What are the most common behavioral questions and how do you prepare? (sample, interview)

[joblessclaim]

If you know that the company uses behavioral questions during the interview process, what are the most common ones that are asked? Can you help list any that come to your mind?

Also, what is the best way to prepare for these? How much depth should you be prepared for?

[Hemlock140]

It really depends on the recent situations experienced by the hiring manager and staff, and finding people that can handle it. In a busy, understaffed office there might be a question like "Give us an example of a time when you had multiple priorities and had to meet competing deadlines." At a place where there is often unpleasant customer communications, such as in collections, they might ask you to "tell us about a time when you were talking to an irate customer, and how you managed to calm them down and handle their problem to their satisfaction."

There are many websites with sample behavioral questions and suggestions for answers, however with experience, people should be able to easily recall those situations and talk about them with enough detail to be convincing but not ramble on.

[sandsthetime]

Originally Posted by joblessclaim

If you know that the company uses behavioral questions during the interview process, what are the most common ones that are asked? Can you help list any that come to your mind?

Also, what is the best way to prepare for these? How much depth should you be prepared for?

I've had behavioral questions for sales jobs. They're kind of intimidating until you get used to them. If you're new to an industry, you can basically ace them if you're creative enough and well rehearsed. The benefit is that when they ask for a specific scenario, even if you've never done it before, you can just make something up. But you have to sound convincing and practice your answers for these kind of questions or else they'll know you're lying.