In this tutorial, I will teach you how to answer emotional intelligence interview questions. If you have a job interview coming up for any role or any company, please make sure you read this article from start to finish because I am going to help you be the standout candidate now to achieve that goal. This is what I am going to cover, so I will give you a list of emotional intelligence interview questions I strongly recommend you prepare for. Now these questions are being asked more and more during job interviews. They are not easy to answer, but to help you pass. I will also give you some top scoring example responses to all of the questions covered during this presentation. I will also give you some really important tips to help you pass your job interview at the very first attempt.
Let me start off quickly and explain what emotional intelligence interview questions are.
- Well, emotional intelligence interview questions are being used more and more by hiring managers because they enable them to quickly find out more about your true personality and your values.
- Now, emotional intelligence is basically your ability to understand and manage your emotions whilst dealing with situations you are likely to face on a daily basis and these are situations such as overcoming difficult challenges.
- Responding to feedback. Communicating effectively and also diffusing conflict with other people.
- Your answers will have a significant impact on whether or not the hiring manager takes you on in the role.
Let’s get started and take a look at some example. Emotional intelligence interview questions, some tips and also top scoring answers.
Question number one
The first question is, how do you respond to failure? Now, this emotional intelligence interview question is clearly assessing your mindset. Are you a victim who feels sorry for themselves when things don’t go your way? Or do you see failure as a chance to learn and improve? Here’s my example answer to help you.
- I view failure as an opportunity to learn and improve.
- I respond to failure by first asking why I failed the specific actions I took that contributed to the failure. And then what positive steps I can take to improve and also prevent the same situation from reoccurring.
- By being positive and proactive about failure, I can maintain peak performance and continually grow and develop in the role.
- Finally, whatever I have learned from my experience of failure, I will share it with other people in my team so they can improve too.
That’s a very smart and intelligent answer to that first emotional intelligence interview question.
Question number two
Here’s the next question. This is very difficult to answer. A lot of people fail their interviews because of how they respond to this question. What makes you angry? Now, you cannot answer this emotional intelligence interview question by saying that you never get angry because we all get angry from time to time. Anger is a natural human emotion, but the things that trigger your anger could be an indication as to the type of employee you are going to be so don’t say you get angry by ineffective coworkers or drivers who go below the speed limit. Instead, give a smart answer that shows the interviewer your anger could actually be an asset to their team. Here’s a great way to respond to this question.
- I rarely ever get angry, however, if I do, it is generally because I’ve let myself down or I’m frustrated with dishonest people. For example, I remember getting annoyed with a supplier in a previous role who promised to deliver some goods to our company on a certain day.
- Now, when the day came for the goods to arrive, they didn’t turn up and this had a negative effect for our loyal customers who were waiting for their orders.
- Now, I decided to turn my anger into positive action and I started searching for a new supplier who could provide a better service at a cheaper price and within an hour, I had found a new supplier who went on to provide exceptional levels of service, which in turn helped to improve customer service standards.
That is another smart way to answer that difficult emotional intelligence interview question. Now, don’t go anywhere because I still have another eight emotional intelligence interview questions to work through with you.
Question number three
Here is the next question I recommend you prepare for. How would your previous coworkers describe you? Now, the trick to answering this emotional intelligence interview question is to give three positive things you think they would say about you and then one area of improvement. Here’s my example answer.
- My previous co-workers would describe me as someone who is positive, someone who is not afraid to take on difficult challenges and someone they can turn to whenever they need help, advice or support.
- Now, if I am, to be honest, I think they would also say that I can be slightly stubborn at times, but that’s simply because I never settle for anything less than high standards.
That is a smart way to answer that question, because the majority of candidates would just say all the positive things their co-workers would say about them but you are being honest and you are giving one area of improvement you think they would mention.
Question number four
Here is the next question, tell me about a time when you had to work closely with someone you didn’t like. Now, the truth is we all dislike people from time to time. It’s normal, especially in the workplace. However, this difficult emotional intelligence interview question is assessing whether we can put our differences aside for the sake of the wider team. Here’s my example answer to help you.
- In my previous role, there was one person whom I didn’t seem to get on with. We were both very competitive people and I put our differences down to a simple clash of personalities.
- Now, when the opportunity came up to work closely with them on a project, I was really pleased because I felt this was a chance for me to try and improve the working relationship throughout the project.
- I interacted with them more and I showed a genuine interest in what they got up to outside of work.
- Now my approach worked because we managed to find a common connection. This certainly went a long way to improving the relationship between us, which in turn made the project more enjoyable and productive. Now that answer shows that you went out of your way to try and improve the relationship with them.
- You chose a smart approach which was trying to find a common connection, and that in turn helped to improve the relationship and made the project more productive.
It’s a really smart answer that shows that you don’t just sit back and let the clash of personalities remain. You make an effort, a conscious effort to improve the relationship, which benefits the team.
Question number five
Here is the next question, how do you respond to feedback or criticism? Now, feedback is the breakfast of champions because without feedback, it is really difficult to improve. Now, in your answer, tell the interviewer you are open to constructive feedback and that you use it as a tool to help you develop, grow and improve. Here’s a great example answer.
- I see feedback and criticism as an opportunity to develop myself both personally and professionally. For example, in my previous role, my manager gave me some valuable feedback on how to work smarter and faster by making sure tasks were delegated to team members based on their strengths.
- Now, whenever someone offers me feedback, I will always listen to it and consider how I can use it to my advantage and the advantage of my team.
That demonstrates someone who is smart and they do the right thing by listening to feedback. What I also like about that answer is we are giving the interviewer an example of when we have taken on board feedback in a positive manner.
Question number six
The next emotional intelligence interview question is, how do your greater strengths benefit you both at work and in your personal life? This is different to the question what are your strengths where you just have to detail your strengths? This question goes a bit deeper how do your greatest strengths benefit you both at work and in your personal life? This question is assessing your awareness of your strengths and, more importantly, how they impact your daily life both inside and outside of work so, in your answer, demonstrate an awareness of your strengths and how these can work to your and your employees advantage. Here’s a great example answer to help you.
- My greatest strengths include my positive mental attitude, my adaptability to change and my trustworthiness.
- My positive attitude means I always look forward and I try to see opportunities in every difficult situation. This means I lead a productive life where I am constantly working towards achieving personal and professional goals.
- My adaptability to change means I am always open to the latest trends and opportunities both inside and outside of work.
- Finally, my trustworthiness means I am a reliable employee inside of work who can be trusted to do a great job for the team outside of work. This means I can always build positive, long lasting relationships with other people.
That’s a great way to answer that difficult interview question.
Question number seven
Here’s another one, this is hard as well. What areas do you need to improve on right now? Do not say you don’t have any areas that you need to improve on by being aware of the areas you need to develop means you will always be the type of employee who moves forward in their work and who can help the business to thrive. Now the key here is to give improvement areas that won’t affect your ability in the position. Here’s another great example answer to help you.
- I need to improve my leadership skills. I’ve not formally led on a project yet, but this is something I most definitely want to experience in the future.
- I also need to improve my knowledge and understanding of the latest software packages that might be useful in this role. However, I don’t feel my lack of experience or skill in either of these areas will hinder my performance simply because I am a fast learner.
That’s a great answer. A smart answer to that difficult interview question.
Question number eight
Here is another tricky emotional intelligence interview question that I recommend you prepare for when you start a new job. How do you adapt to the different working environment? Now this emotional intelligence interview question is obviously assessing your ability to fit into a team and what steps you would take to accomplish that goal. Here’s another great example answer to help you when you start a new job. Here we go.
- I always start out by looking at the company’s values and their mission statement. What responsibilities do I have in the role and how am I expected to contribute to the team? Now, the answers to these questions will enable me to adapt to the new working environment.
- Also, at the end of every job interview I attend, I always ask the same question, which is how has the company evolved over the years? The answer to this question gives me invaluable information that enables me to quickly adapt to my new working environment if I do get hired.
- The final thing I do whenever I start a new job is to observe and listen for several weeks. I look at the team dynamics and how people behave and interact. This again gives me some useful ideas as to how I can adapt and quickly fit in to the team working environment.
That’s another really smart answer.
Question number nine
Let’s now take a look at the next interview question, and that is how might you be misunderstood by others? Now, this is one of the hardest emotional intelligence interview questions to answer. Again, it is assessing your levels of self-awareness and what you do to counteract people’s misconceptions about you. Here’s my example response.
- I am sometimes a quiet person who likes to take my time and absorb information and the facts before I speak and offer my opinion.
- In the past, other people have viewed this as me being disinterested when that’s not the case. To overcome this misconception in a team meeting, for example, I will try and ask a question early on to show that I am paying attention.
That’s a short but smart answer to that emotional intelligence interview question.
Question number ten
Let’s take a look at another one. How does your biggest weakness hold you back at work? Now, this difficult emotional intelligence interview question is assessing your understanding of your biggest weakness and your honesty in respect of how it can hinder your performance at work. Make sure you give an honest answer that shows your self-awareness is high. Here’s my example answer.
- My biggest weakness is the fact that I find it really hard saying no to people at work. Some people have taken advantage of this in the past, and I’ve ended up with more work than I can handle now.
- Although I always make sure my work gets completed on time, I must be more mindful in the future to ensure the standard of work I produce stays high. If I take on too much, the standard could drop and I don’t ever want that to happen.
That’s another really smart answer.
Now the next thing to do is head through to my website and you can find full set of interview questions and top scoring answers, including the ones I’ve worked through together today so make sure you go through to the website because I’ve also placed more questions on there that I recommend you prepare for. There’s also some really important additional tips that will help you to polish your interview. Make sure you check those out.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the emotional intelligence interview questions. As I said at the start, it’s really important because I can then help you not just pass every job interview, but I can help you to negotiate a salary, get a pay rise and also get a promotion and make sure you share your feedback on the comments section. That’s all I ask that motivates me to create more articles for you. It’s really good to connect with like minded professionals such as yourself. Thank you so much for reading, and I wish you all the best for passing your interview. Have a great day!