Behavioral interview questions

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How To Effectively Demonstrate Your Value In A Job Interview

One of the most common reasons candidates get rejected after a job interview is that they don't provide enough relevant, tangible examples of what they've done in their current/previous job that would be relevant to the position they are seeking.

When you're looking for a new job, you need to provide specific concrete examples of the competencies listed on a job descriptionâwhether it is problem-solving, influencing, taking initiative, or managing change.

A lot of job seekers will give generic examples or just talk about what they've doneâbut without mentioning specific accomplishments. You could be very good at your current job, but if you struggle to effectively demonstrate your expertise and value in a job interview, you may miss out on your next career opportunity.

Here are a few tips to help you overcome any blocks you might have about talking about your achievements:

Discussing Accomplishments Isn't Bragging

One of the reasons candidates shy away from talking about their accomplishments is because they don't want to sound arrogant. However, the job interview isn't the time to be too humble. Talking about your accomplishments and using facts and numbers isn't braggingâit's telling a story.

You have to remember that a potential employer wants you to do well in an interview. They are literally looking for an excuse to give out the job! So, tell them what they need in a clear, factual manner.

Demonstrate How You Overcome Challenges

Man demonstrates how he's overcome challenges in a job interview

A great way to answer questions while highlighting your skills and accomplishments is by using the "Experience + Learn = Grow" model and/or the STAR technique (situation, task, action, result).

What was the situation/problem? How did you solve this problem/overcome this setback? What did you learn from this experience? How did you apply what you learned to your career?

These methods are particularly beneficial when you're answering behavioral interview questions that hiring managers ask to see if a candidate has enough self-awareness to know what they're good at, and what skill sets need improvement.

Use Numbers To Your Advantage

A job seeker discusses some of her quantifiable accomplishments in a job interview

Numbers are great for demonstrating your skills and expertise. Did you increase revenue, or save time/money? Did you improve a procedure and, if so, how much time did you save? How many clients did you win in your last job? Don't just tell the employer what the result was. Tell them how you got the result and what your decision-making process was.

Prepare several examples of quantifiable results for your next job interview and you'll significantly increase your chances of getting that job offer!

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How To Effectively Demonstrate Your Value In …

Many employers now use behavioral-based interview questions to learn more about a candidateâs past experience as a predictor of future performance. These behavioral interview questions are usually the "tough" interview questions that interviewers use as a method of determining whether or not a candidate is a good fit for the open position.

While you canât predict every question you will be asked during the interview process, itâs a good idea to familiarize yourself with some of the more common tough interview questions.

1. What's Your Biggest Weakness?

Thereâs really no easy answer to this tough interview question, but it helps to be honest with the interviewer. No one is perfect and if weâre truthful, there are certain things that we can all improve. Try not to provide too much damaging information like an inability to arrive at work on time or at all. This is definitely a loaded question, so tread lightly, but perhaps mention an area that you are working to improve.

2. How Do You Handle Stress?

Interviewers are generally looking for an answer that indicates you can handle multiple priorities and projects at the same time. An answer stating that stress is a natural part of life and you feel equipped to handle the challenges of the job and balance them with the rest of your life may be just the answer that earns you the job.

3. Tell Me About A Time You Made A Bad/Wrong Decision

Woman gets asked a tough question in a job interview

The interviewer is probably not as concerned with the actual decision, but rather how you handled the situation and the outcome. This question is asking about your problem-solving skills and ability to fix an issue.

4. Questions About Honesty, Loyalty, And Good Judgment

Employers want to hire ethical people with integrity, so donât feel like youâve been thrown a curve ball if an interviewer asks you a tough interview question about whether or not youâve ever lied or been faced with a moral dilemma. As is the case in most situations, honesty is the best policy in answering these questions.

5. Tell Me About Yourself

Hiring manager asks a job candidate a question during a virtual job interview

This seemingly easy interview question is harder than it may seem for many candidates. Itâs easy to ace this one if you have a prepared and practiced âelevator speechâ that includes a few highlights from your career history. This is an opportunity to emphasize your best career accomplishments, so take advantage of this question if you are asked during the interview.

6. Questions About Former Bosses And Co-Workers

Man answers a question during a job interview

Sometimes an interviewer will ask a question about what you didnât like about a former supervisor or colleague. These questions are asked to gauge how well you work with others, so be diplomatic in your answer and donât throw anyone under the bus with negativity.

Another great way to prepare for tough interview questions is to ask your friends about the most bizarre and off-the-wall questions they have been asked. You may be surprised at the type of responses you receive!

Need more help preparing for your next job interview?

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How To Handle Tough Interview Questions

âDo you have any questions for me?"

This is typically the final question you will be asked in a job interview. Ask the wrong questions and you might look like a bad fit. Ask no questions and you might look indifferent, inexperienced, or uneducated about the position.

Asking the right questionsâaside from proving yourself to the hiring managerâis one of your best (and last) chances to determine whether the job and company are a good fit for you. Here are five questions to consider:

Why Is The Position Open?

This is actually an extremely important question that should be asked during every job interview because the answer will provide important insights that, should you get an offer, will play a major role in your decision to take the job.

Jobs open up for a variety of reasonsâsome positive, some negative. Was the job created because the company is expanding? Was the previous person promoted? Or did they quit or get fired? Are you replacing a high performer, or a poor one?

The employer's answer will help you determine whether the job has room for growth or a high turnover rate, and give you a better idea of how to manage expectations.

What Is A Typical Day Like For This Position?

A job seekers asks the recruiter a question during a video interview

Most job postings list the position's responsibilities without saying how much time is allocated to each responsibility. You want to know this information for two reasons.

First, if your typical workday includes spending hours doing something you dislike, you may want to reconsider whether it's the right job for you. Second, by discovering which job functions are most important to the employer, you can tailor the remainder of your interview to those areas and include them in your interview follow-up email.

How Would You Describe The Company Culture?

Company culture and how well coworkers collaborate with each other are important factors for job seekers

It's always good to get a sense of a company's culture and whether you fit into it. The employer's response to this question will help you understand what it's like working there day-to-day, what the company values are, how colleagues interact with one another, and so on.

Another good way to get a sense of company culture is to ask this question:

Can you tell me about one of your most successful employees and what makes them successful?

If the answer includes an employee who takes on a lot of extra work and works way more than 40 hours a week, this could be a red flag where the company's values are only grounded in work. Ultimately, you want an answer where the response includes a combination of hard work, creativity, and character.

If you're going to spend the majority of your waking hours on the job, you should make sure the company culture is a good fit.

What Are The Company's Goals Over The Next Five Years?

An HR manager listens to a question from a job candidate during an interview

Actually, a more specific question you could ask is:

What are the goals of the company over the next five years? How does this position and this department factor into those goals?

This question demonstrates your goal-oriented nature and suggests that you won't job hop right away. An informed response will give you insight into the organizational structure and how your position fits into it. An uninformed response suggests the hiring manager is out of touch with the organization, the organization does a poor job communicating its goals to employees, or the organization is not thinking long term. None of these are a good sign.

Here's another way to ask this question:

What is the company's biggest challenge in the coming years, and how does this position help you overcome it?

Do You Like Working Here?

Job seeker asks HR manager about her experiences at the company during a job interview

It's unlikely the hiring manager will say "no" but you can still infer a lot from their response. A moment's hesitation followed only by, "Yeah...I do," might be a red flag. A smile and explanation of why they like working there, on the other hand, signifies a more genuine response.

A few other ways to ask this question include:

How did you come to work here?

What do you like most about working here?

If you interview with multiple employees during your job interview, ask them each similar questions. This is particularly helpful when it comes to subjective questions (e.g. "How would you describe the company culture?" and "Do you like working here?"). Doing so will help you paint a more complete picture of the organization, which will help you make the best decision once you're offered the job.

Need more help preparing for your next job interview?

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5 Things To Ask In A Job …

How To Answer Any Behavioral Interview Question In 2022

We've gotten a lot of questions lately about interviews, which is a good thing because it means our readers are putting in the work and getting interviews (So, kudos to you!). But what we want to talk about today is a very particular type of interview question that hiring managers are increasingly asking these days. This kind of questionâa behavioral questionâcan be a curveball.

So, let's get started by talking about what a behavioral question is.

What Is A Behavioral Interview Question?

A behavioral interview question is a special type of question. It's one that requires more than a one-word answer. It's the type of question where you are not going to respond with just a "yes" or "no." In contrast, you're going to have to elaborate in order to deliver an answer properly.

For example, a behavioral question would look something like, "Tell me about a time when you had to do X or Yâ¦" You're going to see these questions all the time during interviews because it helps the hiring manager get inside your head and understand how you approach and tackle certain problems.

Remember, an employer wants to make sure that you're the right fit for the job. It's not just that you have the experience. It's also that you have the aptitude and the know-how to apply that experience so that you can do the job successfully in the way that you need to do it. This is what makes them feel comfortable with you as a hireâand all of this has to come out in your answer.

Now that you understand what a behavioral interview question is, and why it's so important to answer it thoroughly and correctly, I'm going to give you a methodology you can use to answer each and every behavioral interview question effectively. It's called the "Experience + Learn = Grow" model.

It's a system we've designed that allows you to come up with answers that give the employer exactly what they want to hear.

How To Answer A Behavioral Interview Question

Professional woman answers a behavioral question during a job interview

Step 1: Outline an experience that you've had that explains why you can do what they're asking you to do.

Step 2: Talk about what you learned from that experienceâhow it made you smarter and better in your job.

Step 3: Talk about how you grew as a professional so that you can take that experience and use it to your advantage going forward.

When you answer behavioral questions using the "Experience + Learn = Grow" model, you're mentally taking the hiring manager through the process they need to go through to come to the conclusion that you can do the job.

It's also important that you ask good questions in an interview in order to make a great impression.

Example Of A Behavioral Interview Question & Answer

Job seeker successfully answers a behavioral interview question

So, here's an actual example of a typical behavioral question that you might get asked in your next interview:

"Tell me your greatest accomplishment on the job."

Now, again, if you are going to use the "Experience + Learn = Grow" model here, you have to share enough information for the hiring manager to fully understand that you are capable of doing the job.

Let's say you're a customer service representative. Your answer might be:

Experience: "Well, as a customer service representative, the greatest accomplishment I ever had was learning how to deal with difficult customers. I remember a time when I got a call from a really angry customer. We had double-charged her, and she was irate. She was swearing at me and yelling at me on the phone. She was completely out of control, and I didn't know what to do."

Learn: "But I realized that if I stepped back for a second and didn't take what she was saying personally, I could recognize how she was feeling. I could put myself in her shoes. So, I was able to do that. And in doing so, I was able to calmly address her needs, figure out what was going on, get her a credit, and really exceed her expectations. When it was all said and done, she was totally calmed down. She was apologetic for her behaviorâfor swearing at meâand most importantly, she was grateful and even gave me a four-star review afterward."

Grow: "That really taught me the power of patience and empathy. When I'm talking to customers now, every time I get a difficult customer, I'm able to immediately go into that empathy mode so that I can give them a great customer service experience."

Do you see how that answer followed the "Experience + Learn = Grow" model? By taking the time to map out your answers to questions like this, you can really make sure that you're covering your bases, and helping the hiring manager understand just how effective you can be in the job.

There are lots of behavioral questions that you can get asked in an interview. In fact, at Work It Daily, we have a list of 18 potential questions that we take our clients through. To give you an idea of some other ones that you might come across, here are two more that you should be prepared to answer:

"What would your co-workers say about you if we asked them?"
"Tell me about a time when you got a difficult and unrealistic request from somebody, but they were really enthusiastic about it. What did you do?"

Those are just a couple more examples of the types of behavioral questions you can get asked, which again require much more than a typical one-word answer.

Most importantly, the "Experience + Learn = Grow" structure helps you consistently deliver the right answer at the right time!

Need more help preparing for behavioral interview questions?

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

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How To Answer Any Behavioral Interview Question …

How To Answer Interview Questions About How You Handle A Heavy Workload

We all have times on the job when the work piles up. However, we don't all react in the same way. Some of us handle that stress better than others. A potential employer naturally wants to know how you will react when that situation happens in this new job. So, they say something like, "Describe a time when your workload was particularly heavy and what steps you took to handle it."

Behavioral Interview Questions

This is a type of behavioral interview question. These types of questions ask you to describe your past actions or predict how you'll react in future situations. These can be great ways to get insight into your personality and how you approach difficult situations.

Answers to behavioral interview questions are best structured using the STAR format (situation or task, action you took, and results you achieved). Using this technique ensures you say what you need to say to give a complete answer to the question. (Some people forget to talk about the results they got from the actions they took, but this is the most important part.)

What Do Employers Want To Know?

Young man answers interview question about how he handles a heavy workload

Basically, employers want to know how you approach problems and stress. Can you adapt? Can you prioritize? Can you stay calm? A lot of people will just say, "I stay until the work is done." Persistence is good, but letting them know that you approach problems analytically and strategically is better. Show them that you can think critically and make good decisions. Walk them through how you have dealt with this issue before or how you would deal with it.

Good Sample Answers

Hiring manager asks job candidate how they handle a heavy workload

Here are a couple of examples of good answers to this question:

1. "We all have times when the workload gets a little heavier than normal. I've found that the best way to handle it is to step back, take a look at everything on my task list, and prioritize. Most of the time, not everything needs to get done immediately. Some things are more critical to team goals than others, so sometimes it's necessary to prioritize."

Then, tell a short story about a time when you did that, and tell what the results of it were: you got X task done, which was beneficial because of Y.

2. "In that kind of situation, prioritizing and teamwork both become critical. I speak to my supervisor to see if I can help him or her and get some input on which tasks to tackle first."

Then, talk about the time you provided assistance to your boss on a mission-critical task and what happened as a result of that teamwork.

Every interview answer should help sell you for the job. Be prepared with great answers for dozens of tough questions in How to Answer Interview Questions and How to Answer Interview Questions II, both available on Amazon.

We understand the challenges you face in the job search. We know how difficult it is to land (and ace) an interview and make the right career decisions. If you're feeling trapped or lost in your career right now, we're here for you. We'd love it if you joined our FREE community where professionals like you are learning how to become empowered in their careers so they can finally find career satisfaction.

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How To Answer Interview Questions About How …

Exit Statements: What Do I Say When I’ve Been Let Go?

Recently, a reader asked the following question: "I was recently let go from my last company. Are your career experts able to assist with exit statements on why you left a job for situations like this?"

Yes, we do a lot of work in this area. It falls into our "Interview Prep" category.

Here's how we help you work through and create a solid answer to: "Why did you leave your last job?"

Steal The HR Playbook

Confident woman shakes hands with the hiring manager before her interview

At Work It Daily, we provide expert career courses you can watch to find out how to prepare for behavioral interview questions like the one above. Then, we give you a comprehensive list of 18 behavioral interview questions that you could get asked during an interview. (I'm talking REALLY tough questions—the kind that make you sweat just hearing them, let alone answering them!)

Once you've read through and thought about these behavioral interview questions, you can choose to write out your answers and submit them to a career coach for review. The career coach then works with you by email so you can fine-tune your answers and be truly confident they are sending the right message. In particular, we focus on the questions that are giving you the greatest "crisis of confidence," and then we work on those until you are 110% ready to discuss them in an interview.

Interview Prep Eliminates The #1 Killer Of Candidates In Job Interviews

Happy man helps his wife prepare for a job interview

The process above works well for those who have been fired or laid off because it helps them work through their pain and fears related to discussing what they see as an "unpleasant" item on their career record and resume.

Through your interactions and support from your career coach, you'll see that this is nothing to be sad, embarrassed, or angry about. We help you move past the emotions and focus on the good (yes, good!) that has come from the experience. Trust me, you need to move past this. Ninety-three percent of communication is nonverbal. So, if you aren't completely comfortable talking about all the tough stuff, then you can bet hiring managers will read it in your body language, facial expressions, and tone. People know when you are lying—and not being at peace with your past and trying to hide it is a form of lying, especially to yourself.

So, if you need help answering, "Why did you leave your last job?" check out Work It Daily and all of our career resources. We'll help you effectively answer this question (and other difficult behavioral interview questions) and gain the confidence you need to ace your next interview.

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

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