How to use Behavioral Interview Questions

Find the right person for the job by asking the right questions…

You’re in the market for a new superstar for your business but how can you judge them fairly in the interview process?

You’ve already narrowed down their skills based on their resume and have probably spoken with them on the phone at least once. Now it’s time for the formal interview. Your ability to determine their fit within your company comes down to the questions you ask.

Consider these behavioral questions that can help you decide.

“Tell me about a time when you needed to make an important decision. What happened?”

Why this question helps: This will help you assess their critical thinking skills. Employees can showcase their initiative here, as well as their ability to manage their workload.

“Describe a stressful situation and how you handled it.”

Why this question helps: Working under pressure is sometimes necessary and you need employees who can remain level headed. This questions allows you to see how employees react to stress in their environment and see where their motivation lies.

“Give me an example of a goal you met or accomplishment that you are most proud of.”

Why this question helps: Candidates are often hesitant to talk too much about their accomplishments so they don’t sound like they’re bragging. Give them a chance to brag.

“Tell me about a time you broke the rules for a good reason. What happened next?”

Why this question helps: You want to work with someone who is an innovative thinker, but also knows when to bend and when not to bend the rules.

“How do you deal with conflict between coworkers or with your manager?”

Why this question helps: Working with others in the office is a critical skill. This questions will highlight the candidate’s relationship management skills, as well as their ability to influence others. You can also use this question to determine if the candidate would be a culture fit for the organization.

“Tell me about a time when you failed? How did you recover?”

Why this question helps: Everyone will fail at something. The important lesson is what they did next. The question demonstrates if the candidate can own their mistakes, provide a solution to the problem, or at the very least learn from their mistake.

“Tell me about how you solved a particularly tricky problem on the job.”

Why this question helps: This will reiterate the critical thinking skills and give you deeper insight on their problem solving ability.

Behavioral Interview Questions allow you to predict an employee’s future performance based on their past actions. These types of interview questions are popular because of the application to real-life scenarios. By using these 7 interview questions, you’ll gain great intel on your potential new hire, before they start.

Hiring new employees can be tedious and inefficient for you and for the prospective new employee. Read more about our Recruiting and Onboarding tools to help employers streamline their hiring and onboarding process.

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