5 behavioral interview questions and answers for medical resident

Here are five behavioral interview questions and answers for a medical resident position. If you're reading this, you know that these positions are oh so competitive these days. Recently I had the chance to coach a client who wanted one of these positions more than life itself, practically, so here some questions that she asked me to help her with.

Ethics scenario: What would you do if a patient just stabbed your best friend, and you were treating the patient.  One possible answer could be that if possible, you might delegate the task to someone else who was available; otherwise, treat the patient professionally and provide the necessary treatment. Try to be professional as much as possible (it may not be easy in this case).  If you have examples to give from your past experience, then please give them! The devil is in the details, and there's nothing interviewers love more than hearing about examples and anecdotes that demonstrate that you can walk your talk.

What would you do if you knew one of your more senior residents was doing something wrong? (i.e., filling out History & Physicals without doing the evaluations…..and other ethical questions.) My client suggested she would report this person. Such behavior she says would compromise the patient care and she would speak to another staff member.

What was your worst clinical experience?  First, don't pretend you have never  had any bad experiences. Everyone in every profession has had experiences from hell, that for a split second might have called into question whether or not they should be doing this line of work. So what do you say? Matter of factly, narrate an incident (keep it simple, use the STAR method). Tell way it was initially not a great experience, but then say how you turned it around, or how you might have turned it around, and most importantly what you learned from it, and what you might have done differently.  Tell me about an encounter with a patient that taught you something.  Every encounter teaches you, but some might have made a crucial difference with how you approach care, or perhaps spurred you on to catalyze changes where you work. Use the STAR method here. One of my clients told me of treating alcoholic patients when she lived in Russia. She saw that not enough attention was paid to alcoholism and addictions in family medicine, and helped initiate programs that would better address this need. This stemmed from her encounter with a patient.  So these are five behavioral interview questions and answers that are typical for a medical resident. The best way to prepare is to anticipate the questions you will be asked and prepare answers and examples. Mine your experience and extract the anecdotes and learning experiences. Many aspiring medical residents have told me that the difference between getting hired and not, sometimes, is just preparation!

Oddball interview questions

Oddball interview questions are just as difficult as behavioral interview questions. They don't have set answers, and they require the interviewee to think quickly on his or her feet. Some typical questions are "if you could invite anyone to a dinner party who would you invite?" , or "if you could have any superpower which one would it be?". As with behavioral interview answers, there is no one right answer to these interview questions. Click on the picture for more

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The greatest weakness question

One question that is guaranteed to make you squirm is "what is your greatest weakness". Never answer that by giving your greatest weakness. Consider a "weakness" that you have turned into a strength. The picture links to the article.

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Can you answer these 8 behavioral questions

Here is a new crop of behavioral interview questions that I plucked from a discussion forum. Some of them may look familiar, but others will annoy you.


1) What would do if you thought your team members were not willing to accept you?



2)Let's say your team mates are working diligently on a project, yet it is still not successful. What would you do?


3) What would do if you had a team leader that is inefficient?

4) Let's say you have a busy team leader who is unavailable most of the time and has no time to listen to you. You have made an error you need to correct. What would you do to solve the problem?

5) What is your greatest weakness? How do you plan to overcome it?


6. Describe three qualities in you that makes you suitable for our company and explain why you think that?

7. Identify three of your personal attributes that make you makes you suitable for our company. Explain why you think this?

8. Why should I hire you over person X??

Seven Behavioral Interview questions and answers for child care workers

If you are going for an interview in the near future for a position in day care or to be a pre-school teacher, you might want to prepare yourself with some of the questions below. As with all behavioral interview questions, these are meant to make you uncomfortable, and the best way to answer them is to draw from your experience either in previous employment or from your training and practicums. Be as specific as possible and try and convey a sense of trustworthiness and confidence. 

1. What would you say is your worst quality and why?

What the interviewer is looking for is your body language and reaction. Ouch! I absolutely hate this. As a human services professional,  you want to convey a sense of  likability. The worst thing you can say is that you have no such quality. However, try to pick something fairly tam,  and then tell the interviewer you are working on it. Things not to talk about? Impatience or having a bad temper.  Maybe you could say that sometimes the kids push your buttons, but that you try to have a sense of humor about it. 


2. How do you think children at the various age groups should be disciplined? Why

The interviewer is looking for professional competence, even though this is a very subjective question. Draw from your experience, or if you have not had that much,  try and catch up on your reading from school where various experts would have weighed in on this topic. 

3. What do you think is most important in taking care of infants?
The interviewer wants to know that you are sincere and committed to your profession. Answer this question honestly, saying what you think and why. Give examples from your experience.

4. If two children were disagreeing over something and became physical, what would you do and how would you deal with the situation? 
The interviewer again is looking for your ability to respond promptly, to think on your feet and even to see to what extent you would go to. Would you intervene physically as well? This is a very hands-on job!

5. If there was a child whom just would not sleep at nap time what would you do?
The interviewer is looking for signs of creativity. Working with children demands a fair bit of 'making it up as you go along.  So be creative, and again draw from your experience. Have you done anything especially unusual that has worked?

6. How would you try to calm an infant if they were crying but they were not hungry, wet or sick?
What the interviewer is really asking is how might you respond if there were a possible crisis, where you might not know immediately what to do. Do you have strategies? If so, then say so. Would you call some to assist you?  Explain. Again, do the best you can with your experience. Your interviewer also wants to see how well you think on the spot.

7. If you had to deal with a parent each day whom just was not ever happy what would you do to make them happy?
The interviewer wants to see what kind of inter-personal skills you have. You may want to talk about being a good listener, making the parent feel like he/she has been heard, not reacting, being proactive and solution-oriented, and even giving the person the impression you like them (even if they don't like you)  and to ask for their input. 


Study these sample behavioral Interview questions and answers for child care workers. Hopefully they will help you prepare for your next job interview. 

Annoying interview questions and how to answer them

 Some behavioral interviews questions  are geared to drawing out strengths. Some behavioral interview questions,  on the other hand, are geared to drawing out weaknesses. As I always say, they are designed to make you squirm, especially if you haven't been working the past year. The employer is looking for a way to exclude you. Here are a couple I found Here are some possible answers to annoying behavioral interview questions

. What have you been doing for the last year? Naturally the unemployed lie around all day doing nothing. If you have been volunteering, play that up. If you have been taking a course,  play that up. Of course, looking for a job is a full time job..It is good to mention that you have not been idle. Try starting a business, freelancing, taking a course, expand your horizons. Communicate how all that might be of value to the employer.

What things would cause you to be late for work? Ouch! I hate this interview question.  This one assumes that you'll be late. I would talk  about  things in your control and things that are not in your control. I would definitely mention traffic. Where I live traffic is THE issue. Mind you I live next door to a subway stop, so I very rarely come late, and I give myself enough time to take into account traffic problems. I might ask if punctuality is a crucial part of performing the job. When I was teaching it was important to arrive on time for the class. That wasn't negotiable. I didn't have to be at my desk at 9 a.m. sharp though as part of the office culture.

 Everyone takes time away from work, what are some reasons that you would miss work? What is this best answer to this interview question?  Again, they are assuming you take time off for anything other than illness. I would say again, there are things in your control and things not, that you do the best to manage your life around your work hours, and that the only reason you have missed work is for illness or funerals. In my last job I had flexible working conditions, so I didn't have to worry about dental appointments and unforeseen problems. What was important to my last employer was that I arrived on time to teach the class.

What could you have done better in your last job? Again, it presumes that you did a bad job. Answering this behavioral interview quesiton, I would say, that I strive to do my best. There are always things that could be improved. For me, may it was a lesson plan that could have been better designed/sequenced/executed. Perhaps striving to put more of my recent graduate training into the lessons (there wasn't always time). Don't forget to use the STAR technique

. Do you enjoy just doing your job or being cross-trained? I would say that you like to learn new things, and also to be as useful to the employer as possible. Give an example. At the previous job I had, I voluntarily took on new roles including helping with the budget and assessment.


Yes behavioral interview questions can be annoying. Try not to be reactive in your answers, but to turn it into an opporutnity to say "the better to meet your requirements, dear employer".

List of behavioral interview questions and how to answer them

• Can you tell  me about a project you were reluctant to complete and how you inspired yourself to complete it? 
   
• Let's talk about your most difficult boss, professor or other person.Tell me why that person was difficult and how you successfully dealt with that person? 
   
•  Describe the steps you took to complete a particularly difficult task.
  
  
• What was the riskiest decision  you have ever made. What considerations did you make for that particular decision. 
   
• We often have to work in groups. Tell me about a particular group project. What obstacles did you face? How did you resolve these? 
   
• Describe a situation when you or a group that you were a part of were in danger of missing a deadline. What did you do? 
   
• None of us are the same. Tell me about a time when you worked with a person who did things very differently from you. How did you get the job done. Would you consider working with that person again? 
   
• Tell me about your  three greatest accomplishments to date.  
  
  
   
• Give me an example of something you had to learn quickly. How did you do it? 
  
  
   
• Give me an example of acomplex problem that you solved? What process did you use? 
  
  
• Tell me about an occasion about  make a quick decision. 
  Avoid artificial sounding  answers or anything that sounds memorized. You are not perfect. Interviewers are interested in knowing about how you might have sweated, and how you pulled yourself out, what you learned, and what you might have done differently. We all make mistakes!!
  
  
  Don't forget to use the STAR method - - situation, task, action, result.