6 Tips for Answering Behavioral Interview Questions

Behavioral interview questions are questions asked during a professional interview that require job candidates to share their past experiences and how they handled specific situations. These questions may pertain to challenging moments in the workplace, establishing goals and achieving them, or collaborating with co-workers.

Unlike situational interview questions—which ask how a candidate would react to a hypothetical situation—these questions focus on your past behavior in previous jobs to give the interviewer a better idea of your problem-solving, management, and collaborative working style.

Hiring managers will ask candidates behavioral interview questions to evaluate a candidate’s behavior, in lieu of an actual chance to see how they perform. These types of questions allow candidates to demonstrate their working style, while also giving the hiring manager insight into how they handle problem-solving tasks or engaging with team members. They can also highlight how an employee communicates.

Behavioral questions typically come up during the second interview, after the hiring manager has learned a couple basics about you already. Here are a few tips to help you prepare to answer any behavioral interview questions.

1. 1. Prepare some stories. You should have a few relevant stories from your professional past in your pocket for a serious interview. This way, you’ll be able to plan your response to highlight your positive attributes and behavior. You also won’t have to think of a story on the spot, which can be stressful.
2. 2. Mine the job description for the desirable skills. Studying the job description of the position you’re applying for can reveal plenty of useful information about the skills a perfect candidate should have. If the position you’re applying for involves working on tight deadlines, you may want to tell a story that demonstrates your time management skills. If a role has leadership potential, you should prepare a story about a time you successfully led a project or mentored someone.
3. 3. Use the STAR method. The S.T.A.R. method is a helpful way to frame and present your stories. STAR stands for situation (i.e. the challenging scenario you found yourself in), task (what the situation asked of you), action (the action or reaction you had in the situation), and results (the outcome). Structuring your stories like this allows you to hit all of your talking points without leaving anything out.
4. 4. Own up to past mistakes. Interviewers will often ask about times that you have been challenged, made mistakes, or have had to overcome your weaknesses. Be honest and use these questions as opportunities to show how much you have learned from your own mistakes.
5. 5. Take your time. Relax and give yourself plenty of time to fully explain each of your stories. It can be easy to accidentally rush through a story, but try to avoid doing that. Make sure you clearly articulate every part of the situation you are describing.
6. 6. Stay positive. Focus on the favorable aspects of your experiences. When you’re explaining a time that you were faced with a challenging situation, try not to linger on the frustration you may have felt. Quickly move on to what action you took to mitigate the mistake, emphasizing your problem-solving abilities.

Behavioral interview questions typically pertain to five different areas of a person’s working style including interpersonal skills, problem-solving strategies, teamwork, leadership potential, and response to stress or pressure. Below are just a few common behavioral interview questions that you may encounter during a job interview, followed by advice on how to structure your answers.

1. 1. Can you give me an example of a time when you had to prioritize one task or project over another? Your ability to prioritize tasks that you’re responsible for can reveal how you manage your time and what types of work you value most. Choose a situation when you were faced with many tasks, and your choice of what to prioritize led to a successful outcome.
2. 2. Tell us about a personal or professional goal you set for yourself and how you reached it. Recruiters are looking for applicants who take initiative. Think about a time when you set goals for yourself that went beyond the duties of your position. This shows your recruiter that you’re self-motivated and regularly take action to benefit the organization.
3. 3. Can you talk about a time you had to work under pressure? Interviewers want to know how well you handle obstacles and stress. choose a time when you were under pressure. Walk them through the problem, and help them understand your thought process in how you resolved the issue. Pick a time when you were actually able to deliver a positive outcome, and always frame your story in a positive light.
4. 4. Tell us about a time in which you had to make a difficult decision. What was the outcome? This question is also designed to evaluate how you act in difficult situations. This question, however, is more about your personal decision-making process. Tell a story that shows you’re the type of candidate who can make an executive decision when you need to.
5. 5. Can you think of a time when you may have butted heads with a coworker? This question may come in slightly different forms, but the idea is to evaluate your teamwork and interpersonal skills. You will have to work with others who may not share your style or priorities at any job. Answer the question in a way that doesn’t make you seem like the victim in the situation. Rather than criticize your coworkers, explain how you worked with them to resolve the issue.

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