Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter explains how to answer this complex question, “Is there any kind of person you would refuse to work with?”
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Today, I want to talk with you about 1 of those tough interview questions… And this 1 is a tricky one. So I want to spend a little time answering it. The question is, “What kind of person would you refuse to work with?”
I know if I were asked that question, I know there is certain personality types that come to mind based upon certain people I have worked with in the past. However, you can’t initially talk that way. You can come to that later on, but initially you have to say, “You know, I am not the CEO of this firm yet, I want you to understand, that the firm hires people for the best of their abilities. Other certain types of people have more difficulty working with? Absolutely! 2 types come to mind right away. Know it all’s and liars. They are really hard for me to work with because know it all’s talk down to me in a very patronizing way. I don’t think I have to explain myself with liars. But, at the same time, I have to trust that this organization is doing its best to staff. So, if I rented the difficulties with people like this, I would go to try and create situations where we can air our differences and have someone adjudicated. In this way, my difficulty or their difficulty doesn’t become damaging to the work at hand. That there is someone there who can manage it if we just can’t get along. I am not an argumentative sort. But, like I said, I have trouble with lawyers. I have trouble with no withdrawals. Many people do. That’s probably how I would handle. At the same time, I trust that the firm is trying to hire people to the best of your ability and I’ll work with anyone.”
That’s the way I would answer it, starting off by acknowledging that you work with anyone, but that there are 2 personality types that you would struggle with and that you will look for an intervention. If it became so difficult to work with this person.
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