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1) Behavioral Interviewing
During a behavioral interview, always listen carefully to the question, ask for clarification if
necessary, and make sure you answer the question completely. Your interview preparation
should include identifying examples of situations from your experiences on your resume where
you have demonstrated the behaviors a given company seeks. During the interview, your
responses need to be specific and detailed. Tell them about a particular situation that relates to
the question, not a general one. Briefly tell them about the situation, what you did specifically,
and the positive result or outcome. Your answer should contain these four steps (Situation,
Task, Action, Result or "STAR") for optimum success.
Behavioral questions can be difficult if you are not prepared. Always try to
be conscious about what the recruiter is trying to find out about you by
asking you a particular question. Setting up a mock interview with the MIT
Careers Office is an excellent way to practice. Here are some examples:
In situational interviewing, job-seekers are asked to respond to a specific situation they may
face on the job, and some aspects of it are similar to behavioral interviews.
These types of questions are designed to draw out more of your analytical
and problem-solving skills, as well as how you handle problems with short
notice and minimal preparation.
The key to preparation and success in situational interviews is simply to review your
past work experiences and review the steps you took to resolve problems and make
corrections. You should also have short stories of some of these past experiences so you can
also incorporate them into your answers to show that you have experience handling similar
situations.
Here's one way an interviewer might ask an applicant for a customer service manager position:
"How would you handle an angry customer who was promised delivery of the product on a
certain date, but because of manufacturing delays, the company was not able to deliver on a
timely basis? The customer is demanding some kind of compensation for the unexpected
delay."
Or, for a management position, a job-seeker might be asked: "How do you handle a
disgruntled employee in your department who has made a habit of arriving late to work and
causing minor disruptions during the day, as well as a declining morale among the rest of the
staff?"
The interviewer may try to stress you in one of several ways, such
as asking four or five questions in a row, acting rude or sarcastic,
disagreeing with you, or simply keeping you waiting for a long
period.
Don't take any of these actions personally. Simply stick to your agenda and showcase your
skills and accomplishments calmly. Better, try taking back control of the interview by ignoring
the stress. Some experts suggest even getting up and walking around the room so that you take
control by being the only person standing. And if there is a board or flip chart in the room,
another option is to get up and draw or diagram parts of your answers.
Most job-seekers will not encounter such interviews, but it is important to know they exist, and
know how to handle yourself if you are faced with such an interview style.
1. What would you do if the work of a subordinate or team member was not
up to expectations?
2. A co-worker tells you in confidence that she plans to call in sick while
actually taking a week's vacation. What would you do and why?
3. Describe how you would handle the situation if you met resistance when
introducing a new idea or policy to a team or work group.
5. How would you handle it if you believed strongly in a recommendation you made in a
meeting, but most of your co-workers shot it down?
6. In a training session, you find that the trainer has a thick accent, and you can't understand
what's being said. What would you do?
7. List the steps that you would take to make an important decision on the job.
8. What would you do if you realized at deadline time that a report you wrote for your boss or
professor was not up to par?
9. How would you deal with a colleague at work with whom you seem to be unable to build a
successful working relationship?
10. You disagree with the way your supervisor says to handle a problem. What would you do?
11. Who would you talk to if you discovered that a co-worker was disclosing confidential
information that should not be divulged?
12. When would it be appropriate to bring in your supervisor while dealing with an angry
customer?
13. How would you attempt to make changes in the process if you felt a policy of your
organization was hurting its members/workers?
15. How would you organize the steps or methods you'd take to define/identify a vision for your
team or your personal job function?
16. How would you react if two teammates were embroiled in a conflict that kept the team from
completing its task?
17. You don't have the information you need to prioritize your projects. Your co-workers and
supervisor are unavailable for you to ask for assistance. How do you handle the situation?
18. As a supervisor, you've made an unpopular decision. What action would you take so that
morale in the department is not negatively affected?
19. In a team-leadership role, you discover that a team member has gone "over your head" to
propose an idea or complain about an issue without talking to you first. How do you handle the
situation?
20. You been placed in charge of a project team for a new project. What are your first steps to
get the team going and complete the project?
6) STAR Method
Action: talk about the various actions involved in the situation’s task
Whenever you can, quantify your results. Numbers illustrate your level of authority and
responsibility. For example: "I was a shift supervisor." could be "As Shift Supervisor, I trained
and evaluated 4 employees." Be prepared to provide examples of when results didn't turn out as
you planned. What did you do then? What did you learn? Your resume will serve as a good
guide when answering these questions. Refresh your memory regarding your achievements in
the past couple of years. Demonstration of the desired behaviors may be proven in many ways.
Use examples from past internships, classes, activities, team involvements, community service
and work experience.
Situation: During my internship last summer, I was responsible for managing various events.
Task: I noticed that attendance at these events had dropped by 30% over the past 3 years and
wanted to do something to improve these numbers.
Action: I designed a new promotional packet to go out to the local community businesses. I
also included a rating sheet to collect feedback on our events and organized internal round
table discussions to raise awareness of the issue with our employees.
Result: We utilized some of the wonderful ideas we received from the community, made our
internal systems more efficient and visible and raised attendance by 18% the first year.
Example of a SAR Answer
Situation (S):
Advertising revenue was falling off for my college newspaper,the Stetson Reporter, and
large numbers of long-term advertisers were not renewing contracts.
Action (A):
I designed a new promotional packet to go with the rate sheet and compared the
benefits of Reporter circulation with other ad media in the area. I also set-up a special
training session for the account executives with a School of Business Administration
professor who discussed competitive selling strategies.
Result (R):
We signed contracts with 15 former advertisers for daily ads and five for special
supplements. We increased our new advertisers by 20 percent [quantities are always
good] over the same period last year.
Here are some traditional interview questions followed by some bad answers and better alternatives from
Jennifer James, an editor for more than 30 FabJob guides.
Tip: Keep the answer positive, in terms of where you want to go, not what you want to get away from.
Better Answer: I have been promoted as far as I can go with my current employer. I'm looking for a new
challenge that will give me the opportunity to use my skills to help my employer's business grow.
Tip: Before the interview, visit the employer's Web site to learn as much as you can about the company.
When answering this question, focus on one or two flattering items to explain why you want to join this
particular company.
Better Answer: When I read the mission statement on your Web site about giving back to the
community, I felt really inspired. I was also impressed with the facts about your growth in the past three
years with three new locations, and a 40 percent sales increase. That's really something to be proud of. I
think it would be rewarding to be a part of a company that is such a leader in their industry and in the
community.
Tip: Give acceptable reasons (frequent moves, changes in personal goals, etc.), but focus on the fact
that you're ready for a permanent position now, which is what they are really concerned about.
Better Answer: When I was younger, I decided to sample a wide variety of careers. That way, when I
was ready to choose a career path I would be absolutely certain that I had found the right one for the
long-term future. Now I've settled on this industry, and that's why I'm here today.
Better Answer: I have a really good eye for detail, and in the past, I have caught critical mistakes before
they happened. When I worked for ABC Company, I helped the company avoid a few catastrophes this
way, so they started routing orders through my office to check even though I wasn't working in the orders
department. Of course, I'd be happy to apply this skill in any way you feel is suitable in this company.
Another strength I can offer an employer is...
Tip: Admit a minor weakness and explain what you're doing to fix it.
Better Answer: I sometimes feel impatient with co-workers who don't work as quickly as I do. However,
I've been reading books about teamwork. I'm learning a lot about people's different work styles, and I'm
trying new techniques such as helping co-workers brainstorm solutions when they're facing a challenge.
Tip: This is your chance to reiterate your skills and relate them to the position you are applying for.
Better Answer: When I read your ad, I couldn't have imagined a better match for my skills and
experience than this job. Now that I have spoken with you, and learned more about your needs, I'm even
more certain that I'm the right candidate. I know that I can hit the ground running and exceed your
expectations because of my experience with...
Tip: Sometimes employers ask this because they want to know whether you are looking at their company
for long-term employment or simply a short-term job until something "better" comes along. Other
employers want to judge your ability to plan for the future. Most employers do not want to hear that in five
years you hope to be retired or plan to start your own business. Your short-term goals should involve
getting hired into the right position; long term is where you want to go in your profession.
Better Answer: Short-term, I'd like to find a position where I can build a solid clientele of return clients. I
enjoy building relationships with clients who come back year after year for service and advice. Long-term,
I can see myself taking some additional training over the next few years, and applying for a more senior
position here once I have the right combination of experience and education.
In recent years, this process has become perhaps more anxiety producing with the growing popularity of
situational interviews. Candidates are presented with true-to-life scenarios and then asked how they
would handle them, step-by-step. Talk about being put on the spot!
But depending on how you look at them, situational interviews actually can be a blessing in disguise.
They give you a better opportunity to highlight your skills, as well as allow your personality to shine
through. And thanks to their unique nature, they’re also likely to be more thought-provoking — never a
bad thing.
There’s good reason why companies increasingly are turning to these kinds of interviews. According to a
2003 BusinessWeek article , the conventional interview is only 7 percent accurate in predicting on-the-job
performance, whereas situational interviews were found to be 54 percent accurate — the most accurate
of any interviewing tool used.
“It’s twofold,” explained Dr. Randall Hansen, founder and president of Quintcareers.com, a career
services Web site. “One is to see where [candidates’] skills are — because anybody can put on their
resume that they have these kinds of skills. But when they have to talk it out and explain it, that’s when
you can often tell someone who does have the experience from someone who doesn’t. And the other
reason is just to get job applicants thinking on their feet rather than [giving] a rehearsed answer.”
Typical situational interview questions might include: “Describe a situation in which you had to deal with a
difficult co-worker,” and “tell me about a time you failed to accomplish a goal you set for yourself and how
you handled it.”
“There are almost always going to be some competence-related interview questions,” Hansen said. “And
they are going to be ones that are more general, especially if it’s a team-based situation. [For example:]
How would you handle working in a team situation [in which] one team member is always going against
the rest of the team and you waste a lot of time arguing, and the team is becoming less efficient? How
would you help solve this problem?”
You can get a better idea of the kinds of questions a company might use by doing your homework,
Hansen said.
“Look on the company’s Web site. Not all, but some companies in their career section actually give advice
about [how to get a job there],” he said. “Look at the job description, and look at what they’re seeking.
Look for some of the keywords, whether they’re talking about technical skills or soft skills like teamwork or
communications.”
Once you know what you’re getting into, take some time to think about your previous experience and
come up with several useful scenarios you can relate during the interview.
“Develop a couple short stories — two or three minutes — about specific examples of how you solved [a]
problem in the past or some experience you have that you can then apply in [a new] situation,” Hansen
said. “Don’t memorize them because you don’t want to come off as repeating something from the back of
your head.”
The Career Center at California State University, Fullerton, recommends that you take theSTAR —
situation, task, action, result — approach to storytelling: That is, you describe a similar situation from
previous experience, including the task you were asked to accomplish. Then you explain the action you
took and the result it produced.
A tech career guide on About.com offers a few additional tips. Author Bruce Dwyer, who works at
Australian IT recruitment company ADAPS, writes: “Let others help you out: Use examples of quotes from
bosses or customers [such as], ‘My boss gave me a good performance review [because] she liked the
way I stepped in to get the job done without being told to.”
Also, always look for ways to spin failures or negative results into positive learning experiences.
“The key there is to talk about how you recover and learn from mistakes,” Hansen said. “Of course, you
could preface it by saying, ‘I hope it never goes wrong, but if it did…’ The key is you show your
competency. That’s the most important thing.”
– Agatha Gilmore