BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEWS OVERVIEW

Behavioral questions ask the interviewee to provide examples and results of

actions from their career. For example, you might be asked, “Tell me about a time
when you handled a difficult situation.” To best address these questions, develop
strong examples prior to the interview that relate to the position description, and
use the BARE method (as shown below) to structure your answers.

You should also understand what skills and qualities employers are looking for
as they select candidates to join their teams. You will use the job description as a
guide to the specific skills and qualifications required for the role, but you should
also be aware of the skills that employers generally value in their employees.
Based on research from the National Association of Colleges and Employers and
the Graduate Management Admission Council Corporate Recruiters Survey,
employers place considerable weight on the following career competencies:
Professionalism, Communication, Critical Thinking, Teamwork, Technology,
Leadership, Equity & Inclusion, and Career & Self-Development. Communication
skills encompass cross-cultural competency as well as active listening. In-demand
technical skills change over time, so be sure to know which are valued in the
industry and role you are targeting.

As you prepare your behavioral interview responses, it is important to practice them in a

mock interview and on your own prior to the interview.

Behavioral questions help an interviewer predict future performance based on past successes and
behaviors. Your answers should be based on competencies and applicability for the specific position
in question. Your roadmap for preparation should be the job description, informational conversations,
GlassDoor.com as well as an understanding of the career-ready competencies discussed above.

HOW TO PREPARE YOUR RESPONSES

One of the smartest approaches to preparing for every interview is to deconstruct the job posting.
Review the position description and:

1. Determine which requirements are your strong suit, and how you will add value;
2. Be prepared to discuss your shortcomings, and how you will compensate; and
3. Decide which combination of skills and experience would make your contributions unique.

Customize your answers for each situation to ensure you are addressing the needs of the position.

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B-A-R-E METHOD
Addressing behavior-based interview questions: B =Background. Set up briefly the stage/context of
the situation; A=Action. What literally did you do? R =Result. What was the result or intended result
of your actions? E = Employer. Why is this story relevant to the employer?

B A R E
BACKGROUND ACTION RESULT EMPLOYER
Last semester I was on a I approached this team The team member I go out of my way to
team with five classmates member directly to talk admitted lack of good bring out the best in
to work on a project. about expectations and time management skills. others. It’s a common
After the first few missing meeting. I also I offered to send him career theme for me and
meetings, we realized asked if there was day-of reminders and he gives me confidence I
one member frequently anything I could do to was never late or missed will enjoy and fit in with
arrived to meetings late help him meet those another meeting again. your highly team-oriented
or not at all. commitments. environment.

BEHAVIORAL QUESTION EXAMPLES

• Tell me about a time when you disagreed with a directive from your manager.
• Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond work expectations to get a
job done well.
• Please describe an example of a leadership experience.

Below are sample questions broken into categories that MBA students should expect in an interview.
You will not get all of these questions, but it is highly likely you will get one or two from many of the
categories, depending on the role for which you are interviewing. If you prepare a few answers for
each of the categories, you should be in good shape. Abraham Lincoln once said, “If I had 8 hours to
cut down a tree, I would spend 6 hours sharpening my axe.” His words of wisdom definitely apply to
interview preparation.

TEAMWORK
Questions relate to ability to work with other peers, other units, and/or senior management to
accomplish organizational goals.

Please remember not to go into too much technical detail of a shared task or project. The question
is about collaboration and communication with others, and your answer should focus on how you
demonstrated teamwork.

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 • Describe a time when you got involved in teamwork which needed to be done but
which was not one of your responsibilities or work requirements.
• What have been two major contributions you have made to the effectiveness of
your team in the last year? What was the result of these contributions?
• Describe a situation where others you were working with on a project disagreed
with your ideas. What did you do?
• Describe a situation in which you found that your results were not up to your pro-
fessor’s or supervisor’s expectations. What happened? What action did you take?
• Tell of a time when you worked with a colleague who was not completing his or
her share of the work. How did you handle the situation?
• Describe a situation in which you had to arrive at a compromise or guide others
to a compromise.

ANALYSIS & CRITICAL THINKING

Please remember not to go into too much technical detail in your answer. The question is about
your analytical thought process and how you approached the problem.

• Give an example of a problem or project that required you to integrate and analyze
information from a number of different sources.
• What’s the most analytically challenging problem you’ve had to solve in the past
year or so?
• Describe a situation which illustrates your ability to identify central or underlying
issues in complex situations or problems.
• Can you give an example of when you analyzed financial information and made a
recommendation which provided a cost savings?
• What steps do you follow to study a problem before making a decision?
• We can sometimes identify a small problem and fix it before it becomes a major
problem. Give an example(s) of how you have done this.
• Recall a time from your work experience when your manager or supervisor was un-
available and a problem arose. What was the nature of the problem? How did you
handle the situation? How did that make you feel?

ADAPTABILITY
• How was your transition from college to your first job? What challenges did you
face in adapting and how did you overcome them?

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 • Tell of some situations in which you had to adjust quickly to changes over which
you had no control. What was the impact of the change on you?
• Describe a time when you had to adapt quickly to an unfamiliar or unpredictable
situation.
• Give an example of when you had to adjust quickly to a change in order to achieve
objectives.
• Describe a time when you had to work with unclear goals or changing priorities.
How did you approach the situation?
• Describe a time when you were confronted with an unfamiliar or unpredictable
situation which threatened to impact the effectiveness of your team.

PROFESSIONALISM & DRIVE

• Describe a time when you were not very satisfied or pleased with your performance.
What did you do about it?
• Give an example of your interaction with a new client; or discuss what you view as key
elements in making a successful presentation to leadership.
• What are your standards of success in school? What have you done to meet those
standards?

INITIATIVE
• Describe a project or idea that was implemented or carried out successfully primarily
because of your efforts.
• Describe a specific situation in which you had a creative idea or solution and discuss
the specific result. Choose a story in which your boss reacted positively.

PLANNING & ORGANIZING

• Describe a situation that required a number of things to be done at the same time.
How did you handle it?
• Tell me about a time when you changed any processes, functions, or methods of doing
work in your job so that you were more effectively able to complete your tasks.
• How do you determine priorities in scheduling your time? Give examples.

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 You need to assure the interviewer of your decision-making skills, and your ability
to prioritize the payback, values, and importance to the organization. Consider the
interviewer’s need to understand your capacity to make compromises between
quality and productivity, risks and rewards, etc. Give an example of a specific
situation and the result.
• Describe a time in school when you had many projects or assignments due at the
same time. What steps did you take to get them all done?

COMMUNICATION
• Tell of a time when your active listening skills really paid off for you, maybe a
time when other people missed the key idea being expressed.
• What has been your experience in giving presentations to small or large groups?
What has been your most successful experience in speech making?

CUSTOMER SERVICE ORIENTATION

• Tell of the most difficult customer service experience that you have ever had to
handle. Be specific and tell what you did and what the outcome was.

SENSITIVITY & INCLUSION

• Give an example of when you had to work with someone who was difficult to get
along with. Why was this person difficult? How did you handle that person?
• Describe a situation where you found team members not contributing to a project or
discussion. What did you do to include their input?
• Have you been in a situation when all people were not treated equitably? How did
you handle it?

TECHNICAL & PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE

Questions relate to level of understanding and ability to apply it.

• Sometimes it’s easy to get in “over your head.” Describe a situation where you had to
request help or assistance on a project or assignment.
• Tell about a time you mentored colleagues on a new technology or convinced your
manager that a new technology was necessary to drive success.

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 • What key technical skills do you have that are relevant to this role, and how have you
used them effectively in a past job? When in the past did you have to update your
technical skills to be able to achieve an optimal solution? How did you accomplish
that?

LEADERSHIP
Even if you have not worked in an official leadership position, think about a situation when you showed
leadership skills, such as taking the initiative, guiding, and/or convincing others to buy in. Again, it is not
about the specific details of the situation but about how you approached the team or individual, how you
engaged with them to make them finally follow your advice or idea.

• Describe a time when circumstances were difficult and you had to motivate your team
to achieve specific objectives.
• How would you deal with a team member who was under performing?
• How do you make your team members feel valued? Can you give an example of when
you have done this?
• It is often said that a leader must “walk the talk.” Please give an example of how you
have led your team by example.
• What makes you an effective manager?
Incorporate both your organizational effectiveness, people management, and staff
development skills. Think of specific examples to demonstrate your
effectiveness and make sure you mention results.

DECISION MAKING
• Tell me about a difficult decision you have made.
The interviewer is asking this question to learn about your problem-solving
and interpersonal skills as well as your values. The decision you mention
should be work-related, not personal. Remember to include your awareness
of the impact of your decision on the organization and the people with whom
you worked. Give enough details to allow the interviewer to understand the
complexity of the situation, the options available, and why you made your
decision. Select a decision you feel led to a successful outcome.

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 • How do you determine priorities in scheduling your time? (How did you determine
what was important and the order in which you would get each task done?)

You need to assure the interviewer of your decision-making skills and your
ability to prioritize the payback, values, and importance to the organization.
Consider the interviewer’s need to understand your capacity to make com-
promises between quality and productivity, risks and rewards, etc. Give an
example of a specific situation and the result.

OTHER QUESTIONS
• Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your manager. (What was the
nature of the disagreement and what did you do about it?)

Be careful how you respond to this question. It is appropriate to discuss

disagreements as long as they were handled professionally. Look for a win-win
situation. If your manager did not change his/her approach, show how, after
voicing your concern, you were a team player and supported management’s position.

• Describe a time on a job when you made a mistake. (What did you do about it, and
what did you learn?)

Do not highlight serious mistakes. This is not a time to be brutally honest.

Show how you corrected your mistake, learned from it, and never repeated it
again. Make sure you have thought of a mistake - nobody is perfect. Lack of a
mistake could seem vain. Do not choose a recent mistake, but one you did at
the beginning of your career.

• Discuss your professional development goals. How do you make time to accomplish
them? Can you give examples from your past when you have participated in profes-
sional development at your company or through an external resource?