Commonly asked behavioral interview questions and how to answer them?

Different types of interview questions can be used to evaluate your skills and attributes as a prospective employee. Behavioral questions provide you the opportunity to display your problem-solving talents and discuss your skills, personality, and perspective to challenges. Employers often use behavioral queries to gain insight into your personality and behavior, as well as how you would respond in various work-related scenarios. 

It’s crucial to have ideas ready because you frequently provide specific anecdotes or job examples when responding to behavioral queries. In this article, we will discuss behavioral questions, how to plan for them for interviews, and provide a few sample questions to help job seekers have some idea about the types of questions they might face.

What are behavioral interview questions?

Every type of organization employs behavioral interviewing strategies. These questions look for specific examples of abilities and experiences that are relevant to the position, as opposed to standard job interview queries that require you to explain what you accomplished in a role or to discuss credentials. You’ll be asked at the interview how you addressed a situation, and you’ll need to explain what you did in your response. The reasoning behind this statement is that past success serves as a reliable predictor of future achievement.

Also read: Commonly asked interview questions and how to answer them

How should candidates get ready for behavioral interview questions?

There are many ways to prepare for behavioral interview questions, including:

• Brainstorming

Consider your employment history and the challenges you faced. You might review your CV or curriculum vitae to spark your brain regarding your achievements since they frequently serve as excellent illustrations of how challenges can lead to positive consequences.

• List everything

Make a list of several instances where you demonstrated your skills and abilities in trying situations. Think of tales that are just the right length—not too lengthy, not too short—and that won’t require much explanation.

• Conduct a mock interview

Get comfortable responding to behavioral questions by conducting mock interview sessions. To evaluate your body gestures and hear your responses, record yourself. A mock interview with friends is another option to check your readiness for the interview.

Check out: Tips to ace your interview

Some common behavioral interview questions

Here are some common behavioral questions with answering tips to help you prepare for interviews:

Q. Describe a situation when you handled pressure successfully.

Answering Tip: For every career or position, this question reveals to the interviewer how you cope with pressure and work-related stress. A compelling response presents a specific instance with a positive result or one where you might have made a better choice. Put together a list of 3 choices, then pick the best one. Discussing your mentality when under pressure is extremely crucial. 

Q. Give an illustration of your goal-setting process.

Answering Tip: The purpose of this question is to gauge how well you organize your goals and plan your course of action. Sharing productive instances of goal-setting is the simplest way to respond.

Q. Describe a time when you were the one to take the lead on a project.

Answering Tip: Despite the inclination to think about yourself solely, don’t forget to acknowledge your team as well. Try to give instances where you took on extra responsibilities outside of your regular job role.

Q. Recall a time when someone sought your advice on an issue.

Answering Tip: The interviewer is interested in learning about your reputation and lasting impression among your network. Do your friends or colleagues turn to you for professional guidance, practical advice, or to come up with ideas? Consider your areas of expertise and what your peers believe and know about you.

Q. Describe a time when you struggled to complete a collaborative project and how you overcame it.

Answering Tip: Be sincere and demonstrate how you can grow from mistakes. Instead of placing the blame for your failure on your team members, concentrate on the underlying causes and the insights you gained.

Q. How do you handle a situation when you have to work with a colleague you are already in conflict with?

Answering Tip: The interviewer is trying to discover more about your approach to handling conflicts in the workplace by posing this question. Think about how you’ve reached a compromise during a business conflict or addressed a problem

Q. How do you stay organized when multitasking on many projects?

Answering Tip: Employers are curious to learn how you manage your time and effort to be effective and efficient. They want to see if you have a system of your own for keeping on top of the job outside of the company’s agendas and operational strategies. Make sure to underline that you respect and adhere to deadlines. Talk about the endeavors you were working on, their urgency and importance, and how you managed your time properly. Describe how you stay organized and concentrated on the task at hand.

Q. What career achievement stands out the most to you?

Answering Tip: Put together a list of your most noteworthy accomplishments, then pare it down to those that are most pertinent to the position you are vying for. Never be reluctant to provide an example that reveals something about your personality outside the workplace to the interviewer. Think about giving instances from past employment, promotions, academics, athletics, charities, and achievements in goals attained via ardent pursuit. If you decide to discuss a personal achievement, make sure to clarify how it relates to the company in question.

Q. How do you respond to difficult situations?

Answering Tip: No matter what you do, things can go wrong and won’t always go as planned. The hiring manager uses this kind of question to find out how you would respond in a difficult circumstance. When responding, concentrate on how you handled a challenging circumstance. Think about explaining whatever you did and how it worked in detail.

Also read: What do recruiters across domains/ industries look for in candidates?

Wrapping up 

Make sure you are ready for an interview by preparing ahead of time. Your answers to behavioral interview questions give interviewers specific information about your talents and professional conduct. Be succinct in your responses and use concrete examples. Employers may be able to forecast your performance on the job based on this. Today, all businesses are on the lookout for problem-solving team members who can help them boost sales, save costs, and save time. If you can show that you are capable of facts and insights, you’ll be sure to catch the attention of the employer.

Securing a degree is one thing but preparing well for an interview needs you to put in some extra effort. Online Manipal provides students with skill assessment tests, resume building, interview preparation, and other placement-related training to help them succeed in their job hunt.