Ready for a Behavioral Interview?

"Tell me about a time when you were on a team, and one of the members wasn't carrying his or her weight." If this is one of the leading questions in your job interview, you could be in for a behavioral interview. Based on the premise that the best way to predict future behavior is to determine past behavior, this of interviewing is gaining wide acceptance among recruiters.

Today, more than ever, every hiring decision is critical. Behavioral interviewing is designed to minimize personal impressions that can affect the hiring decision. By focusing on the applicant's actions and behaviors, rather than subjective impressions that can sometimes be misleading, interviewers can make more accurate hiring decisions.

James F. Reder, manager of staff planning and college relations for Occidental Chemical Corporation in Dallas, says, "Although we have not conducted any formal studies to determine whether retention or success on the job here has been affected, I feel our move to behavioral interviewing has been successful. It helps concentrate recruiters' questions on areas important to our candidates' success within Occidental." The company introduced behavioral interviewing in 1986 at several sites and has since implemented it company wide.

Behavioral vs. Traditional Interviews

If you have training or experience with traditional interviewing techniques, you may find the behavioral interview quite different in several ways:

Instead of asking how you would behave in a particular situation, the interviewer will ask you to describe how you did behave.
Expect the interviewer to question and probe (think of "peeling the layers from an onion").
The interviewer will ask you to provide details, and will not allow you to theorize or generalize about several events.
The interview will be a more structured process that will concentrate on areas that are important to the interviewer, rather than allowing you to concentrate on areas that you may feel are important.
You may not get a chance to deliver any prepared stories.
Most interviewers will be taking copious notes throughout the interview.

The behavioral interviewer has been trained to objectively collect and evaluate information, and works from a profile of desired behaviors that are needed for success on the job. Because the behaviors a candidate has demonstrated in previous similar positions are likely to be repeated, you will be asked to share situations in which you may or may not have exhibited these behaviors. Your answers will be tested for accuracy and consistency.

If you are an entry-level candidate with no previous related experience, the interviewer will look for behaviors in situations similar to those of the target position:

"Describe a major problem you have faced and how you dealt with it."
"Give an example of when you had to work with your hands to accomplish a task or project."
"What class did you like the most? What did you like about it?"

Follow-up questions will test for consistency and determine if you exhibited the desired behavior in that situation:

"Can you give me an example?"
"What did you do?"
"What did you say?"
"What were you thinking?"
"How did you feel?
"What was your role?"
"What was the result?"

You will notice an absence of such questions as, "Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses."

How to Prepare for a Behavioral Interview

Recall recent situations that show favorable behaviors or actions, especially involving course work, work experience, leadership, teamwork, initiative, planning, and customer service.

Prepare short descriptions of each situation; be ready to give details if asked.
Be sure each story has a beginning, a middle, and an end, i.e., be ready to describe the situation, your action, and the outcome or result.
Be sure the outcome or result reflects positively on you (even if the result itself was not favorable).
Be honest. Don't embellish or omit any part of the story. The interviewer will find out if your story is built on a weak foundation.
Be specific. Don't generalize about several events; give a detailed accounting of one event.

A possible response for the question, "Tell me about a time when you were on a team and a member wasn't pulling his or her weight" might go as follows:

"I had been assigned to a team to build a canoe out of concrete. One of our team members wasn't showing up for our lab sessions or doing his assignments. I finally met with him in private, explained the frustration of the rest of the team, and asked if there was anything I could do to help. He told me he was preoccupied with another class that he wasn't passing, so I found someone to help him with the other course. He not only was able to spend more time on our project, but he was also grateful to me for helping him out. We finished our project on time, and got a 'B' on it."

The interviewer might then probe: "How did you feel when you confronted this person?" "Exactly what was the nature of the project?" "What was his responsibility as a team member?" "What was your role?" "At what point did you take it u on yourself to confront him?" You can see it is important that you not make up or "shade" information, and why you should have a clear memory of the entire incident.

Don't Forget the Basics

Instead of feeling anxious or threatened by the prospect of a behavioral interview, remember the essential difference between the traditional interview and the behavioral interview: The traditional interviewer may allow you to project what you might or should do in a given situation, whereas the behavioral interviewer is looking for past actions only. It will always be important to put your best foot forward and make a good impression on the interviewer with appropriate attire, good grooming, a firm handshake and direct eye contact. There is no substitute for promptness, courtesy, preparation, enthusiasm, and a positive attitude.

SAMPLE Behavioral Interview Questions Grouped by Skill

ADAPTABILITY

Tell me about a situation in which you have had to adjust to changes over which you had no control. How did you handle it?
Tell me about a time when you had to adjust to a classmate's or colleague's working in order to complete a project or achieve your objectives.
How was your transition from high school to college? Did you face any particular problems? How did you handle them?

ANALYTICAL SKILLS / PROBLEM SOLVING

Describe the project or situation that best demonstrates your analytical abilities. What was your role?
Tell me about a time when you had to analyze information and make a recommendation. To whom did you make the recommendation? What was your reasoning? What kind of thought process did you go through? Why? Was the recommendation accepted? If not, why?
Tell me about a situation where you had to solve a difficult problem. What did you do? What was your thought process? What was the outcome? What do you wish you had done differently?
What steps do you follow to study a problem before making a decision? Why?

COMMUNICATION

Tell me about a recent successful experience in making a speech or presentation? How did you prepare? What obstacles did you face? How did you handle them?
Have you ever had to "sell" an idea to your co-workers? How did you do it? Did they accept your idea?
Give me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa). How did you handle the situation? What obstacles or difficulties did you face? How did you deal with them?
Tell me about a time in which you had to use your written communication skills in order to get an important point across.

CREATIVITY

When was the last time you thought "outside the box" and how did you do it? Why?
Tell me about a problem that you've solved in a unique or unusual way. What was the outcome? Were you happy or satisfied with it?
Give me an example of when someone brought you a new idea that was odd or unusual. What did you do?

DECISION MAKING

Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision without all the information you needed. How did you handle it? Why? Were you happy with the outcome?
Give me an example of a time when you had to be quick in coming to a decision. What obstacles did you face? What did you do?
What is the most difficult decision you've had to make? How did you arrive at your decision? What was the result?

GOAL SETTING

Give me an example of an important goal which you have set and tell me how you reached it. What steps did you take? What obstacles did you encounter? How did you overcome the obstacles?
Tell me about a goal that you set that you did not reach. What steps did you take? What obstacles did you encounter? How did it make you feel?

INITIATIVE

Describe a project or idea (not necessarily your own) that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role? What was the outcome?
Describe a situation in which you recognized a potential problem as an opportunity. What did you do? What was the result? What do you wish you had done differently?
Tell me about a project you initiated. What did you do? Why? What was the outcome? Were you happy with the result?
Tell me about a time when your initiative caused a change to occur.
What was the best idea you came up with during your professional or college career? How did you apply it?

INTEGRITY/HONESTY

Discuss a time when your integrity was challenged. How did you handle it?
Tell me about a time when you experienced a loss for doing what is right. How did you react?
Tell me about a business situation when you felt honesty was inappropriate. Why? What did you do?
Give a specific example of a policy you conformed to with which you did not agree. Why?

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

Give an example of when you had to work with someone who was difficult to get along with. How/why was this person difficult? How did you handle it? How did the relationship progress?
Describe a situation where you found yourself dealing with someone who didn't like you. How did you handle it?
Describe a recent unpopular decision you made. How was it received? How did you handle it?
What, in your opinion, are the key ingredients in guiding and maintaining successful business relationships? Give me examples of how you have made these work for you.
Give me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa). How did you handle the situation?
Tell me about a time when you had to work on a team with someone you did not get along with. What happened?
Describe a situation where you had a conflict with another individual, and how you dealt with it. What was the outcome? How did you feel about it?

LEADERSHIP

Tell me about a team project when you had to take the lead or take charge of the project? What did you do? How did you do it? What was the result?
Describe a leadership role of yours. Why did you commit your time to it? How did you feel about it?
What is the toughest group that you have had to get cooperation from? What were the obstacles? How did you handle the situation? What were the reactions of the group members? What was the end result?

PLANNING AND ORGANIZATION / TIME MANAGEMENT

Describe a situation that required you to do a number of things at the same time. How did you handle it? What was the result?
How do you prioritize projects and tasks when scheduling your time? Give me some examples.
Tell me about a project that you planned. How did your organize and schedule the tasks? Tell me about your action plan.

TEAMWORK

Describe a situation where others you were working with on a project disagreed with your ideas. What did you do?
Tell me about a time when you worked with a classmate or colleague who was not doing their share of the work. How did you handle it?
Describe a situation in which you had to arrive at a compromise or help others to compromise. What was your role? What steps did you take? What was the result?
Tell me about a time when you had to work on a team that did not get along. What happened? What role did you take? What was the result?

PROBES / FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS

What steps did you take?
What action did you take?
What happened after that?
What did you say?
How did he/she react?
How did you handle that?
What was your reaction?
How did you feel about that?
What was the outcome/result?
Were you happy with that outcome/result?
What do you wish you had done differently?
What did you learn from that?
How did you resolve that?
What was the outcome of that?
Why did you decide to do that?
What was your logic?
What was your reasoning?
Where were you when this happened?
What time was it?
Who else was involved?
Tell me more about your interaction with that person.
What was your role?
What obstacles did you face?
What were you thinking at that point?
Lead me through your decision process.
How did you prepare for that?
Why?
How?
When?
Where?