What do you do if behavioral interview questions are throwing you off?

A behavioral event question is intended to help you describe a situation in which you did well, or from which you learnt something valuable. Accordingly, you must recall and describe a situation from your past experience. Start by saying something like “ ... years/months ago when I was working with ... on .... My team/I was faced with a situation in which ..... Describe the task “This was challenging because .... Then describe the action/decision that you took “I decided to .... and asked my team/the client/the vendor/.... to ..... We dealt with .... by doing ....” Finally, the outcome. "Thankfully, we were able to .... in ...”. The interviewer may probe your responses to understand them better.

Ace your behavioral interviews with the refined STAR method! Situation: Set the scene by describing the context of your experience. Add subtle details to make it relatable & engaging for the interviewer. Task: Clarify the challenge you faced, emphasizing any nuances or complexities. Briefly explain your role, objectives, & the expectations present. Action: Delve into the strategic & thoughtful steps you took, showcasing your problem-solving skills & adaptability. Mention any collaborative efforts & the reasoning behind your decisions. Result: Emphasize the outcomes, both quantitative & qualitative. Share the impact of your actions on the team, company, or project. Bonus points if you can connect it to the role you're interviewing for!

The major difference in BEI, is to note that goal is to assess how you have handled similar situations in the past, and how you might handle them in the future. Reflecting during Preparation involves : 1.what experience from past is relevant for the Role 2. giving specific example of assignments from past and significant learnings 3. how to showcase your strength, remember you have to sell in an interview 4. concise and to the point answers. not going all around the place 5. build a small repository of past achievements, performance feedback from past appraisals, and findings from psychometric instruments if tested any. This is an important fodder for your preparation which will make you look more confident, as compared to other candidates.

Before you answer the question, you must choose a situation that you are going to describe to the interviewer based on their question. For this, you must recall the various situations that you have handled in the past successfully, exceeding the expectations OR where you learned something that proved valuable in your future. Pick the situation that you remember clearly and that you can describe spontaneously and confidently : what the situation was, what was challenging about it, what was the task to be done, what was your decision(s)/action(s) and what were the results. What options you considered and why did you pick the one that you finally picked. If that situation really meant a lot to you, it is likely to be easy to recall.

Actually I disagree. Be spontaneous and authentic, rather than rehearsed and not in the flow. Besides, there really is no laundry list of behavioral questions that one may prepare for. Instead, be more deliberate in selecting the situation that you wish to describe to the Interviewer. Choose the situation that you remember vividly, including your thought processes, and rationale. Be truthful, because the interviewer will probe and seek deeper understanding of your motives and the reasoning behind your actions and decisions. You need not remember details such as the names of people, the exact period, etc. Focus on explaining your actions and reactions rather than those of others, although you may describe others actions in brief.

Although the term "Behavioral Interview" includes the word Interview, it is not like your typical interview where you are trying hard to impress the Interviewer by your smartness and personality, and the Interviewer is probably trying to put you in a tight spot to judge some other quality/trait. To stay calm, the best preparation to do before you get into the Interview is to make a list of major achievements, the situations and challenges you have overcome, and/or learnt from in the last few years. In the interview, just recall and narrate what you said and did, why, and what decisions and actions brought what outcomes. That's it! And then just pick the most suitable situation and say it like a story, when the question comes.

Authenticity is a non-negotiable. Avoid the temptation to exaggerate your achievements, or to blow your own trumpet. In your answer to a behavioral question your real - rather than desirable - behavior counts the most. Answers to behavioral questions are true stories of achievement and/or learning from your past; stories narrated in the STAR framework. All you have to do is recall, narrate and explain wherever necessary. Fabrication is a trap you will be setting up for yourself because all that the Interviewer needs to do is ask a couple of sharp probing questions and its easy to know whether or not your narrative qualifies to be true story.

When behavioural questions throw you off during an interview, remember that everyone has relevant experiences to draw from. To prepare effectively, focus on crafting complex examples that can be adapted to various types of questions. Choose situations that showcase multiple skills, such as leadership, communication, problem-solving, or teamwork. By selecting versatile examples, you ensure you'll always have a relevant story to share, regardless of the specific question asked. Additionally, practice articulating these examples concisely and confidently to demonstrate your ability to handle any behavioural question that comes your way.

People often forget about discussing the results of whatever actions they took to address the situation they are using as an example. I want to hear about what worked. What did not work. The impacts. Why you think it did not work or did work. This also shows your ability to analyze the results. What would you do differently? This shows me your ability to analyze the results and adapt.

Behavioural questions are very important to understanding your character, leadership skills and how you handle the situation with calm. Be positive, humble and clear about your answers. Avoid Arrogance, Ego and attitude which can lead to rejection. Be genuine and confident about your decisions and ideas. Listen to the questions carefully and then answer. Don't be judgmental. Be authentic, accountable and up to the point.