Behavior Questions

How to Answer Any Behavior Question

Now, you might be thinking... "Hang on, Biron! What about answering all those behavioral questions? You're just going to leave me on my own?" Not quite. Here's what I recommend. These questions can be stressful to answer, but the best way to keep your nerves under control is to follow a pre-planned answer formula. I recommend the S.T.A.R. method: Situation. Task. Action. Result. Use it every time you hear behavioral questions (questions starting with phrases like "tell me about a situation where you had to ___."

• First describe the situation. You need to paint a clear picture or the rest of your story won't make sense. When was this story? Who else was involved? What was the basic situation?
• Next, what was the task or challenge you had to overcome? What was the goal?
• Now, what action or strategy did you use? What steps did you choose to overcome the problem orachieve the goal, and why?
• Finally, the result. How did things turn out? And what did you learn from this experience that you continue to use? Employers love seeing that you're always trying to improve and learn from challenges. If you follow this method, you'll stay on-track with your answers and feel calmer. Remember to practice at home, though. Get very familiar with these 4 steps.