Behavioral Interviews

[Da_Funk]

How many of you have done them before?

I've only had one in my life up until now. It caught me totally off guard and I bombed it. Like should've got up and left the room after the first question was asked bombed it. Now I have one on Monday over the phone for a very important (to me) job. This time I know what to expect before hand but I'm still nervous as fuck.

 

[Flipmo]

Can't say I have... What kind of questions were asked?

 

[dilla]

"Do you have a drug problem?"

*walks out*

 

[S O F I]

A lot. more than a dozen, for sure. I used to hate them, I mean, I still do. But I've done them so many times that it's a lot easier now and I have all my answers written out and ready to go. For my phone interviews, I would print the answers out and post them around the room. That way, when the question comes, I can be ready.

Most questions can be answered with the SAR method. Situation, Action, Result. You state the problem, what you did, and what happened as the result of your action. If you're more interested, I have a word document of the more common behavioral questions that I can send you.

 

[dilla]

I wasn't asking anyone.

 

[masta247]

Yes, but they are very intuitive for me. Just answered truthfully and it was always good.
I organized an assessment center course at my university and these provide a lot of tips if you're stressed and don't know what to say, which is usually the case if you had no opportunities to gain experience yet.

 

[Jokerman]

"Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way."

"Well, there was that time I requested a meeting with Gus and told him I was the Cousins' real target and that Gus protect me as part of an effort to undermine the cartel. I left with a $15 million meth production deal and a guarantee of my family's safety."

"Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills."

"One time Jesse finagled an interview with Tuco, Krazy-8's badass replacement as a distributor. Tuco loved my meth but refused to pay for it up front. He beat Jesse up and swiped the meth, so I went over there to face him down. I deceived him with what looked like meth, but was actually an explosive compound which I used to demolish his office. Come to think of it, this would be a good answer for your first question too."

 

[Da_Funk]

A lot. more than a dozen, for sure. I used to hate them, I mean, I still do. But I've done them so many times that it's a lot easier now and I have all my answers written out and ready to go. For my phone interviews, I would print the answers out and post them around the room. That way, when the question comes, I can be ready..

In the job posting the key qualities listed were: independance, interpersonal skills, leadership, teamwork, and self motivation. What i've done is write out situations where I've demonstrated those qualities using the SAR method. It is over the phone so I can have them on hand which will benefit me.

Yes, but they are very intuitive for me. Just answered truthfully and it was always good.
I organized an assessment center course at my university and these provide a lot of tips if you're stressed and don't know what to say, which is usually the case if you had no opportunities to gain experience yet.

For me, I freeze up in interviews. If i haven't thought about it before hand it is hard for me to organize those thoughts and run through those situations in my head quickly enough to provide an eloquent reply.

Can't say I have... What kind of questions were asked?

Describe a situation in which you had a boss you didn't like and how you resolved the situation. Questions like that.

 

[Pittsey]

We use them a lot at work. Piece of piss. I am good at drawing on my real life experiences and filling them with bull shit.

 

[masta247]

For me, I freeze up in interviews. If i haven't thought about it before hand it is hard for me to organize those thoughts and run through those situations in my head quickly enough to provide an eloquent reply.

You're probably too stressed. An important thing is to be as relaxed as possible. Nothing's going to happen if you freeze to think even for a longer period of time if it results in a better answer. If you respond too fast it might give an impression that you're prepared for these questions and interviewers would rather have that feeling that they took you by surprise but you gave a satisfying response anyway.
One tip is that during these "quiet moments" when you freeze don't think about the interview or about being stressed but about yourself and your accomplishments.

 

[Da_Funk]

You're probably too stressed. An important thing is to be as relaxed as possible. Nothing's going to happen if you freeze to think even for a longer period of time if it results in a better answer. If you respond too fast it might give an impression that you're prepared for these questions and interviewers would rather have that feeling that they took you by surprise but you gave a satisfying response anyway.
One tip is that during these "quiet moments" when you freeze don't think about the interview or about being stressed but about yourself and your accomplishments.

Thanks. I had it today and it went really well. The only question that threw me off was: Tell me about a time when you used your analytical skills to interpret a data set, and then persuaded someone else that your interpretation was correct. I feel I put together a mediocre response to that question as I've never really done that type of work until this year (thesis)

 

[Pittsey]

Thanks. I had it today and it went really well. The only question that threw me off was: Tell me about a time when you used your analytical skills to interpret a data set, and then persuaded someone else that your interpretation was correct. I feel I put together a mediocre response to that question as I've never really done that type of work until this year (thesis)

I would have used an atheist vs religious person interpretation of the bible. Just to make Casey happy.