An overview of

1. Title of presentation Start
Graduate Head 2013
Name of presenter
BEHAVIOURAL QUESTIONS
Title of presenter
School / Development
CareerFaculty / Division Centre
La Trobe University
xx Month 201x
20 February 2013
latrobe.edu.au CRICOS Provider 00115M

2. Types of questions: behavioural questions
Behavioural/Competency-Based Questions
• Used at application and interview stages
• Companies identify the competencies required to do the job
– these form the basis of the questions
• “We can predict future performance from past behaviour”
• You are asked to discuss concrete EXAMPLES from your own
experiences to prove you possess the required competencies
Cues:
• “Can you tell me about a time when….?”
• “Can you give us an example of a time when…….?”
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3. Example Questions
Communication
“Can you give us an example of a time when you had to
deliver a difficult message to an individual or
team?”
Teamwork
“Can you give me an example of a time when you have
been part of a successful team?”
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4. Tips for answering behavioural questions
• Don’t provide general statements such as “I have extremely
well developed communication skills” without backing it up
with evidence.
• Provide real examples from your studies, work, and extra-
curricular activities that are relevant and specific.
• Include an indicator of success or the result.
• Try to use a different example for each question.
• Adhere to word limits.
• Don’t exaggerate or apologise.
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5. Structure your response in a four-step process: S T A R
S ituation – What was the situation/context
T ask – What was the task/event you encountered
A ction – Describe the action you took
R esult – What was the outcome
Use specific examples - ideally within past 1-2 years, from
your studies, placements, employment, voluntary activities.
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6. Situation Describe the situation / environment you were in
Include context, details and time.
Task What did you need to accomplish to deal with the situation?
What was your role concerning the problem, issue or assignment?
Action What did you do?
Set out the steps you took to resolve the situation
Provide detail – how you listened to the unhappy customer. What
strategy did you use to manage your time? How did you influence
your team?
Result What happened? What did you accomplish? What did you learn?
Promote yourself and your achievements
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7. Example
Can you tell us about a time you have demonstrated excellent
organisational skills?
I have developed excellent organisational skills through my part-
time job as an event assistant at XYZ Events. In this role I am
responsible for booking staff to set up marquees at private
functions. To perform this job I need to identify all jobs booked for
that day, calculate how many staff are needed to set up each
event, and ensure that there is sufficient time to set up each
event by the time required.
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8. Example - action
Excellent organisational skills
Last month I discovered that one of the sales staff had booked an
event, but forgot to enter the booking into the system. As I had
already created the schedule for the event staff to follow, it was
too late to make changes. I quickly made some phone calls to
other event staff not rostered on for the day and found two
people who were able to come to work immediately. I then
arranged for a spare truck to be loaded with the marquees, so
that when the event staff arrived, they were able to deliver the
marquee to the customer immediately.
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9. Example - result
Excellent organisational skills
The result was that the marquee was set up in time, thus avoiding
a major disruption to the customers’ event. My supervisor was
very impressed with the work that I did to resolve the issue and
gave me some movie tickets as a small reward.
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10. Thank you
Contact Us:
Bundoora: Level 1, Peribolos East
9479 2459
www.latrobe.edu.au/students/careers
careers@latrobe.edu.au
@LTUcareers
www.facebook.com/LaTrobeCareers
latrobe.edu.au CRICOS Provider 00115M