Behavioral interview questions are the future of job interviews. These questions get you to describe how you have reacted in past experiences or situations. This is the best way to predict how you will act in future situations. There is are a couple strategies in how to respond to behavioral interview questions, I want to describe the STAR method.
S – Situation. This is when you describe the situation you were in that is relevant to the question.
T – Task. This describes the task you were trying to complete while in the situation that is relevant to the question.
A – Action you took. Here is where you describe the action you took to complete the task you were given. This is where you try and describe the qualities you have. “I used my organization skills to create a system to reduce..”
R – Results you achieved. This is when you describe that you accomplished and what you learned. The what you learned is more important than if you accomplished what you set out to do.
Answering the questions like this will set you apart from all of the other applicants. Preparing questions answers to question they might ask would also be a good step. Having thought out answers will also set you apart.
This is an interesting concept. I feel like this is not something that can be prepared for greatly, until you’ve experienced it before. It’s a great tactic though to understand the potential hire better.
This is definitely a big thing with job interviews and I’ve experienced it a lot. It is definitely worth preparing for. Most often the questions you will get go something like this, ” Tell me about a time when you had to work with someone who was being difficult, and yet you had to accomplish a specific goal/outcome. How did you deal with this difficult person and still achieve your set goals?” or “Tell me about a time when you were given an excessive workload with limited time and resources to accomplish your goals, How did you deal with this situation and still accomplish what you were expected to do?” There are numerous similar questions that could be asked, but it’s very good to try and think about specific instances like this and have a definite answer before hand. Usually these questions have to do with challenges and how you dealt with them. This good stuff to know!