Many people going out on interviews today may have experience with behavioral interviewing practices. Businesses today are implementing behavioral questioning to try and get a better understanding of the people they are interviewing and ultimately hiring employees that will benefit their businesses the most. This article will break down what behavioral interviewing is and how employers implement it in their hiring process.
Questions
In behavioral interviewing, there are a certain style of questions that are asked to get the most out of the interviewee. Behavioral interview questions can be open-ended allowing the interviewee to expand on past experiences and behaviors that they used in different situations. Usually, the questions that are asked are directly related to past work experiences but sometimes can have general implications. Here are some common behavioral interview questions that are asked:
- Give me an example of a time you faced conflict while working on a team. How did you handle it?
- Describe a time you had to handle a difficult client. What was the situation and how did you handle it?
- Elaborate on a time that you failed. How did you deal with the situation?
The first questions is asked to gather more information about how the interviewee acts within a team. This will help have a better understanding of communication skills, teamwork, and demeanor when working with others. The second question is for client-facing information. The second question will give insight into how the interviewee will act with customers or clients under stressful conditions. The third question is asked to collect information about how the interviewee deals with failure. These questions are essential in finding out more information about how a potential employee will act and react in your business.
Framework
As the person being interviewed, it is ideal to answer these questions in a specific way so that you can effectively communicate your skills and experience to the interviewer. A good acronym to refer to when answering behavioral interview questions is STAR. STAR refers to Situations/Task, Action, and Result. A good piece of information to remember is to answer the questions as if you are telling a story. The more detail you can elaborate on in these questions the better.
As a person being interviewed, it can be challenging to prepare for a behavioral interview. Many times employers will throw in a variety of questions that are not entirely behavioral. The best way to be prepared for behavioral interview questions is to have a few detailed stories ready at your fingertips.