by Janice Heath

Created on: July 03, 2009

An interview which is behavior based is one in which you will be called upon to provide examples of your behavior which demonstrate your skills and abilities relevant to the requirements of the job. The examples you give at interview enable the prospective employer to gain an idea of how you have behaved in the past in particular circumstances and may therefore be expected to behave in the future in similar circumstances. They will have a list of requirements, known as competencies or criteria, against which they will assess your responses.

Succeeding in a behavioral based job interview is a matter of demonstrating through your examples that you have the required skills, capabilities and personal qualities to meet the requirements of the job. To do this effectively you need to be able to verbalise your experience and skills in a logical, positive and structured manner.

Before attending a behavioral based interview there are several steps you can take to prepare yourself. First of all you need to find out as much as you can about what the employer is looking for. If there is a job advertisement, you can gain some clues through this. For example, an advertisement stating wanted - team player with excellent communication skills clearly shows you will need to provide examples of your ability to work in a team and communicate effectively with colleagues and clients. Obtain a job description if possible; this is the best guide to the required competencies for the particular job. If you are working with a recruiter they should be able to give you some indication of the employer's requirements. It is also a great idea to research the company yourself to find out as much as you can about their culture and their goals to enable you to familiarize yourself with their values and assist you in tailoring your responses to their needs.

Having gained an idea of the kinds of competencies you may be asked to demonstrate at interview you can go through your resume and identify particular occasions upon which you have evidenced the appropriate skills. If you do not have a lot of work experience you can utilize experiences from your time at school or college or your involvement with community and sporting activities.

During the interview you will frequently be asked to structure your responses in the following way:

1. To explain briefly what the circumstances were (where you were working, what the issue, task or goal was);

2. The action you

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