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.

More behavioral interview preparation

1. Tell me about your greatest accomplishment on the job.


2. Tell me about a difficult situation you encountered at work and how you overcame it.


3. Give me three adjectives you would use to describe yourself and examples of your work style to support them.


4. Give me three adjectives you would use to describe your weaknesses/areas for improvement and the reasons why you feel you need to work on these.


5. If I was to ask a co-worker about you, how would they describe you on-the-job?


6. Tell me about a time where you were required to work with a difficult person (i.e. client, co-worker, manager, etc.). How did you handle the situation? What was the outcome?


7. If you were given a task to complete in an unrealistic time frame, what would you do?


8. If someone came to you with an enthusiastic, yet unrealistic request, how would you handle it?


9. Why are you looking to leave your current position?


10. What do you want to get out of your next job?


11. Tell me about the best manager you ever had? Now tell me about the worst?


12. What are the three most valuable things you’ve learned while working in your current position?


13. What was the biggest mistake you’ve made on a job? How did you handle the failure?


14. What do you feel makes you successful in your current role? Give an example to support your success.


15. What do you think makes a company good to work for? What do you like about your current company? What could be better?


16. Do you prefer working alone or in teams? Give examples of how you have worked successfully both alone and in a team? What do you attribute your success to?


17. What are your own business philosophies - what do you feel must be present in a successful business?


18. What skills are you looking to develop in your next job? Why?

Behavioral interview questions - uncomfortable question again

Behavioral interview questions are uncomfortable. I've preached that over again on this blog. The more comfortable you get answering them, the better you'll be able to handle the unexpected.

How would you answer this question: Tell me about an objective in your last position that you failed to meet, and why.

No one wants to admit to failure. Pick one that was not essential to your job. Use your STAR (situation, task, action, result).

It is good to add what you learned from this example, and what you would differently the next time, to ensure that you did meet the objective or quickly resolve the problem.

Sample Behavioral Interview response

Continuing on with our examples, here is another behavioral interview response. Here is the question. Some employers may want to examine your capacity for making good judgement calls, how you went through a logical process to make a decision (examining all the relevant facts, for example,) before taking an action. Work, after all, can require more than sitting at a cubicle and doing a series of set tasks. So here's what they could ask you:


Tell me about a time that you had to use your judgment and make a decision in your previous job

This behavioral interview respons could go something like this:

" When I was in charge of ordering supplies for the organization". (Situation)
"I had to decide whether I was going to continue ordering supplies, a month at a time, or buy six month's supply and get a volume discount.(Task)

"What I found from my research, was that ordering six month's supplies would result in a huge savings, and also keep us insulated from price increases. We also tended to have a fairly steady pattern of usage from month to month so it was easy to predict what our needs would be."(Action)

"Indeed I was correct. Prices did go up and we ended up saving money on our office supplies purchase". (Result).

Sample answer to a behavioral interview question - Part 2

Blog readers like samples. That much I've learned in a year of blogging. So here for your edification is another sample answer to a behavioral interview questions.

This one comes from real life. I had been interviewed for a teaching job by a group sitting around a board table. One interviewer asked: "Tell us about a time where something went wrong in the classroom and what you did about it".

Well that threw me a loop. Like most people, I have a scripted set of answers that extol my strong and most saleable skills. But, "something going wrong? So, I thought about it. The Interviewer continued..."we've all had it happen.." So that encourage me. And here is the answer I gave.

Situation: I told the interviewers about my first teaching assignment where I had a group of office administrative students, with whom I was struggling in class.

Task: I had to creat lessons to meet course requirements in grammar and writing, (but obviously there was something I wasn't getting).

Action: After reflecting on the situation, I realized I hadn't carefully assessed this group of learning, and used approaches that didn't resonate with their learning style.

Result: I changed the the lesson plan to less "lecturing" and more hands-on tasks. It worked better.

What won my interviewers over was that I had learned from the experience and that I did find an approach that worked. So, if you did mess up ( and we all do), be sure to convey how you learn from your experiences. We are all works in progress.

Sample answer to behavioral interview questions-Part 1

It is said that you can't really memorize a sample answer to behavioral interview questions. But looking at a possible answer can still help you think quickly on your feet. Take the following question:

Describe a difficult problem you had to sort out in your last job. Uncomfotable? Yes. It is asking you to describe how you problem-solved your way out of that. That is the key. When you hear the question then, ask yourself what the interviewer is really asking.

So I don't have a sample answer to this behavioral interview question for you but here are some tips:

Use your STAR (situation, task, action, result)
Relate anecdotes about how you identified the problem, then gathered information and selected the best solution.

You could start something like this:

"At one time when we had a lot of complaints about late deliveries'... (Situation)
"I held meetings with employees in the delivery department and found that some of the inventory was not arriving on time..." (Task)

"I looked into this further and discovered
I investigated and found that requests for new inventory were not been processed fast enough. The backlog was in the orders department as they were not following up adequately with the suppliers. A system for regular follow up was quickly implemented. (Action)

This resolved our stock problems and the delivery staff were able to meet their deadlines." (Result)

Tips for behavioral interviews

Behavioral Interview Tips

Author:

Sanjay

Positive Approach
You must always remember that a positive approach is absolutely essential in all the matters we undertake, particularly with reference to going for job interviews. People often forget that a healthy attitude in what we attempt to do would add to the success of the venture. A negative outlook, a defeatist mentality often would doom the attempt. We are not suggesting that there are any mysterious forces governing the events. But what we do know is that pessimism does not go hand in hand with a healthy attitude. An optimistic approach undoubtedly adds to the vigor with which we pursue a course of action.

Behavioral Interviews
Behavioral interviews are catching up fast in the present day scenario. Companies like AT&T have been conducting behavioral interviews from past 15 years. The reason behind this shift is that an employee\'s future behavior can be predicted. The company, by performing psychoanalysis of the candidate can understand his behavioral patterns. They generally look for qualities like flexibility, oral and written interaction, management, analytical reasoning, decision making, entrepreneurship, enterprise, veracity, prudence, leadership, technical knowledge, risk taking capabilities amongst other features.
Such interviews can envisage 55of the candidate\'s on-the-job behavior whereas only 10can be foretold by conventional ways of interviewing.

What Do The Companies Look For?
The employers seek for the applicant\'s experiences, knowledge and conduct so as to ascertain his or hers aptitude for accomplishments. The company looks for and detects professional skills, performances, education and intelligence that are a requisite of the job profile. Some traits that all employers search for are analytical assessments, urge of initiation, desire to learn, and desire to travel, self confidence, teamwork and joint efforts and most importantly professionalism. The employers then target very precise question like describe…..., state…. etc. Whatever the case may be, you have to be totally prepared for any kind of question that is thrown at you.

Some Questions Asked During Behavioral Interviews:
Elucidate a circumstance in which you were capable of influencing someone successfully to perceive things your way?
Describe a phase when you were confronted with a demanding situation that revealed your management skills?
State an exclusive instance of a time when you utilized fine wisdom and logic in resolving a crisis.
Give a case in point of a time when you established an aim and were capable of achieving it.
Relate an instance when you had to exploit your presentation skills to manipulate someone\'s point of view.

Some More Questions:
Talk about an essential document that you were supposed to finalize.
Speak about an instance when you had to prioritize your assignments amongst a whole lot.
Give an example of time when you were required to make decisions within seconds.
How do you usually react to a controversial situation? State an example.
There are times when people are not fond of you. Have you ever been able to effectively interact with such people?
Any challenging decisions you have made till now?
Talk about the times when you had been unsuccessful.

The Flow of Energy
Answer to above queries lie in the flow of energy which may be described as a force which sustains and induces a particular work to be accomplished. When you are filled with a positive approach, there is this energy flow of enthusiasm which brightens the chances of victory. There is no magic in it. The fact that you are positive gives you an additional feeling of security, well-being and ability to put forth the best in the venture. This flow would reverse or even be sapped if you have self-doubt, negative thinking and a feeling of despair even before you undertake the work. Emotions do have their own contribution to make in the endeavors and you should be full of positive buoyancy.

Preparing for Behavioral Interviews
Best way to prepare for such interviews is that you should use as many examples as possible. Remember your experiences from college days, school days, professional days, school projects, extra-curricular activities, team-work, even use your hobbies to explain the positive side of your actions. Always enumerate your findings. It makes an impression on the employers. Many interviewers ask questions about your downbeat incidents. Answer them but relate such incidents that will demonstrate your positive outcomes. Put forward those experiences that exhibit your best behavior. Present lots of examples. 50of the time, you should focus on amplifying your achievements and targets.

During the Behavioral Interviews
Go through your resume just before appearing for an interview. This will freshen your memory and you will remember the achievements that you have jotted down in the resume. While facing an interview, concentrate on each and every question. Remember and reply according to your preparation and aptly relate your preferred behavior response. Same examples can be applied to diverse situations. Try to speak of those incidents that have recently occurred with you. If you are absolutely new to professional atmosphere, you can relate cases from your college life or school life. Have confidence and you will fly through it.

A Balanced Outlook, Much Sought After Virtue
You have come up to the level of job-seeking. That is to say, you have received your educational and other general attainments which should help you to launch your career. This is no easy task. There are a number of choices. Naturally, you ponder over various options and choose the one that appeal to your talents and temperament. At the same time you must make conscious efforts to improve the core of your disciplined approach to life and work. A balanced outlook in everything you undertake is a must. There must be proper proportion in work, recreation or whatever you undertake to do.

Are you looking to find a job in India? A job portal is an important link between employers and job seekers. Visit www.JobSitesIndia.com for most popular and top Indian job sites.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/career-management-articles/behavioral-interview-tips-2899884.html

About the Author

Sanjay is one of the leading writers of India, who writes on website content, news articles, and technical articles on various topics.

Difficult behavioral interview questions: how to answer them

The most difficulast behavioral interview questions force you to look at times where things went wrong, and how you handled that situation. Certainly it is easier to answer the questions where we triumphed with a certain amount of bravado and confidence but what about the times where it didn't go so well? I have found it is important to be honest. Use the STAR technique. But also add some information about what you learned, indeed how you would do things better. Try your hand at some of these:

1. Describe the most significant or creative presentation that you have had to complete.
2. Give me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa).
3. Sometimes it's easy to get in "over your head." Describe a situation where you had to request help or assistance on a project or assignment.
4. Describe a situation where others you were working with on a project disagreed with your ideas. What did you do?
5. Describe a situation in which you found that your results were not up to your professor's or supervisor's expectations. What happened? What action did you take?
6. Tell of a time when you worked with a colleague who was not completing his or her share of the work. Who, if anyone, did you tell or talk to about it? Did the manager take any steps to correct your colleague? Did you agree or disagree with the manager's actions?
7. Describe a situation in which you had to arrive at a compromise or guide others to a compromise.
8. In a supervisory or group leader role, have you ever had to discipline or counsel an employee or group member? What was the nature of the discipline? What steps did you take? How did that make you feel? How did you prepare yourself?
9. Compare and contrast the times when you did work which was above the standard with times your work was below the standard.
10. Describe some times when you were not very satisfied or pleased with your performance. What
11. What kind of supervisor do you work best for? Provide examples.
12. Tell of the most difficult customer service experience that you have ever had to handle -- perhaps an angry or irate customer. Be specific and tell what you did and what was the outcome.
13. Give an example of when you had to work with someone who was difficult to get along with. Why was this person difficult? How did you handle that person?
14. Describe a situation where you found yourself dealing with someone who didn't like you. How did you handle it?

Bracing yourself for difficult behavioral interview questions will certainlty give you more dimension, and demonstrate resilience, if you can prepare for these curve balls in advance.

Behavioral Interviewing tips

This video gives good behavioral interivewing tips. The presenter walks her talk, demonstrating the Star Technique for answering questions. She also talkes about what not to do, such as being vauge or saying that you were "pretty good" instead of "great". Ultimately stories sell, andecdotes that are specific and that demonstrate your competency. It's an old rule of "show", don't "tell".

Job search new year's resolutions

This year, aside from doing my blogging and online businesses, I am also on a work search as I reshape my own career. Here are some new year's resolutions for every job seeker to think about. The behaviorl interview is just part of the trip!


I will only apply for positions I am qualified for
I will meet (on the phone or in person) three new people a week who can help me with my job search.
I will learn to leverage such tools as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, blogging and other social media as part of my job search.
I will not place the burdon of my job search on another person's shoulders hoping they can get me a job. They may have information about possible openings or know someone I need to meet.
I will set up informal discussions with decision-makers/hiring managers even if they are not hiring right now. They may be hiring soon.
I will consider that my resume may not be as good as it could be and seek advice.
I will give my resume a makeover. A professional may see more than I can and give me some constructive feedback. (This is one for me especially, since I write resumes for others).

I will consider my job search to be a full time job, more important than TV, or browsing the Internet for fun.
I will build a plan for my job hunt by outlining resources to research and key people to contact. I will create a schedule, too. Milestones and goals are important.
I will enlist the support of others who care about me and who can offer good advice (instead of giving up hope).

I will keep busy if I'm unemployed. I will volutter, use my time to meet new people and offer my assistance to others who can use it.

I will keep learning in my subject matter. I will read, take online courses or self study modules or attend free lectures and trade shows.

I will exercise I will do something I like to do such as walking or cycling.


I will think about what I liked and disliked in previous jobs and develop the ultimate job description. I will use this to give my search focus

Facing a behavioral interview?

Facing Behavioral Interviewing? Read On

Author:

RL Stevens

'The most accurate predictor of future performance is past performance in a similar situation.' That\'s the conclusion industrial psychologists came to when developing the behavioral style of interviewing. Many companies use this technique in varying degrees. Instead of asking:

- Tell me about yourself.

- What are your strengths and weaknesses?

- Why are you interested in working for us?

Behavioral interviewing emphasizes past performance and behaviors. Not preparing for this style of interview can take you out of the running. A word to the wise: simply practicing the list of common interview questions isn\'t enough.

Why should your prepare for a behavioral interview?

- Candidates who prepare for behavioral interviews also do better in traditional interviews.

- Using behavioral answers works well with inexperienced, traditional interviewers.

- Companies that invest the time and energy to develop behavioral interviews attract top candidates.

How do I prepare for a behavioral interview? Employers have analyzed exactly what skills they require for the position. These skill sets might include decision-making and problem solving, leadership, motivation, communication, interpersonal skills, planning and organization, critical thinking, team building and the ability to influence others. Job seekers also must go through this same detailed analysis process. To do that, you should consider questions such as:

- What are the necessary skills to do this job? Do I possess them?

- What makes a successful candidate? How can I translate my previous successes to this position?

- What would make an unsuccessful candidate? What criteria could eliminate a candidate?

- Why is this position available? Promotion, left the company, expansion?

- What is the most difficult part of this job? Have I handled similar situations and what stories do I have to express my success?

Once you have landed the interview, make your answers and examples detailed and specific. You should have developed three stories that illustrate accomplishments and successes in your past performance, remembering the interviewer will be focused on the assertion that 'past performance in a similar setting is the best predictor of future performance.'

The best way to accomplish this is to use the 3C Technique:

1. Circumstance (What was the problem?)

2. Conduct (How did you fix it or how did you get others to fix it?)

3. Conclusion (What was the result?)

For example, you might recount a time when communication within your work group had broken down (circumstance). Organizing lunch meetings designed to open the discussion of issues was a creative step toward resolving the problem. It inspired a more congenial atmosphere and resulted in a better flow of communication. Using this technique can present your accomplishments in a way that sends a powerful message to the employer.

While you can\'t control what is asked, you can control what you say. Listen carefully to each question. If you are unsure, ask for clarification. When you respond, be sure to recall your accomplishments in detail. Avoid lengthy rambling and tangents. Practice your behavioral stories using so they sound natural, not rehearsed. No one knows your accomplishments better than you do. Be confident about sharing them, enthusiastic about the results and proud to be able to bring these kinds of successes to a potential employer.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/self-improvement-articles/facing-behavioral-interviewing-read-on-3150489.html

About the Author
Provided by R.L. Stevens & Associates, Inc. - a full-service career firm. For more information, contact us at 1-800-721-9491, info@rlstevens.com or visit us online at http://www.interviewing.com

Behavioral Interviews- Outside the box interviews

Situational and Behavioral Questions
By Ken Sundheim


You want to play in the big leagues and interview with the best companies? Nobody is going to ask you about your past internships. It doesn't mean much to them. These companies need to know how you think. They need to know your thought process and how you would handle certain situations.

Thus, they give situational and behavioral questions. Below, you will find some questions to these tough and sometimes shocking interviewing tactics. Remember, there is no correct or wrong answer to these questions and you will not know how the interview went until they tell you after wards. Be prepared to use your head and think before you answer.

It is very imperative that you keep upbeat and remain excited about the position.

Situational Interview Questions:
Situational interview questions aim to see your thought process when it comes to solving problems that will occur in everyday or work situations. The jobs that pay a lot want a lot of talent in return. Again, there are no correct or wrong answers regarding these questions. They are not your typical "Yes" or "No" questions.

Below, you will find some sample questions and sample answers. During an interview, always be prepared for these types of inquiries.

Q: Let's say that a professor didn't like you and was going to fail you. You had one week to straighten things out. Since you could not convince the professor and you knew he had a strong case to fail you, how would you go about passing this class?

Q: Let's say that somebody took everything you had and left you on the street with $3,000. You could not go to family or friends; you could only use the money as a resource. What would you do?

Q: You win the lottery, what would you do next?

Q: You get a call from a client who yells at you and will not listen to your responses. Your boss threatens to fire you if you can't keep them on by the end of Monday. It is Friday, what do you do?

Q: You walk into an interview and the interviewer shakes your hand and says, "You have 1 week to convince me that you are right for the job. You cannot call me or email me." What do you do?

Behavioral Interview Questions:

Q: Give an example of a time when you had to persuade others? What did you do?

Q: How would you go about working if you were required to conform to a policy with which you did not agree?

Q: When it comes to dealing with conflict how do you handle it? Give me an example.

Q: Let's say your boss had to quit and his or her work that they left was crucial to the organization. You would not equipped to do all of the work yourself, nor are you qualified. What would you do?

Q: What do you consider to be a cut-throat environment? How would you act to keep your job in this type of situation?

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Behavioral Interview questions: Communications

Communications is consdidered to be one of the top transferrable skills for any job seeker. No wonder behavioral interview quesitons many focus on communciations. As always, the best approach is to answer these with situational and contextual information. Here are some examples.


Tell me about a time when you had to present a proposal to a person in authority and were able to do this successfully.
Answer: When I worked for ABC inudstries, I was convinced we should seek outsourcing to devleop our instrucitonal systems supports. I wrote a detaile proposal which was accepted by the company

TeTell me about a situation where you had to be persuasive and sell your idea to someone else.
Describe for me a situation where you persuaded team members to do things your way. What was the effect?
Tell me about a time when you were tolerant of an opinion that was different from yours.

Microsoft interview questions

Many of these questions, as you can see, cannot be answered without thinking carefully or critically. As with the regular behviorial interview questions, your best strategy to answer these requires that you give anecdotal information. Think of a Situation, of Tasks, Actions, and Results. There's the STAR method again!

What types of projects (academic or otherwise) have inspired you in the past?
What are some self-directed missions that may have influenced your career direction?
Did you have a moment of epiphany when you KNEW what you wanted to be when you grew up?
How does Microsoft fit into your vision?
What are some things that excite and motivate you?
What are some examples of poorly/well-designed software? What makes the software this way and how would you change it?

(Courtesy of Wikipedia)