How to Answer Difficult Behavioral Interview Questions Right

Your answers show interviewers who you really are, not who
you pretend to be. They use past behavior to predict how you’re going to
perform, if hired. That’s why top behavioral interview questions focus on
specific situations in your personal and professional life.

Since these questions have many variations, it’s better to
use a format than to rely on a script. So to help you get ready for your next
interview, I’ve collected 12 behavioral interview questions and detailed what recruiters look for in your answers. Also, included are a number of sample behavioral interview answers to these tough questions.

Behavioral Interview Questions and Answers About Yourself

These questions help interviewers decipher your real
personality, goals, interests, and attitude.

1. What Are You Doing to Improve Yourself?

“What are you reading
right now?” is another way to ask this question.

Kenneth Ashe, Project
Manager at Prudential Financial says, “If a
candidate doesn’t have an answer, that’s not good. I want to hire someone
interested in developing themselves.”

It also shows a candidate’s interests. If an applicant is a
member of Toast Masters, that shows they want to improve their public speaking
skills.

Respond to this question by stating one or two
career-related interests, followed by a brief story of the books or lessons
you’re taking to learn it.

Cooking, crocheting, and other personal hobbies not related
to your line of work are cute but add little to no value to your professional merits.

2. What’s the Number One Accomplishment You’re Most Proud Of?

It’s the same question as,
“What’s your biggest accomplishment?” and “What’s your proudest moment at work?”

Sounds straightforward, right? The recruiter is giving you a
chance to show off your proudest moment.

It’s a double-edged
sword, because it also shows what your idea of hard work is. And if your
idea of an accomplishment isn’t impressive enough, you just lost the
interviewer’s interest.

“If
the hardest thing you did was graduate within the average 4-year period, then I
think you’re probably content with being average,” says April Davis, Founder of LUMA.

Yes, finishing college is great. But you can’t afford that
way of thinking with so many college-level applicants competing for the same
position.

If you’ve been working a while, share a story of when you
exceeded a goal set before you. Meeting a quota isn’t enough.

Fresh graduate? Tell the interviewer how you survived
writing a dissertation with uncooperative classmates and a part-time job.
Similar stories of multi-tasking and working with others to achieve a
challenging goal also work.

3. If I Were to Ask Your Best Friend to Describe You and Your Goals, What Would They Say?

This is often followed up with the question, “Would you agree?”

You might be close to your friends but you still don’t share
the same mind. In this case, the interviewer is checking if you can accept
this, and respect their point of view.

“It’s also a great way to check
if the applicant can project what they want other people to see”, adds Marie
DiMascio, Director of Finance and HR at McDougall Interactive.

4. Tell Me About a Time You Failed

This is probably one of the most common behavioral interview
questions out there. Another way interviewers ask this is, “How did you handle a previous mistake?”

The interviewer wants to know if you have a healthy view
failure.

Everyone fails at one point, so don’t try to answer this
with a fake failure. Answers like,

“I hit
the monthly target of 17 sales out of 14 required every month. But I wanted to
beat the top seller who was only ahead me by 2 points. I felt like a failure.”

That kind of answer depicts the applicant as a perfectionist
and probably an annoying humble bragger. It also shows they dwell on failure
and might take a while to move on.

Choose a Failure That Meets These Criteria

• Recent -A failure from your current or previous work.
• Real-Areal mistake at work with real consequences, not a humble brag.
• Safe- Doesn’t raise red flags about your sanity and professionalism. Don’t share a
  story about a serious career-ending type mistake, or anything that might
  suggest a huge character flaw. This includes family squabbles, name calling,
  forgetting to attend work meetings, and a project that didn’t go well because
  of you.

How to Answer
Behavioral Interview Questions About Your Mistakes

“Open
up about what happened. Describe the situation, your mistake, and what you did
to correct it. Don’t forget the happy ending and the moral of the story”,
suggests Michelle
Riklan, Managing Director at Riklan Resources LLC.

Example Answer (Situation + Mistake +
Solution + Happy Ending + Moral Lesson)

“I once misread the price for a high-end product to a
new customer. Of course, the customer saw it as a good deal and we immediately
began processing the sale. I got sticker shock after entering the product code
into our system and realizing the correct price.

I didn’t know if the customer would still agree to the
sale after knowing the item’s real cost. So instead of just going for it and
risk losing the sale, I asked the customer to wait while I talked to my
supervisor.

I owned up to my mistake and asked for help, admitting
that I’m not sure if it’s better to lose the sale than give such a steep
discount. My supervisor helped me explain the mistake to the customer, and
allowed me to use his manager’s discount. I still closed the sale and learned a
valuable lesson in re-checking prices, as well as trusting my supervisor.”

Behavioral-Based Interview Questions and Answers About Your Skills

These are the most common behavioral interview questions
about the applicant’s communication, leadership, problem-solving, and
interpersonal skills.

5. How Do You Handle a Challenge?

Interviewers want to know your work process to get a concrete
picture of your ability to face similar challenges in the role you’re applying
for.

For questions like this, it’s important to stress the
unexpected change and what you did to cope, as shown in the example below.

“Due to an
unexpected work emergency, my manager left town in the midst of a negotiation
with a difficult client. I was assigned to create a presentation from the
research he left and the briefing we received a few weeks ago.

I’ve never made a presentation on my own before,
I always had my manager’s help. After going through our previous
presentations, I buckled down and did the work. Two all-nighters
later, I finished the presentation and earned the approval of our Director.”

6. Describe a Situation Where You Had to Resolve a Problem Between Friends
or Colleagues

The ability to solve problems while working with others is a
crucial skill for everyone working in an office, whether you’re a manager or an
entry-level employee.

That’s why interviewers check if you’re a team player before
they welcome you into their team.

For this question it’s important to highlight what you did
to get everyone’s input, and not just your problem-solving skills.

Here’s an Example Answer (Group Problem + How You Worked With the Team + Solution + Result)

“Our team was tasked to design a website from scratch,
but the brief we received was vague so we each had different interpretations of
what the client wanted.

I listened to my teammate’s opinion, instead of rushing
in to make my voice heard and adding to the confusion. When we couldn’t agree
on one collaborative design, I talked to everyone in the team to get their perspective.

From there, I managed to gather our individual ideas,
what we’re willing to compromise on, and what part of each other’s design ideas
we’re willing to adapt. I didn’t take sides. After that, I presented my
findings to the team and we agreed on a final design that combines the best of
everyone’s ideas.”

7. How Would You Handle an Irate Customer When They’re Wrong?

Is the customer always right? Of course not, but interviewers
prefer you remain polite and don’t rub it in their face.

Evan Harris,
Co-Founder and Head of HR at SD Equity Partners say,

“We still ask this question, even when we’re hiring for
a non-customer facing role. It’s important for us that everyone is on the same
page when it comes to customer interaction.”

Harris prefers the applicant explains how they will bear the
customer’s comments, however wrong it is, without being rude. It’s a test of
patience and wit, so the interviewer also wants to know how you plan to address
the customer’s problem.

An applicant for a Front Desk Specialist at a 4-Star hotel
received this question:

An irate woman is complaining why her pet toy poodle isn’t allowed in her
room, when hotel policy clearly states no pets are allowed. What would you tell
the customer?

“Ms. (Name), as much as I want to let your dog stay
with you, the “No Pets” policy of the hotel is important. It preserves the
safety of other staying guests who may not be comfortable with a dog, or have
serious allergies.

I can look for other locations where your pet can stay,
like a pet daycare or hotel. Would that be alright?”

Superb customer service is a standard in many hotels, but
there are limits to the rules they can bend. So the correct answer isn’t just
to give a discount, or let the customer have their way.

The interviewer is testing you, whether your proposed
solution is just an escape, or if it will lead to more problems. Your answer
should include a real solution that
demonstrates your problem-solving skills.

8. How Do You Handle Disagreements With Your Co-Workers?

It’s all about your conflict management ability. Whatever HR
experts say about cultural fit, it’s impossible to dodge out of every argument
at the office. Some of your teammates might turn out to be indecisive, lazy,
weird, or unprofessional.

In your response, emphasize your patience in dealing with
whatever drama you faced. Even if your colleague is wrong, don’t badmouth them.

“I’m a project manager, and at one point one of the
programmers I was working with missed a deadline I assigned. The programmer
went ballistic after I asked about it. That wasn’t the response I expected, but
I stayed cool.

Good thing he
relaxed after realizing I was just asking what happened—not attacking him. I
found out that he was overwhelmed. Our project was competing with his other tasks.

I asked if he needed a deadline adjustment, and we
worked together to prevent future problems despite his heavy workload. The
meeting ended with him apologizing, and thanking me for understanding.”

9. What Would You Do if Someone Continues to Take Credit for Your Work?

Ah, corporate politics. This question isn’t so much about
patience and forgiveness, but your ability to persuade and play well with
others.

Structure your answer into three parts:

1. Demonstrate How You Exercised Generosity -Good leaders know that sometimes they must give first before
   receiving anything.
2. Discuss Friendly Negotiations With Your Adversary-Show your communication, sales, and
   problem-solving skills.
3. Show How You Lose or Win Graciously-Know that you can’t have everything so portraying
   yourself as a sour grape will make you less of a great candidate.

Here’s an example that includes all three steps:

“I’ll show my teammate that I’ll be fair to him,
despite his actions. I will publicly give him credit for his own ideas, in
hopes that he’ll start acknowledging me too.

If that doesn’t work, I’ll confront him and hammer out
an agreement where we can simultaneously present our ideas to our boss. Since
our boss knows who came up with the idea, we can each get the credit we
deserve.

It’s a different story if it’s my boss that’s taking
credit for my ideas. I think part of my job is to make by boss look good, to
make his life easier. As long as my boss knows what I did, I think he’s
justified in presenting my work to his superiors.”

10. How Would You Explain Your Job to a 5 Year Old?

If you can explain difficult concepts to a curious and
energetic 5-year old, you can probably handle almost every type of customer
there is. At least I think that’s the
rationale behind this question.

The best answer is
simple, removing as much technicality and specifics of the job without
stripping it of its true purpose.

For writers and designers, the answer might be easy:

“I tell stories to show other people what’s happening
around the world.”

“I design the cool websites you see on the computer, so
it’s easier to read and people enjoy looking at them.”

But what if you work with social media, the government, a
bank, or somewhere a bit more complicated?

Example Answer For Social Media

“I read what people write on the computer, collect
popular pictures and jokes, and share them with others. Sometimes, I also share
announcements about our company, like if we have a new product.”

Answer For Banking and Other Financial Jobs

“I take people’s savings when they have extra money, so
they have something to use when they need it in the future.”

How to Answer Behavioral Interview Questions About Your Career

11. What’s the Riskiest Thing You’ve Done in Your Career?

This question is popular in jobs where the applicant’s
appetite for risk is a big concern, such as Wall Street Jobs and leadership
positions.

Do you shy away from uncertainty or do you face it head on? Are
you so conservative that it takes you years to make any noticeable progress on
your goals? Those are two more things the interviewer is trying to find out.

Align your response to the company’s values and risk
appetite. Amazon, for instance, relies a lot on data gathered from customer
behaviors on their site. Other companies focus on risks that pave the way for
innovation, such as Tesla.

Here’s an example of a safe but still good answer:

“Risk depends on how you define it. What might be risky
for me may be normal or conservative for you. While I’m not one for unnecessary
risks, I appreciate calculated risks that push the limits of what’s possible.

So before taking any risk, in life and at work, I
consider the pros and cons, as well as the ramifications of my decision. That
helps me determine if a risk is worth taking.”

After that, you can earn extra brownie points by sharing a
major crossroads (or setback) that forced you to explore a new direction, and
how that decision paid off.

12. Would You Prefer Your Boss to Pay Close Attention to Your Work, or Give You Enough Room for Creativity?

Like other behavioral-based interview questions listed here, this
one has no right and wrong answer. Ideally, your answer should put you right in
the middle of the spectrum.

“With a new job, I always ask for my new supervisor’s
preference in managing employees and projects. If they prefer a more hands-on
approach, I would work with them every step of the way.

But if they want me to take the lead, I’ll do my best
not to disappoint. The key for me is being flexible to meet the demands of my
current work environment.”

Listen to What is Asked

Sometimes applicants are too eager to answer the question that
they don’t stop to consider what the interviewer is looking for.

Perhaps you’ve already had some practice answering a similar
question. But that doesn’t mean your well-rehearsed answers will fit nicely.

Sarah Dowzell, COO of Natural HR agrees,

“I've interviewed a few candidates who have clearly
prepared for the interview with formulated examples they could use for different
behaviors or competencies. But they don't always quite match up to the one I'm
asking for.”

For example, how would you answer this question?

Tell me about a time when you persuaded a colleague to alter their
thinking and how did you go about it?

The obvious answer
for some applicants might be a situation demonstrating their communication and
negotiation skills. And that’s not wrong but it’s also incomplete.

For Dowzell’s case, she’s also looking for your method of
researching information to support your case. If you read the question above,
you’ll see the question requires two answers.