Career Services Office
Behavioral Interviewing Techniques
Many organizations now use behavioral-based interviewing techniques, which require the job applicant to describe past situations that relate to situations they might encounter in the new position. This approach is based on the belief that past performance is the best predictor of future behavior. Even if you don't have a great deal of work experience, companies expect you to be able to relate past experiences - from graduate school, campus activities, volunteer work, etc. - to the job for which you are interviewing.
What to Expect
Behavioral-based interview questions generally start with any one of the following phrases:
- Tell me about a time when you...
- Describe a circumstance when you were faced with a problem related to...
- Think about an instance in which you...
- Tell me how you approached a situation where...
When your interview is behavioral-based, you should expect a structured interview with set questions, as opposed to a more conversational style. The interviewer is probably evaluating you against a profile of desired behaviors considered necessary for success. You will oftentimes receive follow-up questions that probe for more details and attempt to evaluate the consistency of your answers. Many of the questions will have multiple parts, and the interviewer will generally take notes during your answers.
The STAR Method
The STAR method is a structured manner of responding to an interview question by discussing the specific situation, task, action, and result of the situation you are describing.
- Situation: Set the stage for the interviewer by providing an overview of the situation and any relevant background information. Be specific and succinct.
- Task: What goal were you working toward?
- Action: Describe the actions you took to address the situation with an appropriate amount of detail. What specific steps did you take and what was your particular contribution? Be careful that you don't describe what the team or group did when talking about a project, but what you actually did. Use the word "I," not "we" when describing actions.
- Result: Describe the outcome of your actions and don't be shy about taking credit for your behavior. Your answer may contain multiple positive results.
Make sure that you follow all parts of the STAR method. Be as specific as possible at all times, without including too much information. Oftentimes interviewees have to be prompted to include their results, so try to include that without being asked. Also, eliminate any examples that do not paint you in a positive light. However, keep in mind that some examples that have a negative result (such as "lost the game") can highlight your strengths in the face of adversity.
Two Sample STAR Answers
Question: Tell me about a time when you had to cope with strict deadlines or time demands.
Answer One
Situation: I had to establish and adhere to strict deadlines in order to complete my doctoral dissertation. Few deadlines are externally
imposed upon graduate students, and, as a result, it is easy to fritter away weeks, months, and even years of effort without completing
the dissertation. This can be particularly true if one has an adviser who offers little guidance and structure, which was precisely my
situation. In order to make progress toward my degree, I created my own strict deadlines for completion and regularly met my own
self-imposed deadlines.
Task: I drafted a project plan in which I defined the tasks, milestones, and deadlines associated with degree completion. Completion of each dissertation chapter was a principal task, and a few subtasks and deadlines were grouped below, such as additional library research, making an outline, and submission of the chapter to my adviser for review. My project plan also included many of the deadlines other doctoral students tend to forget, such as dissertation deposit and commencement deadlines. After I had drafted my project plan, I distributed a copy of my plan to my adviser as well as the other members of my committee, asking for "sign-off" on my plan. Members of my committee appreciated the initiative, motivation, and organization I exhibited with my plan and supported my efforts.
Action: I followed my project plan carefully, and I regularly met my self-imposed deadlines. Meeting my goals was difficult and required great self-discipline and hard work, particularly because I was already working full time at a job that required regular travel to other parts of the state. I responded by placing a moratorium on most hobbies and social activities, and I worked most weekends and many late nights. Having the project plan also helped me manage the other players in the process, principally my adviser. He was slow about reviewing my work, but by tactfully assigning him deadlines, too, I assured my continued progress. Of course, as my writing progressed, it was sometimes necessary to adjust deadlines, and I kept the timeline up-to-date, and notified my committee of changes. However, while milestone dates sometimes changed, the ultimate deadline—completion—did not.
Result: As the result of my project management and adherence to deadlines, I was able to defend, deposit, and graduate on schedule.
Answer Two:
Situation: I had a two-month internship with a large international company. During my internship, I was given a project to complete
during this short time that had multiple parts. I had to give a presentation and a report to my managers before my internship ended, and
I knew my job performance would be reviewed and critiqued before I left the company.
Task: In this project I had to evaluate the content and usability of various online learning programs. In order to do this, I had to distribute the programs that met my initial criteria to an international team of reviewers to get their input and perspective. After I did this, I had to compile all of their data and opinions, synthesize this data, and create a report and presentation for my managers.
Action: Since each part of the project had to be completed in a specific order, I created a project plan in MicrosoftProject with structured deadlines for each phase of the project. I built in a bit of extra time for unexpected problems or delays since I knew I had to depend on other people for data. I sent this schedule to my team so they knew my time constraints, and sent them reminders before the due date. I made certain that I consistently adhered to the schedule that I designed.
Result: I was able to complete the project, although I had to build a few additional days into my timeline since some of the reviewers were slow to send me their data. But I learned to be flexible, figured out how to motivate my team, worked efficiently on the portions of the project that depended only upon me, and was able to give an effective report and presentation to my managers on schedule. Plus I got a great evaluation at the end of my internship!
Areas of Evaluation
Some of the most common behavioral questions evaluate such attributes as:
- Integrity
- Leadership
- Initiative
- Communication Skills
- Problem Solving Skills
- Interpersonal Skills
- Adaptability
See the list of sample behavioral questions (PDF) for examples of each of these areas and many more. Be certain to carefully consider STAR answers for examples that you might want to share prior to your interview. As a graduate student, you may need to work a little harder to come up with behavioral answers since most of your prior experiences have been in the academic world. Draw on ALL your experiences, including teaching, serving on committees, managing multiple tasks, doing research, leading groups, etc.
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