Behavioral Interview Questions "I was blind sided"

Krunchi

I had an Interview today was a two part interview first part was technical questions Homerun! I did really good on this portion but then I was blind sided with Behavioral Interview Question "Example below" I feel like I bombed on this part of the interview. It's been over five years since I had to do an Interview and this new method is suppose to be the norm now I guess? I skimmed over some sample questions this past weekend thought this should be cake but I just froze and the second part felt horrible.

The part that gets me is give me an example I just freeze up I know what they wanna hear do I just make up a story?

Does anyone have suggestion or links to how to get ready for these types of questions?

Adaptability:
Tell me about a time when you had to adjust to a classmate’s or colleague’s working style in order to complete a project or achieve your objectives.

Analytical Skills/Problem Solving
Tell me about a situation where you had to solve a difficult problem. What did you do? What was your thought process? What was the outcome? What do you wish you had done differently?

Communication:
What is your typical way of dealing with conflict? Give me an example.

Give me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa). How did you handle the situation? What obstacles or difficulties did you face? How did you deal with them?

Creativity:
Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation skills to influence someone's opinion.

Tell me about a problem that you’ve solved in a unique or unusual way. What was the outcome? Were you happy or satisfied with it?

Decision Making:
Tell me about a difficult decision you've made in the last year.
Describe a situation where you have had to overcome a problem or obstacle in order to move forward with something. What did you do?

Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision without all the information you needed. How did you handle it? Why? Were you happy with the outcome?

Everyone

No, don't make up a story. Try to remember something that really happened to you that fits the question.

MrRyte

Is this supposed to be for a supervisor/managerial position?

Devilry

I used to have those in entry level jobs, but seemed I didn't get that anymore after a few years in the workplace.

Seems to be big with the big box companies.

TechZilla

Devilry wrote: »

I used to have those in entry level jobs, but seemed I didn't get that anymore after a few years in the workplace.

Seems to be big with the big box companies.

I agree about it being mainly with the big box companies. I wouldn't make up a story though. Preparing and thinking of situations for these questions ahead of time is the best thing you can do. Sometimes it hard, I know, but is definitely your best option IMO.

WillTech105

Theres no heart of passion in a made up story. Unless your a great actor (what you doing in IT, goto Hollywood!), stick with a real story. Your passion will come out and that will count -- assuming the guy likes that.

I personally when I do interviews I let my heart, passion for IT, and great speaking skills (thank you Toastmasters) come out, and most of the time that wins employers over, not my technical skills. Of course if they guy has a dry personality, we might not mix well and I won't get hired. You have to learn how to play different "personality faces" in our field (any field, not just IT). I suggest reading Personality PLus to help deal with different personalities at work.

Amazon.com: Personality Plus: How to Understand Others by Understanding Yourself (9780800754457): Florence Littauer: Books

KrisA

TechZilla wrote: »

I agree about it being mainly with the big box companies.

Small company's do it as well.
Last week my interview was with a small nonprofit, and I must say I am a little shocked. After reading the questions, I was thinking to myself, were you in the same interview?

These must be canned from somewhere. I had the exact same questions, and since I had 2 different interviews with different people, I got the exact same questions TWICE!

Devilry

TechZilla wrote: »

I agree about it being mainly with the big box companies. I wouldn't make up a story though. Preparing and thinking of situations for these questions ahead of time is the best thing you can do. Sometimes it hard, I know, but is definitely your best option IMO.

Absolutely, I would not make up any stories.

Take a deep breath and think before you answer, it's probably the best way to show that you aren't immediately just rolling things off your tongue that are not most likely real.

Bokeh

Sounds like the are using the STAR method. My daughter had these exact questions for a two month temp position doing customer service for a Medicare processing company.

http://www.drexel.edu/scdc/resources/STAR%20Method.pdf

Plantwiz

Not the same questions, but the 'old' standard ones that were frequently used:
http://www.chem.umd.edu/files/chem/doc/graduate_student_pdfs/15%20Toughest%20Interview%20Questions%20and%20Answers.pdf

Sample Job Interview Questions and Answers


Best thing for the above (IMO) would be to be honest. You need to know yourself first, and the role in which you are applying to fill. If you will be working alone (which is likely rare) you probably won't need to 'correct' a co-workers behavor. However, if your new job could have some cross-over interaction with other departments, than you will want to focus on your best people/group working skills.

So, what happened to the the manhole cover questions and princess for the day?

Turgon

Krunchi wrote: »

I had an Interview today was a two part interview first part was technical questions Homerun! I did really good on this portion but then I was blind sided with Behavioral Interview Question "Example below" I feel like I bombed on this part of the interview. It's been over five years since I had to do an Interview and this new method is suppose to be the norm now I guess? I skimmed over some sample questions this past weekend thought this should be cake but I just froze and the second part felt horrible.

The part that gets me is give me an example I just freeze up I know what they wanna hear do I just make up a story?

Does anyone have suggestion or links to how to get ready for these types of questions?

Adaptability:
Tell me about a time when you had to adjust to a classmate’s or colleague’s working style in order to complete a project or achieve your objectives.

Analytical Skills/Problem Solving
Tell me about a situation where you had to solve a difficult problem. What did you do? What was your thought process? What was the outcome? What do you wish you had done differently?

Communication:
What is your typical way of dealing with conflict? Give me an example.

Give me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa). How did you handle the situation? What obstacles or difficulties did you face? How did you deal with them?

Creativity:
Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation skills to influence someone's opinion.

Tell me about a problem that you’ve solved in a unique or unusual way. What was the outcome? Were you happy or satisfied with it?

Decision Making:
Tell me about a difficult decision you've made in the last year.
Describe a situation where you have had to overcome a problem or obstacle in order to move forward with something. What did you do?

Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision without all the information you needed. How did you handle it? Why? Were you happy with the outcome?

Complete pain in the arse these questions. Be sure to have your stock answers about how you handled difficult situations in the workplace involving stress, difficult people, unfamiliar infrastructure etc etc so you can roll them out if they come up. Show humility, logical reponse, initiative, tenacity, reponsibiliity and all will go well. That way you dont get passed over by a bloke that can tell a good story, mostly bullshit, but wouldn't know a 7206VXR if it landed on their head.

the_Grinch

I got killed on an interview like this once when I had just graduated. The funny thing about it was it was for a student program where you were suppose to be built from the ground up. At that point I had worked part time for a year as a tech and just didn't work with a ton of people to properly answer their questions. Thankfully now, I've been through so many interviews at varying levels that I don't have issues with these questions. Interviewing is definitely a skill and some of the best advice I received was to always interview, even when not looking for a job. This was my freshmen 101 professor and his reasoning was fairly sound. First, you never know when the economy is going to take a crap and might find yourself out of work. So keeping you resume updated and going on interviews even when you aren't looking keep your skills fresh. Also, the last two jobs he had came when he wasn't even looking for a job. In both cases he decided to go ahead and interview, then found out he was going to make more money by switching.

The sad fact is the people skills interview is just as important as the technical. Our industry is basically all customer service and the best technical skills in the world will not save you if in person you are crap (not saying this is the case for the op, just in general). At my company they had to let two techs go based solely on their lack of people skills. One was a network engineer who could solve any networking problem and loved being in networking closets for hours. Unfortunately, he hated speaking with customers and they would complain all the time about it. The other tech was a solid systems engineer, but if he didn't like a customer he was sure to let them know. The customers were happy to let management know all about this. Don't worry though, now you know what might be asked and have time to think through the answers. It is difficult, but use the experience as a guide to future interviews. Also, I think most employers understand people can be nervous, so perhaps it wasn't as bad as you think!

simonmoon

the_Grinch wrote: »

The sad fact is the people skills interview is just as important as the technical. Our industry is basically all customer service and the best technical skills in the world will not save you if in person you are crap (not saying this is the case for the op, just in general). At my company they had to let two techs go based solely on their lack of people skills. One was a network engineer who could solve any networking problem and loved being in networking closets for hours. Unfortunately, he hated speaking with customers and they would complain all the time about it. The other tech was a solid systems engineer, but if he didn't like a customer he was sure to let them know. The customers were happy to let management know all about this.

Quoting for truth. Though I think the sad fact is not that people skills are required but rather that technicians so often can't wrap their brain around the fact that interfacing with the human layer is a non-optional part of their job. Do do not make cogs in some far off factory. We provide services to users.