How to Stand Out in Behavioral-Based Job Interviews
Even if you’ve spent weeks preparing, interviewing can be the most daunting part of the entire job search. You’ve already spent hours researching new positions, filling out applications and constructing answers to classic interview questions. Now, you need to stand out in your behavioral-based interviews to demonstrate your experience.
The good news? You have all the answers already; you just need to find the right stories and fine-tune your responses to show hiring managers why you’re the best choice for the job. Here’s everything you need to know to nail your next interview.
Behavioral-based interviews focus on your experiences, behaviors, knowledge, skills and abilities that relate to the position you’re applying for.
What are behavioral-based interviews?
Behavioral-based interviews focus on your experiences, behaviors, knowledge, skills and abilities that relate to the position you’re applying for. They’re based on the belief that past behavior and performance predict future behavior and performance.
Behavioral-based questions help managers understand how you react to different situations and how you conduct yourself in a professional environment. When you’re answering behavioral questions, you might use past work experience, activities, volunteer work, school projects or other relevant experiences to shed light on your background.
Some examples of behavioral interview questions might include:
Tell me an example of a problem you solved at a previous job that wasn’t part of your job description.
How do you work alongside coworkers who have different work styles than your own?
Describe a time when you were faced with a lot of pressure. How did you handle the situation?
How to answer behavioral-based questions
Behavioral interview questions can seem intimidating, but there’s a simple solution: the STAR method. Simply put, the STAR method is a structured format for responding to behavioral-based questions. It uses the following structure:
Situation: Describe the situation you were in. Here, you should focus on a specific situation instead of a generalized description of what you’ve done in the past.
Task: Describe the goal you were working toward. What problems did you need to solve?
Action: Describe the actions you took to solve the problem. What steps did you take? What was your contribution?
Result: Describe the outcome of your actions. What happened? What were the positive outcomes? What did you learn — and how can it help you succeed in your new position?
When you take time to prepare for behavioral interviews, you’ll show hiring managers why you’re the right candidate for the role. And remember: practice makes perfect! Don’t be afraid to start brainstorming answers before you schedule the interview to land your dream job.
Ready to kickstart your job search? Explore careers at CDW today.
– CDW Team
Even if you’ve spent weeks preparing, interviewing can be the most daunting part of the entire job search. You’ve already spent hours researching new positions, filling out applications and constructing answers to classic interview questions. Now, you need to stand out in your behavioral-based interviews to demonstrate your experience.
The good news? You have all the answers already; you just need to find the right stories and fine-tune your responses to show hiring managers why you’re the best choice for the job. Here’s everything you need to know to nail your next interview.
Behavioral-based interviews focus on your experiences, behaviors, knowledge, skills and abilities that relate to the position you’re applying for.
What are behavioral-based interviews?
Behavioral-based interviews focus on your experiences, behaviors, knowledge, skills and abilities that relate to the position you’re applying for. They’re based on the belief that past behavior and performance predict future behavior and performance.
Behavioral-based questions help managers understand how you react to different situations and how you conduct yourself in a professional environment. When you’re answering behavioral questions, you might use past work experience, activities, volunteer work, school projects or other relevant experiences to shed light on your background.
Some examples of behavioral interview questions might include:
Tell me an example of a problem you solved at a previous job that wasn’t part of your job description.
How do you work alongside coworkers who have different work styles than your own?
Describe a time when you were faced with a lot of pressure. How did you handle the situation?
How to answer behavioral-based questions
Behavioral interview questions can seem intimidating, but there’s a simple solution: the STAR method. Simply put, the STAR method is a structured format for responding to behavioral-based questions. It uses the following structure:
Situation: Describe the situation you were in. Here, you should focus on a specific situation instead of a generalized description of what you’ve done in the past.
Task: Describe the goal you were working toward. What problems did you need to solve?
Action: Describe the actions you took to solve the problem. What steps did you take? What was your contribution?
Result: Describe the outcome of your actions. What happened? What were the positive outcomes? What did you learn — and how can it help you succeed in your new position?
When you take time to prepare for behavioral interviews, you’ll show hiring managers why you’re the right candidate for the role. And remember: practice makes perfect! Don’t be afraid to start brainstorming answers before you schedule the interview to land your dream job.
Ready to kickstart your job search? Explore careers at CDW today.
– CDW Team
