If the question feels unclear to you, that’s an excellent opportunity to ask clarifying questions, e.g. “Sure, but what do you mean by ‘conflict’? Do you mean a disagreement on how to solve a problem, or an interpersonal conflict?”
When I ask a question like this I mean a disagreement, and I’d imagine that’s what most interviewers mean too. So I recommend you continue to search for a situation you can recall in detail.
If the answer is that they’re looking for interpersonal conflict, you should use a situation where you took effort to work past it with the person for the good of the mission/company. Your last story could work if framed that way but it lacks a moment where you found a way to move forward with this person.
This is really what I'd guess a lot of people do. Nobody is going to go back and verify that the "conflict" actually happened.
All these interview questions just boil down to "can you carry on a coherent conversation and do you project a pleasant and social disposition" or even more simply stated, that you "are likable."
I don't care what your technical abilities are, if you are weird or fidgity or sweaty or can't make eye contact you are going to have a lot more difficulty getting hired. At least in the places I've worked. Work on your personality and your abilty to hold a conversation. The details don't really matter.
I don’t think it’s enough to be likeable. That, and “personable” are common words used to describe me, but this particular interview round (eg behavioural questions) are still where I’m most likely to fail a process these days.
Feedback is usually “everyone really liked you, but we had some concerns related to…”. I really do think you need a prepared bank of stories/examples, because otherwise your memories will be biased towards the most emotionally charged examples, which are rarely the ones where you come off looking good — even if you can show self-reflection and subsequent growth.
I agree. You need to have prepared stories for the standard questions, and you need to be able to convincingly bullshit on questions you didn't prepare for.
When I ask a question like this I mean a disagreement, and I’d imagine that’s what most interviewers mean too. So I recommend you continue to search for a situation you can recall in detail.
If the answer is that they’re looking for interpersonal conflict, you should use a situation where you took effort to work past it with the person for the good of the mission/company. Your last story could work if framed that way but it lacks a moment where you found a way to move forward with this person.