Follow these tips that will help you uncover answers to common behavioral job interview questions.

Several employers in the hospitality industry are forgoing the traditional job interview format and are instead opting to use behavioral interviewing which has grown in usage over the past decade. Behavioral interviewing, unlike traditional interviewing methods, differs in that it allows an employer to ask the candidate what they have done in past situations, rather than what they would do in a given situation. The behavioral interview provides the employer a clear sense of the candidate’s experiences, knowledge, skills, abilities, and is a good indicator of a person’s future job performance.

Behavioral interview questions are often tricky and require much more than a yes or no answer. Some of these questions can seem out of place, intrusive, or even outrageous until you consider what the employer is trying to discern about your character, personality, and ethics.

The following tips will help address behavioral job interview questions and offer some answers that can help you present yourself more professionally. Don’t forget that interviewers usually make their decisions in the first minute, and then look for reasons to support their conclusions. That means if there is a message you need to deliver, express it as soon as you can in the beginning of the job interview. Here are common questions that you may encounter and what interviewers are looking for in your responses.

Q: Have you ever disagreed with your supervisor or team members on a decision they made? What did you do?
A: Your core ethics and whether you are too easily influenced.

Q: Talk about a task that required presentation skills and how you prepared for it.
A: Your ability to match your speaking style with the listener, instead of just
repeating yourself in a louder voice.

Q: Give me an example about a time you failed.
A: Your ability to handle and learn from past failures.

Q: What are some goals that you achieved and how did you do it?
A: The goal and result are not important. This is a test of your confidence and enthusiasm in communication, which is critical to engaging with others.

Q: What do you do to cope with stressful situations when guests complain?
A: They want to make sure you do not have an explosive temper.

Q: Did you ever had to follow a policy you didn’t agree with? What were the
results?
A: Putting professionalism above ego.

Q: Can you point to a task that required extraordinary diligence?
A: Your ability to focus on a task to completion despite fatigue and distractions.

Q: If you must make a decision under time pressure, how do you prioritize?
A: Testing your temper and detail orientation.

Q: How do you motivate other people to accomplish tasks that you have prioritized?
A: Leadership potential.

Q: Tell me how your past experience will translate into the success in this job position at this hospitality establishment?
A: Testing your legitimacy and competency as a candidate.

Prepare the most engaging stories about your skills and experience, then practice telling them in front of a friend or a video camera. Make these stories fit the questions that are asked, which requires that you listen very carefully to the interviewer’s question. You will need to specifically address the question asked directly in the story, so repeat or paraphrase the question back to the interviewer if you need a moment to prepare. Good interviewers will understand that this is a stressful situation, and bad interviewers will be impressed with your listening skills.