Tips for Preparing a Behavioral/Soft Skills Interview

A behavioral interview is an essential aspect of the hiring process. In this article, we'll go over what to expect during a behavioral interview and how to prepare for one. Finally, we present a cheat sheet for preparing for and dealing with behavioral interviews.

A behavioral interview evaluates a candidate's capacity to interact, survive, and grow in a workplace. Most firms are searching for people who can not only be good at technical skills but also be a good fit for the corporate culture, work effectively within a team, lead a team, and take a stance with choices when necessary. Most of the time, a candidate who does not do well in the behavioral interview, regardless of how well he or she performed in the technical rounds, is unable to advance in the application process.

The majority of candidates perform admirably in technical interviews. Coding, machine learning, data science, system design, and case studies all appear to them to be quite familiar and well inside their comfort zone. Behavioral interviews, on the other hand, necessitate that they sit down and prepare. There are no right or wrong answers, and the interviewer is simply looking for your structured thought and your ability to display certain attributes that may be very valuable to the firm.

This article will be divided into Two parts. In the first section, we'll go through how to properly prepare for a behavioral interview. We'll then look at how to approach and respond to a behavioral question during the interview. 

Part 1: Getting ready for the behavioral interview

Preparing for a behavioral interview does not take as much time as preparing for a technical interview. On average, 3–4 days with 1–2 hours every day should be enough to become acquainted with the interview procedure, sample questions, and individual anecdotes.

But how should one prepare for such an interview? Where do I begin? What topics should be covered? This can be exhausting. Following the 5 steps below makes the process more simpler and more organized.

Step 1: [1–2 hours] Collect and comprehend the keywords

The first step is to conduct research on themes about which questions will be asked during the interview. Behavioral questions can cover a wide variety of subjects. The most often requested questions concern leadership.

Teamwork

Problem-solving

Communication of Decisions

Interpersonal abilities

Dispute resolution

Negotiation abilities

Creativity

Personal prowess and weakness

Mentorship

Taking a stance

Working against a deadline

Look for questions from behavioral interviews on the internet and acquaint yourself with the topics before taking notes. This should take around an hour and a half.

Step 2: [3–4 hours] Collect your stories

Once you are familiar with the popular keywords and have written them down, you must locate stories from your personal life that represent those issues while showing your unique skills. What I found useful was making a list of all the groups I've been a part of in the past, such as academics, employment, internships, societies, and clubs. Then, for each such occasion, I attempted to recall events in which I had to apply my talents to an underlying problem. These anecdotes do not have to be professional; they can be come from one's personal life. If you're having problems recalling events from your life, go back to Step 1 and try to recall instances that illustrate those specific issues.

Step 3: [0.5 hours] Start giving your stories keywords.

Now that you've gathered stories from your personal life, go through them carefully and assign keywords to them. Multiple tags/keywords can be assigned to the same narrative. Assigning keywords to them can help you respond to questions more effectively during the interview.

Step 4: [0.5 hours] Make a summary table.

I keep a summary table that I go over before each behavioral interview. This customised table maintains track of my personal stories and the keywords that go with them. This assists me in revising for my behavioral interview. 

Step 5: [2–3 hours] Explain the stories using the STAR method.

The arrangement and structure of an answer to a behavioral question are the most significant aspects. Every behavioral question must be answered using the STAR format. To answer the question, use the four-step approach outlined below. We will try to apply the STAR format to the following example.

Example "Tell us about an occasion when you had to persuade senior executives."

1. Situation: Before answering a behavioral question, explain the situation and provide the background for your story.

"I worked as an intern at XYZ firm throughout the summer of 2019." The project information provided to me was extensive. After some preliminary brainstorming and investigation, I noticed that the project method could be improved to be more efficient in terms of the underlying KPIs. I decided to discuss it with my boss."

2. Task: After you have gone through the incident, explain the task and your role in it.

"I held an hour-long discussion with my manager and detailed the recommended method and how it could boost the KPIs." I was able to persuade him. He asked whether I would be able to convey my proposed method to the higher-ups for approval. It was something I consented to. I was working from the ABC(city) office, and the executives needed to fly in from XYZ(city)."

3. Action: The next stage is to go over the steps you took to remedy the problem.

"I ran a brief background investigation on the executives to learn more about their area of expertise so that I could persuade them suitably." I developed a 15-slide elaborative presentation, beginning with an explanation of their technique, then moving on to my proposed strategy, and ultimately comparing them on preliminary data."

4. Results: Finally, describe the outcome of your activities and how they impacted the problem at hand.

"After some lively discussion, we were able to determine that the recommended technique was superior to the initial one." The executives suggested a few minor tweaks to my approach and expressed their appreciation for my stance. At the end of my internship, I was chosen as one of three interns out of 68 to meet the company's senior vice president over lunch."

You will be able to structure your answer more successfully if you use the STAR format.

Part2: Answering a behavioral question.

Behavioral questions are typically open-ended. They can cover a wide range of topics, and it is impossible to prepare for every possible question. However, it is beneficial to tie the question to often asked questions that you have studied for and respond accordingly. The 5-step procedure outlined here will assist you in answering a behavioral question during an interview.

Let's have a look at an example.

Question Example: "Tell us about an occasion when you had to persuade high management."

1. Understand

When faced with a behavioral question, the first step is to carefully listen to and comprehend it. Reiterating the question in your own terms and asking the interviewer whether this is what he or she meant is an excellent practice. If there is any doubt, clarify it by asking clarifying questions. Once you've grasped the concept, ask yourself the same inquiry in simpler terms.

Example: They want me to tell them a tale of how I persuaded my seniors. Perhaps they had something in mind, and I had a superior approach, which I tried to persuade them of.

2. Extract

The following step is to extract significant keywords from the question that will assist you in shortlisting your stories.

[Convincing], [Creative], [Leadership] are some examples.

3. Map

Once you've determined your keywords, make a list of all the tales in your summary table that correspond to those keywords.

Story 1, Story 3, Story 6, and so on.

4. Select

Choose the story from the shortlist that best describes the question and has not yet been used in the interview.

Story3 is an example.

5. Apply

Use the STAR technique to evaluate the shortlisted story.

Step 5 from the previous part as an example

For getting guide for Behavioral Interview Questions, Visit: https://articlesco.com/recommends/interviewb2b

Interview Guide Reveals Word-For-Word Exactly What You Need To Say To Get Hired.