Behavioral Question: "How do you handle difficult people?"

This question is often asked by interviewers to let them develop an image of how you deal with challenging personalities and behavior in your work environment. Here are some things you may want to consider when crafting an answer to this question, without putting yourself in a bad light:

Stay professional and avoid being negative. Make sure to be optimistic when approaching this question, as much as you can. Though this question may provoke emotion, keep your composure, and push back any negative thoughts. Negativity will say far more about you than the person you’re choosing to describe.

Generalize details, like colleagues and situations. You don’t have to fully explain all the details involved. Don’t allow yourself to become overwhelmed by focusing purely on the faults of others. This question is a chance for the hiring manager to get a sense of how well you get along with others. Your level of tolerance will be obvious based on your answer to this behavioral interview question.

Acknowledge that everyone is different. You’ve worked beside a lot of people in the past. Your experience alone has taught you that there are many diverse characters in the world and some will eventually rub you the wrong way. While some colleagues/customers/superiors present greater challenges than others, make sure to focus on your professional attitude to overcome the difficulty.

Consider using the STAR approach, it's a perfect way to ensure you are answering their question fully and succinctly.

By following the STAR approach, you can highlight your skills and abilities through your answer. You can begin by describing the context of the example (the Situation), then explain what your initial role and goal was while also listing the problem that you faced (the Task), followed by the Actions that you took to overcome the problem and concluding with the outcome based on the steps that you took (the Result).

Example:

"I once had to work with someone who wasn't giving me the information I needed to do my job in a timely fashion. For a while, I thought he was doing it purposely to make me look bad. I was secretly frustrated. Finally, I sat down with him one day to inquire why he was being so difficult with me. I was shocked to learn that he was so worried about giving me the wrong information, he was triple checking his work, causing the delay. We had a great talk and I explained I'd rather he give me the information on time. So, we worked together to build a system of checks he could quickly do to be confident the information was correct. This experience taught me to never assume anything about a coworker until I talk to them. Communication is the key to getting what you need."