What is a behavioral job interview?
A behavioral job interview is a method of employment screening to identify the most suitable candidate for a particular position. It is different from the traditional method of interviewing as the interviewer does not directly ask about a candidate’s passions, strengths, and weaknesses. Rather, he/she judges them through concrete examples of situations and what was the candidate’s course of action in a particular situation.
How to impress the interviewer with the perfect answer and get recruited?
Dos
- Review the questions being asked and try to relate them to real-life situations you have come across during your job or other instances.
- Look for the employer’s requirement for the position in advance and frame your answer accordingly.
- Try to identify the skills which the interviewer is trying to seek in his/her question, for which you need to have prior knowledge of the competencies relevant to the position you applied for.
- Do remember to correlate your professional achievements with every situation you describe. For instance, you can tell how you were able to handle a particular situation and what the positive outcome of your action was.
- Always try to answer the question by looking towards the interviewer’s face. This shows your confidence in the experience you describe.
- Clarify the question in case of doubt. It is always good to understand what the interviewer wants to ask rather than creating a poor impression by showing haste in answering.
- Patiently wait for the interviewer to finish with his/her question before answering. Remember! Only a patient listener can be a good speaker.
- Be honest with your answer as you may be trapped in successive questions and your chances of getting selected will be struck out.
DON’Ts
- Do not show over-excitement while giving the description of any situation you faced. Instead, stay calm and maintain your dignity.
- Never start an argument with the interviewer as this may lead to a tense environment in the room. You are not there to show your aggression, rather handle any provocative situation calmly.
- Never lie about your past experiences. The interviewer is always smart enough to leave you red-faced while repeatedly changing questions about any such fake experience.
- Do not make a repetition of the same experience to answer all the questions directed to you. This indicates lack of vision and perspective in a candidate.
Examples of Behavioral job Interview Questions
These questions are intended to test a broad range of skills in a candidate such as decision making, team management, the potential to work in adverse situations, and the capability to tackle challenges.
- Describe an instance where you took a risky decision and the outcome of your decision.
- Tell us how you dealt with a problem employee and how you managed to get work done by him/her.
- Describe the most challenging time you came across while playing a particular role and how you overcame the challenge.
- Tell us about an innovative idea which got implemented only with your sole efforts.
- How do you confront rude subordinates? How do you react if the work you pass on to a team member does not finish before the deadline?
- What has been your greatest contribution when you worked as part of a team? How did you manage to stand out despite being in a team?
- Describe an experience where you did thorough information analysis to make a recommendation. And what made you take that decision?
- How did you choose to deal with an employee who was undergoing tough times? How did you build trust with your entire team?
A behavioral Job interview may sound different from traditional employment interviews. But you need to follow some rules to prepare for the same. Above mentioned tips can assist you in clearing doubts about behavioral interviews if you have any.
Go!, get all the answers right is a behavioral Job interview and be employable
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