Preparation is key to nailing that crucial interview
BEHAVIOURAL-BASED interviews can be tricky, especially if people try to out-think them, Dexter Cousins from careersassistant.com says.
He says a behavioral interview centres on asking candidates questions concerning their specific experience. They require detailed responses in which the candidate provides insight into what they have accomplished in their careers.
The result can give the interviewer an accurate insight to a candidate’s ability to perform the role successfully based on relevant experiences but, unfortunately, many candidates are ill prepared for such questions and when put on the spot struggle to give detailed answers, Mr Cousins says.
So how do you prepare for the interview and what type of questions will you be asked?
Mr Cousins has five tips that will help you answer behavioural questions in an effective manner. Preparation
Before the interview ensure you get a detailed job description. Whilst looking at the description put a tick next to every area you have relevant experience. Order them strongest to weakest. Now looking at the areas that you don’t have exposure to think of something you have done that is similar or think of a situation in which you have had to learn a new skill. You are going to use this example during the interview in case your lack of experience is mentioned. Best answers
If there are specific responsibilities such as managing a team, meeting sales targets or working to deadlines think of examples/achievements in which you have displayed that quality. If you are struggling to think of examples try and think of the proudest moments in your career. Perhaps a time you were commended by your boss, a customer or your colleagues. Break it down Break the event into three parts. (i): The situation. Describe the scene to the interviewer – was there a crisis? A customer complaint? A tight deadline? How did you identify the situation?
(ii): The part you played. Once a decision had been made on how to resolve the situation, how did you do it? If part of a team, what part did you play. If the plan wasn’t working what did you do next?
(iii): The results. What was the outcome of your actions? Did sales increase? Did you make a customer happy? Did you save the company money? Don’t get hypothetical
If you don’t have experience in a particular area be honest and say so. But don’t leave it at that, use an experience that is similar or may have some relevance. If you are asked to provide an example of how you have increased sales but haven’t been in a sales job, perhaps you can provide an example of how you have influenced a decision at work. You may have persuaded an unhappy customer not to buy elsewhere. Always be positive
If the example you provide did not have a positive outcome, focus on what you learned from the experience. Articulate how it changed the way you performed your job and made you better. The interviewer may ask you to provide examples of times when you have been under stress, failed at a task or even been fired. It is important to remember that everyone makes mistakes. The behavioural-based questions will enable the interviewer to discover exactly how you deal with failure and disappointment.
Mr Cousins says that 90 per cent of success comes from the preparation and most people fail at interviews not because they can’t do the job but because they don’t convince the interviewer they can do it.