How to respond to behavioral questions

Behavioral questions are those that ask you about a specific ability/skill. Three examples of behavioral questions are (associated skill is listed in brackets):

• Describe a time you had difficulty with a co-worker? How did you deal with the situation? (Interpersonal skills)
• Tell me about a time that poor communication has caused problems? (Communication skills)
• Describe a difficult problem you faced. How did you overcome it? (Problem-solving skills)

You can answer these questions by using the S.T.A.R. approach:

Situation: Describe a SPECIFIC situation you were in.
Task: Describe the task you had to do and provide enough detail for the interviewer to understand.
Action: Describe the action you took - if it was a group effort make sure to keep the focus on what  you did (use I instead of we). This part should be the longest portion of your answer.
Results: Describe the positive result of your actions. E.g. a promotion, increase in productivity, or satisfied customers.