Behavioral interviews are considered among the trickiest forms of interview. Determining what questions will be asked during the interview is very impossible. You may know the type of questions will be asked but you’ll never be able to determine the exact questions that will be asked during the interview.

For that reason, preparing the right answer to those questions is very difficult. However, when you are aware that this type of interview will be conducted, you can increase your chances of getting hired through proper preparation.

Behavioral interview is a form of interview wherein the answers asked are not trivial. Instead of asking what you can do for the company, you’ll be asked about specific situations and you’ll be asked on your reaction on those situations. It is also possible that your resume will be scrutinized and asked about certain situations related to your resume.

This form of interview is used by screeners and the human resources so that they will be able to hire a candidate with the behavior they want. They already know the behavior of the person they will be hiring – it’s just a matter of finding out who among the candidates have those behaviors.

Preparing for the Interview

As already indicated, preparing the answers to behavioral interview will do nothing. What could be done though is to examine your resume, experiences in school or during your internship. There should be activities that could be asked during your interview that would focus on your behavior. Of course, you have to be honest on answering those interviews. They will be discovered anyway and you don’t want to be terminated at work because of lying.

While examining your resume and relative experiences, it is also important to examine the job description. This is very important since through the job description, companies would usually give a clue on the behavior or characteristics they are looking for. Sometimes they would even say it upfront which could be really helpful in preparing your answer when the interview starts.

Format of Answer

It is also helpful when you know how to properly formulate your answer. This is useful when you are asked on identifying a specific situation wherein you displayed the characteristic they need. The format actually comes in four stages: the situation, the challenge, your actions and the results.

It might look like a very long answer but you can shorten that if you are prepared. Part of acing the interview is to show confidence and if you’re concise as you know how and what to answer, you can easily gain the approval of the interviewer.

Behavioral interview could be very challenging and nerve wracking if you are not prepared. Be sure to prepare for this form of interview all the time since companies might use this technique and you don’t want to be caught off guard. Through proper preparation, you’ll know how and what to answer so that you can have a great interview and increase your chances of being hired for your dream job.