Behavioral Interview Questions

Managers utilize behavioral interview questions, also known as situational interview questions, to subjectively analyze particular traits of core behavioral competencies that they are seeking for their available job positions.

Behavioral interview questions are more focused and require specifics from you. Typically, in behavior job interviews, you will have to respond with examples of how you handled or will handle certain situations.  The best approach to acing a behavioral interview question is to review potential behavioral interview questions and think about how you would approach answering it.

Below we have a list of behavioral interview questions for managers and strategies to answer these types of interview questions.  The list includes core competency behavior interview questions:

• Individual Responsibility - used to determine a candidate's decisiveness, independence, flexibility, and career goals
• Leadership Skill - used to determine a candidate's leadership, employee motivation, ability to delegate, and strategic planning
• Personal Motivation - used to determine a candidate's ambition and initiative
• Analytical Skills - used to determine a candidate's problem solving and attention to detail
• People Skills - used to determine a candidate's communications skills, teamwork ability, and customer service awareness

List of Behavioral Interview Questions Examples for Managers

Individual Responsibility Interview Questions

1. Describe some projects or ideas (not necessarily your own) that were implemented, or carried out successfully primarily because of your efforts
2. How do you determine or evaluate success? Give me an example of one of your successful accomplishments
3. What has been your most rewarding accomplishment?
4. What was the most complex assignment you have had? What was your role?
5. Tell me about a time when you had to cope with strict deadlines or time demands. Give me an example.
6. Give me an example of a time at work when you had to deal with unreasonable expectations of you. What parts of your behavior were mature and immature?

Managerial and Leadership Skills Interview Questions

1. Give me an example of a time when you used facts and reason to persuade another person to take action. Be specific.
2. In a leadership position/leading a task force or project, tell me how you organize the workload, set objectives, follow-up, and monitor results.
3. Determining the appropriate person to whom to delegate a task can sometimes be difficult. Tell me about a time when you delegated an important project/task/assignment to the wrong person. What happened? Why?
4. Give me an example of when you showed initiative and took the lead.
5. How do you motivate others to do a particularly good job?

Personal Motivation Interview Questions

• Can you tell me about a job experience in which you had to speak up and tell other people what you thought or felt?
• Give me an example of a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.
• Give some examples of when you have shown initiative over the last six months in school or at your last job.
• Have you ever started something up from nothing – give an example?
• Tell me about times when you seized the opportunities, grabbed something and ran with it yourself.
• What are some of the books you’ve read recently?

Analytical Skills Interview Questions

1. Describe a specific problem you solved for your employer or professor. How did you approach the problem? What role did others play? What was the outcome?
2. Describe the most creative work-related project you have completed.
3. Describe the most successful troubleshooting you have done.
4. Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.
5. Give me an example of a roadblock you have had to overcome.
6. Have you ever faced a problem you could not solve?
7. Just about anybody can give a routine, standard answer to common problems; however, the payoff is often in the development of unique solutions to common problems. Give me an example of one of your unique and novel problem solutions.
8. Solving problems requires more than good plans; it means taking action. Give me an example of a time when you were able to take meaningful action in solving a practical problem.
9. What steps do you follow to study a problem before making a decision?

People Skills Interview Questions

1. Describe a time when you had to use your written communication skills to get an important point across.
2. Describe the most difficult team you worked on, what was your role, and what knowledge have you applied?
3. Describe your most recent group effort.
4. How would you describe yourself in terms of your ability to work as a member of a team?
5. Tell of a time when your active listening skills really paid off for you – maybe a time when other people missed the key idea being expressed.
6. The word ‘communications’ means different things to different persons at different times. Tell me what this word means to you by giving me an example.
7. What do you do when you think someone is not listening to you?

How to Answer Behavioral Interview Questions

In behavioral interviewing, the interviewer will ask you to reflect upon you previous work and school experiences. They will ask that you take them through a detailed account as to how a particular situation was handled.

The key to the successful behavioral interview lies in your ability to recount detailed work situations that are directly related to the job you seek.

In preparation for a behavioral interview you should conduct a STAR analysis:

• S = name a SITUATION facing you or
• T= a TASK you had to complete
• A= describe what ACTION you took
• R= tell the RESULTS of your actions

Prior to any interviews, it is recommended that you should conduct a STAR analysis for each of the core competencies that are required for the position that you are applying for.