Behavioural Interview

How to Prepare for a STAR Interview

The Behavioral Interview

You have probably had many experiences during an interview in

which you have wondered “Why are they asking me this
question?," "How does this question relate to the position?," or "Here
we go again with what my three strengths are." Behavioral
interviewing does not ask these types of questions because typically
these questions don’t provide companies with information needed to
make an accurate hiring decision.

Behavioral based interviewing has been proven to be the most

accurate interviewing process available. Although this interviewing
approach is being used more frequently, it may feel very different
from traditional interviewing that you have experienced.

Behavioral Interviews

 Give you the opportunity to share detailed information about

how you have performed in previous work-related situations
 Allow you to share examples or specific situations that you
have encountered and dealt with in the past
 Ask you about your interests
 Vary by type, number of interviews and interviewers, length
and complexity of questions based on the specific position for
which you are being considered
 Are competency based; competencies describe the knowledge,
motivations and behaviors associated with success or failure in
a job

Competency Examples

Adaptability
 Competency/Definition: Maintaining effectiveness when
experiencing major changes in work tasks or the work environment;
adjusting effectively to work within new work structures, processes,
requirements or cultures.

Key Actions:

 Tries to understand change

 Approaches change or newness positively
 Adjusts behavior

Work Standards

Competency/Definition: Setting high standards of performance for

self and others; assuming responsibility and accountability for
successfully completing assignments or tasks; self imposing
standards of excellence rather than having standards imposed.

Key Actions:

 Sets standards for excellence

 Ensures high quality
 Takes responsibility
 Encourages others to take responsibility

Preparing for a STAR Interview

These frequently asked questions and answers can help you prepare
for a Structured Behavioral Interview.

Types of Questions

You will be asked questions that focus on situations you have

encountered in the past. When you answer, there are three
pieces of information the interviewer will collect for each
behavioral example:

 The Situation or Task you faced;

 The Actions that you took;
  The Results or changes caused by the action

The following is an example of a candidate's response that

includes all parts of a behavioral example:

Question: Can you tell me about a time where you

effectively handled a customer complaint?

Situation/Task: There was one time when a customer was

upset because the computer at our branch was down. The
customer needed to check her account balance to see how
much she owed in late fees.

Action: I saw the customer was upset, so I asked her if I

could help. After finding out that she was interested in
checking her late fees, I apologized to her that our system
was down. I explained to her that as soon as the system
was back up, I would be happy to check the balance and
call her on her cell phone. I learned that actually, she did
not have any late fees appearing on her account.

Result: The customer thanked me and two weeks later my

branch manager received a letter of appreciation from her.

Difference Between STAR and Traditional Interviewing

Traditional interviewing techniques tend to focus on general

concepts. Behavioral based interviews are more structured and
focused on examples of how you have performed in previous
work-related situations. The following comparison illustrates
some of these differences.

Traditional Interview Questions

 Where do you see yourself in five years?

 What are three strengths and weaknesses?
 Why should we hire you for this job?
  What do you think is important about being a good
manager/team member?

STAR Interview Questions

 Tell me the last time you handled a customer complaint?

 Describe an example of when you became frustrated with
a peer or team member.
 When was the last time you gave feedback to an
employee who was not performing up to standards? What
did you do?
 Tell me about the last creative idea you developed and
implemented in your work area.

The Best Way to Prepare

 Practice sharing examples in the STAR format listed

above.
 The next time you are telling someone about an
experience you have had or what happened on your
favorite TV show, tell the story by sharing the three parts
of a STAR: describe the situation or task, tell what action
was taken, and describe the result.
 Think about challenging, difficult and rewarding
experiences in your past work history and write them
down.

Additional Tips

 During the interview, it is expected that you will need some time to
think back to specific experiences. Don't feel pressured to answer the
question quickly or feel uncomfortable asking the interviewer to
repeat the question.
 If you are unable to think of a specific experience in the past, let the
interviewer know that you may need to come back to that question,
or that you haven't had that situation happen to you.
  However, be sure you are able to discuss enough experiences so the
interviewer can assess your skills accurately.
 There may be questions included in your interview that seek
experiences that didn't work out the way you intended. This
information gives the interviewer a balanced, realistic picture of your
background and shows how you have learned from those
experiences. It also reveals opportunities for development that can
be addressed early in your career at the Library.

Practice Questions

Adaptability

Question: Tell me about the most challenging change you have

faced at work. What did you do? What were the results?

 Situation/Task
 Action
 Result

Work Standards

Question: Tell me about a time when you were not satisfied

with your department's level of work at XYZ Company. What did
you do about that?

 Situation/Task
 Action
 Result

Here are some more questions to think about:

“Tell me about a time when you established an

agreement or a partnership with an internal customer so you
could both achieve your business goals. What steps did you
take? How did it turn out?”
 “Describe a situation where you made changes to
standard procedures in order to increase customer
satisfaction metrics. How did you get support for this? What
constraints did you face? How did you measure the
outcome?”

5 Behavioural Interview Questions To Select The Best Candidate

It’s a well known fact that looking at a candidate’s past behaviour is the
best way to predict their future performance.

So don’t waste any more precious interview time asking hypothetical

questions. Behavioural interview questions will let you understand in
detail how a candidate has acted in specific situations.

First, identify the core behaviours you’d like your candidates to

demonstrate. Then you can then select your specific questions from the
list below.

Remember to assess all candidates against the same behavioural criteria!

Stop wasting precious interview time asking hypothetical questions.

Download theBehavioural Interview Questions Checklist and get your
interviews on track.
ABILITY TO HANDLE STRESS

1. What has been the most stressful situation you have ever found
yourself in at work? How did you handle it?
2. What have you done in the past to prevent a situation from becoming
too stressful for you or your colleagues to handle?

ADAPTABILITY

3. 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?
 4. 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.

5. How was your transition from high school to university? Did you face
any particular problems? How did you handle them?

ANALYTICAL SKILLS / PROBLEM SOLVING

6. Describe the project or situation that best demonstrates your

analytical abilities. What was your role?

7. Tell me about a time when you had to analyze information and

make a recommendation. What kind of thought process did you go
through? Was the recommendation accepted? If not, why?

8. Tell me about a situation where you had to solve a difficult problem.

What did you do? What was the outcome? What do you wish you
had done differently?

9. What steps do you follow to study a problem before making a

decision? Why?

ATTENTION TO DETAIL

10. What process do you use to check that you have the right
details from a customer?

11. 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?

12. Tell me about a time that you were confused by a customer’s

request. What steps did you take to clarify things?

CLIENT FOCUS / CUSTOMER ORIENTATION

13. When have you had to deal with an irate customer? What did
you do? How did the situation end up?
 14. 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?

15. How have you handled a situation in the past where your
client has changed the brief or “changed the goalposts”?

16. 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
organisation. What was their reaction?

17. When have you ever gone out on a limb to defend a

customer? What happened?

COMMUNICATION

18. Tell me about a recent successful experience in making a

speech or presentation?

19. 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?

20. Have you ever had to “sell” an idea to your co-workers? How
did you do it?

21. 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).

22. What obstacles or difficulties have you ever faced in

communicating your ideas to a manager?

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

24. When have you chosen to communicate a particular message

in person as opposed to via email even though the email channel
would have been a lot faster?
CREATIVITY

25. When was the last time you thought “outside the box” and
how did you do it? Why?

26. 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?

27. Give me an example of when someone brought you a new

idea that was odd or unusual. What did you do?

28. When have you brought an innovative idea into your team?
How was it received?

DECISION MAKING

29. Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision

without all the information you needed. How did you handle it?

30. Give me an example of a time when you had to be quick in coming

to a decision. What obstacles did you face?

31. What is the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make at work?
How did you arrive at your decision? What was the result?

32. Give me an example of a business decision you made that you

ultimately regretted. What happened?

GOAL SETTING

33. 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?

34. Tell me about a professional goal that you set that you did not
reach. How did it make you feel?
 35. 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?

INITIATIVE

36. Describe a project or idea (not necessarily your own) that was
implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role?
What was the outcome?

37. 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?

38. Tell me about a project you initiated. What did you do? Why? What
was the outcome? Were you happy with the result?

39. Tell me about a time when your initiative caused a change to occur.

40. What has been the best idea you have come up with during your
professional career?

INTEGRITY/HONESTY

41. Discuss a time when your integrity was challenged. How did
you handle it?

42. Tell me about a time when you experienced a loss for doing what is
right. How did you react?

43. Tell me about a business situation when you felt honesty was
inappropriate. Why? What did you do?

44. Give a specific example of a policy you conformed to with which you
did not agree. Why?

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
 45. Give an example of when you had to work with someone who
was difficult to get along with. How/why was this person difficult?
How did you handle it? How did the relationship progress?

46. Describe a situation where you found yourself dealing with someone
who didn’t like you. How did you handle it?

47. Describe a recent unpopular decision you made. How was it

received? How did you handle it?

48. What, in your opinion, are the key ingredients in guiding and
maintaining successful business relationships? Give me examples of
how you have made these work for you.

49. 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). How did you handle the
situation?

50. Tell me about a time when you had to work on a team with someone
you did not get along with. What happened?

51. Describe a situation where you had a conflict with another

individual, and how you dealt with it. What was the outcome? How
did you feel about it?

LEADERSHIP

52. Tell me about a team project when you had to take charge of
the project? What did you do? What was the result?

53. Describe a leadership role of yours outside of work. Why did you
commit your time to it? How did you feel about it?

54. What is the toughest group that you have ever had to lead?
What were the obstacles? How did you handle the situation?
 55. What has been your greatest leadership achievement in a
professional environment? Talk through the steps you took to reach
it.

56. What have been the greatest obstacles you have faced in
building/growing a team?

57. Describe a time when you have not only been responsible for
leading a team of people but for also doing the same job as your
team members? How did you juggle/balance your time?

PLANNING AND ORGANISATION / TIME MANAGEMENT

58. 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?

59. How do you prioritize projects and tasks when scheduling your time?
Give me some examples.

60. Tell me about a project that you planned. How did your organize and
schedule the tasks? Tell me about your action plan.

61. When has a project or event you organised not gone according to
plan? What happened? Why? How did you feel?

SALES / NEGOTIATION

62. Tell me about your previous success in building a customer

base from a standing start. What steps did you take?

63. What is your greatest sales-related achievement to date? What

steps led to the final outcome?

64. Describe a time when you convinced a resistant customer to utilize

your services.

65. What was the most stressful professional negotiation you have been
involved in? How did you handle it?
TEAMWORK

66. Describe a situation where others you were working with on a

project disagreed with your ideas. What did you do?

67. Tell me about a time when you worked with a colleague who was
not doing their share of the work. How did you handle it?

68. Describe a situation in which you had to arrive at a compromise or

help others to compromise. What was your role? What steps did you
take? What was the result?

69. 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?

70. What was the biggest mistake you have made when delegating
work as part of a team project?

71. Tell me about a time when you had settle a dispute between team
members. How did you go about identifying the issues? What was the
result?

72. What have you found to be the difficult part of being a member, not
leader, of a team? How did you handle this?

TENACITY / RESILIENCE

73. Tell me about a particular work-related setback you have

faced. How did you deal with it?

74. When have you ever found yourself in a competitive situation

professionally? How did you handle it?

75. When have you seen your tenacity or resilience really pay off in a
professional setting? What was the outcome?

Think about your past experiences, select appropriate examples and plan
your response using the following structure:
 Describe the specific situation or task you were involved in
 Detail the action and steps you took in the situation
 Outline the results and outcome of your actions.

Problem analysis and Problem-solving

Key to success in a customer service position is the ability to analyze and

assess problems and find workable solutions. Prepare for these sort of
interview questions:

"Tell me about a time you had to evaluate a large amount of information

to sort out a problem. Talk me through the steps you took."

"Tell me about a difficult situation to which you found a simple solution."

"Give a specific example of when you had to sort out a complex problem
for a dissatisfied customer recently."

In your interview answer show how you are able to collect and
organize information to identify key issues and detect problems. Describe
your ability to consider alternatives and find the most appropriate solution
considering the facts, your resources and the customer's needs.

Customer Service Orientation

The interviewer wants to know that you have proven yourself to be both
able and willing to provide excellent service to the customer.

"Describe a time you had to ask a number of questions and listen

carefully to fully understand the customer's query."

"Describe a recent situation when you had to handle an angry customer."

"How do you define going the extra mile for your customer, give me an
example of when you have done this."

In your interview answer discuss how you develop positive customer

relationships by actively listening and making the effort to understand the
customer's needs, meeting and exceeding the customer's expectations
and taking responsibility for the customer's satisfaction.

Attention to Detail

A frequently asked customer service interview question will focus on your

ability to collect and process information accurately.

"Take me through the process you use to check that you have the right
details from a customer."
"Describe a time that you picked up an error or problem that had been
overlooked by others at work."

"Tell me about a time that you had a confusing interaction with a

customer, how did you clarify things?"

In your interview answer describe your attention to all details of the

customer interaction, however small. Show how you clarify the details by
asking questions. Describe the steps you take to ensure you have
complete information and accurately check your work processes and
output.

Adaptability

Customer service means dealing with a variety of people and demands,

the ability to adjust to the situation and the individual is an important job
requirement. Expect the customer service interview question that
evaluates your adaptability.

"Describe a time you had to change your approach to a customer because

your initial attempts were unsuccessful."

"Tell me about a time you have had to adjust to a new manager who had
a different management style to what you were used to."

"Give an example of when you had to deal with a major change in the
customer relationship practices in your workplace."

In your interview answer show how you are able to maintain your
effectiveness in different situations and when dealing with different
people. Describe how you adjusted your approach, your communication
style and your behavior to meet different needs and demands.

Stress Tolerance

It is difficult to keep calm and patient when dealing with unreasonable and
demanding customers, however this is essential behavior when providing
efficient customer service! This will be assessed with a customer service
interview question such as:

"Tell me about a recent situation with a customer that really tested your
patience."

"Tell me about a time you experienced conflicting work demands, how did
you respond?"

"Describe a situation when you had to deal with an unpleasant customer

who was making unreasonable demands."
In your interview answer show you are able to maintain a positive
attitude and a high performance standard under pressure and in the face
of challenges. Describe how you use appropriate coping techniques to
keep calm under provocation and stress and that you are able to show
patience when faced with a difficult customer.

The comprehensive guide to answering behavioral based questions.

Communication Skills

Your ability to communicate effectively with customers and your ability to

actively listen will be assessed as you interact with the interviewer.

Make sure you speak clearly and concisely, choosing your words with care
and using correct grammar. Listen closely to questions and ask for further
clarification if you do not properly understand something.

For comprehensive advice on how to communicate effectively in the job

interview go to communication tips for job interviews

Job Motivation

Prepare for the customer service interview question that explores

yourmotivation for the customer service job. These include:

"What do you regard as being the most positive aspects of dealing with
customers?"

"What do you like and dislike about the customer service job?"