The Quick and Dirty Guide to Preparing for a

Behavioural Based Job Interview

By Graeme Kiyoto-Ward

Why this guideOccasionally there are times that I provide

help to those who are needing to undertake a behavioural based interview.

Often there is not a lot of time between when I provde the help and the time of the interview.

This pack provides a summary of the approach I take when helping people where there isn’t a lot of time to prepare.

Who is this guide for?You need this guide if you:

have an upcoming behavioural based job interview.

don’t have any pre-prepared materials.

don’t have a lot of time to prepare.

haven’t had much experience in behavioural based interviews.

What do you needYou will need:

the position description or the advertisement of the job you have applied for.

pen and paper.

at least an hour.

What will be the resultAt the end of this you will have:a way to introduce yourself.a list of why your hard skills match those of

the job.a list of examples that prove you have the

right soft skills (the behavioural bit).some questions to ask.some information about the company.the right attitude.

About The IntroductionGenerally interviews start with some variant

of the question “tell me about yourself.”

You want to make a good first impression.

The introductory question is a good place to sell yourself.

How you manage introductory questions may decide how seriously you are taken.

Preparing for the IntroductionTo answer the most common introduction questions you need three things:Who you are (I am a…)What you do (I currently do…)Why they need you (I have applied for this job

because…)

If you have these things you can probably answer 80% of introductory questions.

Practicing the IntroductionWrite it down.

Practice, the practice again.

Don’t skip this step.

NOTE: If you have trouble talking about yourself, practice by describing someone you admire until you have the formula right, then describe yourself.

About Hard SkillsEmployers are looking for someone to do some

specific function or specific tasks.

This means hard skills.

Hard skills are more likely learned from education or training, e.g. write code, balance books, etc.

You need to prove you have those hard skills.

Prep for Hard Skills QuestionsRead the advertisement (or position description).

Look for key hard skills they require.

Write down each skill and an example :If you have no example, think about a similar

experience as an exampleIf you have no similar experience, note down two to

three main points you have learned about the topicIf you don’t have this then you have a gap

Practice Hard Skills QuestionsPractice how you would answer question that

you don’t have good examples for.

If you have one or two gaps be honest in the interview if these come up.

If you have too many gaps then how did you secure an interview in the first place?

About Soft Skills – part oneEmployers are looking for people who act in certain ways

as they perform their duties.

This means soft skills.

Soft skills are more likely learned from experience, e.g. communicating, managing difficult customers, etc.

Behavioural based interviewing is checking soft skills by asking how you dealt with similar situations in the past.

This could be the main part of the interview.

About Soft Skills – part twoThere is a recommended approach for answering soft skills question, which is.

S: Describe the situation.T: Describe your assigned task. A: Describe the action you took. R: Describe the result.

Provide enough detail to make the example real.

Prep for Soft Skills QuestionsRead the advertisement (or position description)

to find the key soft skills they require.

Write down each skill and an example :If you have no example, think about a similar

experience as an exampleIf you don’t have this then you have a gap

Make sure each example has a Situation, Task, Action and a Result.

Prep for Soft Skills QuestionsWatch out for soft skills questions that may not be

obvious from the position description, such as:Tell me what is your greatest weaknessesTell me about a time you made a mistake

Use google to search for ‘difficult interview questions’ and check for anything that would give you trouble.

Ask people you have worked with for any examples of what you have done that has impressed them.

Practice Soft Skills QuestionsPractice how you would talk about each

example.

Make sure that the Situation, Task, Action and Result are clear in your answers.

If you have a friend who can help, get them to ask you questions.

About Questions to AskIf you really want a job you may be tempted

not to ask questions because these would seem to be a ‘barrier’

If you don’t ask questions then the interviewer may think that you are not interested in the job.

Make sure you have some questions to ask.

Prep for Questions to AskGoogle something like “questions to ask at a job interview.”

Select a result that has a reasonable sized list.

Find a question that you feel sounds good.

Check you could reply if asked “why did you ask that question?”

Write the question down.

Repeat until you have five questions.

Information about the CompanyGo and find some information about the

company.

Most companies have a company website, for the rest there is google.

There is no excuse.

If you are not interested in their company they are unlikely to be interested in you.

Getting the right attitudeIf you are good at selling yourself, that’s

great.

If you struggle to sell yourself it could be a problem.

Redefine how you look at the situation. Think about why they need you and how you can help them.

FinallyMake some notes and take them with you.

Be on time.

Don’t do any difficult or complex mental tasks in the hour prior to the interview.

Definitely don’t do any task that you find unpleasant in the hour prior to the interview.