How to Prepare for Behavioral Interviews

Behavioral interviews focus on your past work actions.

Behavioral interviews, also known as behavioral-event interviews or competency interviews, generally comprise questions about your past work behavior and experiences. The premise for these types of interviews is that past performance is an indicator for future behavior. There are several ways you can prepare for these challenging types of interviews.

Instructions

1. Make a list of specific past work situations that show off your strengths and skill sets. For example, write down all your accomplishments from previous jobs or school projects. Try to choose examples that are quantifiable, such as specific budget examples, sales revenue gross profit amounts or numbers of new customers. Other good examples include work situations when you calmed down an irate customer by yourself or handled an unexpected crisis at your workplace. When the interviewer asks you a question, you'll have a stockpile of specific examples to choose from.

2. Include examples of situations when the results didn't turn out how you desired. This will give you an opportunity to prove to the interviewer that you can learn from mistakes, have a positive attitude in challenging situations and are a real person who's being honest in the interview.

3. Stay on topic and answer questions succinctly. Do not go on and on with long stories during the interview. Try to keep all your responses under 90 seconds, and aim for a minute. Give answers in three-part structures that include a brief description of the situation, what actions you took and the final results of your actions.

4. Practice answering questions with a friend or family member beforehand. Common types of questions will typically be about your leadership qualities, problem-solving capabilities, motivation factors, communication style, interpersonal skills and planning or organizational skills. Prepare real-life examples for each of these categories before you go to the interview.

5. Prepare questions for the interviewer that reflect your research on the company and the actual job description. Research the company website and look for recent press releases about the company to ask questions about the company culture or new initiatives.

6. Remain positive and be honest in the interview. No hiring manager will believe that you are perfect, so don't try to appear as if you are. Most hiring managers are looking for people who learn quickly, are good team players, are motivated and disciplined and will strive to do the best they can each day.

References

• The College at Brockport State University of New York: Behavioral Interviewing
• The Undercover Recruiter: How to Prepare for Behavioral Based Interviewing
• Whittier College Career Services: Successful Interviewing