Quintessential Careers Press:
The Quintessential Guide to Behavioral Interviewing
Chapter 3: Guidelines for Preparing for Behavioral Interviews
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Behavioral interviews are said to be difficult to prepare for because the variety of questions that could be asked is immense – and there is some truth to that – but some simple guidelines can help you get up to speed. Career expert Doris Flaherty notes, “while it is true that you can never know for certain what questions you may be asked in an interview, that is no reason to not prepare! The more you have considered relevant examples of work-related skills and behaviors from your past experiences, the more likely you are to present yourself in a confident, professional manner, and the less likely you are to slip up and share something you wish you hadn't!
“When explaining how to prepare for the behavioral interview,” Flaherty continues, “I tell people to consider some of the main competency areas that employers are likely to ask about and come up with specific examples of themselves demonstrating these in the past. Work, activities, volunteer experiences . . . it is all fair game in locating these real-life examples. I encourage them to recall both successes and failures, as they may be asked to share either.”
Following are some guidelines for developing examples/stories:
- Your response needs to be specific and detailed. Candidates who tell the interviewer about particular situations that relate to each question will be far more effective and successful than those who respond in general terms. For example, take the following question and response:
Question: “Describe a situation that required a number of things to be done at the same time. How did you handle it? What was the result?”
Response: “In my current job, I have to handle multiple responsibilities in developing new projects, maintaining existing ones, and maintaining good client relations. I allocate a certain amount of time for each area daily. That way clients can see very clearly that projects are progressing, and I have more satisfaction in accomplishing multiple tasks under pressure.” It’s not a bad response in that it has good details and targets the multi-tasking skill the employer wants to know about. But it does not relate to a specific incident, so the interviewee could compose a better response.
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