13.3 Before the Interview: Behavioural Based Questions
Behavioural Based Interview Questions
Behavioural interview questions ask the candidates specific examples of past experiences.
Past performance → Predicts future performance
Use the ‘SAR’ Technique to Answer Behavioural Interview Questions.
| Situation | Detail the background. Provide a context. Where? When? |
|---|---|
| Action | Elaborate your specific action. What did you do? How? What tools did you use? |
| Result | Explain the result: accomplishment, recognition, savings, etc. Quantify things. |
Commonly Asked Behavioural Based Interview Questions
Accountability Questions
Being honest, reliable and responsible for our decisions and actions
- Provide an example of a time when you had multiple conflicting priorities and demands in your role which were time. What did you do to accomplish the required tasks? Or Explain how you prioritize work when everything is a priority?
- Tell me about a time a when you faced a tough situation. How did you address and resolve it?
- Walk us through a time when you knew things were not going well with a particular project or process. What happened? What was the end result?
Respect / Conflict Resolution Questions
Being inclusive, understanding and considerate
- Describe a time when you had to resolve a difference of opinion/conflict with a co-worker or supervisor.
- Tell me about a time when you were working on a team project and one of the team members was not fulfilling their obligations or contributing equally? How did you manage the situation?
Team Work / Collaboration Questions
Working together to achieve positive results
- Provide an example of when you had to work with someone who was extremely difficult to get along with and as a result, made it challenging for you to complete your work. How did you handle the interaction with that person?
- Teamwork is essential in the smooth operation of the department. Describe your best example of contributing positively to the team to achieve a favourable outcome.
- Describe a time when you worked as part of a team.
Problem Solving Questions
Relate your ability to identify issues, obstacles and opportunities and develop and implement solutions
- Tell me about a time when you had to solve a challenging problem.
- Describe a time when you identified a potential problem and fixed it prior to it becoming urgent.
Customer / Client Service Questions
Align with values, providing service excellence
- Tell me about a time when you interacted with a difficult customer / client. What happened and how did you rectify the situation?
- Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond to support a customer’s needs.
- Describe a time when a customer was pleased with your service.
Innovation / Process Improvement Questions
Create and adopt better more efficient processes
- Provide an example when you implemented an idea or process that had a positive impact on the work you do or the team that you work.
- Describe a process improvement which you have been involved in. What did you do to contribute to making it a success? What roadblocks did you encounter and how did you overcome them?
“Before the Interview: Behavioural Based Questions” from Interview Toolkit by Fanshawe College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
