How to ace a behavioural based interview

Posted on 29/06/2018 by Entree Recruitment

Behavioural interviewing is a technique recruiters use to identify suitable candidates. For tips on how ace a behavioural based interview, we asked Megan Nicholson for her top tips.

As recruiters, we know a candidate’s past behaviour is the best way to predict their future performance, which is why we use behavioural based interviewing, as this helps us identify such behaviour. While it might sound scary, a candidate should never feel intimidated by this technique, because at the end of the day, all you are doing is telling us about your past experiences. 

How do I know I’m being asked a behavioural question?

If your interviewer starts a question with the statement: ‘tell me about the time when…’ you know you are in behavioural questioning territory. Your interviewer is guiding you to describe a certain situation in your past career, and how you handled it.

Use the S.T.A.R method

The easiest way to ensure you are answering these questions effectively is to use the STAR interview method. Let me break it down for you:

It is imperative to be specific when answering these questions and don’t generalise. If you are asked how you have dealt with difficult customer, a poor response would be: ‘I deal with difficult customers all the time.’

Yeah. And? 

Employers want details! Let’s say you were asked about how you have dealt with a customer complaint in the past. 

You explain about the time a customer did not receive an order they had placed with you.

The customer was angry, which was understandable. You wanted to make sure the issue was resolved smoothly and swiftly.

Apologising to the customer, you obtained their order details so you could investigate the cause of the problem, promising to return a call within the hour. After discussions with your manager, you discovered the contact details on the order were incorrect, which you rectified.

You called the client within half an hour and apologised for the mix up, explaining what had gone wrong. You then offered a discount for their next order.

In the end, the customer was pleased the matter was handled quickly, efficiently and without further conflict. 

Now congratulate yourself, as you have just worked your way through the S.T.A.R method!

Behavioural interviewing isn’t so scary any more, right? Remember, your Entrée consultant will talk you through all of this before your interview, and will also give you other tips to help you prepare. We are always more than happy to help assist you with your job search.