You have skimmed through all the possible interview questions and are ready to go for the interview. But wait, have you prepared for these behavioural interview questions? Let's get you started!
Interviews are stressful for everyone, regardless of how prepared you are. It's important to set time aside to prepare for non-technical questions just as much as you prepare for technical questions.
Some hiring managers know that the hiring process is stressful for the interviewees, so they use a more fun approach to the interview. They use behavioural interview questions to evaluate how you handle different situations. To avoid getting caught off-guard, here are 5 common behavioural interview questions and their answers.
What are behavioural interview questions?
As mentioned above, behavioural interview questions are non-technical and focus on your skills and experience. When answering behavioural questions, you are expected to explain how you managed to navigate difficult work scenarios. Behavioural interview questions give the hiring manager a glimpse into what you can accomplish and how you solve problems.
How to answer behavioural interview questions
You might wonder why we are only addressing the 5 common behavioural questions. Well, we want to help you know how to answer behavioural interview questions so you can use the ones in this article for practice.
Everyone can answer the question, "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" However, not everyone can answer, “When did you go over and above your duty to meet your deadlines?”
Other than just giving you examples of behavioural questions and letting you use them to prepare for your interview, we will share a simple method of answering all behavioural interview questions. It is called the STAR Method.
What is the STAR Method?
Using the STAR Method will give a detailed answer with a little more structure. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Results.
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Situation: Listen to the question and describe a situation that fits into it. This situation could come from your achievements or work experiences.
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Task: Describe, in detail, the task you completed to solve the problem.
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Action: List down all the actions you took to complete the task.
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Results: Let the interviewer know the results of your actions and explain how your actions made the company function better.
5 common behavioural interview questions
There are the categories of behavioural interview questions you should be aware of:
1. Questions about adaptability
Q. Give me an example of a situation where you had to perform under pressure. What happened? And how did you manage it?
Situation: Juggling pressure as a seasonal worker is quite normal at this point since I had to deal with extra responsibilities. I was a cook at X Bar and Restaurant during peak season on the coast. We were understaffed, and customers were flooding in. To make things worse, it was a new eatery still lacking a shift system in place. Therefore, if a colleague failed to show up without notice, we all had to take their spot and handle their duties for the day.
Task: On one occasion, one of our cooks was bereaved and her husband, one of the waiters, had to support her. We had two empty spots to fill in a day.
Action: When my shift for the day ended, I had to take up the waiter spot and help my other colleagues manage the overwhelming orders.
Results: I got off to a rough start, where I almost tipped over as I was rushing to take the orders, but as the night progressed, all the customers were satisfied, and it worked out at the end of the day.
2. Questions about working and relating with clients
Q. Making mistakes is part of being human. Tell us of a situation with a colleague or client that you wish you had handled differently.
Situation: I once was in charge of an account for an extremely difficult client. The management insisted on sticking with the client even though he treated the office staff poorly. There was an incident where the client barged into our office seeking an impromptu meeting with me, even though I was in the middle of a scheduled meeting with another client.
Task: I quickly realized that our office was losing well-paying clients, like the one who had scheduled their meeting in line with the company policy, and was affecting the work morale.
Action: I had a quick side chat with the management and let them in on how the actions of the client may affect the work morale of the employees, and the retention of our clients and employees, going into the future.
Results: After giving a convincing speech with statements I had collected from the other employees and the client who had scheduled and paid for the interrupted meeting, the management agreed and personally took over his file from there.
3. Questions about teamwork
Q. Has a team member ever refused to do their part of their work or was unable to finish their part? Give an example.
Situation: When I worked at Business Y, I had a co-worker who barely met any deadline but managed to do his absolute best at the eleventh hour. The manager once gave us a time-sensitive project to work on together.
Task: We were to create a sales report and review it before sending it to the manager, who would present it to the client. I knew if I had to review the report on time, I had to give him an extra nudge or ten.
Action: I checked on the report's progress via email, text, calls, and even in person. I offered to buy lunch and nudged him to work on his part during our lunch break.
Results: In the end, I had two days to review the report and send it to my boss just in time for the client meeting.
4. Questions about communication skills
Q. Have you ever had to work under someone who wasn’t good at communicating? Tell us about your experience.
Situation: Yes, I have worked under someone with poor communication skills in my first entry-level position as a secretary. I remember this one time I could barely reach him by phone or email, even though I had to update him on his meetings and to-do list for the day.
Task: I wanted to get him to do things on his end without having to call him 15 times every hour without an answer or message.
Action: I looked for an application that could integrate his schedule with his phone notifications so that his phone would automatically update him at all times. I used google calendar to create notifications for all his appointments and meetings.
Results: The hiring manager, who barely spoke to me, started communicating and instructed me to update his schedule with new appointments and meetings when they came up.
5. Questions about time management
Q: Tell me about a time you set a personal goal for yourself. How did you ensure you would meet your objectives? And what steps did you take?
Situation: My most recent personal goal was to learn web development online since I wanted a career change.
Task: I had developed an interest in web development, and I thought, why not try it out?
Action: I worked on my time management since I was still working full-time. I researched the online platforms offering the course, and the time it would take me to grasp web development concepts.
Results: In the end, I made a lot of sacrifices, including using my weekends, holidays, and leave days to learn. If I did not have the curriculum planned out, I would not have managed to gain web development skills and a certificate to go with it.
Conclusion
When the interviewer uses behavioural interview questions, it’s their way of getting to know more about you as a candidate. They want to get a glimpse into your skills, stress levels, and your performance as a professional. The STAR Method will get you a step closer to your dream job. Have you ever been asked a behavioural interview question? Tell us in the comment section below.
