During my college placements, I used to have a knack for clearing all behavioral rounds with ease. I shared the approach which I read in a book with my friends and it worked wonders for all of them. We all came up with flying colors.
Behavioral questions
A question from an imaginary situation or from a past experience to know your behavioral level of competency. Usually asked in an interview when the employer wants to know the attitude and behavioral patterns of the candidate in unconventional circumstances. This way companies can ensure that you are meeting the companies standard.
For example, A firm hiring a product designer for their next flagship launch will never like to have someone with rusty behavior in keeping secrets. So in this case, the employer will check the candidate via behavioral questions. (of course, they will do background verification)
STAR (Situation Task Action Result) is the key
Whenever you identify the question as behavioral, apply the below strategy one by one.
Situation
Understand the situation clearly. Check and confirm for any additional conditions if any.
- Quickly elaborate the specific circumstance to your interviewer
- Be specific to the details, avoid being generic.
Task
Without explicitly listing out the tasks at hand. Explain the goal and difficulties which are gonna be in the path.
- Share a clear goal of what you are trying to accomplish
- Share the potential difficulties you predicted
Action
Describe the plan you took on that day to resolve the problem. Feel free to share alternative solutions you had thought of.
- The plan followed and the reason for choosing it
- Share all-time worthy details which can add value to your name
Result
Share the outcome of the plan and tell them how your actions have helped it.
- Give some credits to yourself
- Be true to yourself, and give kudos to your circumstance
- Showcase your thankfulness and your proud feel of solving the problem with a positive attitude.
It’s nice to give out all details of STAR in a single flow. That way interviewer doesn’t need to ask for actions taken and their results. This will help them to directly come up with the next set of advanced questions. Time saved.
Sample response
Question: Tell me about a time you stepped up for someone struggling
(S)Situation: Our college was planning for an annual hands-on VR workshop. My friends in the organizing team identified a firm that specializes in VR/AR domain, unfortunately, they were not able to come up with a deal. After realizing the environment, I stepped up to negotiate the deal for my friends.
(T)Task: After a long discussion with the organizing team, I identified the cost, materials, and manpower needed for it. Collected all essential details.
(A)Action: On the day of negotiation, I started with 75%(for us)-25%(for them). I requested the 75% claim because my team has to bear the auditorium cost, refreshment cost, decoration, and volunteers whereas they are going to provide 2 man resources with VR knowledge. Finally, we agreed with a 70% - 30% deal. I call it a win-win situation.
(R)Result: We are satisfied overall because we expect a minimum of 100 participants who can cover all costs and save some for our next workshop. On the positive side, 120 people turned in. The event was a huge success.
Final notes
- Always stick to the STAR method but don’t explicitly show that you are applying STAR. If the interviewer finds the pattern in answering the questions, then it might not go as you expected because it will look artificial to them.
- Practice or think through the generic behavioral questions. It will provide you with some confidence.
- Always prefer to share a true situation you have faced from your personal life that way you will be able to handle any cross-questions if any. If you share a cooked-up story, odds are a little high for getting busted.
Few FAQ for your kind reference,
- Tell me about a time you stepped up for your team
- Tell me about a time you have to convince a client
- Tell me about a time you helped your friend by coming out of your comfort zone?
- Tell me about a time you are really proud of yourself?
- Give me a specific time when you used rational and logical thinking to solve a problem
- Give me an example of a time where you motivated someone else
- Describe a situation where you failed to convince your teammate and how would you like to take it further to convince your valuable point?
- Tell me about a time you took some initiative
- Tell me about a time you are facing a conflict with your teammates
Keep rocking and all the best for your preparation :)
