Tell me about a time you received difficult news from a peer or a manager.

This question is basically asking about your ability to handle difficult or challenging situations i.e. it aims at assessing your resilience, maturity and communication skills. It’s seeking to understand your emotional intelligence and how you process and react, both individually and in a team setting. The interviewer may want to see whether you accept such situations objectively or emotionally, and how effectively you can adjust to adverse situations. The key points to stress while answering this question are your emotional readiness and maturity to handle unfavorable situations emerging from unfavorable news, your communication and interpersonal skills, and your flexibility and adaptability skills.

In the past, I was part of a team that was working on a significant project. We all had put in a lot of work for months to make the project meet the specific requirements of our client. However, my manager informed us that the client was not going forward with the project due to some financial issues. It was a disheartening announcement for all of us, but I knew we needed to stay focused on our other projects. I took it as an opportunity to provide moral support to my team members who were disheartened by the cancellation of the project. I collaborated with them on remaining tasks and re-calibrated our focus for future endeavors. Ultimately, the experience taught me that unexpected things can happen and my response to them can either exacerbate or alleviate the situation.

On one occasion, early in my career, a colleague informed me that I was not chosen for a promotion that I had been working hard towards. While it was disappointing, I realized this was also an opportunity to ask for feedback and learn. I arranged a meeting with my supervisor and asked for details about my performance and what I could do to improve. Despite the initial disappointment, taking the initiative helped me to develop a better understanding of my weaknesses and work towards addressing them. As a result, I was better prepared the next time a promotional opportunity arose and was successful in securing it. Hence, although the news was tough to receive, it eventually made me a better professional in the long run."