Behavioral interview questions are questions meant examine the interviewee past behavior in particular situations (Turner 30). Examples of these questions and answers are given below.
Describe yourself in terms of your ability to work as a team member?
Answer
My previous job gave me the opportunity to develop and enhance my skills as a team player. As salespersons, my previous company gave us a group goal of registering 1000 new customers a week. I was tasked with leading the group towards this goal. I learned a lot about teamwork as all sales agents had to work as a team to meet the targets.
What is your greatest motivation that makes you put forth your greatest effort?
Answer
Working hard and achieving great sales as a salesperson is rewarding, given the compensation packages that come along with it. However, my passion is not driven by monetary rewards alone. My drive comes from within. I feel satisfied when I bring out the best in any role I am assigned. Therefore, I want to be recognized as the best sales agent.
Describe a time you utilized written communication skills to pass an important message across
Answer
As a group leader, I was tasked with coordinating a team of 50 sales agents. Having such a large number of staff and working in different parts of the County, regular meetings and briefings were impossible to be held. I needed to know the progress of everyone (in terms of the number of sales) and challenges they encounter in the field. To achieve this, I created e-mails for all staff for communication on an individual basis. I also created a group e-mail where all the sales agents could discuss an issue at hand.
Describe a situation that demanded doing a number of things at a time. How well did you handle it? What was the outcome?
Answer
In my current job, I have a number of responsibilities to accomplish: allocating tasks to staff, updating records on a number of sales on a daily basis, reporting to management, and reviewing the performance of the group members. To accomplish this, I dedicate a certain amount of time for each within a day.
Tell me about a time when you went an extra mile in your duty in order to get a job done.
Answer
Although it was already time to go home and I had finished my day’s work, I had to stay behind to help get my customer out of a problem he had encountered with a client. The client was visibly angry as he had waited for so long to be served. Being new, my colleague was also getting angry. I had to explain to the client the reasons for the long wait. After that, he was satisfied.
Situational questions
In Situational interview questions, a candidate is asked to assess a given situation and give the solutions on how to handle the situation (Oliver 138). Examples of these questions and corresponding answers are given below.
How would you assess your capability of dealing with conflict?
Answer
I believe I am capable of handling conflict. Working as a team leader in a sales team required that I set targets for each and every member of a team and report their weekly performance to the management. When any member failed to reach the target, I had to penalize. This placed me in conflict with a couple of them. I always made sure that I fully explained to them the situation and the policies that guided my decision. In the end, the person comes to appreciate the reasons for my actions.
Would you say you can easily handle high-pressure situations?
Yes. As an intern at an insurance company, I was attached to a hospital to handle client needs. I used to be quite busy during the day because of the number of clients. At times, I was called during the night to go and handle clients’ issues, which I did
Tell me a time when you did not meet a deadline. What did you fail to do? What were the consequences? What did you learn?
Answer
In my postgraduate course, I failed to meet a deadline in a project I had to do over the internet as I thought the assignment was simple and would take a short time. The consequences were dire. I got a low grade, which affected my GPA. The situation helped me to estimate properly the amount of time required for a particular task.
Give me an example of a time when you employed good judgment as well as logic in solving a problem.
Answer
While working as an intern for insurance, a client approached me seeking a 3-year academic insurance plan for his kindergarten daughter. I did not see this as a good plan, given the age of the daughter. I had to explain to him the cons of the short-term insurance plans. Given that the daughter had a long way to go in matters education, I advised and came to a consensus that a long-term plan was the best.
Tell me of an instance when you encountered stresses that tested your coping ability
Answer
Arriving in France for the first time with low proficiency in the French language posed a great problem to me. I got lost in the capital city in the first week and could not trace the route back to my house. I got very stressed but managed to stay calm. My composure helped me a lot as I was able to seek for assistance despite my poor grasp of French at the time.
Interviewer questions
How has this post evolved since its inception?
Getting to know the history of the position helps to know whether it has expanded over the years and also helps in projecting whether a room exist for advancement in the same job.
What did the past employees do to succeed in this job?
Asking this helps to get a glimpse of the job demands, skills, and knowledge needed, and the expectations of the company.
Is there room for growth in this position?
Asking this enables one to know the future prospects and get to know whether to seek other organizations which allows room for growth if the current one does not.
Is there room for advancement of education?
This question helps me to know whether I can add relevant skills and knowledge in future and hence has an effect on my competitiveness in similar or higher positions in future.
5. What are the challenges I am likely to encounter working for this company?
This question help to know the kind of working environment that is within the organization and prepare adequately if given a chance.
Works Cited
Oliver, Vicky. 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions. Sourcebooks, Inc., 2005. Print.
Turner, Tom S. Behavioral Interview Guide: A Practical, Structured Approach for Conducting Effective Selection Interviews. Trafford Publishing, 2004. Print.
