Hello there. It's Richard McMunn here from the interview training company, PassMyInterview.com.
And in this video, I am going to give you 5 SMART ANSWERS to behavioral interview questions!
If you have any type of interview coming up whatsoever, please make sure you stay tuned,
watch this tutorial fully from beginning to end, because I will help you to be the STAND
OUT CANDIDATE! And to achieve that goal, this is what I will cover. I'm going to give you
5 Common Behavioral Interview Questions that I strongly recommend you prepare for. I will
give you SMART ANSWERS, top-scoring answers to all of those five questions to help you
PASS your job interview. I will explain the best way to structure any answer to behavioral
interview questions. And then I will also tell you about DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCES you
can get access to, including the slides that I am working through right now today. Four
reasons why you should stay tuned. Very quickly, before I get into the training, a very warm
welcome to this behavioral interview training presentation. My name is Richard McMunn. That
is me there in the center of the screen. I am a former firefighter, and since then I've
been helping people like you to successfully pass your job interviews. And I always do
that by giving you top scoring, smart answers you can't find anywhere else. If you have
not done so already, please do make sure you HIT THE SUBSCRIBE BUTTON below the video.
We now have over 300,000 members in the community here on YouTube and lots of you, I am pleased
to say, are successfully passing your job interviews as a result. Please also connect
with me on LinkedIn.com. I've put my LinkedIn.com link in the description below the video. And
please also, this is important, make sure you HIT THE LIKE BUTTON RIGHT NOW because
that then tells me you enjoy the content and I will, therefore, create more content for
you. Thank you very much! OK, let's get into those 5 SMART ANSWERS to behavioral interview
questions. And the first question that we want to cover is: Tell me about a time when
you handled a challenging situation? This is a very common behavioral interview question
at job interviews. Now, when you structure your answer to this question, use what is
called the STAR technique. And I will show you that in action in a second. You basically
structure your response in the format of situation, task, action and result. Tip number two, the
more challenging the situation, the better. Try and add either an obstacle you had to
overcome, or a time element to your response, because this will then show that you are capable
of working under pressure. So here is my suggested answer to the behavioral interview question:
Tell me about a time when you handled a challenging situation? “In my previous job I was dealing
with a customer on the telephone trying to help them with a query. English was not their
first language, and it was, therefore, very difficult for me to extract the information
needed in order to assist them. It was my job to remain calm, communicate in a style
that they understood, and also persevere until I had provided the right level of customer
service. In order to achieve my goal, I asked for their email address. Once I had written
this down accurately, I used Google Translate to send them an email in their native language
that they would understand. Within the email I asked them a series of questions before
asking them to reply back to me with the answers. Once I had received their response, I managed
to provide them with the correct answers in an email by once again using Google Translate.
By remaining calm, and also by persevering and using outside of the box thinking, I was
able to provide them with the service they needed.” Now, that is a brilliant answer
of how you successfully overcame a challenging situation. And you can see there that I am
using Situation, Task, Action and Result to structure my response. Why is this a smart
answer? Well, it is smart because you are using the STAR technique to provide an evidence-based
answer. What I mean by that is, you are telling them a SITUATION you were in previously and
that’s a top-scoring answer! The next behavioral interview question I would like you to prepare
for is: Tell me a time when you were in conflict with a work colleague and how it got resolved?
Tip number one: in your answer, show that you were the person who led the resolution
of the conflict. Be the better person. Tip number two, demonstrate in your response that
you understand how conflict is unhelpful within a team and that it must be sorted out quickly.
So let's now take a look at a SMART ANSWER to the behavioral interview question: Tell
me a time when you were in conflict with a work colleague and how it got resolved? Here
we go. “I was working on an important project with a work colleague and we had a very strict
timescale to work towards. I’m a very fast worker, but my work colleague was much slower
and more methodical. This caused conflict between us both because I was putting pressure
on him to get his part of the project completed on time. I could detect my work colleague
was not happy, and so I decided to resolve the conflict quickly as I know how it can
impact negatively within a working environment. I asked my work colleague to speak to me in
private. I started off by apologizing for making him feel uneasy. However, I went on
to explain how my pushiness was simply down to my concern that we would be late with the
project completion and I wasn’t prepared to let that happen. I then suggested that
I could help him complete certain aspects of his duties, as I had finished my own work,
and therefore, I had the capacity to take on more. He thanked me for talking to him
about how he felt, and he also agreed that I could help out with his tasks. By both of
us working together on his particular project elements, we managed to get the project completed
on time and to the right standard.” That is another very smart answer to that behavioral
interview question! Why is it smart? It is smart because you are dealing with the conflict
quickly and positively and you are the person leading the resolution. That's a brilliant
answer! By the way, I hope you are enjoying these answers? Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE and
HIT THE LIKE BUTTON. Thank you very much. The next question. Tell me about a time when
you made a mistake? This is a very, very common behavioral job interview question. Tip number
one - We all make mistakes, but it is how you RESPOND to the mistake that's important.
So do not say to the interviewer… “I never make mistakes!” Because they won't believe
you. Tip number two: In your answer… number one, explain the mistake. Number two, explain
what you did to put it right. Number three, explain what you learned from the mistake.
Let's take a look at a really good answer to the behavioral interview question: Tell
me about a time when you made a mistake. “When I first started working in my last job I took
on so much work that it wasn’t possible for me to get it all finished on time. This
was down to my eagerness to both please my manager, and also fit into the team quickly.
In hindsight, it was a mistake, as I had to let my work colleagues down on two jobs I
had promised to get completed. Whilst I still managed to get lots of other projects completed,
the mistake I made resulted in me letting my team down. Moving forward from that day
on, I always assessed carefully how much capacity I had to take on additional duties and projects.
Whilst I am a very fast worker and I will always work to full capacity, I now understand
the importance of making sure I can complete everything on time.” That is a smart answer
because it shows that you are somebody who will take on lots of work. Now, it's also
a smart answer, because you are honest about your mistake and you therefore put things
right. You improved moving forward. A very good answer! The next question: Tell me about
a goal you set at work and how you achieved it? Tip number one: In your answer, make sure
the goal is aligned to the success of the company. Tip number two: good examples of
goal setting is, number one, improving customer service. Number two, helping a new member
of your team. And also, number three, developing your own skills. You could choose any one
of those to answer the interview question, tell me about a goal you set at work and how
you achieved it? Here is my suggested top-scoring, smart answer to this behavioral interview
question. Here we go. “A new member of the team joined the organization
and they were clearly nervous and unsure what to do… so I decided to help them. My goal
was to welcome them to the team, introduce them to our methods of working, and also train
them up as quickly as possible so they felt comfortable and competent in their work. I
started off by introducing myself and everyone within the team. Next, I spent two days showing
them around the organization and also explaining in simple terms what the role of the team
was, the objectives we all had, and also the standards we had to work towards. I then spent
10 working days sitting with them guiding them through all of the systems, the processes
and the procedures we used, and I encouraged them to try them out for themselves periodically,
so as to build their confidence. At the end of the 10-day training period, they were fully
up to speed and they thanked me for assisting them with their integration into the company.
Whenever I set myself goals, I always define what I need to achieve, utilize a plan of
action, and also set a timescale for completion.” That is another brilliant, in-depth, smart
answer. Why is it smart? It's smart because you are following a 3-step process for achieving
a goal. And that is, whenever I set myself goals, I always DEFINE what I need to achieve.
I utilize a PLAN OF ACTION and I also set a TIMESCALE for completion. The next question:
Tell me a time when you struggled to build a relationship with someone at work. How did
you overcome the situation? This interview question is assessing your ability to work
with anyone, regardless of their personality or their approach to tasks. Show how you persevered,
how you demonstrated adaptability and also overcame the challenge in your answer through
a determined attitude. Here is my smart top-scoring answer to the interview question: Tell me
a time when you struggled to build a relationship with someone at work? How did you overcome
it? “When I first started my previous job, I was sitting in an office next to a co-worker.
He had been with the company for many years, and despite me trying to get along with him,
he did not speak to me and he appeared disinterested in building a positive working relationship.
Being somebody who doesn’t take offense easily, and also being somebody who understands
the importance of good working relationships, I decided to persevere. I started off by asking
him some questions about the work he was carrying out, as I felt this would be something he
would be passionate about. I was right, and he started telling me about the work he was
doing for the team. As he spoke, I listened intently and I asked him clarifying questions.
After a few days of sporadic talking, I then started to ask him questions about my role
and I also asked for his advice on how he felt I could do a good job to help the team.
As time went on, we actually became good friends and we developed a close working relationship
that was not just beneficial to the team, but also beneficial to us both on a personal
level.” That's another brilliant answer. Why is it smart? It is smart because you are
the one who persevered and broke down the initial barrier to a positive working relationship.
Brilliant answer! Now, if you would like a copy of these slides, plus MORE behavioral
interview questions and answers, CLICK THE LINK in the top right-hand corner of this
video. It will take you through to my website, PastMyInterview.com, where you can DOWNLOAD
my full set of behavioral interview questions and smart, top-scoring answers in PDF format.
You can have them within your inbox within literally one or two minutes from now, including
these slides. Thank you very much for watching! Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE, connect with me
on LinkedIn.com. My LinkedIn link is in the description below the video, and please make
sure you GIVE THE VIDEO A LIKE… If I see you LIKE the videos, I will spend more time
creating content for you. Thank you very much. I wish you all the best for passing your job
interview. A brilliant day!