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How to Have a Successful Behavioral Interview

By Nikki Rennalls wece@ece.gatech.edu Introduction Why host a behavioral interview workshop for the Women of ECE? Because your first job IS important Because of the economy Because you deserve the job of your dreams Because giving a good interview is easy with practice 5 Quick Ways to Improve Your Interview Give a Good Handshake Make Eye Contact Sit up Straight Speak up, speak clearly Smile! Traditional Interviews Hypothetical Situations Interviewers may probe, they may not Interviewees may generalize or provide theoretical answers Straight questions with straight forward answers o Ex. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Behavioral Interviews Past Situations Interviewers WILL probe Interviewers will ask for details Questions with story answers o Ex. Describe a time you had to work on a team? How to Answer Behavior Based Questions Think What experience is most relevant to the question? Does this story show me in a good light? Did my actions directly impact the result? Is this story appropriate to share with an interviewer? Does this hurt anyone else? Describe the Situation Give a brief back story o Sometimes Unnecessary o Do not begin with When dinosaurs roamed the Earth

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The Problem/Challenge Explain Your Actions Be clear about what YOU did Be honest! Go ahead, brag about yourself Watch out for embellishments and untruths Never lie in an interview Share The Outcome Be Honest Measurements of Success Rankings, Money, Grades, Stats, etc. What did you learn? How would you do things differently? Role Playing Question 1: Have you had to convince a team to work on a project they weren't thrilled about? How did you do it? Question 2: Give me an example of when you took a risk to achieve a goal. What was the outcome? Interview Dos and Donts Do: talk about yourself take advantages of silences be honest express your interest write a thank-you Dont leave without asking questions be too casual bad-mouth past bosses or colleagues bring anything but youre A game WECE Reminders FIRST Robotics Competition Career Fair next week Harris Dinner Tuesday @ 6pm Northrup-Grunman Lunch Thurs. @ 11 New Service Projects Local Womens Shelter Relay for Life Free Donut Fridays

Before You Interview Know yourself. An interview is about one thing, YOU. Advanced preparation is critical inventory yourself so that you can competently express who you are, what you want and whether you are a fit for the job. Recall recent situations that show favorable behaviors or actions, especially involving course work, work experience, leadership, teamwork, initiative, planning, and customer service. Prepare short descriptions of each situation; be ready to give details if asked. Be sure each story has a beginning, a middle, and an end, i.e., be ready to describe the situation, your action, and the outcome or result. Be sure the outcome or result reflects positively on you (even if the result itself was not favorable). Be honest. Dont embellish or omit any part of the story. The interviewer will find out if your story is built on a weak foundation. Be specific. Dont generalize about several events; give a detailed accounting of one event. Know the interview process. If you dont know what to expect, you wont know how to prepare. Read a couple of books and speak with your Career office to learn everything you can about interviewing ... role-play with another person acting as the interviewer. Make sure the interviewer knows about you. EVERYTHING is a reflection of you. If your resume or emails are laden with errors, an interviewer may conclude that you will also approach your job in this manner. Know the organization. Research the organization and the position it makes you stand out from candidates who havent. Understanding the culture of the organization is also important.

Practice Questions Give me an example of a change you have made as a result of performance feedback. When did you have to give a highly visible speech or presentation? How did you prepare? Describe a recent failure/disappointments in your job (or academics/leadership positions) and how you handled it. What are some of the most significant changes you implemented in your position; how did your team respond and how did you deal with that? Can you give me an example where quick action in solving a business or school problem was critical? Have you ever experienced a situation where a business plan or school project which you put a lot of effort into was rejected or substantially revised? How did you deal with that situation? Describe a situation in which you had to reconcile conflicts in your group/team. If your peers described your leadership style, what words would they use? Your clients? Superiors? Give me an example of a time that you showed strong initiative. An example when youve gone above and beyond. What would you consider your most significant accomplishments? Why were these accomplishments important? What difficulties did you have to overcome? When did you have a lead role in the project, a key role, a support role, etc? What specific challenges did you face as a leader? How did you have to adapt your leadership style? What are the facets of this position in which you are the most confident? Which areas of the position are you the least confident? Name a time you made a critical mistake within a team. How did you resolve it with your team members and what what the result? Describe a decision you made that was unpopular with the group you were working with and how you handled implementing it. Describe a time when your schedule is interrupted, like the change of a deadline? How you handle it? Describe a time you had to convince a team to work on a project they weren't thrilled about. How did you do it? Describe a major change that occurred in a job that you held. How did you adapt to this change? Tell us about a situation in which you had to adjust to changes over which you had no control. How did you handle it? Tell us about a time that you had to adapt to a difficult situation. What do you do when priorities change quickly? Give one example of when this happened. Describe a project or idea that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role? What was the outcome? Describe a time when you made a suggestion to improve the work in your organization. Did you follow through? How did this improvement impact the organization?

Describe a time when you came up with a creative solution/idea/project/report to a problem in your past work. Give an example of an important goal that you set in the past. Tell about your success in reaching it. Tell us about a time when you had to analyze information and make a recommendation. What kind of thought process did you go through? What was your reasoning behind your decision? Give a specific example of a time when you had to address an angry customer. What was the problem and what was the outcome? How would you asses your role in diffusing the situation? Have you ever worked in a situation where the rules and guidelines were not clear? Tell me about it. How did you feel about it? How did you react? Some people consider themselves to be big picture people and others are detail oriented. Which are you? Give an example of a time when you displayed this. Describe a situation when you were able to strengthen a relationship by communicating effectively. What made your communication effective? Describe a situation where you felt you had not communicated well. How did you correct the situation? Describe a time when you were able to effectively communicate a difficult or unpleasant idea to a superior. Describe a time when you were asked to keep information confidential. If you can, tell about a time when your trustworthiness was challenged. How did you react/respond? On occasion we are confronted by dishonesty in the workplace. Tell about such an occurrence and how you handled it. Describe a time where you had to make an ethical decision. What did you decide and what was the outcome? Describe a time when you encountered unethical behavior in a superior or an authority figure. Did you confront this person/organization? How did you handle it? Give an example of your ability to build motivation in your co-workers, classmates, and even if on a volunteer committee. Have you ever been a member of a group where two of the members did not work well together? What did you do to get them to do so?

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