As an executive, you’re used to being in the hot seat. But when it involves answering behavioral based questions, you may not be familiar with this interview style…and could lose out on a potential job opportunity if you don’t know how to handle questions successfully.

What is behavioral interviewing – and how can you best answer these kinds of questions?

As experts in the field of executive recruitment in Woodland, California, Pacific ExecSearch can tell you that in traditional interviewing, an interviewer asks you questions that require you to state opinions. For instance:

• What are your weaknesses?
• Why should we hire you?
• What value would you bring to our company?
• Tell me about yourself.

In behavioral interviewing, however, you are asked to back up your opinion with real-life accomplishments. The reason many interviewers rely on this method is that they believe past performance is a good indicator of future success.

Most behavioral based questions start with: “Tell me about it a time you…” or “Give me an example of…” For instance, instead of asking you about your weaknesses, an interviewer using behavioral interview questions would ask you to tell them about a time you failed on the job.

How can you prepare for a behavioral interview?

It can be challenging since you don’t know exactly the kinds of questions you’ll be asked. However, there are certainly common interview questions that are often asked. A few examples are:

• Give an example of a goal you reached, and tell me how you achieved it.
• Tell me about a time when you had to be quick in making a decision.
• Tell me about a time you had trouble getting others to agree with your decision.
• Give me an example of a time when you went the extra mile at work.
• Explain to me how you’ve been able to cultivate teamwork in your past jobs.

When preparing for a behavioral interview, be sure to thoroughly review the job description so you know what the company is looking for in a successful candidate. Then think about what areas and accomplishments in your background best align with their needs.

For example, if they require someone who has excellent verbal communication skills, talking about the time you were able to change the minds of your staff members when they wanted to hire one vendor, and you wanted to go with another, is an ideal anecdote to relate.

When sharing a story, be detailed but succinct. Also make sure you describe the real-life situation or challenge you had to deal with; offer the specific actions you took to overcome the challenge; and explain the positive results you were able to achieve. Wherever possible, quantify those results with real numbers.

If you’d like more help finding your next executive level job, contact Pacific ExecSearch. Our recruitment experts have been helping people achieve professional success for more than 25 years. As experts in the field of executive recruitment in Woodland, California, we can help you uncover opportunities no one else knows about and guide you toward achieving your career goals. Contact us today to learn more.