What are behavioural interview questions?

Behavioural interview questions are questions that focus on how you've handled different
work situations in the past to reveal your personality, abilities and skills. These questions
give an interviewer an idea of how you would behave if a similar situation were to arise, the
logic being that your success in the past will show success in the future.

Unlike traditional interview questions, behaviour job interview techniques look for concrete
examples of skills and experiences that relate to the position. Your answers to these
questions should provide a brief story that illustrates your skills and strengths as an
employee. For each answer, give the interviewer the background to the story briefly, specific
actions you took and the results.

Steps to Answer Behavioural Interview Questions

1.Listen to the question carefully. 

Commonly, behavioural interview questions tend be long-winded and may sound vague
(blame an overuse of adjectives, adverbs and trendy language.) Here is an example: “Good
problem-solving often includes a careful review of the substantial facts and weighing of
options before making a decision. Give me an instance when you reached a practical
business decision by assessing the facts and weighing the options.”

2.Make sure you understand the question before you start to answer. 

You may paraphrase the question and ask the interviewer if you understand it correctly. If
necessary, ask the interviewer to repeat the question. Do not, however, ask the interviewer
to repeat every question—the interviewer may doubt your ability to listen.

3.Organize your answer. 

Allow yourself five to eight seconds to collect your thoughts and structure your response.
Interviewers appreciate this break and could use the time to drink some water, review their
notes, or rest their hands from note taking.

4.State your answer. 

Try to limit your answer to about three minutes. Three minutes is long enough to relate a
story completely and short enough to hold the interviewer’s attention.

5.Do not digress from your plan. 

Resist the temptation to think of new details as you state the answer. By sticking to your
planned details and structure, you can provide a consistent, concise, and well-reasoned
answer.

6.Answer follow-up questions. 

In response to your three-minute answer, the interviewer may pose additional questions.
These questions may require simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers or brief elaboration.
Answering a Question: Use the STAR Technique to Narrate an Experience
In behavioural interviewing, every answer should specifically address the skill in question.
Your response should relate an experience from a previous job assignment, project,
academic study, or community work.

Present a diverse set of experiences. Suppose you are asked six behavioural questions
during a thirty-minute interview. Supplementing each question with a distinct experience will
help you portray a wide range of skills and interests.

First, examine the question: what is its purpose; what specific skill is the question
addressing? Next, choose an applicable experience. In your mind, recollect and reflect on
specifics of that experience. You can structure your answer a using the four steps of the
‘STAR’ technique:

 ‘S’ for Situation: Start your answer by providing the background of your
experience. Describe the circumstances of your involvement. Provide enough
detail to preface the rest of your narration.
 ‘T’ for Task: Describe the challenge at hand and what needed to be done.
Give the expected outcome and any conditions that needed to be satisfied.
 ‘A’ for Action: Elaborate your specific action in response to the challenge.
Specify analytical work, team effort or project coordination. Use ‘I’ and ‘we’
statements as appropriate.
 ‘R’ for Results: Explain the results of your efforts: what you accomplished,
what you learned, how your managers and team responded, and how your
organization recognized you. Wherever possible, quantify your achievements
and improvements—e. g., “20% improvement in …” or “reduced manufacturing
costs by 1.5 million dollars per year …”

An Example: Using the STAR Technique to Narrate an Experience

Below is a ‘STAR’ answer to this interview question. The interviewee’s response illustrates
their ability to listen to feedback, adapt as a manager, and lead teams well.

‘S’ for Situation: “My first job after business school was to lead a product development
team at Acme Corporation. One of my responsibilities involved weekly product planning
meetings that chose product features. After the meeting, I would meet with my staff and
delegate programming tasks. Since I am an experienced programmer, I would explain the
approach to each feature to be programmed. I expected my staff to write the programs in C+
+, then test and debug them. We seemed to work very well as a team.”

‘T’ for Task: “Three months later, my manager collected feedback from my staff. In my
performance review, my manager noted that I could improve my delegation skills. His
comment surprised me. I thought I was good at delegating, as I would explain my
expectations and all necessary steps to each staff member. I felt my staff was productive
and consistently benefitted from my coaching. I thanked my manager for the feedback and
promised to reflect on my delegating style and consider a change.”

‘A’ for Action: “Upon reflection, I noticed two issues with my delegation approach. Firstly, in
assigning tasks to my staff I only described the steps they needed to take. I had habitually
failed to describe the background of product features we wanted to develop and explain how
their work would contribute to and improve the overall product. My staff would just do what I
had asked of them without understanding the context of their efforts. Secondly, while
explaining how to complete each assignment, I was micromanaging. This may have limited
my staff’s initiative and reduced opportunities to advance their programming skills. During
the next staff meeting, I thanked them for the feedback and acknowledged I would change.
from that point forward, Then, each week, I explained each product feature’s unique
context, and asked my staff how we could approach each task.”

‘R’ for Results: “My staff was very excited by the opportunity to propose ideas, brainstorm,
and choose their own preferred method of going about their work. They were no longer
working on my idea alone: they shared in its conception and approached it their own way.
They were more enthusiastic about their work and realized they were an integral part of
something bigger than they were. During the next quarterly meeting, my manager praised
me for empowering my team.”

Behavioral interview questions

Here are some common behavioral interview questions and some suggestions for how to
answer them. Remember that the interviewer is trying to gauge not only how successfully
you solved problems but also the strategies and skills you used to do so.

1. Tell me about a time when you handled a challenging situation.

2. Tell me about a time when you made a mistake. What did you do to correct it?
3. Tell me about a time when you were in conflict with a peer and how the situation was
resolved.
4. Tell me about how you work under pressure.
5. Give me an example of how you set goals.
6. Give me an example of a time you made a decision that was unpopular and explain
how you handled implementing it.
7. Share an example of how you were able to motivate a coworker, your peers or your
team.
 8. Tell me about a goal you set and reached and how you achieved it.
9. Tell me about the last time your workday ended before you were able to get
everything done.
10. Tell me about a goal you failed to achieve.
11. Tell me about a time you disagreed with a supervisor.
12. Tell me about a time you had to stand up for your beliefs.
13. Can you share about a time you had to be flexible or adaptable?
14. Talk about a time when you’ve had to manage up.
15. Tell me about a time when you felt like a good leader.
16. Tell me about your proudest moment in your professional career why it was
meaningful to you.
17. Tell me about a time you had to learn quickly.
18. Tell me about a time when you had to say “no.”
19. Give me an example of a time you had to prioritize certain tasks or projects over
others.
20. Tell me about a time you made a difficult decision.
21. Give me an example of a time when you persuaded someone. How’d you do it and
why?
22. Tell me about a time when you collaborated with others who were different than you.
23. Tell me about the best presentation you’ve given. Why was it good?
24. Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your manager’s leadership style or
team culture.
25. Tell me about a time when you had to be creative to solve a problem.
26. Can you give me an example of a time when you felt dissatisfied with your work?
27. Tell me about a time you wish you’d handled something differently.
28. Tell me about a time you felt you went above and beyond.
29. Can you give me an example of how you’ve contributed to the culture of previous
teams, companies or groups?
30. Tell me about a body of work you felt was most impactful for you or your company.

1. there time that I found very challenging for myself,where I as video editor suddenly
getting task that required to submit by end of the day so what I do I calm myself and started
to list down the task and slowly organize it so I can do the tasks more efficiently . end of the
day I managed to complete my tasks 30 minute early and when home
2.My job is to edit some video such apply effect, cutting unnecessary moment and puts
subtitle, so it was late night that time I kinda sleepy . I accidentally forgot to put subtitle. I just
realize it the next morning . so what I do , I inform my client about my clumsiness said sorry
and ask them to give me time to fix it. So they agreed and I manage to hand it over at the
end of the day ,