Long gone are the days when a well-written cover letter and resume were enough to land you a job. Instead, employers seek problem solvers, innovators, and leaders who can think on their feet in challenging situations.
Job candidates need to be ready to tell a story that showcases in-demand latent skills and interpersonal abilities by answering behavioral interview questions.
Defining Behavioral Interview Questions
Behavioral interview questions are a standard method that hiring managers use to determine how well potential employees will perform in particular professional situations.
Essentially, it's an opportunity for a future employer to know who you are and where your values lie before they decide to bring you onto the team.
Behavioral Interview Question Types
There are certain traits that businesses want their new hires to have, and behavioral interview questions are a quick screener that filters out applicants who don't complement the existing team dynamic.
To fulfill that purpose, interviewers ask questions that span five categories:
Collaboration and Teamwork
The ability to function on a team efficiently and effectively is invaluable. Employers need hires who are willing to work with others to accomplish a common goal.
Adaptability
In the fast-paced corporate world, flexibility is critical. Employees need to think on their feet, learn on the fly, and masterfully handle change without missing a beat.
Prioritization and Time Management
No boss wants to spend their day dealing with missed deadlines and late projects because their employees can't prioritize their to-do list. Productivity relies on prioritization, so the ability to plan your day based on the timely completion of tasks is highly sought-after.
Interpersonal Skills
High empathy and emotional intelligence often lead to fewer inner-office conflicts and more open communication, creating a healthy work culture.
Leadership
Even if they're not necessarily hiring for a leadership position, employers want hires who have the potential to be a social leader within their team, a project leader, or even just someone dependable enough to trust with some extra responsibility.
Nail Your Next Interview with Genius Answers for Behavioral Interview Questions!
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The 10 Most Common Behavioral Interview Questions
A hiring manager has a virtually limitless pool of behavioral interview questions.
Still, you can quickly adapt to the situation by preparing stories showing several of your skills. That way, you can use them even if the question isn't what you were expecting.
In general, they'll want to focus on industry-specific expertise and the principles most integral to that company's culture.
Once you research the business's values, you can adjust this list of behavioral interview questions and make them more specific to the interviews you have on the horizon.
- Describe a moment in your professional career when you were proud of your team.
- Explain your strategy for organizing and prioritizing tasks.
- Give an example of a time when there was a significant shift in your career. How did you handle that change?
- Discuss a situation when you had a conflict with someone. What was the dispute about? How did you resolve it?"
- What methods do you use for onboarding new employees? How do you make them feel welcome on the team?"
- How do you handle when a partner on your collaborative team doesn't meet their obligations?"
- Talk about a creative solution you've used to solve a problem.
- Share a professional mistake you've made that significantly impacted others. What did you do to fix the error?
- Walk me through an example of you having to follow someone else's lead, even if they were not influential leaders.
- What do you find exciting or energizing about your current position? What do you find draining and discouraging?
Conclusion
Behavioral interview questions can be intimidating, but its 87% reliability rate in picking out candidates for hire means it won't be going away anytime soon.
Instead of resisting, lean into it!
Use behavioral interview questions as an opportunity to share your triumphs and struggles, everything that you've learned from those experiences, and the wealth of knowledge you bring to the table.
