Tell me about a time when you fired someone.

This question aims to assess your aptitude for handling difficult, sensitive situations, such as dismissing an employee. Giving a thoughtful, sincere answer can demonstrate your professionalism, courage, tact and empathy. Address the question tactfully, focusing more on your process in making the hard decision and how you dealt with the situation, rather than on the individual or their shortcomings. Show your respect for the person involved and emphasize that it was a business necessity, not a personal vendetta. Some key points to consider are:

1. What were the circumstances leading to the decision?
2. How did you communicate the termination to the employee?
3. How did you ensure the process was fair and consistent with your company's values and policies?
4. What steps did you take to alleviate the impact, if any?

In an unfortunate circumstance when I was a manager at XYZ Corp, I had to let go of a long-term employee. The employee, in spite of being talented, was consistently underperforming and not meeting his milestones, even after numerous discussions and performance improvement plans. After consulting with HR and my seniors, we decided it was best for both the team and the individual if we parted ways. I had a private one-on-one conversation with the employee outlining the reasons, emphasizing that we valued his contributions, but the organization needed more consistency. We offered him a severance package and assistance in seeking further employment. It was not easy, but necessary for the team's productivity and his growth.

In my previous role at ABC Inc., I had to fire a team member who was involved in a serious breach of our code of conduct. Despite being a valuable team player, his actions were compromising the integrity of our working environment. After a fair and thorough investigation process, it was decided to terminate his employment. I organized an in-camera meeting and calmly explained the reasons for our decision. I also reminded him of his rights and our company's entire support during this process. It was a difficult decision, but we needed to send a clear message about our intolerance for a breach in ethics. Additionally, we arranged for counsel to guide the team about code of conduct breaches to prevent similar incidents."