Graduate Opportunities

It’s one thing to find a job vacancy that interests you, compile a résumé, craft a cover letter, and thoughtfully respond to a prescribed set of selection criteria. But what happens when you receive that much desired phone call inviting you in for a face-to-face interview?

How should you dress? Where do you go? What do you say? How do you best articulate and present yourself to secure the position?

What will they ask you, and how will they ask it?

Organisations and employers are constantly changing and adapting the methods by which they conduct interviews of job applicants. In response you, as an applicant, must keep pace and portray yourself in the most compelling, dynamic way possible to become more than just another name on a résumé – you instead become a legitimate candidate.

In the current economic climate this is even more vital. Employers of all sizes in all industries are looking for ways to cut costs. Fewer job openings are available and applicant pools are expanding – a phenomenon you’ve no doubt already experienced in your search for work.

Interviews are difficult processes for both the employer and the prospective employee. Employers want an efficient, informative method by which to ascertain if a candidate is suitable for a position. Behavioural-Based Interviewing (BBI) is an increasingly popular method used in hiring. This basic guide can help you through this important process.

What is Behavioural-Based Interviewing?

BBI operates on the notion that future behaviour is most accurately predicted by past behaviour. This means that employers will assess your prior experience – the way in which you behaved in, and learn from, certain situations – to anticipate your future actions. This technique is designed to reduce the likelihood that you, as a candidate, simply feed an interviewer an answer you think they’d like to hear, and instead provides insight into your professional and personal conduct from a case study perspective.

According to Katharine Hansen of Quintessential Careers, behavioural-based interviewing is “said to be 55 per cent predictive of future on-the-job behaviour, while traditional interviewing is only 10 per cent predictive.”* That’s strong incentive to brush up this technique!

How does BBI work?

An employer decides what skills or attributes it is seeking for a particular job. They then design questions that probe for these skills. As such, you should look over your résumé and think of specific situations that demonstrate certain personal/professional qualities you possess, illustrate your skills and ethics and your ability to learn from these actions. These scenarios do not need to be limited to work activities; extracurricular activities such as club sports, cultural group participation and volunteer work are excellent examples too, while also indicating your ability to maintain work-life balance.

Your responses should form neat descriptive narratives that contain a logical timeline of events – an outline of the situation or scenario; how you reacted and addressed this scenario; and the outcome of your actions. The example you provide does not need to be a positive one. For example, you could talk about a time you failed to complete a task or overlooked an easy solution to an issue. By articulating how you have learned from this situation, and how you would now solve it with this prior experience under your belt, you can provide potential employers with considerable insight into your personality and professional attributes.

What sort of questions will I be asked?

You might still be asked some traditional – and often generalised – interview questions such as “Tell us about yourself”. It’s important not to overlook these.

However use the following examples of potential BBI-type questions as a useful place to start your preparation. This list is by no means complete, but will help you to craft some responses for such interview situations:

• Give us an example of a time you worked in a team environment. How did you contribute? What did you learn from the experience?
• Tell us about an important goal you set for yourself, and about your success in reaching it.
• Describe a difficult situation in which you had to think quickly to resolve the issue or extricate yourself from a problematic circumstance.
• Provide an example of a time when you had to conform to a policy with which you disagreed. How did you respond? What was the outcome?
• Describe a situation when you went beyond the call of duty to complete a task.
• How do you motivate yourself?
• Describe your three most significant professional achievements, and why you selected these.
• Tell us about a time when you had an unhappy customer/client who proved difficult to satisfy. How did you handle the situation, and what was the result?
• Provide examples of situations that demonstrate you can interact with and adapt to a diverse set of people, environments and circumstances.
• Describe how you have used your written and/or verbal communication skills to provide a convincing argument on an important issue.
• Describe a leadership role you have held. How did you lead a group? What was successful/unsuccessful about the way in which you led?
• Give an example of a situation in which you successfully communicated with a person with whom you had personal differences (or vice-versa). How did you achieve this?
• What are your weaknesses? Give examples of times when you have been unsuccessful in completing tasks because of these weaknesses, and how you have learnt from these situations.
• What is the most creative or important presentation/project you have worked on? Why?
• Describe a particularly stressful work situation. How did you cope? What was the outcome?
• Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and you were required to prioritize your tasks.
• Give me an example of a time when you tried to accomplish something and failed.
• What is your typical way of dealing with conflict? Give me an example.
• Tell me about a time when you missed an obvious solution to a problem.
• Tell me about a time when you didn’t admit to a mistake. What did you learn?
• Can you tell me about a time when you felt you had to make an unpopular decision based on your beliefs and values?
• Describe a time when you told the truth when it would have been easier not to.

How do I respond to one of these questions?

Let’s take one of the above questions and give a sample response:

Question: Tell us about a time when you had an unhappy customer/client who proved difficult to satisfy. How did you handle the situation, and what was the result?

Background situation: I worked in a café as a waiter. A customer came to the counter to place an order and, after I provided her with a table number, she complained that personal service was disappearing from many cafés and restaurants. She felt customers were being treated simply as numbers, rather than individuals.

Response to situation: I explained that the reason for providing the table number was because multiple staff helped prepare and deliver the food to each table, so it helped prevent confusion if a different waiter delivered the food. I told her that in spite of this I understood her concerns. I made sure to personally deliver her meal to her table, offered to refill her water glass, and checked on her both during and after her meal to ensure she was comfortable.

Outcome: The customer approached me as she was leaving to thank me for the personalised service and for taking the time to converse with her, as she had been dining alone. She appreciated the effort and felt satisfied that she would enjoy returning to the café for future meals.

This example helps to illustrate a number of skills you possess. It demonstrates your willingness to accommodate the needs of others, your ability to provide quality customer/clientele service, your communication skills, and problem-solving/issue management capabilities. Each of these skills provides the interviewer with insight into your professional and personal acumen.

Further Information:

Your university career service or recruiting agency will be able to provide you with further help on this. Set up an appointment to have your résumé and cover letter reviewed. This will help to highlight your career/personal achievements, refresh your memory on skills developed and provide examples of learning situations in which you have been engaged.

You can also browse the Graduate Opportunities website to gain additional career and interview advice. Visit http://www.graduateopportunities.com/career_advice to see our career advice resources.

Good luck!

* Hansen, Katharine. “Behavioral interviewing strategies for job seekers.” www.quintcareers.com/behavioral_interviewing.html.