| How you answer those tricky behavioral interview | | | | on the fly, it is critical that you have done your |
| questions is pivotal to your ultimate interviewing | | | | homework, and have a strategy for answering. A |
| success. | | | | strategy that ensures you provide the right information, |
| You know the type of question:- | | | | framed within the best style for your interviewers |
| "Tell me about yourself" | | | | enjoyment. |
| "What is your biggest weakness?" | | | | There is a recognised interview answering technique |
| "Give me an example of when you last demonstrated | | | | that does this for you, ensuring you turn your |
| leadership at work" | | | | experience, and relevant personality traits, into |
| "Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?" | | | | compelling, commercially aware, stories specifically |
| The list is endless; though this type of question at face | | | | designed for your interviewer. |
| value looks quite easy, how hard can it be to talk | | | | Just imagine the power you would have if you were |
| about yourself for a couple of minutes? But hold on; | | | | told before the interview; what your interviewer most |
| this type of interview questioning technique, which can | | | | wanted, and how they wanted to hear it. If this were |
| also be known as competency based, or situational | | | | the case do you think you could win more job offers, |
| interview questioning, is the savvy interviewer's number | | | | or promotions? Would this be a valuable life skill worth |
| one tool for selecting candidates. | | | | learning? How much money would this be worth to |
| These techniques rank higher for recruiters than | | | | you, across your whole career? |
| psychometric testing, and other forms of candidate | | | | As a pro recruiter, I can assure you with no |
| assessment. So what's so special about this form of | | | | exaggeration that the skill I refer to has the potential to |
| questioning? | | | | be truly life changing. The good news; the question |
| Well the saying goes that humans are creatures of | | | | answering framework is simple to learn, and could be |
| habit, and that what we've done before, we are most | | | | compared to a highly tuned sports car. Your interview |
| likely to do again in the future. And these questions are | | | | research is the fuel for your sports car, done properly |
| designed to show the interviewer how you have | | | | and your car flies like the wind, done badly and your |
| handled specific situations in the past, and therefore | | | | car splutters and miss-fires. |
| how you may handle them in the future. | | | | The answering framework I recommend using is the |
| Even the most innocent of these questions offers a | | | | STAR method; an acronym with the 'S' standing for |
| real insight into your personality, and will be closely | | | | specific situation, 'T' for task or target, 'A' for the |
| observed by the canny interviewer. If interviewers are | | | | actions you took, and the 'R' the results from your |
| asking these questions to get job seekers to open up | | | | actions. |
| and tell them what they have done previously. This is | | | | If you ensure your answers follow the STAR method, |
| exactly what you should give them with your answers. | | | | and you deliver your answers in what I call STAR |
| This is where your interview preparation will come into | | | | stories, you will be well on your way to conquering the |
| play, because rather than answering these questions | | | | modern interview process. |