My name is Richard McMunn from the career guidance company, how2become.com, and in

this training video, I'm gonna give you seven brilliant answers to behavioral interview

questions.

Now, sometimes, behavioral interview questions are termed as situational interview questions,

but they're basically the same thing.

It's where the interview panel says to you, "Can you give me an example of when you have

been flexible in a work-related situation?

Where you've delivered excellent customer service?"

etc.

Those are the kind of questions that we're going to focus on today.

So, a very, very warm welcome from me.

That's me there.

My name is Richard McMunn.

For the last 20 odd plus years, I've been helping people like you to successfully pass

interviews, and I can virtually guarantee that the questions within this video will

come up at your next interview.

Now, as I say, this is going to give you seven great answers to common behavioral interview

questions.

You're gonna say to me, "Where can I get a copy of these slides and the answers that

you're giving us?"

Well, if you watch the video from beginning to end, I'm gonna tell you where you can get

a copy of these slides for free.

So, even though I want you to take notes and watch the presentation, I'm gonna make it

easy for you and give you the slides at the end with all of the answers on there that

you can use to prepare for your forthcoming interview.

I'd also very much appreciate it, guys, if you would be willing to give the video a thumbs

up.

I'd very much appreciate that, thank you.

Before I quickly get into these seven great interview questions and answers, if you have

any videos that you'd like me to create for you, please put them in the comment section

below the video, or if you've got an interview coming up, please let me know in the comment

section below and I'll say hi to you.

Okay, let's get straight into it.

Question number one.

When have you completed a difficult task or project?

Now, I'm gonna give you some tips as we go through this video.

So, the first tip is to use a STAR technique when answering this question and other types

of behavioral interview questions.

I'm gonna tell you what that is in a second.

Now, make the task relevant to the job that you're applying for.

So, for example, if you're applying for a customer service role, then make the tasks

that you were involved in relevant to that role.

The next one is to consider using the following words in your response: structure.

So, "I carried out a structured approach to the project.

I managed my time effectively.

I was persistent and I was also determined."

I'm gonna use these in the sample response that I'm gonna come up with in a second.

Okay.

Now, I mentioned there at the beginning about using the STAR technique when answering the

question.

What is that?

Well, when responding to any of these questions, explain what the situation was, tell the interview

panel what task you had to carry out, then tell them what action you took, and finally,

tell them what the result was following your actions.

So, remember that: situation, task, action, result.

You just think about the STAR technique, then remember those.

When you're giving your response to the panel, tell them what the situation was, the task,

the action, and then finally, the result, which is in green to remind you that it should

be a positive result, and I'm gonna use that in every sample response that I'm going to

give you now.

Okay, back to question number one.

When have you completed a difficult task or project?

Here's my response.

"I recently successfully completed an online customer service training course to further

develop my skills in this area and to also fully understand the customer's needs.

The course took me two months to complete in total, and I carried out all of the studying

in my own time whilst holding down my current job.

Now, the biggest obstacle I had to overcome was finding the time to complete the work

to the high standard that I wanted to achieve.

I decided to manage my time effectively, and I allocated two hours every evening of the

working week in which to complete the studying required.

I found the time management relatively easy to manage, as I structured my day accordingly.

Now, this structured approach enabled me to complete the course quickly and to a high

standard.

I'm pleased to say that I passed the course with 100% marks and I now have more experience

about the needs of the modern-day customer.

The things I learned during the course included determining factors that create customer value,

identifying the needs of the customer, and developing strategies to support the modern-day

customer.

Now, whenever I approach any type of work-related tasks, I always focus on persistence, being

organized, and having a determination to complete the job competently and professionally."

Now, you see that response, I've told them that I've gone and done an online training

course.

Now, if you go to the website udemy.com, which is U-D-E-M-Y.com, you can find loads of training

courses that you can undertake in your own time for probably about $10 or £10, and these

can help you to develop your skills for a work-related role.

So, the situation that I gave you was that I undertook a studying course in my own time,

I paid for that myself, but I told them here what I had learnt.

So, question number two, next one.

Describe a stressful situation at work and how you handled it.

Really common behavioral-type interview question.

So, again, use the STAR technique, which I've already covered.

With this response, show an understanding of the situation you found yourself in.

I'm gonna tell you what that means in a second, when I give you the response.

Also, come up with a solution to the stressful situation and explain in detail how you handled

it positively.

So, we all find ourselves in stressful situations but the important thing is to remain calm

and to deal with it in a positive manner.

So, here's a response, and don't forget you're gonna get a copy of these slides at some point

during this video, so yeah.

Do take notes, but you'll be able to download these slides.

Okay, here's my response.

"Recently, we lost an important member of our team at short notice.

Now, the reasons for him leaving were not made clear to us, however, the impact on the

team was significant.

He had been helping us to implement a new, important working strategy within the organization

and to replace him was going to be difficult.

People within the team started to panic, as we only had four weeks left in which to complete

the new project.

I decided to take control of the situation, as I felt someone had to act positively if

we were to have a chance of completing the project on time.

Now, in my spare time, I studied my former colleague's workload and the things he had

been doing in order to contribute to the project.

Now, after a couple of hours' research, I realized that there were members of our team

who could take over his work.

Now, the next morning, when I got into the office, I briefed the team on my findings

and we started to allocate the tasks based on our team members' strengths.

I could immediately see a change in people's attitude once they realized there was a chance

we could complete our project on time.

Now, although the next few weeks were stressful and difficult, we all worked hard to support

each other and the project came to a successful completion.

I learned quite a lot from this scenario.

The first thing I learned was that it's always important to have a positive mindset in stressful

situations.

By remaining calm and focused on the task, I was able to find a solution.

The second thing I learned was that any challenge or difficult situation is always surmountable

once you apply yourself and play to your team's strengths."

So, this situation demonstrates that it was stressful but that you took control of it,

okay?

And you found a solution.

That's really important.

So, you remained calm, you found a solution and you implemented it within the team, and

everyone was happy.

Okay, so that's important to focus on.

Next one, question number three.

Describe a time when you embraced change within an organization.

Really common one, especially nowadays.

A lot of work employees don't like change but change is really important.

Here are some tips.

Again, use the STAR technique, which is situation, task, action, result.

Explain that you understand how important change is.

So, it's good to say, "First of all, I understand how important change it.

It's really important in an organization, especially in the modern day world because

things are changing all the time."

Come up with a situation where you positively embraced the change within an organization.

Okay, here's a sample response for you.

"Approximately six months ago, we were taken over by a new company who had different ideas

for how they wanted to take the business forward.

Now, prior to the takeover, we had been working hard as a team to implement the previous owner's

strategies and we were getting close to seeing our hard work come to fruition.

Now, the new business owners briefed us all on the new strategy and where they wanted

to go with the business.

Now, this naturally had a demotivational impact on the team, as everyone felt the hard work

they had been doing was wasted.

Now, whilst this was a stressful situation to be in, I decided to embrace the change

positively and help the people within the team to try and view the change as an opportunity

for us to impress our new owners.

I have a very positive mindset when it comes to change, and I understand that if an organization

is to thrive in the modern world, change is really important, and as an employee, I feel

it's my duty to embrace change positively and proactively."

Okay.

So, next one, question number four.

When have you demonstrated flexibility in a work situation?

Here's some tips.

Again, use the STAR technique.

Explain that you realize how important it is to be flexible as an employer.

It's really, really...sorry, as an employee.

It's really important to be flexible, and also, come up with a situation where you were

asked to help out at short notice.

So, here's a sample response for you to use.

"I am very flexible and I fully understand that the role will require me to be available

when required.

In my previous job, I made the manager aware that I was available to work extra hours if

required.

On one particular occasion, I volunteered to stay behind after work to take delivery

of some stock.

Now, the delivery driver was stuck in traffic and he called to say that he would wouldn't

arrive until 6 p.m., which was two hours later than scheduled.

Now, even though it was a Friday afternoon, I realized how important it was that the delivery

was accepted.

I stayed behind, took delivery of the stock and checked the contents before locking up

and going home.

As already mentioned, I fully understand how important it is to be flexible at work and

that I might be needed to either cover someone's illness at short notice or even step in to

help the company as and when required.

You can rely on me to be a flexible and supportive member of your team."

Great answer to the interview question, "When have you demonstrated flexibility?"

Question number five is a really good one.

What's been your biggest failure to date and how did you deal with it?

So, tips.

Failure is really part and parcel of life.

We all fail, but it's how you react to the failure that's important.

So tell the interview panel that you view failure as a chance to improve and develop.

So, here's my sample response.

"I would say my biggest failure to date is failing an educational course that I embarked

upon a couple of years ago.

Now, the reason why I failed the course was primarily due to a lack of adequate time set

aside for studying; however, I immediately learnt from my mistake and shortcomings and

I booked to resit the test immediately.

I worked hard during the build-up to the resit and I spent lots of time studying.

I passed the test with flying colors.

I certainly learnt a lot from my initial failure and I always make sure that I now prepare

fully for everything that I do.

It's really important to reflect upon your own performance, especially when things don't

go to plan.

I now like to view failure as an opportunity to improve and develop."

That's a great response to that interview question.

Question number six.

Describe a time when you've had to deal with somebody in a work situation who you felt