Top Behavioral Interview Questions to Ask Candidates

“Define an ideal coworker”

Are you fumbling for exact words to give an authentic answer to this behavioral question? If so, you got our back! What are behavioral questions?

Behavioral questions are the most effective key to unlocking the real potential of the candidates. It is used as the most effective screening process adopted by employers to derive logical and authentic answers from candidates. Behavioral interview questions are the best interview technique adopted by many organizations to test the level of the applicants.

Behavioral questions are now a crucial part of the hiring process. The work experience and work style of the candidates can be easily acknowledged while they answer behavioral questions. The Resume can be used as a document that talks a lot about the professional background, skills, work history, work potential, and experience of a candidate. The information furnished in a paper cannot act as a vital asset to value the candidates’ worth. Yes, you heard it right. An employer will be more focused on finding the apt candidates for the job position offered in their company. An employer is always stern in finding out the worth of the candidates. Whether a candidate is worthy of the job position or not can be determined by the answers that they provide while encountering behavioral questions.

Finding a candidate who is a perfect match for the job role in the company is the greatest task shouldered by the interviewer.  A person who excels in one company may not be a perfect fit for the job roles, culture, and style of another company. It depends upon how easily a potential employee can adapt. The adaptability skills can be tested with behavioral questions.

Benefits of Behavioral Questions

Companies are different, and so does the job roles. Identifying the apt person suitable for the open roles and company is a tiring task. Behavioral questions can be your savior. Understanding the work history, potential, skills, habits, and behavior of the candidates can help you find the best employee for your company. You can ask them to share their ideas and thoughts if they are put in a difficult situation, where they have to make use of their skills and abilities to solve it. The answers can help the employer to find the soft skills of the candidates. Choosing the best out of the lot can be problematic yet interesting.

You can also ask the candidates to explain how they managed certain compelling scenarios. The interviewer can get hold of the basic working style and mentality of the interviewee sitting in front of you. Such behavioral questions can aid the interviewer to get a crystal clear idea about the reality of the candidates. How does a candidate work? is the most challenging question that the interviewer is destined to find the answer to. It is also one of the most effective ways to find what a candidate is capable of based on performance. The candidates will try hard in this session to prove their worth and how the company would be benefited if they hire them.

The interviewer will only be interested in a candidate who could maintain work and team spirit alike. The targeted behavioral questions are a blessing for the interviewer to find a potential employee in your firm. The questions can trigger the candidates to share their experiences and ideas on their work history, thereby allowing the interviewer to have an overall understanding of the candidates.  The personal qualities of a recruit can be easily assessed by selecting the best behavioral questions. Getting a rich intuitive apprehension about the candidates can help you to find the apt candidates for the role.

The behavioral questions are famous for their systematic and structured outlook. Standardized questions can always give you a sophisticated aura. It’s not easy to evaluate multiple talents for the same job position with a limited number of vacancies.

Features of Behavioral Interview Questions

The hiring manager can ask both the formal standard interview questions along with the behavioral interview questions at the same time. The interviewer can ask multiple limitless behavioral questions to the candidates which can help them to find the suitable ‘one’ for the position. While choosing the questions, you should keep the basic requirements that you’re seeking in a potential employee. Employers most often choose situational questions to understand the wave of the candidates.

• Aids to seek the future behavior of the candidates through their performance
• The past behavior of the candidates can be assessed systematically
• Helps to expose the interpersonal skills and leadership qualities of the candidates
• Helps to focus on the past experiences of the candidates which could shape the culture of the company
• Gets a nuanced sense of the knowledge, ability, and skill of the candidates
• Gives a proper channel for one-to-one open communication between the employer and the candidate
• Learn more about how a person could handle situations under pressure and stress
• Understanding the resilience capacity of the candidates
• An easy way to gauge the potential of the candidates to adapt, reinforce, and lead the culture of the company
• Verifies the concrete answers and concludes the behavior of the candidates

A good response to the behavioral questions must last for one or two minutes. The answers to the factual questions should be short and clear.  Here is the list of top behavioral questions that can help you to assess and evaluate the principles, work style, and experience of the candidates to arrive at the best hiring judgment.

Common Behavioral Interview Questions

• Who is an ideal coworker according to you?
• Will you prioritize designated works under intimidation?
• Will you be in a status to manage your plan when it is interrupted?
• Have you ever attempted to surrender company policy to please a client?
• Can you manage a situation where your client demands extra attention from you?
• How have you addressed lapses at the job?
• How do you manage job roles if you are performing poorly?
• Have you ever settled down an infuriated client?
• Can you elaborate upon your regrets about your previous job?
• Tell me about the greatest lesson that you learned from your previous job position.

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Teamwork Questions

• Tell me about a period when you had to perform nearly with somebody whose disposition was veritably different from yours.
• Speak about a period you encountered a confrontation with a colleague. How did you manage that?
• Speak about a period when you had to stroll up and indicate leadership skills.
• Tell me about a time you drove an error and wish you’d endured a problem with an associate else.
• Tell me about a time you required to get the report from someone who wasn’t veritably responsive.
• Describe a time when you had to work with a delicate colleague. How were you suitable to handle relations with that person?
• Describe a time when you performed a design part of a company presentation
• Tell me about a situation where the presentation committee disagrees with your ideas. How did you handle the pressure?

  Communication Behavioral Interview Questions

• How did you share your ideas with your prior chiefs?
• Have you ever convinced someone at the job of your perspective? Tell me about the positive outcome that you derived from your previous job.
• Can you converse about a time when you struggled with your job roles?
• Have you ever been tired of your job responsibilities?
• How did you improve your communication skills?
• Tell me about your first group presentation.
• What are the strategies you adopted to deal with a challenging client?
• How did you manage the stressful circumstances and turned them into opportunities?
• Did you succeed in resolving challenging situations? If so explain
• How did you furnish a bad announcement to someone?
• What is the preparation you took before facing a difficult client?
• Tell me about a scenario when you encountered an unforeseen challenge.
• Share about a time when you had to develop a new skill.
• What were the approaches you adopted to proceed with your learning process?
• How did you manage conflicts at work?
• How did you overcome the conflicts at the workspace?
• How did you handle your work pressure?
• Tell me about a situation where you thought of yourself as unsuccessful.
• Define failures. How did you face failures?
• How did you learn from your mistakes?
• Can you tell me about a time when things didn’t work as you planned?
• Talk about a difficult problem you solved at work.
• How did you handle your experience of making mistakes?
• Tell about a period when you had to adopt an unexplored strategy, technology, technique, or way of judging that was a major divergence from the earlier way of accomplishing things.
• Tell me about a juncture when you were allocated an assignment outside your usual employment responsibilities.
• Tell me about a juncture when you adjusted to a shift and your coworkers opposed switching from the ancient habit of accomplishing something.
• Did you undertake any task that had a major impediment? How did you get away from the barrier to achieving your task?
• How did you adjust to the major transformation in your life?

Customer Service Questions

• Talk about a period when it was extremely necessary to construct a good appearance on a client.
• What happened when you didn’t fulfill a client’s expectations?
• How did you rectify problems with the client?
• How did you make certain a client was satisfied with your assistance?
• How did you perform well in front of a difficult client?
• How did you prioritize your customers’ requirements?

  Ethics and Integrity Behavioral Interview Questions

• Tell me about a time when a teammate challenged your honesty.
• How did you react to the illogical questions of your client?
• Talk about the thought process that you came across when it was difficult to be honest with yourself because of the circumstances.
• Describe a juncture when you obeyed a rule that you couldn’t agree with.
• What were the circumstances that forced you to disobey a company rule? What were the repercussions you had to face?
• Tell me about a period when a co-worker was treading the wrong path. How did you convince your colleague?
• Have you ever been in a difficult position at work where the situation was demanding you to be dishonest?

 Growth Potential Behavioral Interview Questions

• How did you manage a circumstance when your superior was not around and a crisis materialized?
• Talk about the latest occurrence you requested immediate feedback from your supervisor.
• Speak about something that would encourage you to reposition from your existing position.
• What is a significant career goal that you acquired lately?
• Did you ever enact over for promotion?
• What is your idea about fair promotions?

 Adaptability Questions

• How did you manage pressure in the workspace?
• How did the change at the workspace impact you?
• Tell me about recompensing into your previous position.
• How did you manage workplace challenges?
• How did you adapt to the new workspace environment?

 Prioritization Behavioral Interview Questions

• Tell me about a period when you were overpowered and worried.
• Explain the project you planned.
• Explain how you organized and managed the work assignments.
• Have you ever performed multiple assignments simultaneously?
• How did you organize your time while you were working on multiple projects?
• How do you evaluate an expedient time to conduct an assignment?

 Leadership Behavioral interview questions

• Express a juncture when a worker hovered over you with problems.
• How did you manage situations when the project’s preferences had to change?
• How did you assemble credibility with stakeholders?
• Explain how you proceeded to uncover new knowledge that impacted a judgment you had completed already.
• Are you familiar with the changes in our enterprise that may induce a disruption?
• How did you meet the challenges associated with the industry?
• How did you enhance your leadership proficiency?

 Tips for Conducting a Behavioral Interview 

Make sure you approach the interviewee strategically. You have to be strategic enough to understand the potential of the candidates. You can ask any question from the list.  Keep in my mind the essential requirements for the job position and ask behavioral questions accordingly. You should uncover the hidden abilities of the candidates.

You can ask questions related to leadership qualities and interpersonal skills. Those are the basic requirements for any of the job roles. Fair comparisons are inevitable in hiring strategies. You should ask the same question to each candidate and note down how they respond to your questions. The process will be more manageable if you are consistent enough.

The hiring manager can ask different levels of questions but it will in turn complicates the whole hiring process. Consistent judgment is inevitable for finding the perfect employee through an interview. Allow your reason to play the most important role while you conduct an interview. The interviewer should interview in a fair and just manner.

You can set up a scoring sheet to assess the performance of the candidates. Involve yourself in open-ended question sessions. Open-ended questions can have multiple interpretations. The behavioral questions are thought-provoking in nature. So, the candidates should keep on talking to give a good impression about their skills and experience. You can extend appreciation for honest and interesting answers

Behavioral questions can determine the potential of the candidates. It is the most powerful tool to identify how capable a candidate is. If they are fit for the job roles, they would authentically approach the questions. Meeting the objectives of the company is a most essential quality that an employee should possess. Go on with the behavioral questions to find the best candidates for your company!

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