BEHAVIOURAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Q1. Tell me about a situation when you went above and beyond what was required for
work.

In my previous job, my manager was looking for volunteers to work extra hours over a 4-
week period, because we needed to get a particular project completed quickly.

The project involved intense work collecting data from our website statistics, which would
then be used by our marketing department to improve overall customer experience and
sales conversions. I volunteered to help out as I knew it was important to assist the business
in achieving the project goals.

Over the 4-week period, I worked an additional hour each day, which in total added up to 20
hours work specifically dedicated to the project. At the end of the 4-week period, the
project was completed satisfactorily and the results were very positive for my employer.

Q4. Tell me about a long running project you worked on?

"In my previous job, I worked on a 12-month internal project with 5 other members of staff.
The project required us all to work together on creating and installing a new customer
payment gateway through the company website.

My role within the team was to act as the main point of contact between the external
outsourcing companies who were involved in the project, and the senior heads of
department. I was required to make sure everything went smoothly, communicate
effectively with everyone involved, and also keep the organisation updated on our progress.

The project was challenging, but by remaining focused on the end goal, being resilient
during the difficult periods of the project, and by using effective communication skills, the
team managed to deliver the project well ahead of time and on budget."

Q. When you have you worked on multiple projects and how did you prioritize them?

I used to work in a small team of four people and during one particular month, two team
members went off sick, which left only two of us to manage the entire office workload and
projects. I looked at this situation as an opportunity to develop my multi-tasking skills, and
so I took on two specific projects one of the team members had been working on, in
addition to my own workload.

To prioritize the tasks, I drew up a list of work and tasks that needed to be done, and by
which time and date. I then placed a priority order number next to each task from ONE to
FIVE. FIVE being the lowest priority task, and ONE being the highest priority.

I then started working through each task in order of priority, making sure I worked strictly to
the deadlines required. Where needed, I would stay behind after normal hours to ensure
the completion dates were not missed.
I feel I am a competent multi-tasker and can be relied upon to take on lots of projects and
tasks, whilst ensuring they are all completed to the standards needed.

Q2. Tell me about a situation when you made a mistake at work.

"I have only made one silly mistake whilst at work, and this was done to me simply being
complacent.
I had the responsibility of packaging and dispatching customer orders in a previous job
and I felt I could do the job with my eyes closed, simply because of the number of
orders I had previously worked on. This complacency led to me not concentrating
sufficiently one day, and I sent out the wrong order to the wrong customer. The knock-
on effect was that a further 3 customers also received incorrect goods.
As soon as I realised I had made a mistake, I informed my line manager before
contacting each of the customers to explain the issue, apologise and then take
the necessary steps to resolve the situation as soon as possible.
I apologised unreservedly to my manager and took the appropriate steps to make sure
it never happened again.

Q3. Tell me about a difficult challenge you faced at work. How did you solve it?/ Leadership
"In my previous job, I had to work in a team where it became clear a number of team
members disliked each other. The impact on the business was concerning me,
simply because I did not feel we could operate successfully unless the team worked
in harmony. I decided to try and resolve the issue.
I held an informal meeting to raise my concerns and I encouraged everyone in the team to
talk openly about how they felt. It quickly became apparent that some members of the
team felt other people were not pulling their weight or contributing positively to team
projects. The end result was a breakdown in communications.
After lengthy discussions, and with me facilitating the talks, we all agreed to hold
weekly meetings so we could discuss any problems openly and honestly with a view
to moving forward positively. The end results were very promising. The team now
works extremely well together and the open-communication has not just improved
the atmosphere in the office, but the output of the team has increased significantly.'

Q. Tell me about a time you responded to feedback from someone else?

I'd been working on a task within the office for a few days and whilst I was
making steady progress, I felt the way I was approaching the job could be
improved.
I decided to speak to a more senior member of the company to ask her if she had
any tips on how to approach the task differently. After reviewing what I was doing,
she made a couple of suggestions for improvement, which I gladly took onboard.
After using the new approach to working on the task, my productivity
increased significantly, and I completed the task well ahead of schedule and
also to a much better standard than if I'd carried on utilizing my old
approach. I am someone who will take onboard feedback, as I see
continuous improvement as an important part of being a productive
employee.
Q5. Tell me about a time you had to persuade someone to see your point of view.
"Whilst at work I had what I thought was a great idea to help the business move forward
and generate more sales. The idea involved engaging more with our customers to try and
make them feel more valued. If a customer feels more valued, they will return to the
business time and time again.
Unfortunately, the other members of my team, including my line manager, did not feel my
idea was worth the effort. Instead of giving up, I decided to conduct some research in my
own time and also provide clear evidence of how my idea would work positively for the
business.
After giving a quick 20-minute presentation to my line manager and the team members,
they agreed to give it a try. The end result is that our repeat customer sales are now up by
18%
Q6. Tell me about a time when your job went through significant change. How did you
adjust?
"I am actually quite a fan of change and I think it keeps a job interesting and challenging. In
my previous job, my manager was quite forward-thinking and she often liked to implement
change to try and improve things.
One particular time, she implemented a new way of working for everyone in the team.
The change meant we all had to carry out another team members duties one day a
week, to get to understand their role, but to also be capable of performing their duties if
and when the need came about.
Within two months of the change, I felt confident enough to carry out everyone else's job,
albeit to a basic level. One of the benefits of the change she implemented, was some
members of the team suggested further ways of developing and improving other people's
roles within the team, which in turn helped increase company productivity levels and
efficiency. So, my manager's proposed change to working practices actually had further
benefits, which made the initial change even more innovative."

Q7. Tell me about a situation when you had to collaborate with a co-worker who was
difficult to work with.

"I was working in a small team of people and I got on great with everyone apart from one
particular co-worker. Despite my attempts to get to know him better, he seemed quite cold
towards me. I wasn't fazed by this because our relationship hadn't had a negative impact on
the team or business.

One day, my line manager asked us both to work together on a project that would last for 4
weeks. I saw this as an opportunity to try and get to know him better and to attempt to
improve our relationship.

When we sat down to discuss how we would work together on the project, he made it quite
clear he wasn't happy about having to collaborate with me, so I asked him outright what the
problem was and what I could do to make things work. Once I asked him outright, his entire
tone changed and he started to open up about some problems he was having at home. I
listened to him and offered to be someone he could chat to, if he needed some support or
advice.
From that day on we got on very well and our working relationship improved dramatically.
In fact, the project was such as success that our line manager suggested he would give us
both another project to collaborate on together in the future.
Q. How did you handle a difficult situation?

SITUATION: In my previous role, I noticed two co-workers were constantly arguing about
how we should approach team tasks. It was becoming more apparent that they were
not going to be able to resolve their differences.
TASK: I felt it was my responsibility to try and help them see sense, and come to an amicable
way forward.

ACTION: I sat down with both of them in private and expressed my concerns as a neutral
team member. I gave examples of how their disagreements were impacting negatively on
the team, and I encouraged them to try and resolve things amongst themselves.

RESULT: Just by me mentioning to them that the team was aware of their arguing, it forced
them to find a solution, and from that day forward they managed to form a better working
relationship that helped the team move forward again.

Q. Give an example of when you didn't meet a goal and how you handled it.

In a previous role, I had been working hard to gain an internal company promotion. To meet
the demands of the new role, I spent time studying relevant training courses and I also
shadowed my line manager for 4 weeks to find out what it takes to perform the role to the
standards needed.

On the day of my promotion interview, I felt I had performed brilliantly and I answered all of
the questions required. Unfortunately, after the interview, my senior manager informed me
I was not successful. The feedback I received was based on the fact they felt I needed more
time in my current role and there were a number of skills I still needed to develop.

Although I didn't achieve my goal, I looked upon the experience as a positive one, and I took
onboard my senior manager's comments and worked hard to improve for the next round of
promotions. 12 month's later, I had the chance to go for promotion again, and this time I
was successful.

Q. Have you ever gone above and beyond the call of duty? If so, what happened?

"A disabled member of staff started working for us and I noticed they were given a desk
which was located quite a distance from the toilet and kitchen facilities. Whilst I am sure
they were happy with the desk they had been allocated with, I felt I could improve their
working day by offering to swap my desk with theirs. My desk was situated adjacent to the
kitchen and bathroom facilities, so it made sense to switch locations.

I introduced myself to the new member of the team and offered to swap desks. They
immediately accepted my offer and thanked me for being considerate.
Although it was only a small gesture, I felt I was improving their working day and it also gave
me the opportunity to introduce myself to them and make them
feel welcomed within the office and organization."

Q. You are working on a project and you have two paths to take - the standard path or a
new path. Which one would you choose and why?

"In the vast majority of situations I would choose the new path, simply because this gives
me the opportunity to be innovative and creative, which is something I enjoy.
However, if the project was urgent, and it was for a client for example who had specific
needs, I would choose the tried-and-tested method, because the challenge of taking a new,
untested path would be too much of a risk."

Q. How Would You Handle A Conflict With A Co-Worker?

"I handle conflict by always taking positive steps to try and rectify it quickly and amicably.
Any form of conflict can hinder a team from moving forward and reaching its full potential,
so I always take action to stop it quickly.
Some people would ask their manager to take care of the conflict, but I believe all team
members should take responsibility for it as mature and professional adults.
I would check my actions to make sure I wasn't contributing to the conflict before speaking
to the other person in private to find an amicable compromise we were both comfortable
with that benefitted the team

Q. What Is Your Greatest Achievement?

SITUATION: A friend of mine wanted to raise some money for a local charity because their
funding had been cut.
TASK: I agreed it was a great idea, and so we both decided to arrange a charity 5km fun run
that people in the local community could get involved in.
ACTION: We gave each other specific tasks to complete and I was responsible for arranging
sponsorship and also speaking to the local press to try and get some free publicity. My
friend was responsible for getting as many local people as possible to sign up to the fun run
at a cost of 500 per person. The proceeds of which would go to charity
RESULT: After weeks of hard work arranging the event, we managed to get 120 people to
take part and we raised a total of 60000 for the charity.