Preparing for the Behavioral Interview

Preparing for the Behavioral Interview
Of all the interviewing techniques utilized over the years to improve on the hiring of new employees, Behavioral Interviewing has stood the test of time. More and more often, Behavioral Interviewing is seen as the best way to separate the good candidate from the perfect candidate.

by Carole Martin, America’s #1 Interview Coach

Of all the interviewing techniques utilized over the years to improve on the hiring of new employees, Behavioral Interviewing has stood the test of time. More and more often, Behavioral Interviewing is seen as the best way to separate the good candidate from the perfect candidate.

But what is Behavioral Interviewing?

Behavioral Interviewing is a technique in which employers ask questions about your past behavior in order to determine if you are a good fit for the job they are trying to fill.

Anyone can say they are a “great problem solver,” or a “hard worker.” But what the interviewer needs is a concrete example of this, proof really, that the person they are interviewing has done what they say they can do.

An example of a behavioral question would be: “Tell me about a time when you were successful because you worked hard and went above and beyond the assigned duties of the job.”

How long has this technique been used?

Not at all. Behavioral Interviewing techniques started to be used in the 70’s by industrial psychologists as a way of predicting if a person would succeed in a job. They concluded that if candidates were asked questions that demanded specific examples of past behavior it could be a clear indicator of future behavior - whether good or bad.

A key trait of a behavioral question is that it is highly specific. You may be asked to “Tell me about a time when you succeeded in a group,” the key words are “a time.” This calls for the candidate to tell a specific story about this quality rather than to talk in general terms about their qualities.

When traditional or “what if” questions are asked you can use your imagination to come up with an answer. For example, “What would you do if you had a problem to solve?” The word “if,” is the clue word that the interviewer wants to hear your thought process - how you think through a problem. This question does not require a past experience example.

Is it possible to prepare for behavioral interviews?

While preparation is important for every interview, it is essential to prepare for the behavioral interview. You must have examples or stories for anything you have claimed on your resume or that you say during the interview.

An example would be if you claimed you were “very organized” on your resume or in your “Tell me about yourself” statement, the interviewer might ask you, “Tell me about a time when you organized a project.” It is now your task to let the interviewer know that you are a very organized person and have had success when organizing a project or event.

The technique to succeed

While there are many methods that inform good story telling, the main thing to remember is that every story has three crucial elements:

A beginning - “There was a time.” A middle - “The action steps I took were” An Ending - “The problem was solved and..”

Imagine going to a movie.

Arriving 10 minutes late to a movie can cause you spend the rest of the time trying to figure out what it is you missed. This is because it’s in the beginning of the story, the first 10-20 %, that the whole movie is set up or “framed” for the audience. In the interview, if you don’t “frame” your story the interviewer will be just as confused.

The middle of the movie is the main plot and it should be a good 60-70% of the story. This is where the action happens. Remember that you’re the star of the story you’re telling, so you should make sure that you’re “on screen” most of the time. Avoid using words like “we” or”us” too much. Use “I”. Remember, this is about you. If you need to use “we” in the story, make sure the interviewer is aware of who the “we” is, your partner, team, etc.

Now, if you were to leave 10 minutes before the movie was over, you would never know what happened in the end, and would probably be pretty unsatisfied. A strong ending is vital to your story. If you leave it out, the interviewer may ask, “So what was the result?” That’s a clue you have left off the ending.

In order to have a successful story - it should have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

So what are there secrets to good storytelling?

Stories should be interesting and full of action. This is the pitfall for most people - the story lacks detail. Give the interviewer something to remember about you. A savvy interviewer will be able to hear skills from the stories and judge your behavior from your past actions, but you must let them hear the steps you took to solve the problem. The more details and skills you can work into your story, the more convincing your story will be. The biggest fault are examples/stories where there is no “action” or detail.

Preparing your example stories before the interview may take time, but it’s vital in order to remove fear and anxiety from the behavioral interview process. It will allow you to tell your success stories the interviewer wants to hear. It’s through your examples that the interviewer will get a clear picture of who you are whether you are the right person for the job!

About the Author:

Carole Martin, America’s #1 Interview Coach and contributor for Monster.com is a celebrated author, trainer, and mentor. Carole provides interviewing tips and strategies like no one else. To get your own copy of Carole’s FREE 9-part “Interview Success Tips” visit her on the web at The Interview Don’t reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.