Behavioral Interviews:
It's Not What You Know, It's What You Did
What is a Behavioral Interview?
In a behavioral interview you will have to demonstrate your knowledge,
skills, and abilities, collectively known as competencies, by giving
specific examples from your past experiences. The interviewer wants to know,
not that you can do something, but that you have done it. He or she, prior
to the interview, determines what competencies are required for the
position. Then the interviewer develops a series of questions that will
allow him or her to find out if you, the job candidate, possesses the
necessary competencies to perform the job. The basic premise of the
behavioral interview is that past performance is a good predictor of future
performance.
While many candidates are intimidated by this method, a behavioral interview gives you the opportunity to demonstrate
to a prospective employer why you are well suited for the job. Rather then merely telling the interviewer what you would do in
a situation, as in a regular interview, in a behavioral interview you must describe, in detail, how you handled a situation in the
past. What better way to "strut your stuff?" On a behavioral interview, you can expect questions like "Tell me
about a time when..." or "Give me an example of when..." Fill in the blanks with one of any number of skills, knowledge, or
abilities the interviewer is trying to ascertain you have. For example, if conflict resolution is a required competency, the
question may be "Tell me about a time two people you had to work with weren't getting along." If you have work experience
you can talk about two of your co-workers. If you're
interviewing for your first job you can select an experience that occurred
during a time you worked on a group project, or participated in a team
sport. As long as you clearly state the problem, demonstrate the steps you
took to resolve it, and discuss the results, it doesn't matter what
experience you draw upon.
Why Would an Employer Use This Technique
When asked simple yes or no questions, a job candidate can
easily tell an interviewer what he or she wants to hear. For example, if you're asked what you would do if a client suddenly
moved up the deadline on a project, you could reply that you would put in overtime as necessary. However, if the interviewer
asks what you have done in the past to complete a project on a tight deadline, you would have to give a real-life example,
detailing how you handled the situation. Then the interviewer could ask some probing questions to verify that what you are
saying actually happened. For example, she might ask how many hours you spent on the project and whether the client was
happy with the results, or what grade you got if you're talking about a
school project.
Preparing for the Behavioral Interview
The difficult part of the behavioral interview is preparing for it. First
you must determine what competencies the employer is looking for. Read
through the job description. If you're working with a recruiter talk to him
or her. Research the company to learn more about it. Here are some of the
competencies the employer may be seeking:
- Enthusiasm
- Decision Making
- Knowledge/Skills
- Leadership
- Personal Attributes
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- Team Building
- Flexibility
- Communication
- Personal Attributes
- Team Building
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Next you need to come up with examples of how you've
demonstrated those competencies. You can start by listing questions an
interviewer might ask you.
Looking back at your past jobs, try to answer the questions related to the competencies the job requires. Your
time in school is also a good place to look. About Guide to Sociology, Kathy S. Stolley,
Ph.D., in an article titled “Put Your Group
Project Experience to Work for You”, says “Like
many new graduates, you may not have much
experience in the paid work-force when you begin
your job search. However, your group projects
provide excellent opportunities to demonstrate
skills that employers are seeking.”
Write down your stories. Be as specific as
you can. In talking about the event, talk about
who was involved, what problem occurred, and
what you did to help resolve it. Also discuss
the outcome. Think not only of examples with
positive outcomes, but those with negative
outcomes as well. Interviewers will ask you
about situations that you could not resolve
favorably and what you learned from those
experiences.
Next...You may not be facing a behavioral
interview right now, but you may have one in the
future. How can you start preparing now? You'll
also find some resources to help you learn more
about this method.
*Use the
STAR Technique to answer behavioral questions.
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