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Behavioral Interview Questions & Answers
Behavioral
style interviews have gained momentum over the last few years. This
is because it's more difficult for job seekers to "lie"
their way through an interview when the questions asked are very
specific to the open position, and not generic interview questions
that could be asked of any job candidate.
For example,
"Where do you see yourself in five years?" is a question
that could be posed to a customer service rep as well as an admin.
However, questions behavioral interview questions are targeted, and
therefore, harder to prepare for ahead of time. That said, you
should be familiar with what behavioral interview questions sound
like so that you can communicate effectively and increase your
chances of a job offer.
Behavioral based
interview questions begin with...
Tell me about a
time when...
Describe a time when...
Recall a time when...
Behavioral
Interview Answers: Tips and Advice
When you answer
behavioral style interview questions you have to be very specific.
As an example, let's use the behavioral interview question,
"Tell me about a time you made a positive change within the
customer service department" as interview practice.
To answer this
question, keep the following steps in mind:
Step one:
Tell the interviewer about the situation. For example, "For two
consecutive quarters, the
customer
service department at ABC Corp received low ratings from secret
shoppers. Because I received the highest score in the department, I
was charged with turning around the negative results."
Step two:
Describe the task you took on to resolve matters. For example,
"I started by looking over existing policies and made
recommendations for change."
Step three:
Mention the result. For example, "Based on my recommendation,
within a month, the department's score increase sixty five
percent."
Putting all three
steps together the entire behavioral interview answer is:
"For two
consecutive quarters, the customer service department at ABC Corp
received low ratings from secret shoppers. Because I received the
highest score in the department, I was charged with turning around
the negative results. I started by looking over existing policies
and made recommendations for change Based on my recommendation,
within a month, the department's score increase sixty five
percent."
As you can see,
winning interview answers are multi-faceted and take time to
formulate. Don't be shy about talking about
your experiences. Take the time to prepare excellent interview
answers to common behavioral questions by leveraging your
background. I compiled tough interview questions for you to go over.
Sample
Behavioral Interview Questions: Questions to Expect
 Describe a time
when your experience was not useful in a negotiation.
Tell me about a time when you served as a leader on a project and
the strategies you implemented in order to accomplish your goals on
time.
Tell me about a time when you lacked a key ingredient to ensure that
you were 100% on target with a proposal.
A workplace environment can be complicated. Tell me about a time
when your initial perspective or judgment was off the mark. What was
the result?
Describe a time when you accomplished a goal, but didn't feel
satisfied.
Tell me about a time your department was full of problems and the
strategies you implemented to overcome those challenges.
Tell me about a time when a deal fell through and it was your fault.
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