How To Pass A Behavioral Based Interview

What Is A Behavioral Interview At Facebook

Facebook uses behavioral interviews to assess job candidates based on their past experiences. These questions typically start with Tell me about a time you and focus on soft skills such as: leadership, communication, teamwork, problem solving, etc.

To round out your preparation, we’ve also included some resume, HR, and hypothetical questions such as “what are your strengths and weaknesses?” or “how would you…?” in this article. As these are real questions that have been reported by past candidates, we want to make sure you’re ready for anything.

These questions will appear at every step of the interview process, from the initial recruiter phone screen, through the hiring manager, and all the way through to the onsite interviews. They may even appear as icebreaker or transition questions during system design or coding interviews. The frequency and type of behavioral questions will vary, but be prepared for many, especially if you’re applying for a leadership role.

For more information on the process for a specific role, consult one of our comprehensive interview guides below:

Now, what will your interviewers be looking out for?

Behavioral Interview Example #2

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 laid out all of the key objectives for the team, the previous employee’s role in meeting those objectives, and then discussed goals that I could set to make sure I was able to serve as a quality replacement. 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 team’s increased performance.

Follow-up questions will test for consistency and determine if you exhibited the desired behavior in that situation:

• “Can you give me an example?”

• “What did you do?”

• Explain what they mean to you, and why your interviewer should care about them.

• What do these stories say about you as an applicant?

• Are you trying to help your interviewer imagine how you will behave at Wharton?

• Does the story relate to your behavior in class discussions, study teams, and/or student clubs and activities?

Technique For Answering Behavioral Interview Questions

The STAR technique is a useful strategy for responding to interview questions that require an anecdote. Its an excellent way to organize your thoughts. There are four steps to answering using this technique:

• Situation. Describe the situation in which the event took place.
• Task. Describe the task you were asked to complete. If there was a particular problem or issue you were trying to solve, describe that here.
• Action. Explain what action you took to complete the task or solve the problem.
• Results. Explain the result of your actions. For example, if your actions resulted in completing a task, resolving a conflict, improving your companys sales record, etc., explain this. Try to focus on how your actions resulted in a success for the company.

Read through the behavioral interview questions below. Practice answering some of these, using the STAR technique to provide complete answers. It may also help to review these common behavioral interview questions with answers.

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Operational And Situational Questions

• Whats your experience with HR software?
• What do you know about EEO laws/FMLA/etc.?
• What KPIs do you use to measure the effectiveness of the HR function?
• If you have to use three words to describe the role of an HR Director in a company, what would those be? Why?
• How do the companys HR needs influence strategic planning?
• What do you do to ensure the HR departments objectives are aligned with strategic goals?
• What is company culture to you? How would you maintain it as the company grows?
• What can HR do to influence the company culture?
• What steps would you take to ensure diversity in the organization?
• How do you stay current and ensure compliance with employment laws?
• What is your role in assisting other departments in improving their people practices and adhering to policies?
• Lets assume you encounter a problem but there are no official guidelines for solving it. What is your course of action?
• If one of the managers under your supervision made a serious mistake, what would you do?
• Imagine one of the stakeholders is asking you to implement a policy while you think it will not benefit the company in the long run. How do you handle this?

What Are Behavioral Interviews

If technical interviews gauge your programming skills, behavioral interviews attempt to discover how you act in employment-related situations or conflicts, both positive and negative. Behavioral interviews help an employer decide if youre someone they want to work with.

Remember that an interviewer knows more about the company and the position than you, so they are hunting for parts of your character that may reveal themselves as a problem down the line.

An interviewer may be wondering,

• Is this person calm under pressure?
• Can I rely on this person in a team?
• Will this person treat their peers with respect?

Behavioral interviewing differs from company to company depending on their company values and culture. A company that highly praises independent work wont be as focused on your capacity for teamwork, for example. Companies will prioritize different values and attributes, so keep in mind that there isnt only one way to prepare and succeed at behavioral interviews. Later, we will discuss how to research company values.

Want to learn more about company culture at big tech companies? Check out codinginterview.com for detailed analyses of behavioral interviews at companies like Amazon, Netflix, Google, Facebook, and more.

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How To Pass A Star Behavioral Job Interview

Are you looking for a new job? Have you heard about the STAR behavioral job interview? Do you want to nail it? Well, here are some tips to help you score better and impress your future employer:

Since you have the leeway to choose the stories to tell, plan things carefully. Select the stories that are going to reflect your positive side. Dont tell stories that are simply going to humiliate you. Even if you were asked to share about an embarrassing moment, think of a situation that eventually revealed your good side.

Common Consulting Behavioral Interview Questions What To Say What Not To Say

When you dig underneath these 2 questions, youll see they probe a broader set of attitudes, skills, and behaviors.

Are you someone your interviewer wants to work with?

Are you fun, hard-working, passionate about the projects you take on, someone who doesnt give up easily?

Why this matters consultants work together for 8+ hours a day. The team wants to hire people theyd be fine with spending 8+ hours a day with.

Are you someone the interviewer would feel comfortable putting in front of their client?

Are good at problem solving, able to persuade and motivate people, but also coachable? Have you done your homework looking into what work in the consulting industry is like? Do you have the right mannerisms and professionalism to work with clients?

Top management consulting firms like McKinsey, Bain, and BCG make at least half a million dollars per project, so if youre put in front of a client and arent client-ready, it could cost a firm half a million dollars in revenues.

Your answers to personal interview questions should aim to address these questions lying beneath the surface.

1. Tell me about yourself.

DO describe one of your key strengths, particularly a strength that relates to the characteristics management consulting firms are looking for, then provide examples from your resume that demonstrate this strength and provide context.

DONT start rambling through your entire resume.

2. Walk me through your resume.

DONT be humble about achievements .

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Q: How Do I Pass A Behavioral Interview

A: Before I go into the specifics on how to pass a behavioral interview, let me start by explaining what a behavioral-based interview question is and how you can spot on during your next job interview.

Behavioral interview questions typically start out with the recruiter or hiring manager saying, Tell me about a time

Whenever you’re faced with this type of question, the interviewer is looking for concrete examples of how you’ve used your skills and abilities to solve problems or achieve results for an employer. In other words, they want an example.

My advice is to use the STAR approach to structure your response to any behavioral interview question:

• Describe a Situation or Task you handled in the past.
• Explain what Actions you took to resolve the issue or tackle the challenge
• Then, summarize the Results of your actions – how did this benefit your employer? Did you cut costs, increase revenue, reduce employee turnover, improve customer satisfaction, etc.

In order to prepare some of these succinct STAR stories for your next interview, take a second look at the job description for the role, paying close attention to the core skills and experience required to do the job. Then, use these core requirements as fodder to brainstorm relevant stories from your work history to demonstrate your abilities.

Read Amanda Augustine‘s answer to “How do I pass a behavioral interview?” on Quora.

Why Employers Ask Behavioral Questions

Behavioral questions are designed to learn how you would respond to a specific workplace situation, and how you solve problems to achieve a successful outcome.

Behavioral interview questions are generally formatted by presenting a situation, inquiring about what action you have taken to respond to something similar in the past, and what the result was.

The interviewer will ask how you handled a situation, and you will need to respond with an explanation of what you did. The logic is that your success in the past is a positive indicator of your success in the future.

Essential Tips for Answering Top Behavioral Questions

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Tell Me About A Time When You Had To Work On A Job That Youve Never Done Before

This question is testing whether you are adaptable or not. Keep in mind that leaders should be able to adapt to different challenges.

Tip #1: Give an example where you proved that you are a force to reckon with.

Tip #2: Show that you can handle any situation.

Sample Answer

I was given some accounts to work on during my former job. Even though I had learned them in school, they were not my areas of specialization. Instead of complaining, I did some research before commencing and did excellent work before the set deadline.

What Do You Consider Your Most Significant Leadership Achievement

The interviewer wants to know how you measure success.

Tip #1: Your achievement should involve other employees.

Tip #2: You can mention the steps that you used to achieve your goals.

Sample Answer

During my former role, I completely changed the office operation from independent working to team working. We even scraped the layout and adopted an open design to enhance easy consultation among workers. The results were overwhelming.

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Facebook Behavioral Questions: Leadership

In addition to employees with a collaborative nature, Facebook is looking for employees who are able to motivate their team, resolve conflicts, drive alignment, and build relationships. This is because most roles will involve not only working in teams, but also leading them when appropriate.

This would be a good time to show that youve got drive and empathy, particularly if you’re interviewing for a manager role. Some of the leadership skills that Facebook is looking for in these questions include how you earn trust and take ownership, process and grow from past experiences, support the people around you, and overcome difficult situations.

Example behavioral questions asked at Facebook: Leadership

• Tell me about a time you lead a team
• Tell me about a time you had to step up and take responsibility for others
• Tell me about your worst boss and why they were bad
• How would you advocate for a commitment to a priority, when that priority is not high on someone else’s list?
• How would you manage timelines in a highly matrixed environment, where there is no top down authority?

Prepare To Think On Your Feet When Fielding Behavioral Interview Questions

Other behavioral interview questions address circumstances you might encounter. They are what if scenarios in which you have no past experience to call on.

Sometimes called situational interview questions, these can be difficult if youve never considered the question. If thats the case, you will have to go off script and think quickly on your feet. As you describe your hypothetical actions, think problem, solution, benefit.

Here is a sample situational interview question: How would you respond to a client who insisted you made an error?

Whether you made a mistake or not, the key is to focus on the resolution. The interviewer wants to know how you would handle conflict. Instead of pointing the finger at others, discuss how you would address the complaint, outlining the steps youd take to diffuse the situation.

Another question might be: How would you cope with being assigned a project for which you lacked the skills or knowledge to complete?

An effective answer is one where you spotlight your initiative, resourcefulness and drive to succeed. That could involve asking for company training, finding a knowledgeable colleague or systematically gathering the information needed to complete the assignment. Put simply, your response should convey a positive, innovative approach.

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Practice Answering Situational Interview Questions

Following are some sample questions to consider. Even if youre not asked these specific ones, youll train your brain to formulate responses to situational queries.

• What would you do if you were asked to partner on a project with a colleague who has a drastically different work style?
• If you had to undertake multiple projects with tight deadlines, how would you stay on track?
• If a manager wasnt satisfied with the work you turned in, how would you respond?

How To Answer Behavioural Based Interview Questions

A strong answer outlines the context in which events took place, the action taken by you in this situation and the result or outcome of these actions. Whilst this format may appear onerous, if you think of your response as retelling a story that you have been involved in, then answering behavioural questions in a structured way will in fact be the easiest way to convey relevant information about yourself and subsequently the relevant skills you have developed.

Because of the level of detail required, it is assumed that interviewees will find it very hard to lie convincingly when answering behaviour-based questions. Therefore, preparation – reminding yourself of a range of experiences you can talk about if appropriately questioned – is essential.

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Hr Director Interview Questions

HR Directors are senior executives and have a say in the formation of strategic goals. They establish operations and policies while sitting on the steering wheel of organizational development.

Usually, HR directors have several years of experience as managers, executives or business partners. If your company operates in a unionized environment, looking for relative experience may be a good idea. During an interview, they should be able to discuss how they developed complex HR strategies and programs. They should also demonstrate a thorough understanding of employment laws and corporate ethics.

HR Directors typically have a supervise HR managers or staff, so dedicate some time to discover their leaderships skills. Ask about their experiences and assess their decision-making and critical thinking aptitude. Make a point to ask about how their actions impacted the organizations they were previously employed in.

What Is A Behavioral Interview

A behavioral interview is a popular interview technique employers use to assess job candidates based on their past behavior. For example, instead of asking hypothetical questions like, How would you react if you were under a lot of pressure at work? they would instead ask situational questions like, Describe a time you were under a lot of pressure at work. How did you react?

In this quick video, Indeed recruiter Evan explains how you can prepare and answer these questions.

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How To Make The Best Impression

Before you head out to your interview, review these tips and strategies for behavioral interview success. Be sure youve got the appropriate interview attire ready to wear, have questions of your own ready to ask the interviewer, and are prepared to follow up after the interview with a thank-you note.

What Is Your Process For Delegating Tasks Effectively

Leadership roles often require delegating tasks to others in a way that fits everyone’s strengths and time constraints. Knowing how to delegate is an important part of leadership skills. When answering, make sure to offer a detailed response that shows how you managed delegating and your thought process during delegation.

Example: “I try to evaluate the different strengths and weaknesses on the teamâhow to use their strengths to maximize the tasks or develop someone’s weakness into a strength. Then, I prioritize the tasks to figure out what needs to be done sooner or if one task needs to be finished to start a new task. Once I consider all of these factors, I can delegate effectively and efficiently.“

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