Behavioral interview

Behavioral

Purpose of Behavioral Interviews

Behavioral interviews are designed to predict your future behavior on the job, based on your past behavior. During behavioral interviews, interviewers will ask questions about how you acted or reacted in past job-related situations, because most applicants are likely to repeat behaviors from previous jobs on their new jobs.

Behavioral interviews are among the toughest types, because they force you to reveal much about yourself, and on the spot to boot. It's one of the classic "hot-seat" interviews.

Behavioral Interview Question Samples

Behavioral interview question samples are listed below. Interviewers might ask such questions verbally, in questionnaire form, or both.

? Describe a time that you were challenged or put under pressure.
? Tell me about a time when you took it upon yourself to accomplish a task on the job, without being asked.
? Which accomplishment on the job gave you more satisfaction than any other?
? How would you handle it if a coworker (or subordinate) was not pulling his or her fair share of the load?
? What was a major obstacle you had to overcome?
Depending on the initial questions and your answers, secondary behavioral interview questions might include:

? How did you deal with it?
? How did you go about achieving it?
? What was the outcome?
? What were you thinking at the time?
? How did it make you feel?
? What did you say or do?
? What are some examples?
? How did you know there was a problem?

Before answering behavioral interview questions, it's okay to take a moment to think about your answers.

Keep your answers brief (two to three minutes or less), specific, work related and to the point. Maintain reasonable eye contact when answering and try to stay calm and cool. Don't go too far out on a limb and remember your answers, as interviewers might check them for consistency. For example, interviewers in your second round of behavioral interviews might ask you to expand upon your initial answers. If you filled out a questionnaire, interviewers might ask similar behavioral interview questions verbally, to see if your responses approximate what you wrote on the questionnaire.