So, as some of you saw on Twitter yesterday, the SAME DAY my work broke up with me, I got a phone call from town hall about the job I applied for IN JULY.
I have an interview on Thursday.
The religious folk in my life, like my mother and Daycare Lady, are sure this is a sign from God.
I’d almost believe them except for one thing:
It’ll be a behavioral interview.
I have never EVER gotten a job from a behavioral interview. I SUCK at trying to come up with a “time when you and a coworker had a dispute” or at time when “you solved a problem at work.”
PH has tried to help me prepare and ended up practically bashing his head against a wall.
I can’t help it that when someone asks me a question like “tell me about a time when you had to work with a difficult coworker”, a truthful answer would be:
Well, I worked with this vet who was verbally abusive to me. So I just took it like a total doormat until he got sick of working with me and quit!
Somehow, that’s not what they want to hear, but that’s THE TRUTH. And no, that’s not what I say at the interview, but even when I try to come up with a story, I guess it doesn’t fit the question well enough or it just isn’t what they want to hear.
Because they never call back.
I’m terrible at trying to find the right story to fit their question, and PH has identified that I’m absolutely PATHETIC at identifying successes or triumphs in my workplace past.
I also feel that my best qualities are not easily represented in sweet little short stories with happy endings. I’m honest. I’m diligent. I have integrity. I am kind. I defer to my superiors.
But they don’t want stories about that. They want stories that present me as consolidated awesome in scrubs, and I’m awful at it.
I’m so going to fail this interview.
Does anyone have a cheat sheet for me, with the magic answers?
If By Yes 
Start by not indulging in self-defeating language before you even walk in the door, OK? And Google ‘recommended answers to tough interview questions’ – you’ll find lots of tips. Good luck!
It’s funny, because I’m so good at standard interview questions. But the “tell me a time when…” ones are so hard. Maybe it’s my introvert brain, having difficult processing quickly enough to search out a memory that fits and then sell it right away?
Well, I realize it’s not the best thing to do ever, but I make things up.
“Tell me about a time you had a major conflict with a coworker.”
“At (first place I worked so it’s so long ago they can’t call), I had issues with a co-worker who was often late. For the efficiency of the workplace, I tended to pick up their slack, but it became difficult to do the additional tasks effectively. So, I got up my courage and spoke to them. It turned out they were facing some transportation issues. We then went to our supervisor with a plan where we could alter our arrival times and more effectively distribute our duties. Overall performance went up! I From this point on, I learned the importance of communication, initiative and keeping everyone informed.”
This didn’t actually happen, but it’s what *should* have happened, and it’s what the people want to hear. It’s something that reasonable people could work out, and you have to presume you’re talking to a reasonable, non-abusive person.
“Tell us about a situation in which you had to adjust to changes over which you had no control. How did you handle it?”
“I once found that my workspace was being reappropriated for other people. Though I missed my office, I tried to keep in mind that there were others involved in the situation, too, and the needs of the organization had to be considered. I found that while I had to adjust my work expectations, it continued to be a good environment.”
“What impact did you have in your last job?”
“Well, I was there for a short time, and did not manage to be involved in a very active manner. But in my previous job, I implemented (XYZ) and created a new method for accomplishing (ABC). Overall I improved efficiency, productivity and workplace satisfaction.”
I could do this all day. I majored in Sociology and Psychology, and one of my research projects was looking at “good answers” to these questions.
Something to keep in mind is that the behavioral interview you have might also ask things about your attitudes towards euthanasia and animals rights (I saw in the above comments it’s a job working for the animal shelter.)
Good luck!
What an amazing answer! Thanks so much! I can use those example questions to create a sort of formula. I notice how you list certain results at the end of the story. That’s very helpful.
They always want results. It’s best to be focused on the things that most helped the organization, and how the organization was just the best place ever. Especially with government-type jobs, they want to know you are a team player.
If you have a list of potential questions and any of them are particularly worrisome, you could e-mail them to me and I could provide some responses. I could probably have you answers by early tonight (but I have to go to work myself in twenty minutes and won’t be back to a computer until nine p.m. Central U.S. time, so I don’t know how that works for you.)
I think you will do well. You want the job, and you’re qualified, and as long as you don’t say things that make you sound sociopathic, they will hire you.
So, if they ask me what I would do if I disagreed with a coworker, the right answer would not be “I waited until after work and then followed her down a dark alley with my favourite knife. I call him Pointy”?
I just may email you. Watch out!
Correct.
Clearly, you forgot to mention the results. 😉
Rebecca, as someone who does behavioural interviews on people, it’s people like you that freak the crap out of me. In other news, thanks for this great post to support IfByYes!
I’m no help, as I always fail the psychological tests that. And yet I’m entrusted with middle age children. Hmmm.
But I agree that google is a great start. And good luck! You deserve it, friend.
Thanks! I’ll let you all know how it goes…
1. Explain the situation
2. Explain the steps you took to ameliorate the situation
3. Explain the results of your steps and if necessary, what you would do differently/what you learned from the situation.
I love those kinds of interviews because in my mind they’re not just about saying how awesome you are, they’re about telling stories and explaining what you learned.
I also love hypothetical situations…
I have difficulty picking the right situation, I think. Not sure how to go about that…
I agree with Rebecca that scripted answers may be the best strategy. I’d be interested in hearing how it goes this time. It has to be better than, “where do you see yourself in 5 years?”. Umm…”hopefully employed” is my truth. Best of luck!
LOL yes, my problem is always trying not to give an answer that doesn’t involve working with them “Well, I’d like to be running my own business full time by then” doesn’t sell well :-p
Oh gosh yeah, I hate that question, because my natural response would also be “well, umm, employed?” or, if I thought about it, “still have my health” or something like that. Or, “I’d like to have written a bestseller and live off the profits of that, if I may!” 😉
Five years is a long time. I don’t know what I’ll be doing in five years time. Heck, I can’t even decide if I want to spend my 30th birthday in Sweden or in the UK, and that’s in JULY. (People have been asking since June last year. Ask me again THIS June and I MIGHT be closer to an answer.)
I suppose they want to hear you’re ambitious and all that crap, and that’s why they’re asking. Doesn’t work if you’re a taking-each-day-as-it-comes kinda person. For the other questions you worry about, I SYMPATHISE. Like the thing if you had a disagreement … well, I’ve not been employed by that many people and we didn’t really have disagreements, and so on. Difficult. The tips given in the comments were good though, and I hope you do well in the interview. I’m really behind on my blog reading so you will already have gone to it and that’ll be the next post to read on the list …
Good luck! I also hate those questions. The only questions I hate more, are the weird psychological ones. Like, “if you were a kitchen appliance, which one would you be?” I like the idea of making up answers, though. I don’t know if I could pull it off, as I’m a terrible liar.
HAHAHA, thanfully I have never gotten anything that bizarre in an interview. Here’s hoping this one doesn’t buck THAT trend.
I love Rebecca’s answers, so if you follow that, you’re golden. If they have any kind of sense, they’ll see you are the best person for the job. And if they want a reference, send them our way. We, your loyal readers and friends, will be happy to share how awesome you are. Good luck!!
Hee hee, add you all to my references.
Congratulations on the interview!
I alternately TOTALLY STINK and totally rock at interviews. And I truly often can’t really tell the difference.
I have the same issues as you do with coming up with examples of things on the spot. I stink at that in general conversation too, with things like “your most embarrassing moment” or stuff. For what it’s worth, these were the two breakthrough realizations for me that helped a lot:
1) The little things that you do every single day “count” as examples of these situations. I’m always sifting through for things that were anomalous or Changed The World. The things I do consistently never ever make my internal radar. Think about what a bad vet tech, douchebag, or slacker, would have done, and then what you did instead. That counts.
2) I’ve found it VERY helpful to come up with an advance brainstormed list of examples of things I’ve done well, or good things I’ve done, stand out moments, etc, on a variety of topics (take your time with it in advance, and maybe get your husband to help you recognize your strengths). Then, in the moment, if they ask for one or two examples, it’s usually much easier for me to find a way to make what I’ve done fit what they’re asking for than it is for me to come up with something on the fly. Fill your mind with lots of examples of good things in advance and then just choose the most relevant.
3) I’ve gathered that when I do manage to come up with perfect answers to things, sometimes they don’t actually believe that I’m telling the truth. When I’m nervous, I have a bad habit of sounding too much like I’m just telling them what they want to hear, or giving a rehearsed response, even if it’s true. And they seem to hate that. A lot. So don’t worry if you can’t come up with the absolute perfect response to something. They don’t always need one. Sometimes the very reasonable little thing you did is great. I highly doubt that the other candidates are doing Earth moving things anyway.
Good luck!!!
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