How to prepare for a behavioral interview

Most employer's are now conducting behavioral interviews with potential employees. A behavioral interview is one that has potential employees share some of their past experiences in a structured format.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Resume
• Paper
• Pen

1. Review your current resume to make sure that it is up to date with all of your past employment information.

2. Make a list of situations, tasks with actions and results that you have done in each of your past jobs. It is important to remember what YOU did during each situation. The emphasis should not be on team results but the actions that you took to deliver the results. Remember as you go through your examples to share good and bad results. The interviewer is not interested that you may have had bad results but how you behaved during the situation.

3. Research websites that have lists of behavioral interview questions and write down how you would answer those questions. Practice with a partner to see how you would respond.

4. Print extra copies of your resume to bring along with you to the interview.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember to be honest about your experiences during the interview.
• Remember that the interviewer is not their to decide whether you made the right or wrong decision. The interviewer would like to see how you behaved during the past situations.

Resources

• Job interview questions