Sunday, September 26, 2010

Behavioral interview questions and sample answers part 1-Creative problem solver

Here is a creative problem solver behavioral interview question and sample answers.

-Tell me about one your porjects (or school assignments) that fell seriously behind?
-What was that assignment?
-What were the major obstacles that you encounatered?
-How did you attempt to overcome these obstacles?
-What was the outcome of your efforts?
-What effect did the delay have for the person requesting the project/assignment?
-What steps did you take to avoid future delays of this type?
-How often did projects fall behind schedule last year?

What's going on here? Why would you want to talk about something that didn't demonstrate a stellar achievement?

Sample Answer:
-First be clear and specific in outlining the event. Use the STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action, Result).
-Don't worry that the event doesn't portray an ideal scenario.
-What the employer wants to hear is how you resolved a problem despite its difficulties.
-Be very specific with describing your actions, and try to portray yourself as someone who is calm under fire, who can improvise, or think quickly on your feet.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Behavioral interview questions and sample answers

Bob Firestone's "The ultimate Guide to Job Interview answers" contains a healthy dose of behavioral interview questions and sample answers. Here is one uncomfortable question that you could be asked in an interview according to this book:

"Have you ever had a difficulty with a supervisor or co-worker? How did you resolve this conflict?" Ouch, who wants to talk about that. Hint: the answer to this behavioral question is not that you never have conflicts. These are an inevitable part of working. We often have different styles, ideas, customs, outlooks. In posing this question, the interviewer according to Firestone is looking for a few things:



  • That you always work to a productive solution when in a conflict.
  • That you can nevertheless stick to your guns, but in a non-emotional, non-confrontational ways.
Answer this question with a lot of direct eye contact, advises Firestone. Suggesting that you leave your ego out of it, that you forgive people, that you stress that you are always willing to find the source of the misunderstanding without blaming people and focus on finding a productive solution. The action in the moment is important. The fact that you strive for a peaceful resolution and mutual understanding is important when answering this behavioral interview question.

Here is more information on the Ultimate Guide to Job Interview Answers

Friday, September 17, 2010

More behavioral interview tips

When interviewers start questions with


*Tell us about a time when you...
*Give us an example of a situation where you...
*Describe a situation in which...

They're trying to find out:

* How you react in a given situation
* What thought processes you go through
* How you reach decisions
* What action you take
* How you monitor your results

To probe further, they'll ask "why"?

Bae prepared for further questions from the interviewer, in response to the answer you give, such as:

* How did you reach that decision?
* Would you do anything different next time?
* Did your actions work?

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Behavioral interview questions-tough questions I've been asked in the past

Behavioral interview questions are tough. They make you squirm because the answer isn't written in stone, and you sometimes can't tell what the interviewer is looking for.

Here are some behavioral interview questions (and answers) I've been asked in the past.

1. (For a telemarketing job). Tell us about a time when you had to persuade someone one to buy something. I answered with the time I sold magazine articles to a publication. This apparently wasn't good enough. I didn't get the job.

2. (For a teaching job). Tell us about a time when something went wrong in the classroom (now pretend it hasn't happened, it has happened to all of us). My answer-- I told the committee about my experience with a group of medical secretarial students who were difficult to teach. I explained what I did that didn't work, and why I thought that. Then I further detailed what I learned and what I would do differently. (I did get that job).


3. (For another teaching job) "Tell us about your greatest accomplishment". I said that my greatest accomplishment as a teacher was the students who wrote to me and told me that they learned something. I think they wanted to hear that I had develop some amazing program that changed the world. Perhaps I gave an example that was too low key, or perhaps, I hadn't thought more thoroughly about my accomplishments. I didn't get that job.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Sample behavioral interview questions and answers-Self starter

Some interviewers want to know just how much of a self-starter you are, to what extent you would take initiative in a given situation. Here are some actual questions from an HR department.

1. Just as there are busy times, there are also also slack time. Tell me about the most recent slack time you faced.

To answer this questions consider theses details:

*When this happened
*Just how slack it was compasred to the normal flow.
*What you did during this period
*What your peers were doing.

consider: Did you ever ask for assignment during slack times?

Here's another self-starter behavioral interview question and sample answer guideline


2. Tell me about a time you showed the most initiative



Here you would go into your STAR (situation, task, action, result) answer. Describe the situation the problems that you had to tackle, the action and the result. In particular, consider the following:

*What did you do that was beyond your normal duties?
*How often have you shown this kind of initiative?
*Interviewer here could ask for another example or a more recent example. Tell me about the most recent example of where you showed initiative.

To prepare. Reflect on examples where you took initiative that you are particularly proud of. Avoid any kind of descriptions that attach blame to anyone or protray events negatively.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Behavioural interview questions - one word answer?

Can you answer a behaviorial interview questions be answer with a one word answer?
The answer is no! A one word answer, especially a yes/ no answer, will stifle the converstaion. Remember, the purpose of the interview is to have a focussed conversation with a potential employer to demonstrate how might be of value to the company. The inherent nature of the behaviorial questions requires more than one word answers.your answers to these questions should be

1)Descriptive - use the five w's and the h in your STAR ()to set the scene.
2)Anectdotal - focused on a story with a beginning, middle and end
3)Action oriented - you can't demonstrate action by answer yes or no. You can only answer be giving examples.