Behavioral Interview Questions: What are they and how can you prepare?

During a job interview, you’re being judged on three major things: your ability to do the job, your passion for the work, and whether or not you fit in at the company. Unfortunately, this is difficult information to get during a short conversation with a job candidate.

As a result, the hiring team needs to ask specific questions that will give them a better idea of where land in these areas. These are called behavioral interview questions, and some of them can be pretty tricky to answer. But what’s the best thing you can do before an interview to prepare yourself for these types of questions?

Write down examples of tough work-related situations you've overcome.

Behavioral interview questions are open-ended, and typically require more of an explanation than other questions. The best way to answer is with concrete examples that showcase a real situation you found yourself in, how you handled it, and how you’d handle it in the future if you found yourself in a similar situation.

For example, let’s say you’re asked this question: “Can you tell me about a time you were in a stressful situation at work and how you handled it?”

You would answer it using one of the examples you prepared, like this one:

Situation:

One time, my manager at ABC Clothing had to leave work unexpectedly, and left me in charge of our 12 person retail staff. We were extremely busy that day, and I had never been in charge before so I was a little anxious about managing the team, dealing with customer complaints, and making sure everything else was going smoothly. At first, I was overwhelmed and felt like I was doing everything wrong - things were unorganized, customers were upset, and I was stressed out.

Action:

However, I decided to step up to the challenge with an eagerness to learn. So, I supported my team as best as I could, listened to customer complaints politely, and looked at the big picture so I had a better idea of what was happening in the store. At the end of the day, I felt good about what I was able to accomplish. I might not have done everything perfectly, but I knew exactly what to ask my manager about when he returned so I could deal with those situations more effectively next time.

Future Action:

Since then, whenever I’m in an uncomfortable or unfamiliar situation like that, I look at it as an opportunity to learn instead of a scary situation. It has helped me push through tricky situations and grow as a professional.

If you need more help when it comes to structuring your answers to these tricky interview questions, book an appointment with Longwood University Career Services and work with a career coach on your strategy.