You’ve just landed a job interview — congrats! While you're confident about discussing your skills and experience, the thought of tackling behavioral interview questions makes you pause. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
What exactly are behavioral interview questions? They’re designed to dig into your past actions and decision-making processes to predict how you’ll perform in the future. Essentially, they offer employers a peek into your problem-solving abilities.
The idea is that your answers will provide insight into your problem-solving skills. So, what’s the best advice to help you prepare for behavioral interview questions?
Some behavioral interview questions will require you to recall a difficult situation you’ve experienced on the job. Prior to your job interview, think of several challenging circumstances you’ve encountered at work, and make a list of actions you took to help remedy each issue.
As you think about problems you’ve tackled in the workplace, compose several concise stories you can share in a minute or two. Come up with examples of times when you were able to overcome obstacles, deal with a crisis or help fuel a successful workplace collaboration. Think about how open you are to new ideas, how adept you are at finding common ground and what experiences you might draw upon to navigate complicated problems in the future.
Let’s say the hiring manager asks you, “When you’ve strongly disagreed with members of your team, how did you communicate those feelings?”
Frame your response positively. Share a situation where a disagreement led to a better understanding or a solution. Explain your thought process and how you communicated your concerns tactfully, highlighting the positive outcome.
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Hiring managers want to learn about your real-life work experiences because they’re looking for clues about how you’ll behave in the future.
Another typical behavioral interview question would be something like, “Tell me about a time when you set an ambitious goal at work and met your objective.”
Discuss a specific, measurable goal. Did you complete a key project in record time, increase traffic to your company’s website, find a creative way to cut quarterly costs in your department, or hit lofty sales numbers? Talk about the strategic steps you took and the methods you used to achieve the results. Whenever possible, use numbers to quantify your success.
On the other side, you might get this behavioral interview question: “Can you describe a time when you failed to achieve a goal?”
Be honest about a challenging event where things didn’t go as planned. Rather than mentioning a major weakness, highlight a challenging event where things didn’t go as planned and you weren’t completely successful. For example, “I missed a project deadline due to underestimating the time required. I learned to build in extra time for unforeseen challenges and improved my project management skills.” Some other common behavioral interview questions include:
Describe a situation where you found yourself outside your comfort zone.
Give me an example of a time when you had to explain something complex to a client, customer or coworker.
Have you ever convinced a manager to change direction on a project? How did you do it?
Tell me about a time when you had to make an unpopular decision.
Describe a time when you missed a deadline. What did you do?
Situational interview questions, or “what if” scenarios, require you to think quickly on your feet since they address hypothetical situations. Use the problem, solution, benefit framework to structure your answers. Here is a sample situational interview question: “How would you respond to a client who insisted you made an error?”
Whether you made a mistake or not, focus on the resolution. The interviewer wants to know how you would handle conflict. Instead of pointing the finger at others, discuss how you would address the complaint, outlining the steps you’d take to diffuse the situation.
Another question might be: “How would you cope with being assigned a project for which you lacked the skills or knowledge to complete?”
Highlight your initiative and resourcefulness. That could involve asking for company training, finding a knowledgeable colleague or systematically gathering the information needed to complete the assignment. Put simply, your response should convey a positive, innovative approach.
Following are some sample questions to practice answering. Even if you’re not asked these specific ones, you can train your brain to formulate responses to situational queries.
What would you do if you were asked to partner on a project with a colleague who has a drastically different work style?If you had to undertake multiple projects with tight deadlines, how would you stay on track?If a manager wasn’t satisfied with the work you turned in, how would you respond?
Don’t memorize your answers, but develop a general strategy for approaching potential topics, using compelling anecdotes. Rehearse your stories out loud. You might even record them. Ask a friend or family member to listen and help you polish your speaking points.
One technique for answering interview questions is called the STAR method, which stands for Situation, Task, Action and Results. That helps you break down your answers into the when, where, what and how, and articulate the results without rambling.
The bottom line: Don’t view behavioral interview questions as curveballs meant to trip you up. View them as opportunities to highlight your insight, experience and critical thinking skills as indicators of future success.
