‘Describe a situation when ...’
‘Describe a situation when ...’
If you have interviewed for a job within the past 10 years, you have more than likely been involved in a behavioral interview — whether you knew it or not. That’s because in many cases job interviews are combinations of traditional inqueries into your work history and behavioral-related questions that go straight to how you have functioned in past roles.
What is a behavioral interview?
In a traditional job interview the applicant is asked straightforward questions. The answers to these questions are difficult to fudge as long as the candidate for the job has prepared adequately. These types of questions also open the door for a candidate to embellish or even lie about his or her experience at previous jobs. Here are some examples of what you’d hear in a traditional interview:
1) Tell me about yourself.
2) What are your strengths and weaknesses?
3) Why are you interested in working for us?
4) Why are you the best person for the job?
5) Tell me about your employment history.
6) Why do you want to work for this company?
7) Where do you see yourself in five years?
These questions are important, but they also make it difficult for an interviewer to gauge how you would react in challenging situations at work.
And that’s the point of behavioral interview questions. The employer gets to hear about your real experiences and maybe even uncovers your critical thinking skills. Are you a self-starter? Are you a problem-solver?
In a behavioral interview, questions are designed to be open-ended so that it leaves the interviewer the ability to probe for more information.
It’s much more challenging to answer these questions because they involve telling stories: challenges you faced, how you reacted, what the results were and what you learned from the experience.
You’ll be able to spot a behavioral question when the interviewer starts it off with “Describe a situation when ... .”
When you begin to tell that story, the interviewer is better able to pick up on your specific skills and work styles. Your explanation of your reaction in a specific situation gives the interviewer an overall view of who you are and how you may (or may not) fit in with the job and the company.
The interviewer will probe for more details as you tell your story, following up with questions such as “And what did you do at that point?” or an imperative like “Step by step, tell me exactly how you handled that situation.”
Put simply, instead of asking how you would behave in a certain situation, the behavioral interview finds out how you did behave.
The behavioral interview is used to determine three things:
• Job-related experiences and behaviors.
• Knowledge of the job or industry you worked in.
• Skills and abilities the company feels necessary for a specific position.
How to prepare
When getting ready for an interview, keep a few things in mind. These will help you with traditional and behavioral questions that interviewers will ask.
• You must understand and know what the company’s business is and its market or audience.
• You must understand and know what skills the employer feels is necessary for the job you are seeking.
• You must research the company and talk to people who may be working for the company, preferably in the job or in the department you would be working in.
Because of the variety of questions you may be asked, it is harder to prepare for a behavioral interview. However, one of the best ways to prepare is to have situations from previous jobs in mind. Think about challenges you faced at your job. Write down how you solved or helped solve a problem for a positive outcome.
You should also remember that the goal of the interviewer is to determine how well you learn from negative outcomes. You should try to have examples or negative experiences ready, but try to choose situations that eventually led to a positive outcome or a lesson that helped you in subsequent situations.Be prepared, and remember that you are trying to sell yourself. Listen carefully so that you can answer appropriately, and try to use examples from your most recent job.
