How to Answer Common Behavioral Interview Questions

How to Answer Common Behavioral Interview QuestionsBelieve it or not, when youre interviewing for a job, your qualifications, experience, and education arent always the fruchtwein important elements in the discussion. In fact, in most cases you can bet that all of the applicants who are invited for phone or in-person interviews are qualified to perform the tasks necessary for the position.However, company culture and customer service are both big parts of almost any job. Thats why so many interviews are based mora on behavioral questions than technical questions, especially as you progress deeper into the interview process. Fortunately, most of these questions are fairly universal, and you can prepare for the more common ones before you sit down for your interview.Teamwork QuestionsYoull likely be asked about how well you work with a team. Theyll want to know about your strengths, your weaknesses, and how self-aware you are about them. To show that youre a team player and that you kn ow your work habits well, describe a time when you had to work on a team project. Talk about the challenges and conflicts your team faced and how you dealt with them.You can even discuss a time when you struggled to work well with others or when you made a huge mistake that you wish you could do over when building a professional relationship with someone in your field. These kinds of stories show that you are self-aware and that youve learned from past mistakes and experiences.Questions About AdaptabilityYoure also going to run into a lot of questions about your adaptability. Todays market is always shifting and changing. Companies grow, merge, split, and change paths more quickly than you might think, and they want to know that their employees will be on board with them and able to adapt to changing environments and responsibilities.Questions about your adaptability to change could include topics such as describing the challenges you faced at your first job, talking about a time yo u failed and how you overcame it, or describing an instance when a major change took place in your workplace and how you handled it.Communication QuestionsFinally, no matter what business youre in, youre going to run into questions about how you communicate. These help determine whether your style of communication will mesh well with company culture and with the people youll be working alongside. These will include questions about times youve been able to persuade an individual or group of people you worked with, successful presentations youve given, and other examples of your communication skills and style.If you take some time and think about how youll answer these kinds of questions, youll be able to practice your interviewing skills effectively and give concise, clear answers that will set you apart.