In this podcast episode we talk to iMPact Sr. Recruiter Scott Pricre about how to master the job interview.
In our last blog post, “What is Behavioral Interviewing” we discussed what behavioral interviewing is and provided some example questions. In this post, we are going to discuss some ways of mastering answers to behavioral interview questions:
Know the Job Description – To better prepare yourself for an interview, you will need to know which soft skills and behaviors the employer is looking for in the job. So, your first step is to always review the job description and see which skills or behaviors are required for the role. Second step would be to research the company (Glassdoor), and talk to people who currently work there. This will allow you to zero in on the kinds of soft skills the company finds most important. Some if these attributes may include: adaptability, communication, analysis, delegation, flexibility, leadership/management, judgement, and/or motivation. For more examples, here are 10 additional attributes employers want in most employees.
Coming up with Examples – Based on what you identify in the job description, research online, or hear from employees will help you narrow down some examples. There are several behavioral interviewing questions that could be asked, so knowing what kinds of questions MIGHT be asked will help you prepare an effective selection of example answers.
You will want to use real life examples from your past that will help explain the soft skills the employer is looking for. You can pull examples from work experience, internships, classes and school projects, activities, team participation, community service, and hobbies. You may also use examples of special accomplishments (personal or professional), such as scoring the winning point, being elected president of a Greek chapter or captain of a team, being awarded your company’s employee of the month award, winning a prize for an art piece, or raising money for charity/organization.
As you consider the different skills and behaviors listed in the jobs description, you will want to arm yourself with a toolbox of examples that can be adapted to many behavioral questions.
- Identify five to seven different examples from your past experiences.
- Half of the examples should be completely positive, such as accomplishments or meeting goals, the other half should be situations that started out negatively, but either ended positively, or you made the best effort for a positive outcome.
- Vary your examples; don’t take them all from just one area of your life. Meaning don’t use every situation from your current job, branch out and use examples from your personal life too.
- Use fairly recent examples, within the last year or two is recommended.
How to Respond – As you arm your toolbox with examples, you will need to keep in mind how to respond. Your response needs to be specific, detailed, and concise, it is better to tell the interviewer about a specific situation, rather than being vague in your response. Here is a three-step process that you will want to utilize. The process you should follow is called a S-T-A-R Technique:
- Identify the Situation/Task or problem
- Action – What action was taken and what was your involvement?
- Result/Outcome – What came of the situation? Quantify the outcome to make it more easily understood.
Here is an example of using the S-T-A-R Technique for a “leadership” type behavioral question:
Question: Tell me about a time you took lead on a difficult project”
Answer: “A few months ago, I volunteered for (and was nominated the head of) a committee tasked with investigating poor customer reviews. The committee was comprised of 8 people from the organization. I analyzed reviews and discovered that customers were not being followed up with in a timely matter. This was largest contributor to negative reviews. I then lead brainstorming situations with my team to find a solution. After implementing the suggestion, follow-up was happening on average 1.5-2 hours, 4 hours less than before.”
S-T: The problem were the negative reviews.
A: The action was leading a team, analyzing the reviews, and implementing a solution.
R: The result/outcome was successful, using a quantifiable number to show results.
Candidates that refer back to the S-T-A-R statement will be far more effective and successful.
Use Numbers – Wherever possible, quantify your results. Like the example above, numbers will impress employers. Remember that many behavioral questions try to get at how you responded to negative situations. Use quantifiable numbers to show how you made the best of it, improved the situation, and/or enacted growth.
Behavioral interviews aren’t easy, but with practice, you can learn to tailor a relatively small set of examples to respond to a number of diverse behavioral questions.
iMPact Business Group is a staffing agency specializing in Information Technology, Engineering, Finance/Accounting, and Business Administration/Process positions. To connect with one of our professional recruiters, view our job board for all available positions, or submit your resume for consideration here. Click here to learn more about our available work from home opportunities and to submit your resume for consideration.
