"Tell me about a time you had to handle a conflict in your team." This is a competency-based question: the panel does not want to know what you would do, but what you did. UN agencies almost always use them, and more and more NGOs do too.
The STAR method
| Step | What you say | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Situation | The context, in two sentences: where, when, which project. | 15 s |
| Task | Your own responsibility, and the challenge. | 15 s |
| Action | What you did, step by step. Say "I", not "we". | 1 min |
| Result | The concrete result, with figures if possible, and what you learned. | 30 s |
An example
Question: "Describe a situation where you had to meet a very tight deadline."
S: In 2024, during a cholera outbreak in our area, our NGO had to distribute hygiene kits to 3,000 households. T: I was in charge of logistics and the donor required the distribution within 10 days. A: I split the area into 6 sectors, negotiated with two local suppliers to deliver in parallel and trained 12 volunteers on distribution lists. R: 3,140 households reached in 9 days with no stock-out; the sector plan has since become the team's template.
The most requested competencies
- Teamwork and handling disagreement.
- Planning and organizing: deadlines, priorities, the unexpected.
- Communication: explaining to different audiences, listening.
- Accountability: owning a mistake and fixing it.
- Integrity and humanitarian principles: resisting pressure, reporting abuse (PSEA).
- Client / affected-people orientation: adapting aid to the people served.
Prepare 6 stories before the interview
Read the list of competencies at the bottom of the vacancy and prepare one STAR story for each. One story can cover two competencies. Choose recent examples (less than 5 years old) where your role was clear.
Common mistakes
- Answering in theory ("I would…") instead of telling a real story.
- Talking about the team without saying what you did yourself.
- Forgetting the result, or a story that lasts more than 3 minutes.
- Quoting confidential information or names of beneficiaries.
Practise with our interview questions and model answers.