In this article, I provide a step by step process you can use to prep for your behavioral interview.
This article is all about prep for your behavioral interview.
We’ve all heard the old adage from 1789 when our Founding Father Benjamin Franklin said: ‘Nothing is certain except death and taxes’. I’d personally like to amend the saying to ‘Nothing is certain except death, taxes, and behavioral interviews’. That is, if you find yourself in the year 2024, working in the tech industry, and interviewing for your next sales job. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately after you read this article), behavioral interviews are a right of passage for almost every prospective candidate.
When I was younger, I used to hate behavioral interviews. Something about their vagueness really stressed me out. How could I possibly prepare for every question, every scenario the interviewer was going to throw at me. In fact, I distinctly remember preparing for an interview at Google and reading a Glassdoor review where someone said the candidates were often asked “if you were a tree, what kind would you be?” to see if they were “Googler” material. Really?
What is a behavioral interview?
The behavioral interview was first conceived in the 1980’s by an organizational psychologist named Dr. Tom Janz. Janz postulated that past behavior is a strong predictive mechanism of future behavior.Simplified down, he essentially claimed that if a person responds to a specific scenario in a specific way, they are likely to respond to the same (or similar) scenario in the same (or similar) way if it were to happen again.
This is powerful in the context of interviewing. For example, an interviewer may want to understand if the person is a good team player. To understand this, an interviewer may paint a hypothetical scenario where a teammate drops the ball on a project and ask the interviewee how they would respond.
Similarly, an interviewer may ask the interviewee to tell them of a real life example of when a teammate dropped the ball and how they handled it. Both questions are powerful, though the latter is slightly more powerful. By asking for an example, it forces the interviewee to recount what actually happened versus giving a hypothetical answer that they could easily mold to fit what the interviewer wants to hear.
*This article is all about prep for your behavioral interview*
Why do behavioral interviews suck?
The reason people hate behavioral interviews is because they can be subjective, there is usually not one right answer to a given question, and they are overwhelming if you don’t know how to prepare for them. And as much as I can sympathize and admit that preparing for one does take a lot out of you, the behavioral interview does do a good job of reading a person’s ability.
And trust me. As a hiring manager, you definitely want to know how your prospective candidate will act in certain situations. Not only are you doing yourself a favor by making sure they are qualified, but you’re doing the candidate a favor by making sure they have the skills and experience required to excel in the role.
*This article is all about prep for your behavioral interview*
Prep for your behavioral interview: 3 General Sections of Your Process
So now that we (hopefully) agree that behavioral interviews are useful and appropriate, how the heck does one go about preparing for one?! Enter my almost foolproof prep framework. This process is sure to help you prep for your behavioral interview and pass it with flying colors.
- Preliminary researching and knowledge gathering
- Prepping for questions you could be asked
- Figuring out what questions you want to ask
When it comes to behavioral interviews, it is easy to get overwhelmed quickly. After all, the interviewer could literally ask you anything under the sun. But, by splitting your prep into these 3 buckets, you force your brain to think about each section one by one, ultimately forcing you to think with more clarity and intention.
I’ve been interviewing for well over a decade now, and I can tell you with certainty that most behavioral interviews will involve some split amongst proving you did your homework and came prepared, asking & answering a series of situational-based questions, and time at the end for you to ask your burning questions.
*This article is all about prep for your behavioral interview*
Also Read behavioral interview question
Prep for your behavioral interview: Step by Step Instructions
Now that we’ve covered the 3 general buckets of the prep, let’s talk through the tactical steps you should take to prepare.
1. Create a folder in your Google drive (or on your computer hard drive) and title it “Behavioral Interview Prep Docs”.
2. For each interview that you have, create a new Google sheet (or Excel doc) and title it “Company Name – Behavioral Interview Prep Doc”.
Callout: Working on the computer has advantages over hand writing notes. 1) It’s easier to go back and edit a note on the computer. You will likely find yourself bouncing back and forth between sections to jot down new thoughts. 2) All of your behavioral interview prep docs for all of your interviews will look similar. You can save time by copy/pasting the content from one doc to another instead of hand writing it all over again.
3. For each interview prep doc, create a separate tab for the 3 main buckets below
- Tab 1: Things you should know going into the interview
- Tab 2: Questions you could be asked during the interview
- Tab 3: Questions you want to ask after the interview
4. Fill out each tab with relevant content
- TAB 1: JOT DOWN THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW GOING INTO THE INTERVIEW
- A good place to start is by browsing the company’s website. This is where you will find high level facts about the product & offerings, key clients, and leadership team.
- TAB 2: JOT DOWN QUESTIONS YOU COULD BE ASKED DURING THE INTERVIEW
- It’s always a good idea to start by trying to talk to current employees or people who recently interviewed. Most behavioral interviews (especially those for more entry-level positions) will focus on a set of common scenarios and themes. You will save yourself a lot of guessing by just going directly to the people who have actually gone through it.
- If you don’t have anyone to reach out to, a good next step is to imagine yourself in the role you are applying to and the types of scenarios you might find yourself in. Remember, it’s a behavioral interview, so the questions are going to be around how you would act in scenarios that someone in this role might find themselves in.
- EX: Think about the role of a sales person. If you were applying to be in this role, a very logical scenario for the interviewer to paint is the scenario where the client decides to not move forward with the deal. How would you react in this situation?
- Lastly, Glassdoor is a great supplemental resource to use once you’ve completed the above two steps. On this site, candidates will oftentimes share specific questions they were asked and share general tips & feedback on the interview process at large.
- TAB 3: JOT DOWN QUESTIONS YOU WANT TO ASK AFTER THE INTERVIEW
- It’s always a good idea to go prepared with thoughtful questions to ask. It shows the interviewer that you are serious about the role and genuinely interested in learning more about the company.
- A strong interviewer will take this opportunity to indirectly showcase that they have done research on the company. For example, instead of asking “who do you see as your biggest competitor”, consider instead asking “I know that X, Y, and Z are your biggest competitors in the space and the Z just went public. How has their growth impacted your outlook for the company over the next 5 years?”. Do you see how the latter question shows you actually did your homework? It’s the subtle things like this that hiring managers pick up on and what sets you apart from other candidates.
5. Go back to Tab 2 and provide answers to the questions you’ve identified
- It’s always a good idea to write down your answer exactly as you want to say it to the interviewer. Do not use short-hand language or bullets. Candidates often assume that if they can recite the answer in their head, that is good enough – and it’s usually their fatal mistake. When we recite our answers in our heads, our brain often skips over the fine details. We use heuristics to get to an end answer. When we finally get to the real life interview, we struggle to find the words that got us to that answer because we never actually wrote it out.
6. Practice out loud with a friend
- This is an often overlooked step in interview prep. Being able to recite your answers in a natural and cohesive way is equally as important as writing down the words you want to use.
- I usually advise clients to find a friend or family member who is willing to sit down with you and literally play the role of the interviewer. You want to create a scenario where it feels like you are in the interview. Tell the person who is fake interviewing you to go out of order with the questions so you have the element of surprise and create nerves. This will better prepare you for the real thing.
- Be cognizant of your timing. Take note if you are speaking too fast and practice slowing down. Also take note if each of your answers take too much time. You don’t want to come across as too verbose and bad at time management.
7. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
- Repetition is key. Ultimately, you should get to a point where the answers to the questions come very naturally to you with limited thinking.
Conclusion
When it comes to behavioral interviews, it is easy to get overwhelmed quickly. But I truly believe that if you follow the above step-by-step process, you will not only set yourself up for success on interview day, but you’ll also quell a lot of the anxiety you may be feeling knowing that you did everything in your power to prepare well.
*This article is all about prep for your behavioral interview*
