Remember that moment when your presence was crucial to solving a problem at work? Go pulling similar moments out of the boot of memories because they could be that extra push you need for the recruiter to call you after your job interview. Behavioural Interviews have become a standard interview technique, and you need to learn how to hack them.
What are Behavioral Interviews for technology professionals?
In Behavioral Interviews, recruiters want to know how you handled a situation in your past job to get an idea of how you would act in the same situation but working with the recruiting company. By doing so, they gain important insights into your capabilities, skills, handling of stressful emotions and problem-solving. They allow the recruiter to dig deeper about you, how you think and feel and whether you would add value to the company. To do this, instead of asking hypothetical questions about how would you act if you were under a lot of pressure at work? How would you solve a problem? They dig into your work history by asking, “describe a time when you worked under a lot of pressure; how did you react? The purpose is to find out if, beyond your technical background, you know how to react positively to a work conflict.
For example, a problem with code or disputes between work teams. It is a popular interview technique used by tech recruiters to screen candidates and decide who deserves a second call.
15 most common interview questions for programmers Here we’ve put together
Questions you can expect to come up in your interview
– write them down! Describe a situation where you had to adapt to changes you had no control over – how did you manage it? Tell us about a mistake you made; how did you handle it? Do you have a personal project, or did you start something on your own initiative? Tell us about it. Have you ever disagreed with your boss? How did you resolve it? Tell us about a situation where you had to present a programming problem to a person who didn’t understand the technical jargon; how did you make sure that person understood you? Tell me about a time when you had to speak up and be assertive in order to get across an idea that was important to you. Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a conflict within your team; how did you resolve it? Give me an example of a time when you were faced with a complex issue related to a project, and you couldn’t decide how best to deal with it. What did you do? How did you make the decision? If you could make the decision again, would you change anything? Recall a circumstance in which you were unable to achieve a project goal that was set by your supervisor. How did you handle this situation? What was the outcome? Tell me about a recent situation at work where you were able to convince your boss to accept one of your ideas. Tell me about a situation where you were responsible for planning the project. Did everything go as you planned? If not, why and what kind of counter-attacks did you have to take?
Describe a situation where you had to work in a team that didn’t get along very well; what happened, what did you do and what role did you take on, and how did the situation evolve? Tell me about the most difficult situation you have had in leading a team, what happened and how did you handle it, were you successful, and what was the most important thing you did? Tell me about a situation where you had trouble working under pressure. How did you handle that situation? did you decide to ask for help? How and when did you ask for help? We live in an ever-changing environment, so recruiters not only consider your level of experience and your professional background, they are looking for programmers who are quick to adapt to change, flexible and who perform exceptionally well under tight deadlines.
Tips to prepare for your Behavioral Interviews for programmers You won’t be able to anticipate all the questions you’ll be asked. But if you have a good set of anecdotes, you’ll be more confident in your answers because you’ll have refreshed all those past events where you showed your true potential.
Here are some tips on how to ace your Behavioral Interviews as if you can read the recruiter’s mind. Study the requirements of the job you are applying for.Recruiters will often base their questions on the requirements of the job you are applying for. Their goal is to recruit the person who best matches the skills and behaviours needed for the job. Look critically at the list of requirements detailed in the job offer and think about how you can align your past work experience with it. Another trick is to review the company’s information to identify their values and culture, so you will also know what indicators they are looking for in their employees.
List all situations where you played a key role. You won’t be able to anticipate all the questions you will be asked, but if you have a good set of anecdotes, you will be better prepared as you will have refreshed all those past events where you showed your true potential. List those moments where you played an important role in solving problems, leading a team or communicating progress with a very important client. Write them down on a piece of paper or in a note app and memorise them.
Remember what actions you took to achieve good results. Don’t stay on the surface. Remember that specific moment when they were collapsing and losing their heads in frustration? You kept your cool and found a creative and effective way to solve the problem. Don’t just stay on the surface, either. Don’t just say ”I helped solve this problem, and everything worked out fine”. Be detailed by offering tangible facts ”I got our company a million-dollar contract by making an effective presentation about our new marketing automation software for marketing firms”. Don’t be modest or downplay your past contributions to your old job. In the Behavioral Interviews for programmers, you should let your skills shine and show yourself to be the best problem solver.
Make a list of all your professional achievements. From developing a prototype App that got you recognition at your university to projects you successfully completed as a freelance programmer. Or even a promotion at your former company because of your ability to lead teams. Bring out all the professional achievements you have had so far.
Keep your answers to less than 2 minutes. You won’t have much time to give a lengthy explanation of how you solved a problem. And if you overdo it, the recruiter may not be able to continue with the rest of the set of questions. Shorten your answers to less than 2 minutes. Be concise and brief, highlighting the most relevant facts. Answer straight to the point. Present the context of your problem, describe your role and end with the results you obtained.
Use the STAR Method to structure your answers. The formula for responding successfully in your Behavioural Interviews for programmers is to give clear, brief examples that show how your experience and skills make you the best fit for the job. But to do this, you need to communicate in an organised and timely manner. You can use the Star Method to better structure and prepare for your Behavioural Interviews for programmers. By using this method, you will create a narrative arc of your work life that the interviewer can easily follow.
Organise your answers by following these four steps:
Situation
Put the recruiter in context. By establishing the situation, you explain to the recruiter when this event took place. For example: ”I was assigned the task of leading a conflicting team who never agreed and were impeding the progress of the project”.
Task
Here you should identify your role in the situation, that heroic character who always resolves the knots in stories or films. An example of this would be ”my role was to achieve good communication in the team, achieving an assertive exchange of opinions”.
Action
What was your achievement? ”I had meetings with them; we sat down and talked about the substance of the problem and how their attitudes were affecting the completion of the project. By maintaining a leadership position and understanding their needs, we were able to share a common vision and move the project forward in a harmonious and aligned environment.
Result
The outcome of your story is intangible data. We finished the project on time, always working as a team and knowing how to overcome conflicts when they arose. My boss congratulated me for knowing how to lead one of the most stormy teams in the company”.
Practice your answers out loud
Hearing your answers in your own voice will help you memorise them. One tip we recommend is to set the timer on your mobile phone while talking to a fictitious recruiter in front of your mirror. By doing this, you will identify how long it takes you to answer. This way, you can reduce the content of your answers or supplement them with a bit of information if you have time to spare.
Take soft-skills courses.
The questions in this type of interview revolve around soft skills: problem-solving, flexibility, leadership, communication, stress management, time management, etc. It is therefore important to train yourself in these skills in order to enhance these traits and face your future interviews with success. Take some time to educate yourself on soft skills before applying for a job in the tech industry. Keep in mind that competition is fierce, and if, in addition to your technical skills, you have well-developed soft skills, that job already has your name on it.