Behavioral Interview Questions

Here’s a #jobseeker tip for the day:

There are certain questions hiring managers will ask that we call “behavioral questions.” These are the ones designed to suss out how you might act and react on the job.

They might sound something like this:

“Tell me about a time you resolved conflict at work.”

Or:

“How do you handle it when you miss a deadline?”

The tricky thing about behavioral questions is they are unpredictable — which makes them harder to prep for. The best way to prep, in my experience as a recruiter, is to practice “thinking on your feet” by googling “common behavioral interview questions” and talking yourself through answers out loud.

When possible, try to provide the context to the situation you are addressing. If you come straight to the endpoint or solution, there may be some important facts left out as to why you acted as you did.

Don’t forget our old friend – the STAR method. Even if the question isn’t asked in STAR format, answering it using this approach can most times be a winner for you.

Once you’ve learned HOW to answer these kinds of questions, you’ll be able to handle them in an ad hoc way in an actual interview.