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Behavioral Interviewing Guide

Behavioral Interviewing Strategies for Job-Seekers

by Katharine Hansen

An increasing numbers of employers are using behavior-based methods to screen job candidates. Understanding how to
excel in this interview environment is becoming a crucial job-hunting skill. The premise behind behavioral interviewing is
that the most accurate predictor of future performance is past performance in similar situations. Behavioral
interviewing, in fact, is said to be 55 percent predictive of future on-the-job behavior, while traditional interviewing is
only 10 percent predictive.

Behavioral-based interviewing is touted as providing a more objective set of facts to make employment decisions than
other interviewing methods. Traditional interview questions ask you general questions such as "Tell me about yourself."
The process of behavioral interviewing is much more probing and works very differently.

In a traditional job-interview, you can usually get away with telling the interviewer what he or she wants to hear, even if
you are fudging a bit on the truth. Even if you are asked situational questions that start out "How would you handle XYZ
situation?" you have minimal accountability. How does the interviewer know, after all, if you would really react in a
given situation the way you say you would? In a behavioral interview, however, it's much more difficult to give
responses that are untrue to your character. When you start to tell a behavioral story, the behavioral interviewer
typically will pick it apart to try to get at the specific behavior(s). The interviewer will probe further for more depth or
detail such as "What were you thinking at that point?" or "Tell me more about your meeting with that person," or "Lead
me through your decision process." If you've told a story that's anything but totally honest, your response will not hold
up through the barrage of probing questions.

Employers use the behavioral interview technique to evaluate a candidate's experiences and behaviors so they can
determine the applicant's potential for success. The interviewer identifies job-related experiences, behaviors,
knowledge, skills and abilities that the company has decided are desirable in a particular position. For example, some of
the characteristics that Accenture looks for include:

 Critical thinking
 Being a self-starter
 Willingness to learn
 Willingness to travel
 Self-confidence
 Teamwork
 Professionalism

The employer then structures very pointed questions to elicit detailed responses aimed at determining if the candidate
possesses the desired characteristics. Questions (often not even framed as a question) typically start out: "Tell about a
time..." or "Describe a situation..." Many employers use a rating system to evaluate selected criteria during the
interview.

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As a candidate, you should be equipped to answer the questions thoroughly. Obviously, you can prepare better for this
type of interview if you know which skills that the employer has predetermined to be necessary for the job you seek.
Researching the company and talking to people who work there will enable you to zero in on the kinds of behaviors the
company wants. Here is a list of some of behaviors interviewers often desire:

Adaptability Impact Presentation Skills

Communication-Oral Independence Process Operation
Communication-Written Initiative Rapport Building
Control Innovation Resilience
Analysis Integrity Risk Taking
Attention to Detail Judgment Safety Awareness
Decisiveness Leadership/Influence Sales Ability/Persuasiveness
Delegation Listening Sensitivity
Development of Subordinates Motivation Strategic Analysis
Energy Negotiation Teamwork
Entrepreneurial Organizational Technical/Professional Knowledge
Equipment Operation Participative Technical/Professional Proficiency
Insight Sensitivity Tenacity
Fact Finding-Oral Management Training
Financial Analytical Planning and Organizing Work Standards
Flexibility Practical Learning

In the interview, 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.

Ideally, you should briefly describe the situation, what specific action you took to have an effect on the situation, and
the positive result or outcome. Frame it in a three-step process, usually called a
S-A-R, P-A-R, or S-T-A-R Statement.

1. Situation (or task, problem), 2. Action, 3. Result / Outcome

Here is a guide for putting STAR (as well as SAR and PAR) to use:

Situation Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to accomplish. You must
describe a specific event or situation, not a generalized description of what you have done in
or
the past. Be sure to give enough detail for the interviewer to understand. This situation can
Task be from a previous job, from a volunteer experience, or any relevant event.

Describe the action you took and be sure to keep the focus on you. Even if you are discussing
Action a group project or effort, describe what you did -- not the efforts of the team. Don't tell what
you took you might do, tell what you did.

Results What happened? How did the event end? What did you accomplish? What did you learn?
you achieved

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It's also helpful to think of your responses as stories. Become a great storyteller in your interviews, but be careful not to
ramble.
Sample SAR story:
Situation (S): Advertising revenue was falling off for my college newspaper, the Stetson Reporter, and large numbers of long-
term advertisers were not renewing contracts.
Action (A): I designed a new promotional packet to go with the rate sheet and compared the benefits of Reporter circulation
with other ad media in the area. I also set-up a special training session for the account executives with a School of Business
Administration professor who discussed competitive selling strategies.
Result (R): We signed contracts with 15 former advertisers for daily ads and five for special supplements. We increased our
new advertisers by 20 percent [quantities are always good] over the same period last year.

It's difficult to prepare for a behavior-based interview because of the huge number and variety of possible behavioral
questions you might be asked. The best way to prepare is to arm yourself with a small arsenal of example stories that
can be adapted to many behavioral questions.

Recruiter Joe Turner offers more details on how to develop these stories in his article, Behavioral Interviews: A Great
Showcase for You, But You Must Prepare Now, which you can read online at:
http://www.quintcareers.com/behavioral_interview_preparation.html

Knowing what kinds of questions might be asked will help you prepare an effective selection of examples.
Use examples from internships, classes and school projects, activities, team participation, community service, hobbies
and work experience -- anything really -- as examples of your past behavior. In addition, you may use examples of special
accomplishments, whether personal or professional, such as scoring the winning touchdown, being elected president of
your Greek organization, winning a prize for your artwork, surfing a big wave, or raising money for charity. Wherever
possible, quantify your results. Numbers always impress employers.

Remember that many behavioral questions try to get at how you responded to negative situations; you'll need to have
examples of negative experiences ready, but try to choose negative experiences that you made the best of or -- better
yet, those that had positive outcomes.

Here's a good way to prepare for behavior-based interviews:

 Identify six to eight examples from your past experience where you demonstrated top behaviors and skills that
employers typically seek. Think in terms of examples that will exploit your top selling points.
 Half your examples should be totally positive, such as accomplishments or meeting goals.
 The other half should be situations that started out negatively but either ended positively or you made the best of
the outcome.
 Vary your examples; don't take them all from just one area of your life.
 Use fairly recent examples. If you're a college student, examples from high school may be too long ago. Accenture,
in fact, specifies that candidates give examples of behaviors demonstrated within the last year.
 Try to describe examples in story form and/or PAR/SAR/STAR.

To cram for a behavioral interview right before you're interviewed, review your resume. Seeing your achievements in
print will jog your memory.

In the interview, listen carefully to each question, and pull an example out of your bag of tricks that provides an
appropriate description of how you demonstrated the desired behavior. With practice, you can learn to tailor a relatively
small set of examples to respond to a number of different behavioral questions.
Once you've snagged the job, keep a record of achievements and accomplishments so you'll be ready with more great
examples the next time you go on a behavior interview.

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 This article is the original taken from the QuintCareers.com article. It includes minor editing and insertion of web links practical use in print. The article is available
online at: http://www.quintcareers.com/behavioral_interviewing.html

Author’s Notes:
Print resources about behavioral Interviewing:
Byham, William C., Ph.D., with Debra Pickett, Landing the Job You Want: How to Have the Best Job Interview of Your Life, 1999: Three Rivers Press.
Green, Paul C., Ph.D., Get Hired: Winning Strategies to Ace the Interview, 1996: Bard Press.
Janz, Tom, Lowell Hellervik, and David C. Gilmore, Behavior Description Interviewing, 1986: Allyn & Bacon.
Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more on key college, career, and job-search terms by going to our Job-Seeker's Glossary of Job-
Hunting Terms.
Katharine Hansen is a former speechwriter and college instructor who provides content for Quintessential Careers, edits QuintZine, an electronic newsletter for
jobseekers, and prepares job-search correspondence as chief writer for Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters. She is author of Dynamic Cover Letter for New
Graduates; A Foot in the Door: Networking Your Way into the Hidden Job Market; and, with Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D., Dynamic Cover Letters and Write Your Way to a
Higher GPA, all published by Ten Speed Press. She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

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 Sample Behavioral Interview Questions

We've pulled together a list of common behavioral-interview questions.

One of the keys to success in interviewing is practice, so we encourage you to take the time to work out answers to
these questions using one of the suggested methods, such as the STAR approach. Be sure not to memorize answers; the
key to interviewing success is simply being prepared for the questions and having a mental outline to follow in
responding to each question.

Looking for some sample excellent answers to behavioral interview questions? Then go to our Job Interview Questions
Database at: http://www.quintcareers.com/interview_question_database/ where we have traditional, behavioral, and
mixed interview questions for both experienced job-seekers and college students and recent grads. Other questions are
available through InterviewStream and http://www.readyprepinterview.com/

Here is one list of sample behavioral-based interview questions:

 Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your
way.
 Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills.
 Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.
 Give me an example of a time when you set a goal and were able to meet or achieve it.
 Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation skills to influence someone's opinion.
 Give me a specific example of a time when you had to conform to a policy with which you did not agree.
 Please discuss an important written document you were required to complete.
 Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.
 Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and you were required to prioritize your tasks.
 Give me an example of a time when you had to make a split second decision.
 What is your typical way of dealing with conflict? Give me an example.
 Tell me about a time you were able to successfully deal with another person even when that individual may not
have personally liked you (or vice versa).
 Tell me about a difficult decision you've made in the last year.
 Give me an example of a time when something you tried to accomplish and failed.
 Give me an example of when you showed initiative and took the lead.
 Tell me about a recent situation in which you had to deal with a very upset customer or co-worker.
 Give me an example of a time when you motivated others.
 Tell me about a time when you delegated a project effectively.
 Give me an example of a time when you used your fact-finding skills to solve a problem.
 Tell me about a time when you missed an obvious solution to a problem.
 Describe a time when you anticipated potential problems and developed preventive measures.
 Tell me about a time when you were forced to make an unpopular decision.
 Please tell me about a time you had to fire a friend.
 Describe a time when you set your sights too high (or too low).

This Article is from QuintCareers.com. You can access the online version of this article at: http://www.quintcareers.com/sample_behavioral.html