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Behavioral questions ask a candidate how they responded to a past event.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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A behavioral question can focus on areas such as stress management, customer relations, communication, and teamwork.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Watch for candidates who use the STAR method when answering behavioral questions.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"75](\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/75-behavioral-interview-questions.png\")
<\/p>\nWhat Are Behavioral Questions?<\/h2>\n
Behavioral questions are interview questions that ask how a person responded to certain past events. In this way, the interviewer can understand the candidate’s abilities and project them onto how the candidate would behave in the future.<\/p>\n
Behavioral questions normally focus on areas such as:<\/p>\n
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Handling stress<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Adaptability<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Analytical\/problem solving<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Attention to detail<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Customer relations<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Communication<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Creativity<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Decision making<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Goal setting<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Initiative<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Integrity<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Interpersonal skills<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Time management<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Sales<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Teamwork<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Resilience<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
When you ask a job candidate behavioral questions, you should get a response that not only answers the questions, but demonstrates their abilities and potential. You want to hear an answer that shows exactly how their skills were put into action and what type of results it achieved. You also want to look for a level of self-awareness that shows that the candidate is able to analyze their own past.<\/p>\n
75 Behavioral Interview Questions To Select The Best Candidate<\/h2>\n
ABILITY TO HANDLE STRESS<\/h3>\n
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\nWhat has been the most stressful situation you have ever found yourself in at work? How did you handle it?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhat have you done in the past to prevent a situation from becoming too stressful for you or your colleagues to handle?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
ADAPTABILITY<\/h3>\n
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\nTell me about a situation in which you have had to adjust to changes over which you had no control. How did you handle it?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nTell me about a time when you had to adjust to a colleague\u2019s working style in order to complete a project or achieve your objectives.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nHow was your transition from high school to university? Did you face any particular problems? How did you handle them?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
ANALYTICAL SKILLS \/ PROBLEM SOLVING<\/h3>\n
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\nDescribe the project or situation that best demonstrates your analytical abilities. What was your role?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nTell me about a time when you had to analyze information and make a recommendation. What kind of thought process did you go through? Was the recommendation accepted? If not, why?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nTell me about a situation where you had to solve a difficult problem. What did you do? What was the outcome? What do you wish you had done differently?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhat steps do you follow to study a problem before making a decision? Why?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
ATTENTION TO DETAIL<\/h3>\n
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\nWhat process do you use to check that you have the right details from a customer?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nGive me an example of a time you discovered an error that been overlooked by a colleague. What did you do? What was the outcome?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nTell me about a time that you were confused by a customer\u2019s request. What steps did you take to clarify things?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
CLIENT FOCUS \/ CUSTOMER ORIENTATION<\/h3>\n
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\nWhen have you had to deal with an irate customer? What did you do? How did the situation end up?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nTell me about a time you have \u201cinherited\u201d a customer. What steps did you take to establish rapport with them? What did you do to gain their trust?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nHow have you handled a situation in the past where your client has changed the brief or \u201cchanged the goalposts\u201d?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nGive an example of a time you went well out of your way to ensure a customer received the best possible service from you and organisation. What was their reaction?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhen have you ever gone out on a limb to defend a customer? What happened?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
COMMUNICATION<\/h3>\n
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\nTell me about a recent successful experience in making a speech or presentation?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhen have you had to present to a group of people with little or no preparation? What obstacles did you face? How did you handle them?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nHave you ever had to “sell” an idea to your co-workers? How did you do it?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nGive me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhat obstacles or difficulties have you ever faced in communicating your ideas to a manager?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nTell me about a time in which you had to use your written communication skills in order to get an important point across.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhen have you chosen to communicate a particular message in person as opposed to via email even though the email channel would have been a lot faster?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
CREATIVITY<\/h3>\n
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\nWhen was the last time you thought “outside the box” and how did you do it? Why?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nTell me about a problem that you\u2019ve solved in a unique or unusual way. What was the outcome? Were you happy or satisfied with it?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nGive me an example of when someone brought you a new idea that was odd or unusual. What did you do?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhen have you brought an innovative idea into your team? How was it received?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
DECISION MAKING<\/h3>\n
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\nTell me about a time when you had to make a decision without all the information you needed. How did you handle it?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nGive me an example of a time when you had to be quick in coming to a decision. What obstacles did you face?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhat is the most difficult decision you\u2019ve ever had to make at work? How did you arrive at your decision? What was the result?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nGive me an example of a business decision you made that you ultimately regretted. What happened?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
GOAL SETTING<\/h3>\n
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\nGive me an example of an important career goal which you set yourself and tell me how you reached it. What obstacles did you encounter? How did you overcome the obstacles?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nTell me about a professional goal that you set that you did not reach. How did it make you feel?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nHow have you gone about setting short-term goals and long-term goals for yourself or your team? What steps did you take along the way to keep yourself accountable?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
INITIATIVE<\/h3>\n
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\nDescribe a project or idea (not necessarily your own) that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role? What was the outcome?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nDescribe a situation in which you recognized a potential problem as an opportunity. What did you do? What was the result? What, if anything, do you wish you had done differently?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nTell me about a project you initiated. What did you do? Why? What was the outcome? Were you happy with the result?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nTell me about a time when your initiative caused a change to occur.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhat has been the best idea you have come up with during your professional career?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
INTEGRITY\/HONESTY<\/h3>\n
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\nDiscuss a time when your integrity was challenged. How did you handle it?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nTell me about a time when you experienced a loss for doing what is right. How did you react?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nTell me about a business situation when you felt honesty was inappropriate. Why? What did you do?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nGive a specific example of a policy you conformed to with which you did not agree. Why?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS<\/h3>\n
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\nGive an example of when you had to work with someone who was difficult to get along with. How\/why was this person difficult? How did you handle it? How did the relationship progress?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nDescribe a situation where you found yourself dealing with someone who didn\u2019t like you. How did you handle it?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nDescribe a recent unpopular decision you made. How was it received? How did you handle it?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhat, in your opinion, are the key ingredients in guiding and maintaining successful business relationships? Give me examples of how you have made these work for you.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nGive me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa). How did you handle the situation?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nTell me about a time when you had to work on a team with someone you did not get along with. What happened?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nDescribe a situation where you had a conflict with another individual, and how you dealt with it. What was the outcome? How did you feel about it?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
LEADERSHIP<\/h3>\n
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\nTell me about a team project when you had to take charge of the project? What did you do? What was the result?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nDescribe a leadership role of yours outside of work. Why did you commit your time to it? How did you feel about it?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhat is the toughest group that you have ever had to lead? What were the obstacles? How did you handle the situation?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhat has been your greatest leadership achievement in a professional environment? Talk through the steps you took to reach it.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhat have been the greatest obstacles you have faced in building\/growing a team?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nDescribe a time when you have not only been responsible for leading a team of people but for also doing the same job as your team members? How did you juggle\/balance your time?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
PLANNING AND ORGANISATION \/ TIME MANAGEMENT<\/h3>\n
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\nDescribe a situation that required you to do a number of things at the same time. How did you handle it? What was the result?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nHow do you prioritize projects and tasks when scheduling your time? Give me some examples.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nTell me about a project that you planned. How did your organize and schedule the tasks? Tell me about your action plan.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhen has a project or event you organized not gone according to plan? What happened? Why? How did you feel?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
SALES \/ NEGOTIATION<\/h3>\n
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\nTell me about your previous success in building a customer base from a standing start. What steps did you take?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhat is your greatest sales-related achievement to date? What steps led to the final outcome?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nDescribe a time when you convinced a resistant customer to utilize your services.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhat was the most stressful professional negotiation you have been involved in? How did you handle it?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
TEAMWORK<\/h3>\n
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\nDescribe a situation where others you were working with on a project disagreed with your ideas. What did you do?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nTell me about a time when you worked with a colleague who was not doing their share of the work. How did you handle it?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nDescribe a situation in which you had to arrive at a compromise or help others to compromise. What was your role? What steps did you take? What was the result?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nTell me about a time when you had to work on a team that did not get along. What happened? What role did you take? What was the result?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhat was the biggest mistake you have made when delegating work as part of a team project?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nTell me about a time when you had settle a dispute between team members. How did you go about identifying the issues? What was the result?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhat have you found to be the difficult part of being a member, not leader, of a team? How did you handle this?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
TENACITY \/ RESILIENCE<\/h3>\n
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\nTell me about a particular work-related setback you have faced. How did you deal with it?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhen have you ever found yourself in a competitive situation professionally? How did you handle it?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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\nWhen have you seen your tenacity or resilience really pay off in a professional setting? What was the outcome?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
STAR Method Answers<\/h2>\n
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