Behavioral interview questions?

ss+el

Can anyone recommend a good site for sample behavioral interview questions and tips? I've never actually been on a formal interview and the last informal one was 17 years ago, so I'm worse than rusty, I'm just plain inexperienced in that area.

Fortunately, it's for a promotion and the interviewers will all be people I've known for years and/or their boss, whom I'm fairly comfortable around, but having absolutely no idea what to expect is making me nervous.

MsCrispy

Think of a bunch of examples of situations you have been in. Common ones asked will be when you've: shown leadership, failed, didn't get along, difficult problem, etc.

You don't want to use the same example over and over again, so think of a bunch. Also, practice how you talk about them. A lot of these questions ask about a bad situation or trait, so find a way to twist it around. So for instance, you failed at x task, but you learned from it, took ownership of your mistake, and fixed it.

It is hard to think of things of your feet, so it is important to think ahead. I usually come up with a few projects that can work with multiple questions and then use them when appropriate, but then do not repeat them for that interviewer.

grrl79

you can do a google search for sample interview questions, but like a PP said, prepare yourself with situations & answers in advance.  I recommend developing your answers using the STAR method,

What was the Situation or Task?

What was the Action you took?

What was the Result?

That can help you organize your thoughts and make sure you give a thorough answer.

Jenny952

grrl79:

you can do a google search for sample interview questions, but like a PP said, prepare yourself with situations & answers in advance.  I recommend developing your answers using the STAR method,

What was the Situation or Task?

What was the Action you took?

What was the Result?

That can help you organize your thoughts and make sure you give a thorough answer.

You're familiar with the STAR method! I went through behavior interview training many years ago when I was still in recruiting.

OP - think about specific examples, like pp have said. Look back at your past performance reviews for help.  Also go through the requirements on the job description (if there is one) and come up with an example of things you have done that are on the list of requirements.  The job requires strong conflict management skills - think of an example of a time when you had a conflict with someone, how you resolved it and then how you were able to have a good working relationship afterwards.

Just stay away from phrases like, "in general" and "I would handle this by" or "I always do" because they don't tell the interviewer anything specific.  Good luck! 

groovygrl

The others have much more informed answers than I do but just wanted to tag on to the brainstorming of situations ahead of time & practicing talking about them/describing them a little.

At a minimum I'd recall one where you had some sort of interpersonal conflict (or maybe some of your staff did or something) & how you resolved, one with a conflict of interests/agenda and how you came to middle ground or resolved, one where you worked in a collaborative group and/or led a collaborative group to achieve something & what the challenges/successes were, and some sort of challenge/project you handled on your own.  Maybe a good story about how you reorganized a dept or process, policies you developed to adhere to something, restructuring of duties, etc. I don't think it is a bad idea to have a couple stories of when things didn't turn out as you'd hoped either and how you had to accommodate for that.

Just some ideas! GL!