Behavioral Interviewing

Behavioral Interviewing

Behavioral Interviewing

Give us an example of…

Your job interview will include behavioral questions - what is behavioral interviewing?

Behavioral interviewing is a technique that allows employers to assess a candidate’s ability to perform job functions and meet the job requirements based on their previous experience. The technique is based on the idea that past performance is the best indicator of future performance - the way candidates used their skills in the past can predict how they will perform in their new position.

Candidates are prompted to answer questions in a storytelling approach that highlights a situation, an action and the impact they made.

Examples of behavioral questions are:

  • Time Management

    • Tell me about a time when you had to juggle several projects at once. How did you organize your time?

    • Give me an example of a time when you delegated an important task successfully

  • Leadership

    • Tell me about a time when you needed to make a firm decision without adequate data to back up the decision

    • Give me an example of an idea you had at work that you were able to bring to life?

  • Problem-Solving

    • Tell me about the toughest work problem you had a part in solving

    • Tell me about a time when you anticipated a challenge and what you did to prevent it

  • Creative Thinking

    • Tell me about a time in a professional setting when you took a big chance to achieve your goals

    • Can you give me an example of a new process or product you have implemented at work recently?

  • Adaptability

    • Tell me about a time when you were asked to do something you had never done before

    • Tell me about a time when you had to adjust to a colleague’s working style in order to complete a project or achieve your objectives

  • Collaboration

    • Tell me about a time when you were communicating with someone and they did not understand you

    • Can you share an experience when a project dramatically shifted direction at the last minute?

Develop these stories and practice delivering them in 2 minutes each.

When thinking about how you would answer behavioral questions, use the STAR technique

S - Identify the SITUATION or problem you encountered

T - What was the specific TASK (who, what, when required)

A - Detail your specific ACTION (what did YOU do? how did YOU do it?)

R - Explain RESULTS (savings, recognition, process improvement, increased profitability)

Create a list of at least 10 stories that you want to share in an interview - they should highlight your skills, successes - examples that show what you will bring to the workplace. You can then label the stories with descriptors, the same story could be an example of leadership and collaboration, another story might be an example of teamwork and adaptability.

Related:

If you need help developing your success stories and preparing for an interview, I can assist you.

Contact me and we can work together. Let’s get started!

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Telma Sullivan

Telma Sullivan Career Coaching Services: helping individuals with their job search, career change, LinkedIn profiles, and interview and salary negotiation prep. Coaching online - individual and groups - and career workshops.

https://telmasullivan.com
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