Page 119 - How To Answer Interview Questions (II)

Job Interview Question 59

Tell me about the toughest negotiation you've ever been in

This is a common interview question for anyone in a position to buy or sell for their company.
When you answer this question, think about what skills you are highlighting about yourself in your

answer. You want to try and focus on your understanding of basic a nd advanced negotiation
techniques along with higher-level skills, such as influencing and persuading. You want the end of
your negotiation story (and really, any negotiation you enter) to be a positive one for everyone.

So, the story you want to tell does not need to be the story of how you simply dug your heels in
until they gave up. Persistence is good, but you haven’t shown any of those higher-level skills that
demonstrate your skill at negotiating.

Use the STAR format:
Situation or Task –
What was going on? Did you need a great deal on material? Did your supplier
come to you with an unexpected delay or price increase because they thought they
had you all sewn up? Did your company run into a problem that made your
supplier or vendor come back demanding a new agreement? Did you have an
important but tough customer demanding things you couldn’t deliver and keep any
sort of a profit?
Action –
What did you do? Did you stall, or come up with an alternative agreement? Did
you say you were about to go with someone else? Did you say that at that price,
you would be better off producing this in-house? How did you persuade them?
What did you bring into the conversation? Did you have to bluff? Did you use any
particular negotiating technique?Did you ask questions? What new benefits did