You're faced with behavioral interview questions on emotional intelligence. How can you respond effectively?

When answering behavioral interview questions about emotional intelligence, it's important to demonstrate your ability to understand and manage emotions effectively. Start by carefully listening to the question to ensure you grasp the scenario being asked about. Then, structure your response using the STAR method—briefly describe the situation, explain your role, detail the actions you took, and share the positive result that came from it. For instance, if asked about managing a conflict, you might recall a time when two team members disagreed on a project direction. As the team leader, you’d explain how you first listened to each person individually, showing empathy and ensuring they felt heard.

EQ is your best friend who helps you understand your feelings. I was once on a behavioural interview, and it was'nt your plain vanilla "Tell me about a time when..." and the interviewer was assessing my resilience in real time - I slowed down, and said "I am noticing that my tummy feels weird right now... I am going to pause here and take a moment." And that was the most powerful 30 seconds of the interview, because here I was, "showing" vs "telling". I then proceeded to talk about a high conflict situation, and how I handled it.

Actually I disagree In my experience as an interviewer, candidates almost never want to admit weakness or failure. For them, the interview is an opportunity to showcase their best potential. So it is very unlikely that they will admit their mistakes, our weaknesses and definitely notfailures. It takes an astute interviewer to build a resort, frame questions in a way that can create a psychological safety and allow the candidate to open up.

Be as specific as you can. Specific in describing the situation Specific in listing 2 o3 goals/ task s Specific in your action plan Specific in the results that you got Please remember candidates who spin long stories often get tied up in their own yarn. Being specific is a reflection of structure, thinking and strong self awareness.

?Emphasize Active Listening: Active listening is a critical component of emotional intelligence and is often overlooked in interviews. Demonstrate how you've practiced active listening in past experiences. For example, you might describe a situation where you attentively listened to a colleague's concerns without interrupting, asked clarifying questions, and responded thoughtfully. Emphasizing active listening shows that you value others' perspectives and are committed to understanding and addressing their needs.

For me, the most important element is to take your time in responding to a question. Often a candidate may feel the need to answer immediately. Along with the need to showcase their best selves often results in inflated answers. Experiences recruiters can see through this immediately. Take your time to mentally frame the answer and then answer verbally in a slow pace.