Question: Describe a time when a disagreement or conflict that you were involved in resulted in a negative outcome. What happened, how did you handle it, and what did you learn?

Alternative Question Phrasing:

Describe a situation where conflict led to a negative outcome. How did you handle the situation and what did you learn from it?

Follow-up questions:

Question Details:

Question Type:

Behavioral

Skills:

Basic – Active Listening,Basic – Critical Thinking,Basic – Monitoring (Making observations of self and environment),Basic – Science and Logic,Social – Coordination (Adjusting one’s own actions in relation to others),Social – Social Perceptiveness

Other Factors:

Big 5 – Neuroticism (Emotion Regulation),Candidate Preparedness,Personal Improvement (Growth),Personality-Job Fit,Personality-Organization Fit,Self-Awareness

Work Activity (Task):

Interacting with Others – Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others (Conflict Management),Mental Processes – Developing Objectives and Strategies,Mental Processes – Judging the Value of Things, Services, or People,Mental Processes – Thinking Creatively (Creativity)

Work Context (Person-Job/Team/Org Fit):

Interpersonal Relationships – Frequency of Conflict Situations

Work Style (Person-Job Fit):

Adaptability/Flexibility,Approachability,Handling Ambiguity,Persistence/Perseverance,Self Control,Stress Tolerance

Question Frequency

Question Difficulty

What to look for in an answer:

You are not necessarily looking at the details of the conflict but what strategies has the candidate used to diffuse the conflict and focus on the business.
If the candidate could point out some learnings they have had with this situation and how they plan to use them in the future.
If the candidate sounds confident and mature enough to not take it too personal.

Red Flags to Watch For:

If the candidate got upset because of the negative outcome and couldn’t focus on work.
If the candidate gives too much information about why conflict happened but very few points on what they could have done to make it a better experience.
If the candidate seems to have stuck with this situation for long and lost confidence in dealing with conflicts in future.

Sample Answer:

N/A

Question Source: https://www.totaljobs.com/advice/most-common-competency-based-interview-questions