Behavioral Interview Questions with Answers

Below are examples of how a job applicant (technical writer) might answer a series of secondary behavioral interview questions, based on an initial question.

Q. Was there ever a time that you were challenged or put under pressure?
A. Yes. I recently had to meet a very tight project deadline for an important customer. Would you like for me to go on?

Q. Yes, please do. What were the circumstances?
A. One of our top customers wanted complex product modifications in only a week, including matching changes to the standard user manual. It was my job to customize the user manual, by working with the engineer who was to make the modifications. During our first project meeting, I recommended that I write an addendum to the user manual, which would be quicker than editing the entire manual. The project team and our customer thought it was a good idea, so that's what I did.

Q. Good recommendation. When did you feel challenged or under pressure?
A. Well, I felt pressured right away, because I knew that the deadline was tight even for an addendum, and this particular customer was so very important to our business.

Q. How did you cope with the pressure?
A. I turned the pressure into challenge. A good challenge makes me determined, and determination gives me the energy to meet the challenge.

Q. Can you give me an example to help me better understand what you mean?
A. Sure. It's like when I challenge myself to jog a little further than I have before. I'm determined to do it, which in turn, gives me the energy to do it. The same thing happened on the project.

Q. Good analogy. How did you go about accomplishing the project?
A. To save time, I started with the same template I initially created for the standard manual. It took only a few tweaks to modify it for an addendum. Then I worked extra hours in my office or took my laptop home with me after hours and worked on it there.

Q. What was the outcome?
A. I made the deadline on time. Our customer was so pleased with the addendum, that my manager gave me an out-of-cycle promotion. Our CEO took the project team out to dinner at a nice restaurant, where he presented Gold Achievement Awards to all of us. Maybe it's a little too perfect for a "normal" job applicant during a nerve-racking behavioral interview, but you get the idea.