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 BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Table of Contents…………………………………………………..……………………………………Pg.no
W-Questions on BEI…………………………………………………………….……...……….…………………………………………1
STAR Technique………………………………………………………………….….…..……….………………………………………2-3

List of BEI Competencies…………………………………………..………………..….…………………………………………….4-5

Competency-1: Teamwork & Collaboration.......................................................................................6
Competency-2: Innovation & Creativity.......………………………………………………………………..….................7
Competency-3: Communication…………………………………..………………………………………………………………….8

Competency-4: MS Office Proficiency……………………………………….……………………….……………………………9

Competency-5: Adaptability………………………………………………..……..…………………….………………………….10
Competency-6: Change Management………………………………….…………………………..……………………………11
Competency-7: Team Management…………………………………….……….………………………..……………..………12
Competency-8: Business Acumen…………………………………..……………….………………………………….…………13

Competency-9: Critical Thinking……………………………………………………………………………….……………………14

Competency-10: Customer/ Client Service Orientation……………….…………………………………………………15

Competency-11: Professional Development……………………………………………………………….…………………16

Competency-12: Project Management…………………….…………………….………..…………………………………...17

Competency-13: Result Orientation………………………………………………..…………………………………………....18

Competency-14: Accountability……………………………………………………..………………………………………….....19
Competency-15: Judgment & Decision Making………………………………………………………………………………20

Competency-16: Culture Awareness……………………………………………..……………………….……………………..21

Competency-17: Initiative……………..………………………………………………………………………………………………22
Competency-18: Negotiation & Influence………………………………………………………………………………………23
Competency-19: Client Focus……………………………………………………...…..……………………………………………24
Competency-20: Talent Management………………………………………..………………………………………………….25
Competency-21 : Facilitation ......................................................................................................... 26
Competency-22 : Risk Management .............................................................................................. 27

Competency-23 : Internal Control .................................................................................................. 28

Competency-24 : Strategy ............................................................................................................. 29

Competency-25 : Business Planning ............................................................................................... 30

Competency-26 : Management Reporting And Analysis ................................................................. 31

Competency-27 : Business Relations .............................................................................................. 32

Competency-28 : Business Process Management ........................................................................... 33

Competency-29 : Influence ............................................................................................................ 34

Competency-30 : Performance Management................................................................................. 35

Competency-31 : Professional Development ................................................................................. 36

Competency-32 : Compliance ........................................................................................................ 37

Competency-33 : Total Quality Management ................................................................................. 38

Competency-34 : Analysis and Use of Information ......................................................................... 39

Competency-35 : Organizational Awareness .................................................................................. 40

Competency-36 : Resilience ........................................................................................................... 41

Competency-37 : Diplomatic Sensitivity ......................................................................................... 42

Competency-38 : Motivation and Inspiration ................................................................................. 43

Competency-39 : Coaching and Mentoring .................................................................................... 44

Competency-40 : Partnering and Collaboration ............................................................................. 45

Competency-41 : Resource Management ...................................................................................... 46

Competency-42 : Research and Analysis ........................................................................................ 47

Competency-43 : Learning and Development ................................................................................ 48

Competency-44 : Manpower Planning and Recruitment ................................................................ 49

Competency-45 : Response to Pressure and Change ...................................................................... 50

►What is BEI?
Behavioral Event Interviewing (BEI) is a
technique that asks the candidate to

►Why is BEI useful?

describe a situation or an experience they
had in a previous job. Responses may not be
as polished as the traditional type of
question because they cannot be rehearsed It’s important to assess whether the
ahead of time. Nonetheless, the interviewer candidate demonstrates traits that fit your
gathers valuable information from workplace culture. BEI questions solicit real-
experiential responses because past life experiential responses that provide a
performance predicts future performance. way to evaluate skills, knowledge, and
behaviors versus philosophical views. The
candidate’s responses are a true indication
of how the candidate will behave and
perform in future work-related situations.

►Who should use BEI?

Behavioral Event Interviewing is helpful for
anyone conducting an interview, particularly
the hiring manager. The technique works ►When is BEI used?
well in a multiple- interviewer scenario.
Various questions can be assigned to Behavioral Event Interviewing can be used
members of the interview team, or the to evaluate candidates for any open
hiring manager can seek multiple position. A critical success factor in selecting
perspectives if the same questions are asked the best candidate is seeking adequate
by more than one member. information to assess whether the
candidate’s skills, education, experience,
and behavioral traits are a good match with
the key job requirements and your
organization’s culture.
 The questions for behavioral interviews should
be written to elicit details about a candidate’s
past experience that would reflect the
identified job-related competencies. These
questions should be clear and concise and
should encourage candidates to share openly
about their typical behaviors that demonstrate
the job-related competencies in question.

Situation
• An event, project, or challenge faced.

● Your responsibilities and assignments for the

Task situation.

• Steps or procedure taken to relieve or rectify

Action situation.

• Results of actions taken.

Result
The STAR method is a technique of answering behavioral
interview questions in a structured manner by describing a
specific situation, task, action, and result of the situation you
are discussing. The STAR method helps you explain in a simple
yet powerful way how you handled specific work situations and
challenges.

The STAR interview method is also called the CAR method,

which stands for Context/Challenge, Action, Result. They’re
essentially the same approach, with the Context of the CAR
technique being equivalent to the Situation and Task of the
STAR technique. It is synonymous, too, with the PAR method,
which stands for Problem, Action, Result.
List of competencies for which BEI Questions are
mentioned:

List of Competencies

Teamwork & Professional

Collaboration Development
Innovation & Creativity Project Management

Communication Result Orientation

Adaptability Accountability
Microsoft Office Judgment & Decision
Proficiency Making
Change Management Culture Awareness
Team Management Initiative
Business Acumen Negotiation & Influence

Critical Thinking Client Focus

Customer/ Client Service
Orientation Talent Management
 List of Competencies
Analysis and Use of
Facilitation Information
Risk Management Organizational Awareness
Internal Control Resilience
Strategy Diplomatic Sensitivity
Business Planning Motivation and Inspiration
Management Reporting
And Analysis Coaching and Mentoring
Partnering and
Business Relations Collaboration
Business Process
Management Resource Management
Influence Research and Analysis
Learning and
Performance Management Development
Manpower Planning and
Professional Development Recruitment
Response to Pressure and
Compliance Change
Total Quality Management
 TEAMWORK & COLLABORATION

BEHAVIORAL TRAITS QUESTIONS

Illustrate a situation which substantiates you as a goal-oriented person.
Take me through a situation where you empowered others to reach their goals.
Goal Guidance How did an effective goal setting/goal guidance benefit your career?
How did you plan your strategies to complete the assigned task?
Give me a situation where you played a major role in a team to achieve your team targets.
How did you promote an effective work etiquette in your team?
How many different types of team etiquette did you follow in your previous organization?
Team Etiquette In what way did you show respect for your fellow team members?
How did you create and maintain harmonious workplace relationship and ensure productivity at the same time?
How did you deal with stubborn team member of your team?
What are all the different types of conflict situations you have experienced?
Walk me through a situation where you have handled a major conflict.
How did you handle it when someone requests that you do something you don’t want to do?
Conflict Handling Tell me about a situation in which you faced an ethical conflict.

How did you disagree without being disagreeable?

Give me two situations where you opened up and closed down in a conflict.
Tell me about your experience of implementing others idea, because it will result on a better outcome than your
idea? How did you take it?
What part of your job do you enjoy the most?
Knowledge How did you keep yourself updated with new technologies?
Information/Sharing How did you share your knowledge and expertise with others to solve a technical problem in developing good
product?
Would you rather work with information or with people?
Tell me a time when you have supported other units of your Organization in solving special task.
Are you typically a meets expectations person or an exceeds expectations person? Illustrate.
Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond the requirements for a project.
Tell me about the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your organization.
Willingness to accept
Challenges Walk me through a situation where you had to accept few responsibilities but failed to achieve them. What was the
reason for your failure?
‘Describe a situation when you were responsible for the completion of a task.’
Provide an example of when you had to go above and beyond your normal duties in order to get the job done
Differentiate Employee participation and employee involvement with an example
How often did you participate in organizational events?
Participation What was the best learning you have gained by attending few events in your organization?
How well did you plan yourself to take part in multifunctional activities?
Give me an example why do you thing participation in an meeting is important?
 INNOVATION & CREATIVITY

BEHAVIORAL TRAITS QUESTIONS

What new approaches have you used in your organization to enhance the productivity?

Have you ever focused on developing your competencies?

Incorporation of new Give me an example of your recent skill development.

methods What are all the new methods you have foregone in recent days?

How did you motivate yourself to up skill your knowledge?

Specify me a time when you had a tough time in developing a new product.

How did you escalate an important issue you’re facing with the management?

Tell me about a time where you had to solve a problem on your own.

Outlook/perspective How did you handle problems and issues when they come up in your work?
towards issues What had been the most difficult situation for you to deal with in your current team?

What were the different ways you incorporate to overcome an issue?

Tell me about a time you used your creativity to overcome an obstacle.

Tell me about a project you worked on where you really had to utilize your imagination?

Specify me about a time you had created a product out of box with help of yours creativeness.
How did you get through the un-usual scenarios using your analytical thinking?
Openness to the new
ideas Give me an example of when you went into firefighting mode.

Give me an example of your resourcefulness.

Tell me about a time you tried a new way of doing something.

Tell me about a recent successful experience in understanding and responding to a client?

Have you ever had to learn an idea from your co-workers? How did you do it?
Give me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate with another person even when
that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa).
Listening Ability
What obstacles or difficulties have you ever faced while others are communicating with you regarding project
details?

Tell me about a time in which you had to use your listening skills in order to get an important point across.

When have you chosen to communicate a particular message in person as opposed to via telephone?

What are all the various questioning techniques?

Questioning How have you used a question to probe for more information when a person is being evasive?
Technique How do you show a person that you have understood what they have said?

How do you verify that you understand what someone has told you? Give examples.
 COMMUNICATION

BEHAVIORAL TRAITS QUESTIONS

Tell me about a recent successful experience in making a speech or presentation?
When have you had to present to a group of people with little or no preparation? What obstacles did you face?
How did you handle them?
What are your thoughts on Open communication within the team?
Tell us about a situation where communication played an important role?
Which departments do you interact with other than your own team? How often? What are the challenges
Oral Communication faced?
What mode of communication you maintain to communicate with you sub-ordinate staff ? Which mode is
most effective and why?
How did you interact with your team members located in other location?
Tell me your experience on how you convince a customer buying an expensive product, how did you convince
him/her?
Detail a procedure or product, starting with a general over-view and then going into specifics.
How well did you present a written document/report to your higher authorities?
Give me a example why do you thing written communication is important.
Written
What are the various types of written communications you have used?
communication
What rules must a professional follow while drafting an e-mail?
What are the various modes of communication available in your current job?
How did you grab the attention of the listeners without being spoken at the beginning of a presentation?
How did you plan yourself to be the best while attending an interview?
Body Language Tell me a time when actions spoke louder than words?
Specify me a situation when you were able to propose an idea but failed in execution? What are the reasons
for you failure?
Tell me about a time when you had to understand another person's point of view or position in order to solve a
problem.
Describe a situation in which you had to arrive at a compromise or guide others to a compromise.
Listening Skills 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.
Describe a work situation that required you to really listen and display compassion to a co worker/ employee
who was telling you about a personal/sensitive situation.
What process do you use to check that you have the right details from a customer?

Give me an example of a time you discovered an error that been overlooked by a colleague. What did you do?
What was the outcome?
Tell me about a time that you were confused by a customer’s request. What steps did you take to clarify
things?
Attention to detail Describe a situation when you rolled your eyes in front of your boss?
Have you ever summarized a content/presentation of others? Explain in detail with a situation?
Tell me a time when you had presentenced inaccurate report to your manager? What problems have you
faced?
Describe a situation when and where you did not get through the client in order to have a task
accomplishment.
What responsibilities have you taken for not submitting the project before deadline? How did you handle?
 ADAPTABILITY
BEHAVIORAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Give me example on how did you adapt on annoying customer and how did you resolve it?
Describe to me a time when you had to develop new product but it was not approved after development? Walk me
through the situation, your approach and the results.

Give examples of situations where you have gone above and beyond your job description and how did that make you
Flexible way of feel.
thinking State some experience you had with working with other nationalities, how did you deal with them?

Tell me about a time when you had to adjust to a colleague’s working style in order to complete a project or achieve
your objectives.

Give examples of situations where you were asked to do various functions which were not part of job responsibility.
How comfortable are you in spite of being relocated?
How did you plan to swap yourself what you are doing to meet an objective?
Give me an example when you were engaged in multi-cultural work force in your previous employment?

Have you had challenges on being short staffed and have a deadline around the corner? Describe the challenges
Plan Ahead faced and how did you overcome them.

Describe a situation that required you to do a number of things at the same time. How did you handle it? What was
the result?

Illustrate an example where you were asked to plan an event which you have ever done before. How did you manage
it?
What sorts of interesting things have you done to become better qualified for your career?
What are all the interesting aspects did you have in your last job?

Curiosity Careers grow and develop just like people do. They are born, have a youth, prime, and mature period. Where did you
find your career most interesting? Why? What are you doing to sustain it?
Why were you promoted in your last job? What qualities in you interested your manager to promote?
What have you done to get ahead?
Illustrate a situation where you have used your capability to overcome a hard time in your life.

Tell me about a situation in which you have had to adjust to changes over which you had no control. How did you
handle it?
Describe a situation where you had to deal with a emergency conditions, in terms of clients project work.
Resourcefulness Describe to me a time when you had to change your work approach during a stressful condition? Walk me through
the situation, your approach and the results.
Describe a time when you kept from getting bored when dealing with routine tasks.

Describe a time when you performed a task outside your perceived responsibilities. What was the task?Why did you
perceive it to be outside your responsibilities? What was the outcome?
 MICROSOFT OFFICE PROFICIENCY

BEHAVIORAL TRAITS QUESTIONS

Tell me about the most complex document you have created in Word and the features or
tools that you used to create the document.
How did you create a document in Microsoft Word from scratch?
MS Word How did you save a document in Microsoft Word?

How did you track changes to documents?

How did you format text, change font, and font size?

How did you check spellings and grammar of a MS Word document?

Tell me about the most complex document you have created in Excel and the features or tools
that you used to create the document.

How did you create a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel from scratch?

MS Excel How did you print a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel?

How did you format cells in a spreadsheet?

Which Microsoft would you use to prepare your regular reports in your organization?
What are all the different types of Microsoft office you have used and explain in detail each of
them?

Tell me your experiences of using the Microsoft outlook?

Tell me a situation where you had to reply a customers dissatisfied response through outlook.

How did handle the large number of queries from customers through a outlook?
MS Outlook
What care would you take while responding a customer through a Outlook/mail?
What are all the tools did you use while handling the MS outlook?
Describe a situation where you had a positive feedback from customer through a mail?

Tell me about the most complex document you have created in PowerPoint and the features
or tools that you used to create the document.

How did you view your presentation in full screen mode?

How did you build a slide in a blank presentation?

MS PowerPoint
How did you select and apply Theme colors?

Describe a situation when you gave your best in power point presentation.
How did you apply a transition to a slide?

How did you create a new presentation?

 CHANGE MANAGEMENT
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Give me an example of a time when you had to engage in future planning.
Tell me about a time when you participated in developing your departmental or organizational business strategy. What
was your role? How did you approach it?
Tell me about a time when you identified a need for a new approach or product to meet a market need.
Strategic Thinking Tell me how the duties and responsibilities of your current (or past) position related to the organization’s business
strategy.
What do you think is the role of the president/CEO in strategic planning for the organization? Why? Explain.
Is it more important to be a detail-oriented person or a big-picture person? Explain with a situation you face foregone.
Give me an example of an opportunity you had to create to accomplish something new or in a new way.
Tell me about a time when you suggested a better way to do a task to make work easier or save money.
Describe a time where you used your creativity. Why was it creative or innovative? How was your creativity beneficial to
your department?
Innovation Enrollment What is the most creative thing you did in your last job/group project? How did this creativity affect the particular
situation?
Tell me about a problem that you’ve solved in a unique or unusual way. What was the outcome? Were you happy or
satisfied with it?
When have you brought an innovative idea into your team? How was it received?
Tell me a time when you helped others understand or accept a substantial change in their work or work environment.
Tell us about a situation in which you have had to adjust quickly to changes over which you had no control. What was the
impact of the change on you?
Facilitating Change Tell me about a difficult change you have had to make in your professional career. How did you manage the change?
Describe a time a change effort you were involved in was not as successful as you or the company would have liked.
Give me an example of a time you had to adjust quickly to changes over which you had no control. What was the impact
of the change on you?
How do you develop a transition strategy which will help people see change as incremental and
appropriate?
In implementing change, what do you find to be the most important steps to take in preparation? Provide some examples.
If I asked you for three of the most important things required to manage a change process successfully start to finish, how
Transition Monitoring would you respond?
Most people believe that change has to start at the top. To what extend have you found this to be true? Give some
examples.
What are some of the major steps you take as you plan for change? How did you monitor further?
To what extent are you a believer in involvement of people in changes which effect them?
How did you keep track of what your subordinates are doing when there is change in project details?
Specify me a time when you had a sudden change in deadline. How did you evaluate the productivity / effectiveness of
your subordinates ?
Transition Control How did you get data for performance reviews when you had sudden changes at your organization?
How did you keep track of delegated assignments from old subordinates to new subordinate?
What administrative paperwork did you have? Is it useful? Why/why not?
Please tell us about a time when you led a significant change in your organization and how you helped others to deal with
the change.
Tell me about a time when you had to help others deal with change.
Tell me about a time when you anticipated the future and made changes to current responsibilities/operations to meet
Transition Support future needs.
Give me an example of a time when you helped a staff member accept change and make the necessary adjustments to
move forward. What were the change/transition skills that you used?

Tell me about a time when your department was going through long-term changes or working on a long-term project.
What did you do to keep your staff focused?
 TEAM MANAGEMENT
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Tell me about a time when you became aware of conflict and what you did about it.
Tell me about a time when you had to deal with conflict within your workplace.
Give me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate with another person even when you
felt the individual did not value your perspective.
Conflict Resolution
Describe a time when you facilitated a creative solution to a problem between employees.
Tell me about a recent success you had with an especially difficult employee/coworker.
Describe a time when you took personal accountability for a conflict and initiated contact with the individual(s)
involved to explain your actions.
Describe a situation where you were unbiased to keep up organization's prescribed work ethics.
Tell me a situations where you reviewed the performance of your team members? How did you do that?
Unbiased What are all the different criteria's did you take into consideration while having a team meeting?

Specify a situation where you haven't received a proper appraisal though you are a high performer among your team
members?
Tell me about a time you had to conform to a policy you did not agree with.
Give an example of a time when you didn’t agree with other programmer. Did you stand up for something that you
believed was right?
What’s the most successful team project you’ve worked on?
Collaboration Tell me about a time when you had to work on a team and felt disappointed in the outcome.

Share a time when you had to work with a teammate who wasn’t pulling their weight on a project. What happened?

Tell me about a time when you had to work on a team that did not get along. What happened? What role did you
take? What was the result?
When did you give positive feedback to people? Tell me about the last time you did. Give an example of how you
handle the need for constructive criticism with a subordinate or peer.
How did you handle performance reviews? Tell me about a difficult one.
Reviewing skills How did you handle a subordinate whose work is not up to expectations?
How did you coach a subordinate to develop a new skill?
How often did you discuss a subordinate's performance with him/her? Give an example.
How did you go about setting goals with subordinates? How do you involve them is this process?
Describe two specific goals you set for yourself and how successful you were in meeting them. What factors led to
your success in meeting your goals?
Give me an example of an important career goal that you set yourself and tell me how you reached it. What obstacles
did you encounter? How did you overcome the obstacles?
Tell me about a professional goal that you set that you did not reach. How did it make you feel?
Goal-setting & Tracking
How have you gone about setting short-term goals and long-term goals for yourself or your team? What steps did you
take along the way to keep yourself accountable?
Describe a circumstance when you were not able to achieve a project goal that was set by your supervisor. How did
you handle this situation? What was the outcome?
Think about an instance in which you had to depend on others to help you achieve a project goal. How did you feel?
 BUSINESS ACUMEN
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Tell me about a time when your understanding of the business helped you to achieve a goal.

Tell me about a time when you thought specifically about your organization’s strategy and goals in deciding
on a course of action.

Business Sense Give me an example of a decision that was made in your area that had a major impact on another area or
department.

Give me an example of a time when your understanding of your organizations business needs enabled you
to achieve something that, had you lacked the understanding, you probably would not have achieved.

Tell me about a time you recognized a problem before your boss or others in the organization did.

Tell me about a time you used your knowledge of the organization to get an idea approved.

Tell me about a time you used financial data to support a successful project.

Business Savvy Recall an occasion when you had to explain your department's losses.

What have you done in your previous positions at other companies that made a significant difference to
the business and for which you believe you will be remembered?

Tell me about a time when you used industry data to support a successful project.

What new business opportunities did you recognize while at you last employer?

How well has your business/facility/group performed? How did you contribute to this?

How well has your business unit performed? What have you done to increase its performance?

Business situation What have you done to improve the short-term strength of your business unit? What have you done to
strengthen the long-term stability of your business unit?

Specify me a time when you were given the responsibility to start a new department from scratch, what
are the basics that you would need to consider?

Was there a time when you struggled to meet a deadline? Tell us about it.

Can you give me an example of a time when you have had to keep abreast of external factors that could
have affected your organization? How did you use the knowledge gained?

Give me an example of a problem that you became aware of that was caused by external factors affecting
Organizational your organization. How did you handle the problem?
Awareness
Describe your involvement in a situation that was made difficult because of organizational politics, either in
your own organization or another.

Tell me about a time when you used your own knowledge of the organization to get what you needed.

Tell me about a time when you used economic environment data to support a successful project.
 CRITICAL THINKING
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
What innovative procedures have you developed? How did you develop them? Who was involved?
Where did the ideas come from?
What new or unusual ideas have you developed on your job? How did you develop them? What was the
result? Did you implement them?

What have been some of your most creative ideas?

Create and Adapt
People frequently borrow ideas they have seen elsewhere and then apply them in a new setting. How
have you done this?

Describe a situation where you were required to create information in order to identify a need.

Give me an example of when you discovered a more efficient way to perform your job.

Have you ever worked with a colleague to solve a problem? What was the situation? How did you go
about working it through? What was your role?

How have you helped cross-functional groups work together?

Sometimes we have an all-hands-on-deck situation that may require everyone to work extra hours. How
would you handle that?
Collaborate
Everyone starts somewhere. Talk about a time when you were new on the job and had a lot to learn. How
did you manage that?

When is the last time you had a disagreement with a peer? How did you resolve the situation?

Some people work best as part of a group - others prefer the role of individual contributor. How would
you describe yourself? Give an example of a situation where you felt you were most effective.

Tell me about a time when you were involved in an unsuccessful outcome.

Tell me about a time when you learned from a difficult situation. How did that learning happen?

Tell me about a time when you missed an obvious solution to a problem.

Strive
Describe a situation in which you found that your results were not up to your supervisor's expectations.
What action did you take?
Describe a time when you were not very satisfied or pleased with your performance.What did you do
about it?

Tell me about a time when you failed to meet a deadline. What did you learn?
 CUSTOMER/ CLIENT SERVICE
ORIENTATION
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Tell me about a time when your success depended on your prior working relationship with a customer. Describe the
situation and the outcome.

Tell me about a time when you went the extra mile to meet the needs of a customer.
Service Tell me about a time in your previous job when you accommodated the client or customer even though it was more work
for you or went against your instincts. What was the result?
Tell me about a time when you made a lasting, positive impression on a customer.
Please describe the way you typically introduce yourself to customers/Clients.
Tell me about a time when you were sensitive to how another reacted in an emotional or tense situation. What did you do?
What was the outcome?

Tell me about a time when you volunteered your help to someone in need. How did they react? How did it turn out?

Give me an example of a time when your positive attitude caused others to be motivated or energized. What was the
Courtesy situation? What was the result?

Give an example of a situation where others were intense but you were able to maintain your composure. What was the
outcome? ƒ

It is important to maintain a positive attitude at work when you have other things on your mind. Give a specific example of
when you were able to do that.
Give me an example of something you have done to either develop or strengthen customer relationships.

Tell me about one or two customer‐service related programs that you’ve done that you’re particularly proud of.
Accessibility
how did you make yourself accessible to customers/client?
Describe different ways where customers can reach out you quickly.
Tell me about a situation where you had to remain quiet when dealing with a hostile customer. How did you handle the
situation?
Give me an example of when you initiated a change in process or operations in response to customer feedback.
Tell me about a time when you did your best to resolve a customer or client concern and the individual was still not
Responsiveness satisfied.
Tell me about a time when you encountered a customer who was complaining of poor service. What did you do?
Tell me about a time you wished you would have handled an unhappy, angry, or irate customer a different way.
Tell me about a difficult customer or a customer complaint that you have dealt with.
Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond to deliver exceptional customer service.
We all deal with difficult customers from time to time. Tell me about a challenging client-facing situation and how you
handled it.
Tell me about a customer whose needs you spent considerable time learning about. What was the result of the time
Knowledgability investment?
Tell me about a time when you worked to get to the bottom of a particular problem.

Describe a time when you had to get more information to resolve an issue. What did you do to acquire that knowledge?

Tell me about a time when you were successful in getting crucial information from another person.
 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Describe a time when you took a new job that required a much different set of skills from what you had. How did you go
about acquiring the needed skills?
Tell me about a time when you volunteered for an assignment to expand your knowledge and skills.
Have you had an occasion when a prior strength actually turned out to be a weakness in another setting? How did you cope?
Learning Opportunities What area of your last job was most challenging for you? Why was this specific part of the position difficult? Is this still
challenging? Why or why not?
What are all the different types of learning you have experienced in your career?
Throughout your career have you learned more about your profession through coursework or through on the job
experience? Explain.
Tell me about a time you had to provide constructive feedback to an employee who was not meeting performance
expectations.
Tell me about a time when you had to give the "benefit of the doubt" to a coworker/ supervisor. What was the outcome?

Feedback Tell me about a time when you created order out of chaos? What was the end result?
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. Where did you stand?
Describe a time when you were assigned a complex project. What steps did you take to prepare for and finish the project?
Were you happy with the outcome? What one step would you have done differently if given the chance?
What are the various strengths do you suppose?
Specify a situation when your weakness turned out to be a strength.
Tell me about a time when you were able to step into a situation, take charge, muster support, and achieve good results.
Strengths Tell me about a time when you accomplished something significant that wouldn’t have happened if you had not been there
to make it happen.
Tell me about a specific project or program that you were involved with that resulted in improvement in a major work area.
Tell me about a situation in which you were able to find a new and better way of doing something significant.
Tell me about a time when you needed to have co-workers working on a project who normally have different work
styles/ideas. How did you pull them together?
Tell me about a time when you deliberately chose to establish a positive, collegial relationship with a colleague or
customer/client.
Professional
Describe a professional relationship you have established, and tell me about a situation where you have used it to deal with
Associations a work-related task or problem.
Tell me about a time when you had to adapt to a wide variety of people by accepting/understanding their perspective.
Tell me about a situation where you had to work collaboratively with stakeholders.
Describe a situation when you interacted with a stakeholder.
Tell me about a time when you had an opportunity to develop the knowledge, skills or abilities of another person.
Tell me about a time you coached or mentored someone to a higher level of performance or a higher level position.
Give me an example of a time you helped one of your direct reports develop or improve their skills. How did you determine
this was a developmental need?
Professional Describe a professional knowledge that you have shared with an external stakeholder.
Knowledge Tell me about a time when you had to foster learning in a client/customer to allow them to operate independently.
Describe the process or method you used in a particular situation to develop an understanding of your internal/external
customer’s viewpoints and needs.
State a situation of hard pitch to push where your industry/ domain knowledge helped over.
How do you generate a familiar likability while demonstrating you know the industry well enough to be helpful with your
advice?
Industry Trends Demonstrate a scenario how your industrial potential serve your objectives/goals/needs.
Mention any 2 newsletters/business letters that enhanced forecasting ability.
What Trends In The Field Would Be Most Likely To Affect the business/organization in the next 2 years.
 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
What type of projects have you managed in the past?
What did you bring to the last position you were in? Describe how your strengths improved the team.
Tell me about a time when your success depended on your prior working relationship with a customer. Describe the
situation and the outcome.
Focus What was the last big project you worked on?
Tell me about a time in your previous job when you accommodated the client or customer even though it was more work for
you or went against your instincts. What was the result?
Tell me about a situation where you had to remain quiet when dealing with a hostile customer. How did you handle the
situation?
Tell me a time in which you had to not finish a task because of a lack of information. How did you handle it?
Explain in detail the requirements of the project work which you have done?
Anticipation of Project
How did you predict the project requirements that are essential to accomplish the task?
needs Specify a situation when did you go wrong is gathering the information for completion of a task?

Describe a situation you were unable to meet the project requirements? What did you learn from the situation?
Describe specific examples of when you have had to schedule and coordinate the work of others. How did you handle it?
What did you do when your time schedule is upset by unforeseen circumstances? Give examples.
Give me an example from your working history that demonstrates your ability to organize and maintain a system of records
to facilitate your work.
Plan for execution Describe a work procedure or process you have implemented or reengineered to increase you or your team's work
efficiency.
Give an example of when you entered a work group as the new leader and identified areas for improvement. What actions
did you take?
Tell me about a project where you had to manage multiple resources to accomplish the desired result.
Have you had a non-productive team member on your project team? What happened and how did you handle this situation?
Give me an example of a time you needed to solicit input to effectively do your job. Who did you go to?
Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way.
Communication Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation skills to influence someone’s opinion.
How do you encourage the sharing of best practices with other areas?
Tell me about a difficult situation were you had to build credibility with peers.
Tell me about a time you had to gain the support of people that you did not manage.
Specify a time when you were able to implement a project in the given time lines?
what are the different types of project exceptions have you experienced till date?
Execution Tell me a situation where you were unable to reach the milestone that is required?
Describe a situation where you need to implemented new ideas in the project to accomplish in the given period o time?
How did you prepare yourself to present a project that you have ever worked before?
What steps do you follow to study a problem before making a decision?
Recall a time from your work experience when your manager or supervisor was unavailable and a problem arose. What was
the nature of the problem? How did you handle that situation? How did that make you feel?
What are some of the problems you have faced; such as between business development and project leaders, between one
Review department and another, between you and your peers? How did you react in that situation.
Tell me about a time when some team member of your team did something completely different from the plan and/or
assignment. Why? How did you review the assignment?
When was the last time something came up in a meeting that was not covered in the plan? What did you do? What were the
results of your judgment?
 RESULT ORIENTATION
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
How do you communicate personal goals to others? Give an example.
How have you involved others in the development of your goals? Give an example.
Give an example of a goal that you failed to meet in the past. What circumstances caused you to fall short and how did you
recover?
Goal Setting
What have you done in the past to ensure that you are contributing to organizational goals?
ƒGive me an example of a time when you set a goal and were able to meet or achieve it. What about an example of when
you did not meet your goal?
Can you provide an example of a time when you felt your goals were unreasonable? What did you do about it?
Give me an example of an important goal you focused on and your success in achieving it.
Describe a time when, against all odds, you were able to get a project or task completed within the defined parameters.
Focus Describe a time when you kept a proposed action or project on track when it was in danger of being derailed.
Describe a time when your commitment to a proposed action helped you to persevere.
Tell me about a time when you had to choose the actions taken based on a long term goal.
Describe some projects or ideas that were implemented, or carried out successfully primarily because of your efforts.
Tell me about a time when you were asked to complete a difficult assignment and the odds were against you. What did you
learn from the experience?
Describe the project or situation that best demonstrates your abilities. What was your role?
Involvement Tell me about a time you were able to identify key or underlying issues in a complex situation. How did you make yourself
involved in that situation?
Describe the most complex assignment you have had? What was your role?
Give me an example of a time when you had a lot of tasks put on your plate all at once. How did you involve in multi
tasking? Were you able to achieve them?
Have you worked under time constraints before? Can you give us an example?
Was there a time when you struggled to meet a deadline? Tell us about it.
Describe a time you identified a barrier to your (and or others’) productivity and what you did about it.
Time Management
When you have a lot of work to do or multiple priorities, how do you get it all done? Give me an example.
How did you keep your team from feeling overwhelmed when various projects in process are equally important?
Describe the workload at your current position. How do you feel about it? What would you change about it, if you could?
Describe a situation where you had to work on different resources to resolve an issue. What did you do to get it?
Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a particular resource management issue regarding people, materials, assets
or budgets.
Tell me about a time when your ability to accurately scope out time requirements for tasks and projects made you
Resource Utilization successful
Tell me about a time when you prepared a budget larger than any you had ever done before.
Describe a time you had to deal with a particularly difficult resource management issue regarding people/material/assets.
Tell me about a time where you had to form partnerships with others to secure resources needed to achieve your work
goals.
We can sometimes recognize a small problem and fix it before it becomes a major problem. Give an example of how you
acted to prevent a larger problem from occurring.
Tell me about a time when you thought through the consequences of a specific action in planning a project. What obstacles
or barriers did you discover?
Describe a situation in which you forecasted a problem and prepared a strategy for handling it. How did it turn out?
Energy Level
In your experience at your previous organization, describe the most tiring duties.
There are days or times of day for everyone where energy level may be a bit low. Can you think of a situation where your
energy level was low and you were able to re-fuel?
Tell me about a time you had to revitalize a stagnant team? What techniques did you find particularly successful?
 ACCOUNTABILITY
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Tell me about a time when you promoted the organization's goals before a group.
Tell me about a time when you took on a difficult challenge for the benefit of the organization.

Commitment Describe the system you use for keeping track of multiple projects. How do you track your progress so that
you can meet deadlines? How do you stay focused?
Tell me about a situation you were in where you followed rules and procedures?
Tell me about a time when it was very difficult to follow through on a task or project.

Compare and contrast the times when you performed work which was above the standard with times your
work was below the standard.

Describe a project for which you were responsible that demonstrated your commitment to producing a
high quality product or result.
Ownership How have you differed from your professors in evaluating your performance? How did you handle the
situation?
What are your standards of success at your workplace? What have you done to meet these standards?

Describe some times when you were not very satisfied or pleased with your performance. What did you do
about it?
Give me an example of when you earned the trust of others by being dependable.
Tell me about time when you took action to ensure that others met established performance standards.
How did you feel about being held accountable?

Being Responsible Tell me about a time one of your direct reports was not meeting expectations. What did you do? What was
the result?

Tell me about a time when you had to provide constructive feedback to a direct report, outside contractor,
other agency, etc. who was not meeting expectations.
Tell me about a time when you shared or delegated responsibility. What did you do?
Describe a situation where you had to deal with a performance issue. How did you handle it?
Discuss a work situation in which you felt you successfully directed the work of others.
Tell me about a time you needed to implement a new or different performance standard for your team.
Tell me about a time when you delegated a project effectively.
Presence
Tell me about a time you encouraged your direct reports to be actively involved in solving problems
related to their position rather than coming to you for the answers

Describe for me a time when you provided your direct report(s) with the freedom to determine their work
process, within the parameters of the task/project, even though you may have completed the work
another way
 JUDGEMENT & DECISION MAKING
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Tell me about a time that you had to make a very fast decision / split second decision
Tell me about a time that you had to make a quick decision without full information
Tell me about a time that you used technology to make a decision
Analysis
Tell me about a time when you had to analyze facts quickly, define key issues, and respond immediately or develop a plan
that produced good results.
Describe for me a time when you had to analyze an important decision with limited facts.
Tell me about a time you had to make a work-related decision and the steps you took to reach your decision.

Describe a time when you had to make a very important and difficult decision that affected everyone in your department.

Action Give a specific example of a decision you made that was not effective. Why do you think it was not effective, and what did
you do when this realization was made?
Tell me about a time which your creative ideas were ignored.
If you had to do that activity over again, how would you do it differently?
Describe a situation which called for your creative and original input?
When have you managed to convince conventionally minded people into adopting new ideas?
Describe how you used your problem-solving skills to benefit a team or company.
Solution How did you approach problems? What’s your process?
Explain a time when you took the initiative on a project.
Tell me about a time when you were consulted for a problem.
Tell me about a difficult decision you've made in the last year.
Describe a time when you set your sights too high (or too low).
Tell me about a time when you had multiple important projects to finish and how you prioritized them.
Judgment Can you recall an experience where you received conflicting pieces of feedback on a project? How did you address this
feedback?
Describe a time when a close colleague caused a project to suffer or fail, and how you explained this failure to the project
manager.
Describe for me a situation where you may have missed an obvious solution to a problem.
Tell me about a time when you anticipated potential problems and developed preventative measures.

Tell me about a time when you predicted a major obstacle and what measures have you taken to overcome them?

Prediction Give me an example of a time you identified a potential problem and resolved it before the situation became serious.

What’s the best idea you’ve come up with on a team-based project? When you found the previous one doesn’t workout?

Describe a time when you had to consider various options before you could come to a conclusion.
Give an example of a time when you were trying to meet a deadline, you were interrupted, and did not make the deadline.
How did you respond?

Suppose you are in a situation where deadlines and priorities change frequently and rapidly. How would you handle it?
Flexibility
Give an example of a time when you had to quickly change project priorities. How did you do it?
People react differently when job demands are constantly changing. How did you react to this?
Give an example of a time in which you had to be relatively quick in coming to a decision.
 CULTURE AWARENESS
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
What are the three things that are most important to you in a job?

Tell me about a time in the last week when you’ve been satisfied, energized, and productive at work. What were you
doing?
Recognition of Culture
differences Specify a time when you had abide to your organization’s culture.
How did you choose our company over others? Give me an example.
What was the biggest misconception your coworkers have about you and why did they think that?

Where did you see yourself when you are surrounded with a large group of people? What is your role in that
situation? Specify with an example.

What are all the various factors do you consider to develop a relationship with your co-workers?
Impartiality How would you approach a disengaged employee who tanks the team’s productivity?
What’s your preferred way of working on a group project: each member works on an assigned task independently or
the entire team meets and works together? Why?
Tell me about a time when you had a difference of opinion with a teammate.
Tell me about a time that you acted with integrity.
How would other people describe your work ethic?
Tell me about a time when you were honest and forthcoming and it was difficult to do so.

Tell me about a tough decision you made. What steps, thought processes, and considerations did you take to make an
Integrity objective decision?

Give me examples of how your have acted with integrity (walked your talk) in your job/work relationship.
Tell me about a time when you took responsibility for an error and were held personally accountable.
Discuss a time when your integrity was challenged. How did you handle it?

Have you ever had to persuade a group to accept a proposal or idea? How did you go about doing it?
What was the result?

How do you get a peer or colleague to accept one of your ideas?

Have you ever had to persuade a peer or manager to accept an idea that you knew they would not
Acceptance like? Describe the resistance you met and how you overcame it.
Which of your jobs had the most rapid change? How did you feel about it?
How many projects do you work on at once? Please describe.
When was the last time you were in a crisis? What was the situation? How did you react?
When have you expressed an unpopular opinion at work? What was the result?
Give me an example of a time when you took a forceful stand at work with finesse.
Tell me about a time when you were assertive, but didn’t get the reaction you hoped.
Response
What did you do when someone opposed your point of view?
What did you do if someone at work tried to pressure you to do something?
What kinds of challenges did you face on your last job? Give an example of how you handled them.
 INITIATIVE
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Describe a situation when you did much more than it was expected from you to get the project done. Were your
efforts recognized? By whom and how? How did that make you feel?
Tell me about a time when you took ownership of a project. Why did you do this? What was the result of you taking
the challenge? What could have happened if you did not take ownership?
Self Motivation Think about an instance in which you came up with a project idea which was implemented primarily because of your
efforts. What was it about? What was its outcome? What was your role?
Describe a time when you made a suggestion to improve something on the project that you were working on.
Give me an example of the project or initiative that you started on your own. It can be a non-business one. What
prompted you to get started?
Give me an example of an important career goal which you set yourself and tell me how you reached it. What
obstacles did you encounter? How did you overcome the obstacles?
Tell me about a professional goal that you set that you did not reach. How did it make you feel?
Goal Direction I’m interested in how you recharge when you’re not working. What do you do with your downtime?
Give me an example of how you set goals for yourself.
Tell me about a project you initiated. What did you do? Why? What was the outcome? Were you happy with the
result?
Tell me about a time you were under a lot of pressure. What was going on, and how did you get through it?
Describe a time when your team or company was undergoing some change. How did that impact you, and how did
you adapt?
Tell me about the first job you’ve ever had. What did you do to learn the ropes?
Challenge acceptance
Give me an example of a time when you had to think on your feet in order to delicately extricate yourself from a
difficult or awkward situation.
Tell me about a time you failed. How did you deal with the situation?
Tell me about a time when you had to change work midstream because of changing organization priorities.
Describe a time when you were able to accomplish something on your own even when it might have been more
comfortable working with others.
Tell me about a time when being independent in your thinking or the way you work caused a problem.
Describe a time where you held a different viewpoint than others and stood your ground defending that point of
Independency view.
What projects have you started on your own?
Describe a time where you took the initiative to act rather than waiting to be told what to do.
Give me an example of when you showed initiative and took the lead.
Tell me about a time when your initiative caused a change to occur.
What has been the best idea you have come up with during your professional career?
Describe a situation in which you recognized a potential problem as an opportunity. What did you do? What was the
result? What, if anything, do you wish you had done differently?
Focus for Result
Describe a situation where you achieved more than what was required.
Describe a time when you performed a task outside of your perceived responsibility. What was the task? What was
the outcome?
Have you found any ways to make a job easier or more rewarding?
 NEGOTIATION & INFLUENCE
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Describe a situation when you were able to have a positive influence on the actions of others.
Tell me about a difficult problem you solved that had a significant positive impact on all or part of the organization.
Effective Tell me about a time when you became aware of how the organization was perceived by others. What did you do?
Representation
Tell me about a time when you wanted to ensure that your role was positively perceived by others.
Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your
way.
Describe a problem situation where you had to seek out relevant information, define key issues, and decide on which
steps to take to get the desired result.
Describe an instance when you had to think on your feet to extricate yourself from a difficult situation. How did you
handle the situation?
Situation Handling Tell me about a time when you anticipated a problem and were able to use your influence or persuasiveness to change
the direction of the situation.
Give me an example of a project that completely failed. Why do you think it was a failure? Could there be anything
done differently in order to turn it into success?
Think about an instance in which you made a decision at work that was unpopular. How did you handle it?
Give me an example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.
Tell me about a situation where you achieved a satisfactory outcome to a problem that others thought couldn’t be
solved.
Describe a situation in which you experienced difficulty in getting others to accept your ideas? What was your
approach? How did this work? Were you able to successfully persuade someone to see things your way?
Solution Generation Give me an example of a time when you noticed a small problem before it turned into a major one. Did you take the
initiative to correct it? What kind of preventive measure did you undertake?
Tell me about a situation when you made a mistake at work. What happened exactly and how did you deal with it?
What steps did you take to improve the situation?
Tell me about a particularly tough negotiation that you successfully managed.
Tell me about a situation when you had to influence someone to achieve a desired result.
Describe a time when you had to influence a number of different people/groups coming from different perspectives to
support you in what you wanted or needed to do.
Give me an example of a time when you were faced with a complex project related matter and you could not decide
on the best way to deal with. What did you do? How did you go about making the decision – lead me through your
Action Plans decision process?
Describe a situation in which you worked diligently on a project and it did not produce the desired results. Why didn’t
you get the desired results? How did you react?
Tell me about a recent situation at work in which you were able to get management to accept one of your ideas.
Have you ever had to “sell” an idea to your project team? How did you do it? Did they “buy” it?
Tell me about your proudest professional accomplishment.
Describe a time when you saw some problem and took the initiative to correct it rather than waiting for someone else
to do it.
Tell me about a time when you worked under close supervision or extremely loose supervision. How did you handle
Value preposition that?
Give me an example of a time you were able to be creative with your work. What was exciting or difficult about it?
Tell me about a time you were dissatisfied in your work. What could have been done to make it better?
Tell me about a time you showed persistence / dealt with rejection.
 CLIENT FOCUS
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Describe a time when it was especially important to make a good impression on a client. How did you go
about doing so?

Give me an example of a time when you did not meet a client’s expectation. What happened, and how
did you attempt to rectify the situation?

Attention to client Tell me about a time when you made sure a customer was pleased with your service.
Describe a time when you had to interact with a difficult client. What was the situation, and how did you
handle it?

When you’re working with a large number of customers, it’s tricky to deliver excellent service to them all.
How do you go about prioritizing your customers’ needs?

Tell me about a recent situation in which you had to deal with a very upset customer or co-worker.
Tell me about a recent time when you went out of your way to help a member of the public?
Response to client Tell me about a time when you provided quick and thorough service in response to someone’s request.
What is the riskiest situation you have faced? What was the situation? How did you respond?
When you disagreed with your Client, what did you do? Give an example.
What did you do in your last job to contribute to a teamwork environment?

Give me an example in your current position where you listened and spoke with honesty, openness and
respectfulness when handling a difficult situation.

Give me an example in your current position of how you regard and value contributions and recognize
accomplishments.
Value Preposition
What does “diversity” mean to you? Provide examples of how you seek inclusiveness and honor differing
points of view.

Give me an example of how you have created opportunities for individual and group learning that crosses
organizational boundaries.

Give me an example of something you have done to either develop or strengthen customer relationships.
Tell me about a time that you successfully adapted to a culturally different environment.
Describe a time you exceeded the expectations of a client/customer/stakeholder.
What ideas do you have for building a strong customer base?
Tell me about the most difficult customer service experience that you have had to manage.
Service standards
You may have heard the phrase, “the customer is always right.” Describe a time when you felt that the
customer wasn’t right.

Tell me about a time when you did your best to resolve a customer’s concern and the individual still was
not satisfied. What did you do next?
 TALENT MANAGEMENT
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Give an example of an important project goal you reached and how you achieved it.
Can you describe a project that was successful and why was it a success?
Give me an example of a time when you were faced with a complex project related matter and you had no say on the best way to
Goal Establishment deal with. What did you do?
How did you go about making the decision — lead me through your decision process? If you could make the decision once again,
would you change anything?
Give me an example of a time you had to take a creative and unusual approach to solve coding problem. How did this idea come
to your mind? Why do you think it was unusual?
Tell me about a time when you allocate a project effectively among your team.
Describe for me a time when you had to allocate to a person with a full workload, and how you went about doing it.
Describe an experience in which you had to pull together resources which are not under your control.
Resource Allocation
When you’ve delegated on a project, and it isn’t going well, how do you decide when to step in and move things along?
Give me an example of a task/project you managed on your own because it was easier or less time-consuming than explaining
what needed to be done. Why did you take this approach?
Give an example of a time you went well out of your way to ensure a customer received the best possible service from you and
organization. What was customers reaction?
When have you ever gone out on a limb to defend a customer? What happened? What was the customer response?
Performance How have you handled a situation in the past where your client has changed the brief or “changed the goalposts”?
analysis/feedback Tell me about a time you have “inherited” a customer. What steps did you take to establish rapport with them? What did you do
to gain their trust?
What was the most complex assignment you have had? What was your role?
Tell me about a direct report/team member that became more successful as a result of your assistance/coaching.
We’ve all had a time when our coaching efforts weren’t successful. Tell me about a time you worked with someone, but that
person failed to improve.
Describe how you coached two different people to accomplish the same task. What were the similarities and differences in your
Coaching approaches?
Tell me about a situation in which you had to step in on a decision of one of your managers.
Tell me about your strategy to manage a strong performer. How did you ensure you were stretching them to their fullest
potential?
Tell me about a low performer you managed. What was the plan to improve performance?
How do you keep subordinates informed about information that affects their jobs?
What challenges have occurred while you were coordinating work with other units, departments, and/or divisions?
Handling How do you keep your manager informed about what is being done in your work area?
Responsibility When was the last time you made a key decision on the spur of the moment? What was the reason sand result?
What do you do when a subordinate comes to you with a challenge?
Describe a time when it was especially important to make a good impression on a client. How did you go about doing so?
Give me an example of a time when you did not meet a client’s expectation. What happened, and how did you attempt to rectify
the situation?

Positive Interaction Tell me about a time when you made sure a customer was pleased with your service.
Describe a time when you had to interact with a difficult client. What was the situation, and how did you handle it?
When you are working with a large number of customers, it is tricky to deliver excellent service to them all. How do you go about
prioritizing your customers’ needs?
Describe a situation demonstrating your ability to transition quickly and effectively between tasks.
Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills.
Skill Management Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and you were required to prioritize your tasks.
Describe a difficult situation that you feel you should have handled differently. What did you learn?
Provide an example of a situation where you had to manage multiple competing deadlines?
 FACILITATION
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Tell me about the major purposes of various meetings you conduct. Specifically, what is your role and what do you
do to plan and encourage participation from the group (discussion/activities)? What have you done if it was not
successful?
Tell me about a time when you had to provide guidance to someone who had to facilitate a large structured session
Summarization or meeting for the first time. Provide specific steps or actions and the results.
Give an example of when you discovered that there was more than one cause to a problem you were solving. How
did you make this discovery? How did you determine which solution(s) to implement?
How did you conclude your presentation? What are the different constraints did you during summarizing your
presentation. Explain with your live experience?
What are the different questions did you put forward during your facilitation. Explain with a situation.
How did you keep your team more effective and interactive during your facilitation? What challenges have you
Questions & faced? How did you handle them.
Tell me a situation where you were unable to respond to the listeners queries during your presentation? How did
Brainstorming you handle the situation.
Tell us about the most effective facilitation you have made. What was the topic? What made it difficult? How did
you handle it?
Describe a time when a group you were facilitating was experiencing conflict. How did you handle it and what was
the outcome?
Tell me about some roadblocks you have encountered as a Group Facilitator and why. What actions did you take
and what was the outcome of those actions? What did you learn and how have you applied them?
Problem solving /Crisis Describe a difficult facilitation related problem you faced that required you to come up with a creative solution. Tell
Intervention me about the steps or actions you took and why?
Tell me about a solution you implemented that did not solve the problem. What did you learn from this?
Describe an occasion when you have put forward a solution to a problem raised when you are facilitating. How did
you arrive at this solution? How was this solution received? How was this solution used? With what success?

Tell me about a project team meeting that you have facilitated. Describe the techniques/tools you used during the
meeting to track the discussion and action items. Were you successful and why or why not?
As a Group Facilitator, give an example of when you had to put together a new project team. Describe the process,
techniques, objectives and/or strategies you used to get the team off to a good start. What worked and what
Thinking Styles & didn’t?
Tell me about a meeting that was not successful as a Group Facilitator. What actions did you take and what was the
Creativity Tools outcome?
What are the major skills involved in facilitating groups requiring involvement of the participants? Tell me about a
time when these skills were not enough to gain sufficient participation. What did you learn from this experience?
Give an example of a time when you think you were particularly creative in presenting information by use of
graphics, models, or displays. In giving your example, focus on how your methods produced results.
Give an example of your facilitating a meeting and the group was getting off track. What actions or steps did you
take? Will you do things differently going forward?
Describe a technique you have used in the past with team members to foster a supportive rather than
confrontational environment.

Group Empowerment Describe a time when as a facilitator, your group was having difficulty reaching consensus. What role did you play?
What steps did you take to ensure the group stayed on the task? How did the group reach consensus?
& Team Building
In facilitating diverse groups, provide an example of the efforts you put into the “vision, mission, charter”
statements, sharing them with the group, and how handled the dynamics.

Provide some examples of the type of follow-ups you do to determine if the meetings you facilitated are making a
difference.
 RISK MANAGEMENT
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Tell me about a time when you were not able to produce the desired results following normal
procedures and protocols. What were the circumstances and the outcome?

Give an example of when you took a risk and did something differently but managed to work
within department and/or company procedures and guidelines.
Risk Management
Policies and How would you determine when taking a reasonable risk versus maintaining the status quo
Procedures would be appropriate?

Describe some recent decisions, which carried more than the usual element of risk.

Describe a time in which you weighted the pros and cons of a situation and decided not to take action,
even though you were under pressure to do so.

Describe a time when your credibility was at risk. What was the event and the result?

How comfortable are you with risk taking in your work environment and why?

To what extent would you be willing to take a risk for one of your customers? Give an example.
Risk identification and
assessment
What are some of the ways that you use to help you assess risks in a particular circumstance?
Tell me about a time when you felt compelled to express an unpopular viewpoint to
maintain your integrity. What did you say and how did you say it?
Describe a time when you went "out on a limb" to complete a task. What was the result?

Tell me about a work related situation when you had to take an "all or nothing" risk to achieve a result.
What was the outcome?

Describe some recent decisions you made without all the pertinent information and why did you make
those decisions and what did you learn?

Tell me about the riskiest management decision you have made. How long did it take you to
Risk response and gather the information to make the decision? How long after that to make the decision? What
reporting were the results?
We all learn through our mistakes. Tell me about a time when you confronted a coworker or supervisor
because you knew they were making a mistake. What was the issue and how did it turn out?
Tell me about a time when you had to collaborate with another to resolve a conflict that
initially felt uncomfortable, but actually turned out better than you anticipated.
Tell me about a time when you perceived friction or resistance from a coworker, supervisor, or customer
and you immediately addressed this issue to enhance your working relationship. What happened? How is
your relationship today?
 INTERNAL CONTROL
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Tell me about someone you hired who worked out even better than you hoped. What did you
attribute this success to and what have you done differently for future hires.

Describe the steps you took to prepare for the last person you interviewed. Give an example

What tools are available for your use when you need to hire a new employee? Give an
example of a successful hire that shows how the tool(s) worked. Which tools were most
Control Framework effective and why?
Tell me about a project you are currently working on; describe your process for tracking the
project's milestones.
Tell me about a time when your deliverables were impacted by other team members. What
were the circumstances and how did you handle it?
Give an example of when you faced a problem or roadblock that impacted your project
timeline. How did you handle it? What was the outcome?
Tell me about someone you hired who didn’t work out as well as you had hoped. What were
some of the reasons and how did you utilize the information for future hires?
Describe the process or steps you went through to hire your last new person. Have you
identified what process improvements you need to take?
What process do you follow to ensure you are hiring the right person for the job? Give an
example of when you used this process with successful results.
Internal audit What are your criteria for hiring a person who is a good fit for the position and the
organization?
When you are selecting individuals to work in your group or team, what are the major skills or
attributes you look for?
How do you handle any difference between interviews regarding a candidate? Provide an
example.

Give an example of when an employee left your department in the last year. How did you
decide what skill sets were needed in a replacement? What other things did you consider?
Who did you involve?

How is identifying an application pool outside the organization different from identifying an
application pool inside the organization? Share some barriers or issues and how you have
resolved their barriers.

Security Describe a situation where you were asked to provide information that you knew was not
correct or accurate. What did you do?
Describe a situation where you were asked to divulge confidential or sensitive information.
How did you handle it and what was the outcome?
Describe a time when information you provided was incorrect or inaccurate. How did they
discover it and what action did you take?
Everyone has to bend or break the rules sometimes. Can you give some examples of when you
have had to do this?
 STRATEGY
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Tell me about a time when you had to translate company strategies into specific actions. What did you do
to keep them integrated and to make them understandable to others?

Describe how you set long-range goals for your organization, business unit or team. How do
you track progress toward these goals? How do you measure the results?

Tell me what you have done in the past three months to further your knowledge and perspective of the
Awareness business or industry in which you work.

Tell me what you have done in the past three months to stay in touch with future trends and
directions in the marketplace. How have you used this information on the job?

Tell me about some strategies that you conceived and implemented. What did they have in
common, how were they different and what about them would be repeatable anywhere?

Describe what you have done to keep focused on strategic goals while managing you short-term
objectives.

How does your understanding of the organization’s goals and priorities influence your day-today decision-
making? Give an example.

Observation Describe the process you follow to determine long-range implications of a decision. What has
& been some of the results?
Development
How do you identify factors and trends that could have the greatest future impact on your
organization, business unit or team?

Tell me about your most recent effort to communicate strategy to your team. Why was it
necessary and how was it received?

It’s five years from now. What will we see geopolitically that impacts your business/field?

How would you allocate resources and planning in anticipation of a trend that has not yet
materialized? Provide an example.

How do you determine which of the company’s strategies are important to your team? How do
you ensure alignment?

Implementation Tell me about a strategic change you initiated in the last year. What was the result?
& Describe a strategic initiative you have managed from inception to execution. What role did
Future Action you play and what was the outcome?

How do you allocate resources and trends to identify those items that could have the greatest
future impact?

Have you developed a long range, more strategic outlook for your job? Provide a brief
description.
 BUSINESS PLANNING
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Have you ever been over budget? Why? How did you handle this?

Describe a tough financial analysis problem you were able to solve and how you solved it.

What did you do if your proposed budget was rejected by management?

Planning, forecasting
and budgeting Tell me about your fiscal management experience: budgeting, reporting, cutting costs, and
building and maintaining reserves.

Describe your budget creation and management experience.

If you could pick a stock to add to this company's portfolio, which one would it be? Why?

Walk me through a financial statement.

Discuss a situation when an expense was greater or less than originally planned. What did you
do with the surplus or shortage?

Capital expenditure What type of inventory audits have you been involved in? Describe challenges you've faced.
investment evaluation
Have you ever performed a cost-benefit analysis? Tell me about it.

What experience did you have with financial planning and analysis?

Is it possible to have a positive cash flow but to be in financial trouble? Explain your experience
in detail.

How did you plan for digital transformation? Explain your experience.

What are the important elements involved in digital transformation? Describe each.

How did you create additional value if the employees were working together more closely?
Capital expenditure
evaluation for digital
Tell me your experience when you were involved in developing effective digital business
transformation platform.

How did you plan your budget while transforming to a digital platform? What steps have you
taken to accomplish the task? What was the end result?
 MANAGEMENT REPORTING AND
ANALYSIS
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Describe for me how your prior positions required you to be proficient in the analysis of technical reports.

Describe a technical report that you had to complete. What did the report entail? What was the
purpose? Who was the audience?
Management
reporting To what extend has your work required you to be skilled in the analysis of technical reports or information? Pick any
specific experience, which would highlight your skills in this area and describe in detail.

To what extend has your work required you to be skilled in the analysis of technical reports or information? Pick any
specific experience, which would highlight your skills in this area and describe in detail.

How have you approached solving a problem that initially seemed insurmountable?

Give me an example of a time when you had to engage in future planning.

Performance Tell me about a time when you participated in developing your departmental or organizational
management business strategy. What was your role? How did you approach it?

Tell of how your job (at a current or former employer) was directly related to a strategic goal.

What is your process for drawing inferences and/or conclusions from a mass of data? Provide a specific example.
How did you assess the accuracy of your conclusions?

How did you analyze different options to determine which is the best alternative?

Give an example of when you used analytical techniques to design solutions to solve problems.

Give me an example of when you used your fact finding skills to gain information needed to solve a work-related
Variance analysis problem. How did you analyze the information and come to a solution?
Describe for me a recent work related situation where the outcome or result was crucial, and you felt you had to be
accurate. Share with me the rationales you used. What was the outcome?

What do you do to crosscheck your data to make sure there aren’t inconsistencies somewhere in the data? If
inconsistencies are identified, what action do you take?

What was one of the toughest problems you ever solved? What process did you go through to solve it?

Tell me about a time when you identified a need for a new approach or product to meet a market need.

Describe an example of when you perceived an opportunity through analysis which others were not aware of. What
processes did you use? What conclusions did you arrive at?

Give me an example where you had a complex assignment and had to pick up on subtle relationships between facts.
Benchmarking What happened? For instance, how did you recognize unimportant details and inconsistencies between facts and/or
data?

Solving a problem often necessitates evaluation of alternate solutions. Give me an example of a time when you
actively defined several solutions to a single problem. What tools did you use (such as research, brainstorming,
mathematics, etc.)? How did you determine the most effective solution?

Describe the biggest work related problem you have faced in the last six months. How did you handle it and what was
the result?
 PROCESS MANAGEMENT
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
How did you go about identifying the major processes of your work?

What did you believe contributes the most to process improvement - the involvement of the staffor the
business results and why?

What were some of the productivity measurements you use to keep the project on time and within
budget?
Awareness
To what extent do you involve customer/users in the process of defining attributes and quality
needed in a new project, product or service?

What are the primary management styles? Describe each. Which is your predominant style? How have
you applied those characteristics?

What successes and shortcomings have you experienced with your management style?

What steps did you take to identify the modifications needed in various processes/ technologies to
improve timeliness and quality?

What types of measurements did you build into the project processes that keeps you informed of the
project progress?

Implementation What process did you use to monitor project performance through the product state and beyond?

How did you develop untapped potential in your staff?

Tell me about a time when you were able to step into a situation, take charge, muster support, and
achieve good results.

If you had to do that activity over again, how would you do it differently?

What kind of maintenance activities are necessary to keep processes functioning well over
time?

How did you measure quality for a project?

Tell me your process for determining the requirements for a project (people, resources, work
Standardization flow, time frames, etc.)

How did you reinforce behavior you want repeated?

How did you demonstrate that you value people for who they are, as well as for what they accomplish?

How did you build and maintain morale with your staff in a non-monetary way?
 BUSINESS RELATIONS
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Tell me about a situation when you developed a business partnership with a client. What was the
process and the outcome?
Tell me about the most challenging group you have had to get cooperation from. What did you do,
were you successful, and why?
Tell me about an effective technique you have used to understand your client’s business needs and/or
Strategic Partnering operations. How did you learn about this technique and how did you apply it to the client’s business?
Provide some examples of how you broadened your perspective of your company that was outside of
your current work environment such as task trading, learning about another department, etc. What
benefits have you received from this endeavor?
Have you developed a long range, more strategic outlook for your Business expansion? Provide a brief
description.
How familiar are you with the overall strategies of the business? How does this influence or help your
day-to-day operations/decisions?
Provide three to five interesting things that have a parallel or an effect on your organization. Give an
example.
Tell me about any task forces/projects that you were involved with and that were considered
Business IQ multifunctional. How did you become involved and what did you learn?
Why is it important to have someone in your group who thinks about things from a different global
angle? What have you learned from this person(s)?
What are the latest books, periodicals and/or magazines do you read regularly to stay up-to-date in the
industry? Provide a couple of examples of how you have this information has assisted you in your day-
to-day job.
Tell me a situation when you had priotize your portfolio while collaborating with the new clients.
Describe a situation where portfolio management while collaborating was a biggest disappointment?
What are the consequences you have faced? How did you handle them?
Portfolio Management How did you manage your portfolio when collaborating with different organizations What were the
basic steps you had taken into consideration? How did you handle it?
How did you align your products investments and services while building a relationships new
organizations? What were conflicts faced during the collaboration? How did you handle them?
To manage business development successfully, what are some of the factors you believe need to be
addressed and why?
Tell me about a strategic change you initiated in the last year. What was the result?
What professional association meetings have you attended in the last 6 months? Give an example of
Business Transition
one that increased your business/industry knowledge. How did you apply that to you work?
Management Provide some examples of how you have tried to make things better in your department or work unit?
How comfortable are you in making recommendations or initiating changes which "break the mold?"
Give me a couple of examples.
What are the two most different company business cultures you have worked in so far?
When translating company strategies into specific action(s) for your department or work unit, how do
you keep the two elements integrated and understood by others?
Tell me about a time when you had to translate company strategies into specific actions. What did you
do to keep them integrated and to make them understandable to others?
Provide me an example of when you explained and/or communicated the company's strategies to
provide a common focus to a department or work unit. How did it improve or benefit the unit's
Powerful effectiveness?
Communications Tell me about your most recent effort to communicate strategy to your team. Why was it necessary and
how was it received?
Tell me about a specific experience of yours that illustrates your ability to influence another person
verbally. Feel free to use an example that involves changing an attitude, selling a product/idea, or being
persuasive.
Describe a time when you had to adjust your communication style according to your clients/business
partners. What specifically did you do and how did you determine it helped?
 BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Describe what you have done to keep focused on strategic goals while managing you short-
term objectives.
How do you determine which of the company’s strategies are important to your team? How
do you ensure alignment?
Tell me what you have done in the past three months to stay in touch with future trends
and directions in the marketplace. How have you used this information on the job?
Knowledge
Tell me what you have done in the past three months to further your knowledge and
perspective of the business or industry in which you work.
How do you identify factors and trends that could have the greatest future impact on your
organization, business unit or team?

It’s five years from now. What will we see geopolitically that impacts your business/field?

Describe the process you follow to determine long-range implications of a decision.

What has been some of the results?
. Describe a strategic initiative you have managed from inception to execution. What role
did you play and what was the outcome?

How do you allocate resources and trends to identify those items that could have the
greatest future impact?
Workflow
How would you allocate resources and planning in anticipation of a trend that has not yet
materialized? Provide an example.

How did you go about assuring that you’ve been realistic in your planning and projections?
Give me an example and the process you use.

Tell me about a time when you had the task of forecasting future needs in staff, workloads,
resources, etc.? What did you do and what was the outcome?

To what extent do you consider yourself a person who thinks about business issues from a
different and creative perspective? Give an example.

Describe how you set long-range goals for your organization, business unit or team. How do
you track progress toward these goals? How do you measure the results?

How does your understanding of the organization’s goals and priorities influence your day-
today decision-making? Give an example.
Strategy/Analysis
Tell me about some strategies that you conceived and implemented. What did they have in
common, how were they different and what about them would be repeatable anywhere?

Tell me about outside events that could impact your department’s operations. How did you
learn about these and what action did you take?

What are the steps you take and/or the process you use to analyze the strengths and
weaknesses of your Business?
 INFLUENCE
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Give an example of when you had to understand another employee and/or a team’s position in order to
deal most effectively with them. How did you go about it and what was the outcome?
Describe a situation in which you were able to influence the actions of others in a positive
direction.
Tell me about a time when you were able to influence a co-worker, team member, or
management to implement your suggestions. Were you successful and why or why not?
Style What process do you use to obtain agreement? Describe a time when you used these processes
successfully.
Name a team in which you function. How persuasive are you compared to other members of
the team? In what way are you more persuasive than others? In what respect are you less
persuasive?
Describe a negotiation you recently took part in. What was your contribution? How effective
was it? How would you describe your style of negotiation?
Describe a time when you needed someone else’s support and were able to get it. How did you
go about it?
Most organizations have structures in place within which decisions are made and actions taken. How do
you obtain these alliances to get what you need to get done? Provide a specific example.
Tell me about a time when you and another person were on opposite sides of a work-related
issue. How did you handle it? What was the outcome?
Response
Give a specific example of your success at bringing several conflicting parties to consensus in a
negotiation situation. What actions did you take or what did you do?
Describe a time when you had difficulty getting everyone on a team to agree to an objective,
goal, timeline, etc. What was the outcome?
Tell me about a time when you served as a mediator during a negotiation process. What were
the circumstances and what did you learn?
Describe a situation in which you were not able to influence the actions of others in a positive direction.
Why and what did you do about it?
Tell me about time when you needed someone else’s support but weren’t able to get it. What
were the factors that contributed to this and how did you handle it?
In your present department, describe a time when you need to achieve consensus. Were you
able to achieve that consensus and why or why not?
Describe a time when you and a peer, coworker, direct report, team member, or customer could
Acceptance
not reach an agreement on a work- related issue. What was the result?
Describe a situation where you initially disagreed with a peer, coworker, team member, or
customer yet managed to negotiate an outcome. Was the outcome a win-win? Why and if not,
why not?

Tell me about a time when you felt it was necessary to compromise your position on a project
or assignment and why?
 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS

Tell us about a specific development plan that you created and carried out with one or more of your employees. What
was the specific situation? What were the components of the development plan? What was the outcome?

Tell us about a time when you had to use your authority to get something done. Where there any negative
Awareness of PMS consequences?

What have you done to develop the skills of your staff?

How did your educated your team members regarding performance mangement? How did you manage? Explain with
a situation.

How do you go about setting goals with subordinates? How do you involve them in this process?

How do you let subordinates know what you expect of them?

Knowledge of PMS What performance standards do you have for your unit? How have you communicated them to
your subordinates?

How do you coach a subordinate to develop a new skill?

what are the different performance management techniques you have experienced at your work place?

How do you handle a subordinate whose work is not up to expectations?

How do you handle performance reviews? Tell me about a difficult one.

Tell us about a time when you had to take disciplinary action with someone you supervised.
Implementation Describe a time when you did not put in 100% into your job or performance and what you did about it
When do you give positive feedback to people? Tell me about the last time you did. Give an example of how you
handle the need for constructive criticism with a subordinate or peer.

Keeping others informed of your progress/actions helps them fell comfortable. Tell your methods for keeping your
supervisor advised of the status on projects.

Give an example of a time when you helped a staff member accept change and make the necessary adjustments to
move forward. What were the change/transition skills that you used.

Give an example of how you have been successful at empowering either a person or a group of people into
accomplishing a task.

Participation How often do you discuss a subordinate's performance with him/her? Give an example.

Tell us about a time when you had to tell a staff member that you were dissatisfied with his or her work

There are times when people need extra help. Give an example of when you were able to
provide that support to a person with whom you worked.

Tell us about a time when your supervisor criticized your work. How did you respond?
 COMPLIANCE
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS

Give me an example of a policy that you ended up having to go around to get your work done.
What kind of maintenance activities are necessary to keep processes functioning
well over time?
Audit Practice
What do you believe contributes the most to process improvement - the
involvement of the staff or the business results and why?

How do you go about identifying the major processes of your work?

Tell me about a time when you were overwhelmed by your responsibilities. How did you deal with the
pressure and what effect did it have on you?

Describe a situation where you held a confidence or maintained confidentiality of information.

Addressing audit
programs Tell me about a time when you had difficulty maintaining confidentiality?
What types of measurements do you build into the project processes that keeps you informed of the
project progress?
What steps do you take to identify the modifications needed in various processes/technologies
to improve timeliness and quality?
Tell me about a time when you became angry or upset at work. What did you learn and how has it
changed or affected your ability to deal with different situations?
Tell me about a time when you had to cope with strict deadlines or time demands. Give me an
example.

Analysis Tell me about a time when you had to deal with someone who was not being reasonable. How did you
handle it and what was the outcome?

Tell me about your biggest work related disappointment. How did it impact your behavior in your work
environment?
Tell me your process for determining the requirements for a project (people, resources, work
flow, time frames, etc.)

Describe a situation when you coordinated several events or people at the same time. How did you
handle it? What was the result?

Tell me about a policy you conformed to even though you did not agree with it.
It is not unusual to be in a setting at work that will be physically demanding or
Managing the process hazardous. Tell me about a time when you were able to do a job in spite of difficult
conditions.
Describe a situation where you were asked to do something that you believed was
not of value. How did you handle it and what was the outcome?
To what extent do you involve customer/users in the process of defining attributes and quality needed
in a new project, product or service?

What process do you use to monitor project performance through the product state and beyond?
 TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Give me an example of the analysis you conduct to assess, improve and manage quality assurance?

In general, share with me your experiences and thoughts about quality focus?.
Knowledge &
Understanding What are your standards of success in your job? What have you done to evaluate and improve these standards?

Tell me about a time when you felt it would benefit the situation to disregard structure or formal processes to
achieve a better outcome. What were the circumstances? How did it turn out?

How did you manage and control a quality assurance effort, which reaches so pervasively into so many segments of
the business? Give an example.

The concept of "continuous improvement" is an intriguing one. Is this process utilized in your work environment?
Provide an example.

Process Control Describe for me the type of process you use to solicit suggestions and comments from customers (internal and/or
eternal). Give an example

Tell me about a project that you were completely responsible for completing. How did you stay on task to complete
it even though no one was checking your progress?

Give me an example of a time when you recognized an opportunity for process improvement in your department or
group. What did you do?

How do you go about determining what your customers want and expect? Give some examples.

Tell me about how often your contact your customers (internal and external). Do you primarily use the telephone or
Action Plan for personal contact and how do you decide which one to use? Which source has produced the best results?
assessment
Describe for me how you anticipate the needs of your customers for products and services they may not know about
yet. Give an example.
Tell me about a time when you presented an idea or suggestion to a customer and they presented a better one.
What did you do and what was the outcome?

What were your experiences with your area and within the company in the quality assurance area?

What impact has the quality focus had in your present work environment? Give an example.

To what extent has quality focus for the customer changed the way you perform your work?

Review of Results Think of yourself as a satisfied customer. Tell me about the satisfactory things that have happened to you in the past
month. What pleased you the most? Are your customers experiencing the same kind of service?

Think of yourself as a dissatisfied customer. Tell me the dissatisfactory things that have happened to you in the past
month and would your customers report any of these problems? What did you learn and how have you applied this
to your customer base?

Tell me about a time when you missed an obvious solution to a problem? What was the outcome?
ANALYSIS & USE OF INFORMATION
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
How did you assemble the information?
What are the key steps, which must be made in order to set up a project schedule and establish the
critical path? Tell me about a time when you did not follow the key steps identified and the outcome.
Data Interpretation When analyzing or planning a project, what type of information (such as checklists, guideline processes,
market trends, etc.) do you use to help you know what to include/exclude from the process.

What efforts have you made to understand the external forces and industry trends affecting your
customers’ business? Describe them. How has this assisted you with projecting future trends for your
customers?

How did you review the information? What process did you follow to reach a conclusion?
Give me an example of how you analyze and estimate the total cost of a project with reasonable
accuracy. Give specific details of your process and the result.
Tell me how you determine the amount of emphasis to be maintained with you customers regarding
Analysis quality. What steps do you take to adjust due to changes in industry and market trends or principles?
To what extent are you customers aware of historical, current and projected business and political trends
affecting them? Give some examples.
Tell me how you took your knowledge of industry trends and analyzed them to influence a customer to
adjust and/or change to be more viable in the business that affects them. What was the result?
What are some of the major decisions you have made related analysis and gathering information over the
past (6, 12, 18) months?

What kinds of solutions are most difficult for you? Describe one?

Solution retrieval Have you ever had a situation where you had a number of alternatives to choose from? How did you go
about choosing one?
How do you create solutions to make some of the various elements of your product/product lines meet
your customers needs? What information do you rely on to determine the most effective solution?

Describe an example of when you perceived an opportunity through analysis which others were not
aware of. What processes did you use? What conclusions did you arrive at?
Describe an occasion when you diagnosed a problem, which other had not been able to see. What were
the outcomes? To what extent do co-workers come to you for assistance with similar problems?
Give me an example of when you used your fact finding skills to gain information needed to solve a work-
related problem. How did you analyze the information and come to a solution?
Describe for me a recent work related situation where the outcome or result was crucial, and you felt you
had to be accurate. Share with me the rationales you used. What was the outcome?
Solution practice Solving a problem often necessitates evaluation of alternate solutions. Give me an example of a time
when you actively defined several solutions to a single problem. What tools did you use (such as research,
brainstorming, mathematics, etc.)? How did you determine the most effective solution?
What do you do to crosscheck your data to make sure there aren’t inconsistencies somewhere in the
data? If inconsistencies are identified, what action do you take?
What is your process for drawing inferences and/or conclusions from a mass of data? Provide a specific
example. How did you assess the accuracy of your conclusions?
 ORGANIZATIONAL AWARENESS
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
When you run into roadblocks in trying to get something done, can you quickly identify who
really makes the decision or clears a path for you? How do you do that? Provide an example.

Awareness of tangible & How did you identify internal resources available to you to help you get your job done? Give an
example.
intangible data of
organization Give me an example of a time when you called on other internal resources to help you with an
assignment. Were you able to obtain their support and why or why not?
To what extent are you able to "read" what's really going on in the company? Consider political
maneuvering, power plays, etc.
How have you established networks of support with internal resources to make them available
when you need them?
What sort of information collection network have you established to make available the data
you need to be successful at your job? How did you establish this network?

Adaption/Approach
What particular information sources do you pursue for your planning activities and why?
What are some of the major sources you use within your organization to gather information for
decision making or completion of work-related assignments?
Provide an example of when you were not comfortable in asking for the resources necessary to
accomplish an assignment. Explain.
Tell me about a time when you identified a business opportunity, which required the
deployment of extra internal resources. What kind of support did you ask for and receive, and
what was the outcome?
Tell me about a time when you identified a business opportunity, and the extra resources
needed did not materialize. What happened, and what did you learn from the experience?

In & Out of Organization With what other organsations did you frequently interface in your current job? How often and
under what circumstances.
How often did you formally or informally keep up on what is going on in the organization?

Have you ever been involved in creating a mission or values statement for an organization and
then having to communicate it to various audiences? What were the circumstances and what
was the outcome?
How did events in your area of the organization affect other parts of the organization? Give me
some examples.

Have you ever sought special funding or approval for a project in an organization?

Have you ever been part of forming an organization, unit, new department? Give an example
Build coalition How should the vision for the whole organization affect your vision for your business unit or
team, and vise-versa? Give an example.
What have you done to help your team align with the organization's vision and make it a reality?
What was the outcome?
To what extent does articulating a vision within the business unit affect the behaviors and
performance of the organization? Give an example.
 RESILIENCE
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
On many occasions, managers have to make tough decisions. What was the most difficult one
you have had to make?
Initiative towards
Give an example of a time when you had to quickly change project priorities. How did you do it?
difficulty
Recount a time when you accommodated someone beyond your comfort level, though you didn't have to.
How have you reacted when you found yourself stalled in an inefficient process?

What is the most competitive situation you have experienced? How did you handle it? What
was the result?

Give an example of a time when you were trying to meet a deadline and you were interrupted and did not make the
deadline. How did you respond?
Pressure Handling
Tell me about a work "nightmare" you were involved in. How did you approach the situation, and what was the
outcome?

Have you ever been caught unaware by a problem or obstacle that you had not foreseen? What happened?

People react differently when job demands are constantly changing how do you react?

What has been your major work related disappointment? What happened and what did you do?

Tell me about a time when significant changes took place in your job. What did you do to adjust to the change(s)?

Tell me about a time when you had to work in a chaotic or noisy environment. How did you deal with this situation?
Emotional Stability How did you ensure your productivity and accuracy in this environment?

Tell me about a time when you were sensitive to how another reacted in an emotional
or tense situation. What did you do? What was the outcome?

Describe a situation in which your first attempt to sell an idea failed. How did you react to this? What other
approaches did you try?

Tell us about setbacks you have faced. How did you deal with them?

Tell me about a time when you had to accommodate unplanned activities or demands?

Tell me about a time when you had to adapt quickly to changing conditions to accurately complete your job. What
were the circumstances?
Commitment towards
Tell me about a time when your work effort didn’t go as planned. How did you resolve this issue? What was the
compliance
outcome?

Tell me about a time when you had to change your point of view or your plans to take into account new information
or changing priorities.

Describe an example of a time when you had to approach people for support or cooperation. How did you appeal to
each person? What was the result?
 DIPLOMATIC SENSITIVITY
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS

What methods/procedures do you use to make sure that your work is error free? Give me a specific
example that shows when you used these methods.
Describe a situation where you discovered a mistake prior to distributing the product (report, letter,
Attention to concerns etc.). How did you discover the mistake and what action did you take and what did you learn?
Describe a situation where you did not discover a problem prior to distributing a product or work output.
What was the impact and what did you learn from it?
How do you keep from overlooking mistakes when reviewing long, complex assignments or tasks? Give
me an example of when you used this method recently.
Tell me about a team where you were the leader. How did you promote the effectiveness of your team?
What were the results?
Tell me about a task that you have delegated to someone else in the last couple of weeks. What
approach did you take to ensure the accuracy of the result? What was the outcome?
Tell me about a time when something “fell through the cracks”. What were the circumstances? How did
Clarity for objective you handle it? What did you learn from it?
Describe a critical task or process you do routinely. The last time you completed this, what steps did you
take to ensure that the result was 100% accurate and what was the outcome?

How do you go about determining how much task or project details, and which details you personally
ought to be involved with?

When dealing with individuals or groups, how did you determine when you are pushing too hard?
Give me an example of a work-related situation that caused you to step in and become very “hands on”?
What was the outcome?
. To what degree does you current work require dealing with details which must be performed and/or
Attentiveness documented? What impact does this process have on your effectiveness and time management?

How do you go about assuring that you’ve correctly assessed the content and accuracy needs of those
who will receive you work? Give an example.

Tell me about a time when you had a tight deadline – how did you balance completing the assignment
and other work responsibilities while assuring the accuracy of the work?
Describe some situations where you wished you had acted differently with someone at work. What did
you do? What happened?
Tell me about a time when you faced multiple critical deadlines. Describe how you determined how you
allocated your time and what was the outcome?
It is not unusual to be in a setting at work that will be physically demanding or hazardous. Tell me about
a time when you were able to do a job in spite of difficult conditions.
Emotion Resistance
Tell me about a high stress situation when it was desirable for you to remain calm and eventempered.
What happened?
Describe a situation where you were asked to do something that you believed was not of value. How did
you handle it and what was the outcome?
Tell me about a work "nightmare" you were involved in. How did you approach the situation, and what
was the outcome?
 MOTIVATION & INSPIRATION
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Tell me about a time when you experienced a setback at work. How did it impact
your confidence and what did you learn from it?
Tell me about a time when you felt you didn't have all of the necessary knowledge,
skills and/or resources to complete a project or assignment. What did you do?
Describe a time when your were disappointed when a suggestion or
recommendation you made was rejected by someone in your work environment.
Optimism & Positive What impact did this have on your relationship?
approach Give me an example of when you faced a difficult challenge but you felt extremely
confident in your ability to handle it. What was the outcome?
How do you keep yourself optimistic even though work situations appear to be
difficult and the outlook at the moment seems bleak? Give an example
How much of your optimism comes from an internal commitment to avoid failure at
all costs? Give an example.
What technology or tools have you found most useful or effective in motivating your
staff?

Share methods you use to identify motivators for each of your direct reports and
examples of how you specifically motivate each individual.

Give an example of when you felt you were not able to instill or build motivation in
Encourage teamwork your coworkers or team and why. How did you handle it?
Describe specifically what you've done to create a team environment. How do you
gauge your team's morale?
What have you done to influence the commitment/motivation levels of your direct
reports or team?
Describe a direct report that was not very motivated that you turned around. What
did you do and what was the outcome?
Tell me about a specific time that you were recognized for your efforts or
accomplishments in your team or staff meeting.
Tell me about the last time one of your direct reports received recognition from you
in a group setting.
Describe a time when your behavior made it obvious you were very enthusiastic or
motivated about a project. How did you share this with your team or group? What
Encouragement/Praise were some of the specific things that motivated you?
& Rewards What effect have you determined that the performance management (goal setting)
process has on the motivation and performance of associates? Give an example.
How do you think rewards work in motivating more effective performance? Give an
example. What was the outcome or benefit?

What do you think is the best way of motivating people and why?
 COACHING & MENTORING
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Think about your team - what have you done to guide, encourage, support and develop them?

What have you done in the last three months to model continuous improvement? Give
examples.

Tell me about an employee that you coached yet could not raise their performance to the
desired level. How did you coach the employee? What prevented the improvement?
Action/Plan
How would you describe an ideal coaching relationship with a peer or colleague?
In a supervisory or group leader role, tell me about a time when you had to discipline or
counsel an employee or group member? What was the nature of the discipline? What steps
did you take?
Tell me about a time when you coached a coworker to help them improve their skills or
job performance, what did you do?

Describe a time when you did not provide the necessary coaching to achieve desired
behaviors and results.
Describe for me what you typically do in coaching a peer or colleague.

What do you believe is the intent of coaching peers or colleagues?

Reflection
Describe a situation where you helped motivate someone to improve his or her performance,
what was the outcome?

Describe a time when you helped a colleague improve their work effectiveness.

Tell us about a time when you enabled a team member to develop a new skill.

Describe your performance and development plans. What role do you play in supporting your
team’s individual development plans in enhancing their performance?

Describe the process you follow for team’s performance planning sessions?

Give me an example of when your use of positive reinforcement changed someone’s behavior
and/or improved their performance.
Feedback
How did you balance between positive reinforcement and remedial constructive coaching
within items?

Can you describe a time when you have had to deal with poor performance of your team
member and the approach you took to resolve it.

Tell me about a time you had to provide constructive feedback to an employee who was not
meeting performance expectations.
 PARTNERING & COLLABORATION
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS
Give an example when you must build a collaborative partnership with an individual or another department that
helped your area become more productive. How did you go about establishing the partnership and how did
your area benefit?
What approaches have worked best for you in establishing work related alliance/relationships with employees
Relationships in another department or group and why have they worked?
Describe a situation where you had to influence another employee or group in order to achieve your objectives.
How did you do it and what happened?

Tell me about a time when you had to give the "benefit of the doubt" to a coworker/supervisor. What was the
outcome?

Describe a situation where you have a less than perfect working relationship with someone. What have you
done to improve it?

Tell me about a time when you got upset/frustrated with someone at work (or they with you). How did you
handle it and what was the outcome?

Nature of liability Tell me about the most challenging group you have had to get cooperation from. What did you do, were you
successful, and why?

To what extent does your job require you to operate across departmental and/or functional lines? Describe
some of the networks you’ve developed, how you developed your networks and their purpose.
How would you react if a team leader encouraged competition between team members instead of
collaboration?

Describe a situation or project where you had specific responsibilities but did not have direct authority over the
individuals whose support was necessary. How did you accomplish the results?

Tell me about a project that was someone else’s responsibility but which you were asked to assist with. What
help did you offer and how did it impact your workload priorities? What was the outcome?
Fiscal responsibility
Tell me about a time when someone came to you for work related help or information and you could not help
them because of other commitments. How did you handle this?
Give me an example of when you had to get a work-related sponsorship from someone who was not supportive
of the effort. What did you do and what was the outcome?
Describe a situation where you had to work in a team that didn’t get on very well. What happened? What did
you do and what role did you take? How did the situation evolve?

Tell me how the network of colleagues you have established has been beneficial to your success.
Describe a time when you took a directive rather than a collaborative approach with someone. What was the
situation that made this approach necessary? What was the result? Would you use this same approach again
and why?
Give me an example of working cooperatively as a team member to accomplish an important goal. What was
Fusion of ownership the objective? To what extent did you interact with other project members?
and control Tell me about a time when you deliberately chose to establish a positive, collegial relationship with a colleague
or customer/client.
Describe a time when you felt it was necessary to modify or change your actions in order to respond to the
needs of another person.
Tell me about a time when you worked with someone who was not completing his or her share of the work.
How did you handle the situation? Did you discuss your concern with your coworker? With your manager? If
yes, how did your coworker respond to your concern? What was your manager’s response?
 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS

Describe a situation where you met the expectations despite of difficulties around

What are the competing needs you faced so far? Describe any 2.
Organization/Allocation

Mention an event where you took control and assigned the resources for a project
Describe any cost effective course that you have applied to make effective use of the
limited resources.

Describe a way to track the demand for various resources.

What techniques you use to figure out the requirement of additional resources?

Management Mention any event that you best used and managed the softer assets like human
capital,

What kind of end goal you set for best practice of resource management?
Is there any solution that you suggested and that had practically shown effectiveness
on the project?

Describe a technique to calculate the utilization rate of resources.

What plans and processes you create so that those resources can be managed
efficiently?
Which way you opt to avoid over- or under-allocating team members, which makes
risks for the project and can burn out your team.
Efficient Utilization

What techniques do you apply to ensure that resources are never over-allocated across
multiple projects

Tell me an event you aimed at smoothing the stock of resources on hand, reducing
both excess inventories and shortages.
 RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS

Describe a situation you needed to use data to prove a point?

What techniques you use to identify and/or opportunities for Data Gathering
Data Gathering
Mention any recent data sources you opted to complete the project/fill in the gaps in it.

What were your recent research agendas(personal/ professional)?

What kind of Quantitative Data Gathering methods/procedure you use?

What tools/techniques/methods/procedures do you use to check the accuracy of the
data?
What kind of limitations/assumptions you take into consideration while checking for
Observation for data/information accuracy?
Accuracy What measures you take to maintain the high level of data quality?

What level of accountability you take in response to the quality of information/data?

What methods do you approach to assess the trends?

Mention one recent example where you were both qualitative and quantitative in giving
Assess Trends information/

What kind of analysis you approach to encourage to insights of data/information?

Tell me about a time when you received difficult feedback

Summarization Would those that know you describe you as a detail oriented person?
What methods/procedures/techniques you use to translate your research outcomes
into a conveyable format?

Mention how do you assess the cost-effectiveness of research proposals

What techniques you use to analyze or interpret data?

Analysis for practical
Implementation Tell me about your recent research goal and the status of it?

What sources you opt to identify practical research questions?

Mention any two research recommendations that practically you worked on and
succeeded.
 LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS

What level of understanding to the principles of L&D do you possess?

What procedures/methods. Techniques you opt to analyze the learning needs of the
organization?
Knowledge for L & D
Mention any two new trends and concepts you have come across in your recent activity.

What kind of strategies you develop to meet the learning needs?

What kind of training logistics you generally opt?

Mention the measures you take to deliver appropriate development interventions.

Control of L & D Activity
What design guidelines you opt in preparing training modules?
Mention a strategy that you developed and implemented to calculate training related
investment/ROI

Describe the process you use to design and review training programs
Describe any recent survey that you made to identify the learning and development
Alignment/Organization
needs of your organization?
Mention the policies and procedures you use to ensure the leaning and development
needs are met.

How do you ensure to facilitate experimental learning and development needs?

Quantifying the L & D
function’s activities Describe any feedback surveys that you use.

What techniques/procedures you use to ensure the improvement of L&D?

What kind of forum you use to maintain and develop social networks for effective
Moving the function out sharing of knowledge?
of comfort zone Moving Describe any recent program you amended to adapt the changes that effect the work
the function out of environment.
comfort zone What procedure you opt to guide the process of identifying and developing critical
competencies?

What programs you develop to promote the transfer of knowledge?

Modeling best practice
Describe one strategy you used to develop the staff's capabilities.

Mention any approach that you have designed for resolving competency deficiencies.
 MANPOWER PLANNING &
RECRUITMENT
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS

Describe the process of how you gather data of your current staff.

Can you list out 10 important attributes you use to regarding the data of an employee
Understand the Need
What procedures/methods/techniques you follow to consolidate and analyze manpower
planning related requirements?

What plans you have to retain high performing talent?

What should be the focus of recruitment policy of a company?

List some factors that affect the recruitment policy of a company.

Strategize the Need
How would you maximize your ROI on recruitment?

What are the elements of an effective recruitment strategy?

What are the various internal and external sources of recruitment?

What subjects you opt to track the future requirements?

Sources to track
What are the internal and external factors affecting recruitment?

List the e-recruitment techniques you are aware of.

A new policy is to be implemented organization-wide. You do not agree with this new policy.
How do you discuss this policy with your staff?

What procedures you opt in selection of the best fit to your organization?
Selection
Mention any pre-requisite steps you follow during selection.

How do you deal with timeframes during selection?

What procedure you opt to implement an on boarding program

Describe any on-boarding program designed by you.

On-boarding
What measures you take to establish employer value preposition?

What procedures you follow to maintain the employer brand?

RESPONSE TO PRESSURE & CHANGE
BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS QUESTIONS

Describe any recent situation where you handled undemanding pressure.

What techniques opt to maintain focus on key priorities?

Motivation & Interest

Describe a time when you recognized you weren’t going to be able to meet
multiple deadlines. What was the outcome?

What motivates you to go to work every day?

Describe a situation where you handled undeserved criticism from one of your
superior.
What approaches you adapt to anticipate changing requirements?
Proactive Approach How do you minimize the effect of change pressure, lessening the impact of the
team. Give and example.
Responding to the changing needs. How do you promote your organization
keeping the scenario in view?

What would you do if a colleague took credit for your idea and got a promotion?
When you’re able to take extra time in your role, do you ever do anything to
make your job more efficient/easy?
Optimism
Describe the work environment or culture in which you are the most productive
and happy.
What techniques you use to show positivity in the face of external pressure,
minimizing the negative impact?
How do you recognize a need for change.
Communicating To what level you are open at accepting and communicating change. Example.
change What is your level of participation in encouraging and implementing change
initiatives? State an example.

Tell me how do you maintain and manage the team's wellbeing.

Describe any real-time experience of yours where you took over ownership to
Practice
manage change initiatives.
What procedures do you opt to ensure effective communication of change
initiatives?