"Have you ever had a personality clash at work?"

[wigglewhiz]

Greetings, fellow non-wage-slaves! I've been lurking for a while, and decided to join up so I could ask a little question that's been bothering me. And also to find you better than searching every time.

I'm currently out of work, having left my last job at the end of May and relocated to a new town at the beginning of July. I'm finding the jobhunt REALLY hard going here - it's a small town, not a lot of employment in my sector (mostly jobs are in agriculture, which... I know nothing of). I've had a few interviews, but I don't seem to be doing too well in them. It's... frustrating, as I'm sure y'all know.

One question that keeps popping up here is regarding conflict and personality clashes in the workplace. I'm going for an interview next Tuesday for a *really* great-looking job that I'm just desperate to get, and they've asked me to fill in a little pre-interview questionnaire. It's all the pretty standard "do you have any convictions?", "Have you been fired from a previous job?" "Do you like to stroke guns or puppies?" kind of useful stuff they usually ask, but in there is the following question:

"Have you ever had any persnality clashes or falling-outs with people in the workplace or community? If the response is "Yes", "Maybe" or "Not that I am aware of", please describe the circumstances, how you handled it and what you learned from the experience (feel free to use the reverse of this page if needed)."

And... I'm REALLY not sure how to answer this one. Here's my thoughts:

1. Anyone who says they've never experienced a clash of personalities or conflict in the workplace is a BIG FAT LIAR. We all have, to some varying degrees.
2. The way the question is laid out looks like they're looking for the answer to be "No". ANY other options require further explanation, so are most likely not the desired response.
3. Desired response "No" is A BIG FAT LIE. (see 1)

I'm never sure what we're meant to say to these questions, whether they arise on paper or in interview. I mean, sure, it seems like an opportunity to talk about what you learned and how you dealt with conflict - but essentially you're going to break several cardinal rules of the interview circuit if you go there, at least "Thou Shalt Not Be Negative About Thy Former Employer" and "Thou Shalt Not Be An Ass About Previous Colleagues Because It Makes You Look Like An Ass, Too".

So what do I do here? Lie, say "No, my work experience has always been rainbows and lollipops and unicorns farting glittery cupcakes. Why do you ask?", or do I tell the truth, giving an example from my previous employer (which... does make them sound pretty bad and disorganised, actually)? Or do I give them a more sanitised version of a conflict with the employer before THAT that hopefully makes it sound like an issue with The Other Person, Not Me Or The Company, even though it's a far older example and kind of sounds like I'm stretching just to be able to answer "Yes, I have experienced conflict and I have mad Conflict Resolution Skillz"?

ARGH! Lately every question I'm being asked at interview seems full of pitfalls - how to answer in a way that doesn't make you look bad ("I experience conflict all the time because I am a GIANT ASS"), make you seem like a BIG FAT LIAR and potentially with issues ("No, everything is ALWAYS PERFECT. Which means I CAN'T COPE WITH CONFLICT, HALP MEEEEE"), or make you seem like a Company Snark ("OMG, yes, my last company was a TOTAL DISASTER and everybody was always falling out with everybody because nobody communicated and it was all so HORRIBLE, can I have a job with YOU now?")

So.... how would YOU go about answering this question? Any advice gratefully accepted - thanks!