Job Search Success: How to Win in a Behavioral Interview

What is behavioral interviewing and why is it important to know?

Behavioral interviewing is a technique used by an interviewer to elicit true-to-life responses from the job candidate in order to evaluate how that candidate will fit, (or not) into the organization. It has been reasoned that this technique is better at ferreting out problems earlier—in the hiring process—before a costly hiring mistake is made. Many companies are training their recruiters and hiring managers in this technique because they say that it results in better hiring of candidates that will succeed within the organization’s culture.

How does behavioral interviewing differ from the standard interviews? It starts with the questions. In a standard interview, typical questions will revolve around past accomplishments and skill sets such as, “I see you opened up a new sales office in Miami, how did that go?” Or, to the IT job candidate: “Tell me about your last software development project; what happened?”

The questions used in the behavioral interviewing technique, however, are much more precise—zeroing in on a specific instance—and the interviewer is looking for very specific answers. For example, “Tell me about the time you helped someone achieve a goal.” The interviewer is looking for a specific, true example. Why this question? What is the interviewer looking for?

The interviewer is looking for an example of teamwork and some selflessness. This particular organization values teamwork over competition and it wants to find out if the candidate also has the same values. Another example, “Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with your boss. How did you handle the situation?”

Conflict is common within any organization and typically saps productivity so how a candidate has handled conflict in the past will most likely be how they handle conflict in the future. In this particular question, the interviewer is looking for a positive resolution of conflict rather than a destructive result which will be harmful to the company.

So how do you succeed in an interview where this technique is being used? Here are some tips:

-- Learn some of the common questions and themes used in behavioral interviewing and prepare your stories ahead of time. Some common questions are listed below.

-- Be specific in your answers. If you do not specifically answer the question, the interview is trained to ask you to be more specific or to ask the question in another way that will prompt you to be more specific.

-- Resist the temptation to slam a previous employer or boss in your responses. Some of the questions may prompt you to turn negative against a previous employer because these questions often deal with conflict or difficult situations. A positive response on how you triumphed in a challenging situation will always be much more helpful.

Other typical questions in a behavioral interview:

-- Tell me about the time you made a major decision. What factors did you consider before making your decision? Describe the process.
-- Tell me about the time two members of your team had a major conflict. What did you do?
-- Tell me about a risk that you took? How did it go?
-- Tell me about a time that your project failed?
-- Describe to me a time when you had to motivate an employee.
-- Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with a peer.
-- Have you ever been asked to do something unethical? Describe to me what happened.

Spend some time before you go into your next job interview coming up with specific examples as answers to these questions. Your answers should be detailed and should reveal how you overcame a challenging situation through leadership and teamwork to accomplish a corporate objective that made a positive impact on the organization. As a general rule of thumb, the responses in a behavioral interview should be positive and specific.

Following these guidelines and preparing your responses ahead of time will go a long ways to further ensure success in your job search campaign.