CEB IT Leadership Council for Midsized Companies

Behavioral Screening Questions

Behavioral
Component
s
Responds
well
to
constructive
criticism by
managers

Resilient

Able to
remain
concentrated
on task at
hand over
extended
periods

Takes
responsibility
for actions

Handles high

Sample Interview
Questions

Evaluation
Guidelines

Red Flags

Tell me about a time when

you received negative
feedback
Who in your life, excluding
family members and friends,
has most influenced your
professional growth?
What do you like/dislike
about receiving performance
reviews?
Describe a professional
situation when you did not
perform as well as you
would have hoped
Describe a time when an
end user you were
interacting with became
angry at you
How do you deal with
working in an environment
with multiple distractions?
Walk me through how you
approached a large project
you recently completed
Would you prefer to
complete a large task in one
large block of time or in
multiple small blocks of
time? Why?
What is one thing you could
have done better during
your time working at
________?
Have you ever received
negative feedback from a
manager that you did not
deserve?
Tell me about a time when
you were working as part of
a team and things didnt
turn out as well as you
would have hoped.
Tell me about a time when

Explains how she

used feedback
from others to
improve herself
Proactively asks
for constructive
feedback from
others

Struggles to think
of a time when
she received
critical feedback
Brushes off
personal critiques
without clearly
explaining why

Describes how
she quickly
recovered after
experiencing a
setback

Cannot recall an
instance when
she had to
recover after
things did not go
well

Has a clear,
logical way of
approaching
tasks
Shows the
capacity to
maintain focus,
even when
multiple things
are competing
for her attention
Explains what
things are her
responsibility and
what things are
outside of her
control
Acts as though
she is in control
of her fate
Embraces
ownership over
her work

Loses focus in the

middle of the
interview process
Requires the
interviewer to
repeat several
questions during
the interview

Explains how she

Does not have a

Quick to blame
other people for
mistakes
Cannot recall a
few instances
when she made
mistakes
Has an overly
narrow conception
of her
responsibilities in
previous jobs

1
2014 CEB. All rights reserved.

pressure
situations
without
becoming
burned out

Behavioral
Component
s
Responds
well
to
constructive
criticism by
managers

Resilient

Able to
remain
concentrated
on task at
hand over
extended
periods

Takes
responsibility
for actions

CEB IT Leadership Council for Midsized Companies

you didnt have enough time
managed to
clear method of
to do everything that
perform well in
handling stressful
needed to be done.
spite of stress
situations
How do you deal with
Overly invests in
stressful situations at work?
other peoples
How frequently do you think
problems in a way
that is
about work on weekends or
unsustainable
evenings?
over the long term
Sample Interview
Questions

Evaluation
Guidelines

Candidate
Response

Tell me about a time when

you received negative
feedback
Who in your life, excluding
family members and friends,
has most influenced your
professional growth?
What do you like/dislike
about receiving performance
reviews?
Describe a professional
situation when you did not
perform as well as you
would have hoped
Describe a time when an
end user you were
interacting with became
angry at you
How do you deal with
working in an environment
with multiple distractions?
Walk me through how you
approached a large project
you recently completed
Would you prefer to
complete a large task in one
large block of time or in
multiple small blocks of
time? Why?
What is one thing you could
have done better during
your time working at
________?
Have you ever received
negative feedback from a
manager that you did not

Explains how she

used feedback
from others to
improve herself
Proactively asks
for constructive
feedback from
others

Very positive and

constructive
feedback,
candidate sounds
enthusiased
about the role
joining IHS.

Describes how
she quickly
recovered after
experiencing a
setback

Has a clear,
logical way of
approaching
tasks
Shows the
capacity to
maintain focus,
even when
multiple things
are competing
for her attention
Explains what
things are her
responsibility and
what things are
outside of her
control
Acts as though

2
2014 CEB. All rights reserved.

Handles high
pressure
situations
without
becoming
burned out

CEB IT Leadership Council for Midsized Companies

deserve?
she is in control
Tell me about a time when
of her fate
Embraces
you were working as part of
a team and things didnt
ownership over
turn out as well as you
her work
would have hoped.
Tell me about a time when
Explains how she
you didnt have enough time
managed to
to do everything that
perform well in
needed to be done.
spite of stress
How do you deal with
stressful situations at work?
How frequently do you think
about work on weekends or
evenings?

3
2014 CEB. All rights reserved.