps others have their own...;-)

good luck tomorrow!

p..s In my confict management classes, they say you should repeat the basic outline of what the other person has said! This is called active listening and shows the person you are listening rather than thinking your own thoughts. However, I find it hard to recite their problem back to them without spending a lot of time in going back and forth on what they actually said...but i would assume like everything, practice makes perfect.

Originally Posted by JustTheTemp

I have a job interview tomorrow and was wondering how the rest of you handle this very difficult question -- no matter how many times I hear it, I always get a little bit flummoxed.

Typically, I tell the interviewer that I always conduct myself with professionalism in the workplace and show courtesy to my fellow workers. I say that I try to understand that the "difficult personality" might be going through a crisis that I don't know about or might be having particularly bad time and always try to remember that it's not about me.

Is this a good response?

What do you say?