If you are going for a job interview, preparing for a traditional interview is not enough. There are high chances that you will be facing a behavioral interview, a technique developed in early 1970s.
Behavioral interview is a method of assessing the candidates on their past behaviour. For example, the interviewer would not be asking questions like, “How you will react under a lot of pressure?” But would ask, “How you actually performed in your past when you were under a lot of pressure?”
So, the basic theme of this interview runs around judging the capabilities and skills you have from your past experiences and matching it with the specific skills that are required for the post you have applied.
The entire reason behind this is quite simple, your experiences will form your answers and hence they will form your actual behaviour in the future as well.
In other words, The HR can easily judge how you will behave and perform in the future based on these answers.
It really isn’t easy to crack these interviews. However, practice always makes perfect.
Always remember that behavioral interviews can be cracked with a positive outlook towards every answer no matter how negative it might be.
Here are some points to help you prepare for these:
Study the Job Description
It will help you prepare for the behavioral based interview. It will help you come up with a list of competencies and attributes required for that particular job.
Create a List of Your Past Experiences
A list of past experiences and highlighting your strengths, will help you to present your case better than saying what you can do if given a chance. Try to remember the tough situations beforehand in which you have done exceptionally well.
Revisit your Current Job Performance Reviews
It will help you to iron out your weaknesses and will shine a light on your strengths, therefore you would be aware about what to said and written about your current job performance.
Use the STAR Method to Answer Better
When giving examples of your experiences, structure your answer by first stating the Situation or Task you had at hand, the Action you took, and finally the Results of your actions.
Practice your Interview Responses with a Friend
There are various lists of question banks available online and on various websites along with the answers to the same, to kick out the nervousness, it is always useful to be prepared to the level of perfection.
Be Clear and Confident
Listen carefully, be clear and detailed when you respond and, most importantly, be honest. Make sure you are confident in your answers before giving a reply. It’s important to keep in mind that there are no right or wrong answers. The interviewer is simply trying to understand how you behaved in a given situation. How you respond will determine if there is a fit between your skills and the position the company is seeking to fill.
Conclusion
Behavioral interviews are one of the new methods to check the capability and efficiency of the employee. This is why you should always tighten your waist with a bunch of common behavioral interview questions. You must also practice for such type of interviews with your friends and family. Above are some of the effective ways to prepare for a behavioral based interview. Keep your attitude positive and be confident while answering the question will help to crack this interview.
