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Behavioral interviews are incredibly common during the hiring process for internships and entry-level roles. These interviews are used to better understand your skills, your past experiences, your adaptability, and more. Knowing how to successfully complete a behavioral interview is crucial for your career success, so here are some mistakes you want to avoid.
Failure to Use the STAR Method
Most behavioral interview questions require you to think about a past experience and explain what happened, highlighting what the question is asking, such as a time when you made a mistake or had a conflict with a teammate. These questions should be answered using the STAR method, which stands for situation, task, action, and result. Your answer should follow this framework in order to fully answer the question and provide the information the interviewer is looking for. Failing to follow this framework can make you appear unprofessional and unfocused with long-winded answers that don’t fully answer the question.
For example, let’s say you are asked the question “Tell me about a time when you disagreed with a teammate. How did you resolve this?”
An unstructured answer would be something like this: “One time I disagreed with another intern about the look of a social media post. We talked for a while and eventually agreed on a design.”
This answer doesn’t highlight your communication skills, which is what the question is trying to get at.
A STAR answer would be something like this: “During my internship last summer, I was working on a social media campaign with my team. Another intern and I disagreed on the design of the post and whether or not it aligned with our brand image. I asked her to a 1:1 meeting where we could discuss our thoughts privately instead of in front of the whole team. I explained my reasoning and gave her the space to explain her thoughts as well. By the end of the meeting, we both understood where the other was coming from and were able to meet in the middle with a design we were both happy with. When we brought it to the larger team, everyone agreed, and we posted the campaign. The post was incredibly successful, making the process worth it.”
This answer is much more specific and hits all four elements: situation, task, action, and result. This answer also shows that you are collaborative, adaptable, empathetic, and have strong communication skills.
Giving Unfocused Answers
This is most difficult with open-ended questions, such as “Tell me about yourself.” This question doesn’t need to be answered using the STAR method, but your answer should still be structured and focused. Your answer should tell a story about who you are, your past experiences, and how you’ve used your skills. You don’t want your answer to appear like a list of bullet points with no clear connection between each point. You also don’t want to be too long-winded by providing details that aren’t necessary and don’t add any value to your answer. Interviews are already a long process, so don’t make it longer by adding unnecessary information. Doing this can result in your interviewer not being able to follow what you’re saying, and they may tune out completely.
Being Too General
When you’re answering a question, be specific. Answering with a general response and not going into detail doesn’t provide the interviewer with the information they actually need. For example, let’s say you are asked “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”
A generic answer would be this: “My biggest strength is my written communication skills. I’m always able to clearly convey my thoughts in emails. On the other hand, my biggest weakness is my verbal communication skills. I usually struggle with speaking in meetings.”
A specific answer would be this: “My biggest strength is my written communication skills. During my internship, I was consistently answering emails from both clients and teammates. When doing so, I was professional and was able to clearly communicate my thoughts. This helped avoid any follow-up questions, as I would fully answer the question and provide all necessary information. On the other hand, my biggest weakness is my verbal communication skills. During my internship, we would have team meetings with my manager and about 20 other interns. I never spoke up unless I was specifically asked something, and when I did, I know my answers weren’t always clear. I hope that over time I can gain more confidence in these settings and be able to communicate clearly and more frequently.”
The specific answer gives the interviewer a lot more insight into where you excel and where you struggle. Giving specific examples also helps your answer sound more credible.
Not Asking Questions
At the end of the interview, you will be asked if you have any questions for the hiring team. It is expected that you then ask at least one or two questions. Failing to do so can make you appear uninterested in learning more about the role and the company. It can also come across as though you are unprepared, since you don’t have any questions ready to go. This is your only chance to learn more about things that are important to you at work, such as the company’s culture or career development opportunities, so don’t pass this up. Ask questions that will help you decide whether this is the right role for you, and ask high-impact questions that will leave a lasting impression and end the interview on a positive note.
Knowing how to navigate behavioral interviews is a skill, and avoiding these mistakes will help you be successful.
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