Behavioral Interviewing 101

Preparing for a successful job interview

 What Is Behavioral Interviewing?

• Behavioral interviewing (BI) is considered to be a way

to evaluate a candidate’s potential for success by
assessing performance in similar situations.

• Employers believe that past behavior is the best

predictor for future success.
 What’s the Point?

The purpose of BI is to best match the

candidate’s skills, competencies and
motives with the requirements and
success factors of the position.
 What Is The Advantage To
Behavioral Interviewing?

Allows the interviewer to:

• Gain detailed job-related examples
• Assess past performance
• Assess competencies
• Focus the interview so candidates provide more than
just “canned” responses
Can I Prepare For A Behavioral
Interview?
Yes! In fact, preparing for a behavioral interview
will even help you in a traditional interview.

• Although you cannot predict the exact

questions, you can think about your answers
to common questions and skill sets employers
are looking for. We will get to that soon.
• Typically a company determines skill sets by doing a
detailed analysis of the position they are hiring for.

• It is helpful if you do this too in preparation for the

interview by asking yourself some questions such as:
– What are the necessary skills to do this job?
– What makes a successful candidate?
– What would make an unsuccessful candidate?
– What is the most difficult part of this job?

• This will help you to get a feel for what kinds of

questions you may anticipate and what to include in
your answers.
 Think like an Employer…

What skills or qualities are needed for

a person to be successful in this
position?
Preparing for a Behavioral Interview
• Examine your past work experiences, and be aware
of what highlights your skills, attributes, and
accomplishments
• Practice your stories using real-life examples, have
specifics that focus on your involvement
• Look over skill sets and sample questions here and
on suggested websites
• Know your resume and all your experiences well
• Be knowledgeable about the job you are applying for
 Skills & Desired Behaviors That an
Employer May Be Looking for
• Decision making &
problem solving
• Leadership
• Motivation
• Communication
• Interpersonal skills
• Planning & organization
• Critical thinking skills
• Teamwork
• Ability to influence others
• Adaptability
• Attention to detail
• Honesty/integrity
• Energy
• Independence
• Listening
• Organizational
• Management
• Risk taking
• Work standards
 Sample Behavioral Interview
Questions
• Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful
situation that demonstrated your coping skills.

• Tell me about a time when you had to use your

persuasion skills to influence someone’s opinion.

• Describe a situation when you were able to have a

positive influence on the actions of others.

• What have you done in the past to contribute toward

a teamwork environment?
 More BI Questions…
• Describe a recent unpopular decision you made and
what the result was.

• Give me an example of a time when you had to keep

from speaking or making a decision because you did
not have enough information.

• How do you decide what gets top priority when

scheduling your time?

• Describe an instance when you had to think on your

feet and extricate yourself from a difficult situation.
 Tips For Answering BI Questions
• With each question asked, think through what
information is being sought – and provide an example
from your own experience
• Don’t ramble – take a moment to collect your
thoughts and organize your answer before replying
• Try not to say ‘we’ too often – the interviewer wants
to know what ‘you’ accomplished specifically
• Use the STAR interviewing technique
 STAR Technique
This is a common strategy for preparing for your interview and answering
questions

Situation – describe the situation that you were in

or

Task – describe the task that you needed to accomplish

Action – describe the action you took

Results – What did you accomplish or learn?

S.T.A.R Example
Question: Tell me about a project you initiated.
Answer:
• Situation/Task: During my internship last summer I was
responsible for managing “ABC” events … I noticed that
attendance at these events had dropped by 30% over the
past 3 years…
• Action: I designed a new promotional packet to go out to
the local community businesses… collected feedback on
our events… organized internal discussions to raise
awareness…
• Result: We utilized ideas from the community, made our
internal systems more efficient and visible and raised
attendance by 18% the first year.
 Web Sources on Behavioral
Interviewing
• http://www.brockport.edu/career/behave.htm
• http://www.quintcareers.com/behavioral_interviewing.html
• http://www.career.vt.edu/JOBSEARC/interview/Behavioral.htm
• http://www.umt.edu/career/interviewing/behavior.htm

You can find more helpful interviewing tips

under the Interviewing Skills Presentation link.
Practice Interview Opportunities
• Mock Interviews

~Scheduled throughout the semester

~Must be registered on Recruit-A-Duke

in order to sign-up