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18 Behavioral Interview Questions to Ask Candidates

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Key Takeaways

Behavioral interview questions assess candidates’ past actions and skills.  Use role-specific scenarios to evaluate problem-solving abilities.  Questions about teamwork and leadership reveal interpersonal strengths.  Focus on questions that align with company values and job requirements.  Analyze responses to predict future performance in similar situations.


 

Behavioral interview questions allow candidates to tell stories about their past experiences and work history, which can help hiring managers assess how a candidate behaves in work-related situations. By selecting the proper behavioral-based interview questions, you can gain insight into a potential hire’s skills.

These 18 behavioral interview questions to ask candidates may make your hiring process more effective.

What are behavioral interview questions?

Behavioral-style interview questions aim to predict a candidate’s future performance by assessing past behavior. These questions often involve interpersonal matters, leadership attributes or how a candidate acts under pressure.

Behavioral-based interviewing questions are more specific than standard interview questions. They help you learn more about the core skills and qualities relevant to most positions, such as problem-solving and resilience.

Top 18 behavioral interview questions to ask candidates

Consider incorporating these top 18 behavioral interview questions into your hiring process to make informed hiring decisions.

1. Problem-solving

Could you describe a complex problem you solved at work and your approach to finding a solution?

While some hiring managers might want to hear about solving a problem in the industry, this question typically demonstrates a candidate’s problem-solving skills and whether they can address challenging situations.

2. Learning from mistakes

How did you learn from a mistake you made at work?

This question can help ensure the candidate turns mistakes into areas for improvement. By answering this question, the applicant may display transparency.

Related: How Humility Can Improve Your Business

3. Dealing with challenges

Tell us about an unanticipated challenge you faced. How did you handle it?

Unexpected events commonly occur in business. By asking candidates how they’ve overcome unexpected challenges, you can evaluate their ability to adapt and reprioritize tasks under stress.

4. Requesting feedback

When did you last ask a colleague or supervisor for feedback, and did you implement it?

This question may help determine whether a candidate appreciates feedback and has a desire to learn from others. A willingness to learn others’ perspectives can demonstrate a positive leadership quality.

5. Learning new skills

Describe a time when you had to learn something new. In what ways did you approach the learning process?

You might ask this question to learn whether a potential hire values skill development. A strong response might display enthusiasm for learning, self-understanding and knowledge of effective learning techniques.

6. Communicating with team members

How have you pitched an idea to a colleague? What was the outcome of this task? How did you accomplish it?

This behavioral interview question assesses the candidate’s confidence and persuasiveness while communicating with a colleague or manager. These qualities are typically helpful for sales, customer service, client relations or management roles.

Related: How to Assess Communication Skills in Candidates

7. Meeting deadlines

Have you ever had to complete a task under time pressure? How did you handle it?

When a candidate explains their strategy for handling tight deadlines, potential employers can better understand their discipline, ability to work under pressure and experience with project organization.

8. Helping clients

How do you deal with frustrated clients?

Interacting with clients is a common job duty, particularly in customer care and sales. Resolving situations with clients is an essential skill that can indicate professionalism and patience.

9. Managing conflicts

Share an example of how you handled a conflict at work.

Potential hires must be able to manage conflict in the workplace. By asking this behavioral interview question, interviewers can gauge how candidates typically handle arguments and high tension.

10. Taking a different perspective

If you had the chance, what’s the one thing in your professional career that you would handle differently?

Interview questions often aim to uncover a candidate’s qualities and greatest accomplishments. However, you can learn a lot about a candidate based on missed opportunities. Asking this question allows candidates to demonstrate their self-awareness and ability to learn from past experiences.

11. Motivating others

When you’re in a leadership role, how do you motivate team members?

Those in leadership positions need to be skilled at employee motivation. Learning how an individual encourages others can give insight into their interpersonal skills and ability to create a culture of innovation.

12. Managing stress

Share an experience when you had to deal with a lot of stress. How did you manage the pressure?

This stress management question can help determine whether an interviewee is prepared to manage the pressures they may face in your open position. A new hire may encounter several sources of stress on the job, so it’s important to know candidates can manage stress at work.

13. Setting and achieving goals

Tell me about a time when you set a goal for yourself. How did you achieve it?

An applicant who can set personal goals often has strong organizational skills and a career focus. This question also lets the candidate explain how they set goals and remain motivated to accomplish them.

Related: SMART Goals: An Acronym for Success

14. Making meaningful achievements

What’s your proudest achievement as a professional? Why is it important to you?

The interviewee can discuss how they’ve applied their skills to achieve success. This question can also demonstrate the types of projects they find fulfilling and how they approach success.

15. Working with different colleagues

Tell me about a time you worked with a colleague who communicated differently than you.

Every employee adds to the team in different ways due to expertise, professional history or perspectives instilled by diverse backgrounds. This question can show how a potential candidate can adapt to different communication styles.

16. Providing customer service

Give me an example of a time you went above and beyond to meet a customer’s needs.

When filling a customer-facing role, it’s important to ask questions to gain insight on how much candidates value customers and the steps they take to ensure customers have a positive experience.

17. Learning from prior management styles

Tell me about a previous leader you worked with. What did you like about their management style?

Almost all companies have some type of organizational hierarchy. Asking this question helps determine how a candidate prefers to be managed. It can also reflect the type of management style they might use if tasked with leadership responsibilities.

18. Navigating difficult decisions with integrity

Tell me about a time you faced a difficult decision at work where you had to consider multiple perspectives. How did you approach the situation, and what was the outcome?

Asking about difficult decisions helps assess a candidate’s ability to navigate complex situations, weighing different perspectives and potential outcomes. It can reveal how they approach challenges, their decision-making process and their commitment to maintaining integrity and fairness in the workplace.

This question provides insight into their problem-solving skills, judgment and alignment with company values.

Why use behavioral-style interview questions?

Behavior-based interviewing can complement any skills-first hiring program. This method focuses on finding candidates with the right skills for the job instead of over-relying on education or past job titles. This approach helps employers identify quality candidates who might otherwise be overlooked in the hiring process.

When hiring managers ask behavioral interview questions, they can assess a candidate’s skills and attitudes.

Tips for conducting an effective behavioral interview

To determine which questions to ask, determine the skills most important for the role and ask the behavioral questions that address those abilities.

Consider the following tips when conducting your interview:

  • Ask each candidate the same questions : Asking candidates the same questions can make it easier to use consistent judgment. Consider implementing interview scoring sheets to help ensure the application process is fair and objective.
  • Ask open-ended questions : Behavioral questions are thought-provoking, so consider keeping them open-ended. This can help you get direct answers with fewer follow-up questions.

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Indeed’s Employer Resource Library helps businesses grow and manage their workforce. With over 15,000 articles in 6 languages, we offer tactical advice, how-tos and best practices to help businesses hire and retain great employees.