In any job, difficult situations can arise unexpectedly. Employers are looking for employees who can handle stress and pressure, and this is often assessed during the interview process.
During a job interview, most questions asked are intended to evaluate if you are the best candidate for the job.
Two of the toughest behavioral interview questions are about challenging experiences and difficult situations in your professional life.
In this article, we will discuss how to handle these two questions effectively.
Handling the Most Difficult Situation
One common question asked during an interview is to describe a specific difficult work-related challenging situation that you have faced in your previous job and how you handled it.
To answer this question, it is important to remember some of the difficult situations you have encountered.
These situations could be any number and different types of cases.
For example, if you are in the customer service field, you might encounter a difficult customer service situation that takes time to solve, and the customer was quite angry.
To answer this question effectively, you should break the situation into fragments as follows:
- Describe the situation you encountered in detail.
- Tell how you analyzed the problem before you considered subsequent actions.
- Explain the solution that you selected and your approach.
- Describe the outcomes/results and what you have learned from that situation.
One common question that may be asked is, “What is the most difficult situation you have faced and how did you solve it?”
1.) Retrospection: Identifying Your Most Difficult Situation
Before answering this question, it’s important to reflect on your previous work experience.
If you weren’t in a management or leadership position, it’s likely that you didn’t encounter many difficult situations that required you to handle them alone.
Be honest with the interviewer about the most challenging situation you faced.
2.) Strategizing: Getting Ready for Difficult Situations
One effective way of preparing for difficult situations is by having a strategy in place.
This can include having contingency plans or brainstorming possible solutions ahead of time – Being proactive and thinking ahead can help reduce stress during a challenging situation.
3.) Acknowledging: Communicating the Problem
When faced with a difficult situation, it’s important to communicate the issue to the relevant parties.
Acknowledging the problem and bringing it to the attention of others can help to prevent it from becoming worse.
4.) Clarifying: Understanding the Root Cause
In order to effectively solve a difficult situation, it’s important to understand the root cause of the problem.
This requires asking questions and seeking clarity, so that the best solution can be identified.
5.) Providing Resolutions: Considering Possible Solutions
Once the root cause of the problem has been identified, it’s time to consider possible solutions.
Brainstorming different options and evaluating their pros and cons can help in making an informed decision. It’s important to choose a solution that is feasible and effective.
6.) Acting: Rectifying/Solving the Problem
After deciding on the best solution, it’s time to act. This requires implementing the chosen solution and ensuring that it is carried out effectively.
7.) Checking Back: Learning the Results
Once the solution has been implemented, it’s important to evaluate the results.
Did the chosen solution work?
What could have been done differently?
Reflecting on the experience can help in learning from it and improving for the future.
8.) Providing Examples: Creating Better Communication
Aside from describing a difficult situation, you can also provide examples of how you provided excellent customer service or created better communication between the client and the company.
These examples should be relevant and showcase your ability to handle difficult situations effectively.
Tips for Answering the Question
When answering the question about handling difficult situations, it’s important to be honest and provide relevant information.
Avoid bragging and focus on the specific details of the situation.
Using the aforementioned steps and tips can help in effectively answering the question and impressing the interviewer.
1.) Challenging Work-Related Experience
A frequently asked question related to your professional background is about the most challenging experience that you have had in your line of work.
When answering this question, it is important to listen carefully to the interviewer to understand if they want to hear about a particular case or a general experience.
2.) Handling Challenging Experience in Your Previous Job
A past challenging experience can be any different job role, new responsibility, different job opportunity, career change or even a new position.
To answer this question effectively, follow these steps:
- Address the experience that you would like to talk about.
- Explain why it was challenging for you and the goals you set to achieve it.
- Use action words to explain how you planned, initiated, established, decided, thought, listened, guided, coached, led, motivated, developed, etc. to achieve the above goals.
- Analyze the results and express if you handled it alone or required assistance from others.
3.) Communication Skills
The interviewer wants to evaluate your communication skills, conflict resolution abilities, and analytical skills while answering these questions. Therefore, make sure to illustrate your abilities to deal with difficult situations effectively. Also, you should be expressive enough to report if you handled it alone and/or required assistance from others.
4.) Learning Agility and Tolerance Skills
Most interviewers wish to observe learning agility and the ability to adjust to changes. These two factors can be the most important deciding factors for candidate selection. Therefore, first, decide which of the toughest experiences in your work life you wish to discuss. There are several factors that classify the gravity of the experience, so it would be wise to select a valuable one.
Conclusion,
Handling difficult situations and challenging experience questions during an interview can be challenging.
However, by breaking down the situation, explaining the approach, and analyzing the results, you can answer these questions effectively.
Remember to illustrate your abilities to deal with difficult situations effectively and express whether you handled it alone or required assistance from others. Additionally, keep in mind that most interviewers wish to observe learning agility and the ability to adjust to changes.