How to Answer Interview Question, “Tell Me How You Handled A Difficult Situation”

In this article, you will learn how to respond to this really difficult behavioral interview question, tell me how you handled a difficult situation, to make you pass your job interview.

If you have an interview coming up soon for any role or company, make sure you read this article to end because it will help you be the standout candidate.

How to Answer Interview Question, “Tell Me How You Handled A Difficult Situation”

To help you pass your job interview, this article will cover the following four things:

• Reasons why the interviewer is asking you this tough behavioral interview question. If you understand why the question is being asked, it’s then easy to give a top scoring answer.
• 2 really important tips for answering this top interview question.
• 3 brilliant example answers to that question, “Tell me how you handled a difficult situation” for any job interview.

REASONS WHY IS THE INTERVIEWER ASKING YOU THE QUESTION, TELL ME HOW YOU HANDLED A DIFFICULT SITUATION?

They are asking you this tough question because they want to hire someone who is going to take ownership of difficult situations whenever they occur.

If you are the type of person who goes to their manager or supervisor every time you encounter a difficult situation, you may not be a good fit for their team.

However, if you deal with difficult situations with confidence and resilience, then you are far more likely to get hired.

2 GREAT TIPS FOR ANSWERING THIS TOUGH INTERVIEW QUESTION

Below are the two great tips for answering the interview question, Tell me how you handled a difficult situation.

Tip 1: For your answer, choose a difficult situation where either time was against you, where you had to deal with a challenging customer or co-worker, or where you had to work really quickly or multitask to achieve your goal.

Tip 2: When answering the difficult behavioral interview question, tell me how you handled a difficult situation is to use the STAR TECHNIQUE to structure your answer.

The STAR technique stands for, situation, task, action, and result.

– Start off your answer and tell the interviewer the SITUATION you were faced with.

– Second, tell the interviewer the TASK that needed doing.

– Next, give specific details about the ACTION you took to achieve the task.

– Finally, finish off your answer and tell the interviewer the RESULTS following your actions.

Tell Me How You Handled A Difficult Situation Example Answers

Below are the three brilliant example top scoring answers to that difficult interview question:

Question: Tell me how you handle the difficult situation

TELL ME HOW YOU HANDLED A DIFFICULT SITUATION ANSWER OPTION 1

“When I started work in a previous role, I encountered a difficult co-worker. He dismissed my ideas during team meetings, and he ignored me whenever I asked him for assistance.

Despite his actions, I was determined to build a good relationship with him. During a work break, I talked to him about his interests outside of work, and it transpired that we both supported the same football team.

This connection helped me to build a better working relationship with him, and we eventually became good friends outside of work and highly productive co-workers in work.”

Question: Tell me how you handled a difficult situation

TELL ME HOW YOU HANDLED A DIFFICULT SITUATION ANSWER OPTION 2

“In a previous role, a valued member of staff went off sick for a week. This was a difficult situation because their work was integral to the project we had been working on.

The easy thing would have been to extend the project deadline, but I wasn’t prepared to do that. I decided to assess my co-workers duties, and after doing so, I felt that I could absorb most of their work.

For the areas of their work I wasn’t qualified to undertake, I found an online contractor who I hired to complete their tasks. Although this was a difficult, time sensitive situation to deal with, by remaining calm, assessing my options, and using creative thinking, I was able to find a solution.”

Question: Tell me how you handled a difficult situation

TELL ME HOW YOU HANDLED A DIFFICULT SITUATION ANSWER OPTION 3

“I was in the campaign at work when I overheard a member of staff from another department being rude and disrespectful to a team member.

The member of staff who the comments were aimed at was clearly upset by them, and I too, found them to be offensive.

I walked over and politely told the person that I found their comments inappropriate, and I suggested that they should apologize.

I also explained that their comments went against company policy and they should never use them again.

They eventually apologized to the other person and everything was fine. Although this was a difficult situation to deal with, I felt it was right that I intervened.”

There’s three brilliant example top scoring answers to that really difficult interview question.

Thank you so much for reading this guide. I wish you all the best for passing your interview.