In the 1980’s, industrial psychologist Dr. Tom Janz introduced a method of interviewing called the “Behavioral Interview.” Research shows that this interviewing style is extremely effective, and as such, it has rapidly increased in popularity. The premise is that the best predictor of future behavior is your past behavior.

Whether you are on a job hunt, or are planning to interview someone, it is important to know how to accurately prepare for answering behavioral questions. This is the most common style of interview.

When developing a behavioral interview, employers consider the types of soft skills that will be needed for the position. When preparing for this type of interview, a job seeker should consider all these skills as well. By keeping these important traits in mind, a candidate can successfully prepare for any amount of questioning. Preparing for behavior interviews will also help you answer more tradition interview questions.

To answer these questions think of a relevant example from your past, such as your studies, work experience (paid and non paid), community work and personal experiences. Using the STAR model can help to structure your example.

To properly answer a behavioral interview question, there is a three step process referred to as “STAR“.

The Situation or Task you were in Action that you took Result of that action

Situation/Task – describe the context for the activity you are talking about. Discuss what You were required to do.

Action – what you actually did to complete the task – your approach, processes used, how you managed yourself and the task.

Result – the outcome of your actions, the contribution you made in response to the situation. Quantify if possible and make sure the result is positive.

Behavioral Interview Question Example

Question: “Describe a situation where you have had to deal with a difficult person.”

Answer: “I was transferred to a new project at my previous company to replace a beloved member of the team. My new team leader exhibited hostility towards me and I found myself left out of vital communications and meetings. After a few weeks I was able to talk her into a one on one meeting. When we laid out all of the key objectives for the team, the previous employee’s role, and then discussed goals that I could set to make sure I was able to serve as a quality replacement things started to look a lot better. In our discussion, we also identified a few underlying issues with management that she had been carrying around with her. In uncovering all of these sentiments, she was able to clearly define her situation and achieve an understanding with her supervisors. In the end, the entire team morale improved, I was able to exceed my goals and the company itself became more profitable from our teams increased performance.”

Here are a few other example Behavioral questions