Jump to Behavioral based interview questions
Situation
You should define the general context of the situation, describe others involved (if any), and mention the problem you had to overcome. Use examples from past internships, class projects, community service, or other work experience.
Ex: During winter quarter, I participated in a team of three for a case competition that required our team to assess Boeing’s marketing strategy
Task
Explain what you were supposed to do. Describe the key objective and specific issues addressed in the situation above. In examples where you were working as a group, be sure to explain both the overall task of the group and your specific role so the interviewer knows how you contributed to the project.
Ex: My team had 48 hours to create a strategic plan to improve Boeing’s marketing approach. We were given information about Boeing’s past marketing development and needed to build upon their previous work or suggest a new advertising plan of our own. We decided to create an ew advertising plan. for which I was responsible for creating the budget.
Action
Describe what you did to accomplish your task. This should be the most substantial part of your response. Explain what actions you took in the situation to complete the task and achieve your end result. Include any skills you used—soft or hard skills—in your answer. Be sure to keep the focus of your answer on you. If you use an example where you worked in a group, focus on your individual participation.
Ex: I researched competitors and analyzed their financial reports to determine the industry average for advertising expenses. I then looked to Boeing’s advertising budget from last year to allocate appropriate expenses to our advertising plan. I also created a net present value analysis to show the value of our advertising plan to the business over Boeing’s previous advertising campaign.
Results
Identify your accomplishments. Describe the outcome that happened as a result of the actions you took. Include descriptions of the objectives you successfully completed and what you learned from this entire experience. Where possible, quantify your results. Numbers make your results seem more tangible to employers. Also remember that many behavioral interview questions try to see how you responded to negative situations. In those cases, focus on any positive outcomes or learning experiences you had.
Ex: My team and I made it to final rounds and placed first out of 25 teams for the Boeing case competition. Through the experience, I was able to sharpen my analytical skills, and understand how to present data in a way that would help others make decisions. I also learned how to work effectively in a team under a high-stress situation.
Top 25 Behavioral Based Interview Questions
1. Tell me about yourself.
2. Why should we hire you?
3. What is your greatest strength?
4. 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?
5. What role have you typically played as a member of a team?
6. When thinking about leadership styles, what kind of supervisor do you work best for? Provide examples.
7. Give an example of a time you had to make an important decision. How did you make the decision? What factors did you have to consider?
8. Give an example of how you provided leadership and direction under unusually difficult circ*mstances.
9. Tell me about a time when you were approached by an unhappy customer, co-worker or team member. What was your response?
10. Give a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.
11. Give an example of a time in which you had to be relatively quick in coming to a decision.
12. Tell me about a time when you came up with an innovative solution to a challenge your company/class/organization was facing. What was the challenge and the outcome?
13. Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.
14. Describe a time when you were not very satisfied or pleased with your performance. What did you do about it?
15. Often our work environments require that numerous tasks to be completed simultaneously, which can put demands on us. Give an example of when you were in this type of situation and how you resolved it.
16. Describe a task or project for which you were responsible for that best demonstrates your ability to analyze information.
17. Recall a time from your work experience when your manager or supervisor was unavailable and a problem arose. What was the nature of the problem? How did you handle the situation?
18. By providing examples, convince me that you can adapt to a wide variety of people, situations and environments.
19. Tell of some situations in which you have had to adjust quickly to changes over which you had no control. What was the impact of the change on you?
20. Describe a situation when you needed the cooperation of many diverse people in order to succeed. How did your approach vary from one person to the next?
21. Where do you see yourself in the next 5 to 10 years?
22. 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.
23. Describe how you prioritize your time between multiple classes, school projects and outside activities.
24. Tell me about a time when you failed to meet a deadline. What things did you fail to do? What were the repercussions? What did you learn?
25. What steps have you taking to overcome a weakness?
