Behavioural Interview Questions3 min read

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The focus in job interviews is shifting from the qualifications of candidates to actually identifying the candidates whose behaviours and experience match a company’s work culture. In this context, behavioural interview questions are becoming increasingly a core part of the interview process because they easily highlight candidates who are a good fit.

Learn how to assess past behaviour with behavioural interview.

What are Behavioural Interview Questions?

Behavioural interview questions are those that assess how a candidate handled past situations in order to gain an understanding of how they might perform on the job. These questions usually begin with, “Tell me about a time when you…”, and they are sometimes known as behaviour-based interview questions or STAR questions (where STAR means: Situation, Task, Action, Result).

What Are the Benefits of Behavioural Interview Questions?

The main benefit of behavioural interview questions is that they force candidates to look beyond generic responses for their answers. Candidates have to relay personal experiences on the job and real-life situations rather than idealized generic answers to questions.

When to Use Behavioural Interview Questions?

Behavioural interview questions are best used in scenarios where the candidate’s work experience and behaviour are important pointers to whether they are a good fit for the job or not. This interview style gives an idea of how the candidate would react in real-life situations on the job, based on precedent.

Common Behavioural Interview Questions

• Tell me about when you handled a stressful situation at work and how you handled it.
• Tell me about a time you disagreed with your supervisor on how to go about doing something.
• Tell me about a time you had to convince your team to do a job they were reluctant to do.
• Have you ever failed to meet a deadline? What happened? How did you handle it?
• Tell me about a time when you resolved a conflict between your co-workers.
• Tell me how you prioritized when you were given multiple projects.
• Tell me about how you handled a difficult work challenge you had.
• Tell me about when you had to adapt to major changes at work.
• Tell me about when you had to deal with an angry or upset customer.
• Tell me about a time you had to go over and beyond the call of duty to help a customer. What did you do?
• Tell me about when you had to fight for an idea at your job.
• Tell me about a time you had to make an important snap decision. What was the decision and what were the results?
• Have you ever been in a business situation you would classify as ethically questionable? What did you do?
• Tell me about a time a project had to change in major ways while it was still in progress. Why did that happen? How did you do it?
• Talk about when a coworker was not doing their share of the workload. How did you handle that situation?
• Talk about a major setback you’ve had. How did you handle it?
• How have you handled a situation when your colleagues have been stressed out by a project.
• Tell me about a difficult problem you’ve had to solve. How did you solve it?
• Have you ever had to defend a customer’s opinion? What did you do and why?
• Tell me about when you have had to sell an idea to your colleagues.
• Talk about a time when you solved a problem in a creative way.