How to Ace the Dreaded Behavioral Interview Questions

Fear not if you don’t have a success story in your pocket that highlights your good fit for the position! This article will help you figure out how to answer the dreaded behavioral interview questions. You might need some practice to get the hang of them, but you’ll be able to impress in future interviews once you do.

How to Ace the Dreaded Behavioral Interview Questions

Speaking of interviews, are you sure you’re using the right resources to make the best choice that matches your skills? At ZipRecruiter, you get access to more than 1 million job opportunities worldwide within a few clicks. Job searching can be draining, so ensure that you’re getting the right interviews and the proper job positions for your profile.

Why Do Recruiters Ask Behavioral Questions?

You might think of recruiters as those tough manipulators who are only there to make the interview more challenging for you. Well, as much as we’d like to comfort you, that’s not really the case. As with most things in life, it’s about them, not you. Recruiters are themselves, employees, trying to figure out if the person they have in front of them is the right fit for the company’s open position.

There are three reasons why recruiters might ask behavioral interview questions:

1. They’re trying to understand how you performed in previous job positions and what value you brought to the table.
2. They are trying to collect clues on how you’ll perform in the current job role and how you interpret qualifications such as “works well under pressure”.
3. They’re trying to figure out qualities about yourself and how well you’ll mix into the company’s work environment.

So, for example, if you’re applying for a managerial position, you might get asked, “Tell me about a time when you portrayed leadership in a project”. In that case, you’re expected to demonstrate good leadership qualities with an example to show that you match the job post’s qualifications. But how do you answer in a way that helps you secure the deal?

How to Answer Behavioral Interview Questions?

It’s no coincidence that behavioral interview questions are also known as STAR questions since you need the STAR method to answer them. The STAR method counts for the structure situation (S), task (T), action (A), result (R). 

So you need to recall a past work experience where a problem occurred. Then, describe what the situation was, what tasks needed to be completed to resolve it, what action you took, and what results you may have achieved. This is the fastest way to come out unscathed from behavioral interview questions.

A success story where you portrayed competency and character is the best answer you can give. However, if you’re a work newbie, fear not, as you can draw success stories from volunteering work, athletic teams, or school clubs. The key is to prepare your success story before the actual interview, to avoid staring into the recruiter’s eyes dry-mouthed and shocked.

How to Pick the Right Success Stories?

Behavioral interview questions usually come down to these five categories:

• Teamwork

• Interpersonal skills

• Stress situations/Challenges

• Leadership/Innovation

• Problem-solving

If you want to have a real chance to impress at your next interview, you need to prepare a success story for all these categories. However, a simple success story by itself says nothing. So, the next step to your preparation is investigating the job description for the listed qualifications that the company values for this particular position. 

Now the only thing you have to do is describe your success story and bind it with the qualifications the company searches for. And that’s a recipe for success! Here’s a sample of how you can answer the common behavioral interview question: “So tell me about a time you solved a problem in a past job position”.

“In my past role as a Community Relations Manager in a SaaS company, we were facing high churn rates and a decline in customer satisfaction (situation). After a thorough investigation, I realized that the problem had to do with a bug in our software that made it impossible for customers to renew their subscriptions (task). To resolve the situation, I suggested we change our workflow and prioritize mechanics (action). The problem was resolved within a few hours, and the churn rates were back to normal after 2 weeks. (result)”

And there you have it! The STAR method at its best! 

Ace Your Next Interview With ZipRecruiter

Hopefully, by now, you understand how to answer behavioral interview questions in a way that doesn’t just save you from failure but also manages to impress hiring managers. We are confident that you’re ready to apply for your next job position and ace that interview.

There’s no need to look in other job hiring sites. With AI technology that matches your profile with thousands of work opportunities, ZipRecruiter is the only platform you’ll ever need. So sign up for your free account today and get job matches sent right into your inbox.

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