How to succeed on behavioral interview questions with SHARE model

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By Jin Li
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behavioral interview questions

Want to do well on behavioral interview questions? Behavioral interview is one of the most popular interview styles of many major company and government agencies. Basically, the idea is to predict your future actions based on your past actions. Behavioral interview questions focus on situational questions and HR (human resources) questions. This article talks about how to do well on a behavioral interview with the SHARE model.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

pen and paper or computer (write this information down somewhere because it can help you in the next job interview)

Step 1

Since behavioral interview questions ask you a lot about what you did in a specific situation. It is good to prepare for such questions with the SHARE model so that the hiring manager can easily follow your line of thought.
Step 2

SHARE:
Situation: by describing the situation in which you were operating
Hindrances: describe any constraints or hindrances on your actions
Actions: explain exactly what you did
Results: describe the results that can be attributed to your actions
Evaluations: summarize the example with a positive evaluation.
Step 3

Behavioral interview questions focus a lot on human resource questions. Examples would be: Describe to me what you would do if you had a conflict with a co-worker on your team about how a project should be handled, describe to me how you handled a conflict with a co-worker and what steps you took to resolve the situation, describe to me a time when you successfully handle several projects on hand and delivered results on time, and etc.
Step 4

Make up a story using SHARE to answer these questions. SHARE is very good in this case because it described a problem, how you approached it, and what you gained from the experience. It shows off your strength.
Step 5

Here is an example:

The hiring manager asks you to describe how you solved a problem at work. You can say: I was working on processing some samples using a piece of equipment that I am very familiar with. Then, that equipment had a problem and needed to be fixed by sending it back to the manufacturer. Since I needed to finish processing the samples on time, I quickly read the instruction manual of another machine and operated it with the help of a coworker. In the end, I was able to finish the experiment on time. From this incident, I learned to quickly adept to situations and ask for other people's help when necessary.
Step 6

Finally, make up and practice on how to answer behavioral interview questions before any major interviews. Chances are the company has adopted the behavioral interview method to evaluate their candidates.