Behavioral Interview Questions

Give an example of an occasion when you used logic to solve a problem. Give an example of a goal you reached and tell me how you achieved it. Give an an example of a goal you didn't meet and how you handled it. Describe a stressful situation at work and how you handled it. Tell me about how you worked effectively under pressure. How do you handle a challenge? Have you been in a situation where you didn't have enough work to do? Have you ever made a mistake? How did you handle it? Describe a decision you made that was unpopular and how you handled implementing it. Did you every make a risky decision? Why? How did you handle it? Did you ever postpone making a decision? Why? Have you ever dealt with company policy you weren't in agreement with? How? Have you gone above and beyond the call of duty? If so, how? When you worked on multiple projects how did you prioritize? How did you handle meeting a tight deadline? Give an example of how you set goals and achieve them. Did you ever not meet your goals? Why? What do you do when your schedule is interrupted? Give an example of how you handle it. Have you had to convince a team to work on a project they weren't thrilled about? How did you do it? Give an example of how you worked on team. Have you handled a difficult situation with a co-worker? How? What do you do if you disagree with a co-worker? Share an example of how you were able to motivate employees or co-workers. Do you listen? Give an example of when you did or when you didn't listen. Have you handled a difficult situation with a supervisor? How? Have you handled a difficult situation with another department? How? Have you handled a difficult situation with a client or vendor? How? What do you do if you disagree with your boss?
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 coworker. 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)

The 12 core competencies identified for job success Judgment/decision-making - able to make sound decisions based on information gathered and analyzed. Consider all pertinent facts and alternatives before deciding on the most appropriate action. Teamwork /interpersonal - able to interact with people effectively. Able and willing to share and receive information. Cooperate within the group and across groups. Support group decisions. Quality Orientation/work standards - maintain high standards, attention to detail, accuracy and completeness. Show concern for all aspects of the job. Work Ethic/motivation - Energy and enthusiasm in approaching the job. Commitment to putting in additional effort. Reliability - take personal responsibility for job performance. Complete work in a timely and consistent manner. Keep commitments. Problem Analysis/problem solving - gather and organize all relevant information. Identify cause-effect relationships. Come up with appropriate solutions. Adaptability - adapts to changing work environment, work priorities, organizational needs. Able to deal with change and diverse people.

Planning /organizing - plan and organize tasks and work responsibilities to achieve objectives. Set priorities. Schedule activities. Allocate and use resources properly. Communication - express ideas effectively. Organize and deliver information appropriately. Listen actively. Honesty/integrity - share complete and accurate information. Maintain confidentiality. Adhere to organizational policies and procedures. Meet own commitments. Initiative - take action to influence events. Generate ideas for improvement, take advantage of opportunities, suggest innovations, do more than required. Stress tolerance- emotionally resilient and able to withstand pressure on an on-going basis. Deal with difficult situations while maintaining performance. Seek support from others when necessary. Use appropriate coping techniques.

If Youre Looking For Behaviours that Revolve Around Leadership: 1. Tell me about a time when you accomplished something significant that wouldnt have happened if you had not been there to make it happen. 2. Tell me about a time when you were able to step into a situation, take charge, muster support and achieve good results. 3. Describe for me a time when you may have been disappointed in your behaviour. 4. Tell me about a time when you had to discipline or fire a friend. 5. Tell me about a time when youve had to develop leaders under you. If Youre Looking For Behaviours that Revolve Around Initiative and Follow-through:

1. Give me an example of a situation where you had to overcome major obstacles to achieve your objectives. 2. Tell me about a goal that you set that took a long time to achieve or that you are still working towards. 3. Tell me about a time when you won (or lost) an important contract. 4. Tell me about a time when you used your political savvy to push a program through that you really believed in. 5. Tell me about a situation that you had significant impact on because of your follow-through. If Youre Looking For Behaviours that Revolve Around Thinking and Problem Solving: 1. Tell me about a time when you had to analyze facts quickly, define key issues, and respond immediately or develop a plan that produced good results. 2. If you had to do that activity over again, how would you do it differently? 3. Describe for me a situation where you may have missed an obvious solution to a problem. 4. Tell me about a time when you anticipated potential problems and developed preventative measures. 5. Tell me about a time when you surmounted a major obstacle. Youre Looking For Behaviours that Revolve Around Communication: 1. Tell me about a time when you had to present a proposal to a person in authority and were able to do this successfully. 2. Tell me about a situation where you had to be persuasive and sell your idea to someone else.

3. Describe for me a situation where you persuaded team members to do things your way. What was the effect? 4. Tell me about a time when you were tolerant of an opinion that was different from yours. If Youre Looking For Behaviours that Revolve Around Working Effectively with Others: 1. Give me an example that would show that youve been able to develop and maintain productive relations with others, though there were differing points of view. 2. Tell me about a time when you were able to motivate others to get the desired results. 3. Tell me about a difficult situation with a co-worker, and how you handled it. 4. Tell me about a time when you played an integral role in getting a team (or work group) back on track. If Youre Looking For Behaviours that Revolve Around Work Quality: 1. Tell me about a time when you wrote a report that was well received. What do you attribute that to? 2. Tell me about a time when you wrote a report that was not well received. What do you attribute that to? 3. Tell me about a specific project or program that you were involved with that resulted in improvement in a major work area. 4. Tell me about a time when you set your sights too high (or too low). If Youre Looking For Behaviours that Revolve Around Creativity and Innovation:

1. Tell me about a situation in which you were able to find a new and better way of doing something significant. 2. Tell me about a time when you were creative in solving a problem. 3. Describe a time when you were able to come up with new ideas that were key to the success of some activity or project. 4. Tell me about a time when you had to bring out the creativity in others. If Youre Looking For Behaviours that Revolve Around Priority Setting: 1. Tell me about a time when you had to balance competing priorities and did so successfully. 2. Tell me about a time when you had to pick out the most important things in some activity and make sure those got done. 3. Tell me about a time that you prioritised the elements of a complicated project. 4. Tell me about a time when you got bogged down in the details of a project. If Youre Looking For Behaviours that Revolve Around Decision Making: 1. Describe for me a time when you had to make an important decision with limited facts. 2. Tell me about a time when you were forced to make an unpopular decision. 3. Describe for me a time when you had to adapt to a difficult situation. What did you do? 4. Tell me about a time when you made a bad decision 5. Tell me about a time when you hired (or fired) the wrong person.

If Youre Looking For Behaviours that Revolve Around Ability to Work in Varying Work Conditions (stress, changing deadlines, etc.): 1. Tell me about a time when you worked effectively under pressure. 2. Tell me about a time when you were unable to complete a project on time. 3. Tell me about a time when you had to change work mid-stream because of changing organisational priorities. 4. Describe for me what you do to handle stressful situations. If Youre Looking For Behaviours that Revolve Around Delegation: 1. Tell me about a time when you delegated a project effectively. 2. Tell me about a time when you did a poor job of delegating. 3. Describe for me a time when you had to delegate to a person with a full workload, and how you went about doing it. If Youre Looking For Behaviours that Revolve Around Customer Service: 1. Tell me about a time when you had to deal with an irate customer. 2. Tell me about one or two customer-service related programs that youve done that youre particularly proud of. 3. Tell me about a time when you made a lasting, positive impression on a customer.

Sample Behavioral Interview Questions and Answers

The following are examples of interview questions for evaluating leadership, communication skills, interpersonal communication behavior, decision making and other important behaviors:

How do you maintain relations with a person in cases where you cannot agree upon certain issues? How do you initiate a relationship with a person? Give an example of risk that you had to take. Why did you decide to take the risk? Give an example of a creative solution to unexpected situations when your leadership skills were needed. Provide an example of a situation where you had to create an agreement between parties who originally differed in opinion, approach, and objectives.

How do you establish good communication and information flow with others? Give an example when you had to explain a complex issue to someone who hasnt had any experience. Describe a situation when you had to convince others. What are conversation impressions other than words? How do you use these to communicate effectively with others? How do you show an interest in what another person is saying? Have you ever taken initiatives to solve customer problems that where beyond/above your responsibilities? Give an example of a situation when you had to turn down a customer request for a good reason. How did you handle the case? Have you ever been able to positively influence the actions of others in a desired direction? Tell us about an experience that you would describe as a real learning experience? What did you learn from that experience?

Tell us about a time when your teammate criticized your work. How did you respond? Describe a demanding situation that your were faced in which you managed to remain calm and composed. Have you had a situation in which you had to make a difficult choice between your personal and professional life. What did you learn from that experience.

How do you get others to accept/listen to your ideas? What is your approach? Give me an example of a project or initiative you started on your own. Give an example of a case in which you anticipated problems and were able to go in a new direction on time.