Georgetown University: School of Foreign Service in Qatar

Behavioral questions focus on past performance and behaviors. By asking questions about your past behavior, employers are able to see how you may behave in the future.

Giving Structure to Your Responses

You will be asked to cite an example, like a time you juggled many responsibilities simultaneously. Pause to gather your thoughts to determine a prime example of multi-tasking and begin. The STAR technique allows you to highlight the relevant pieces and gives structure to your answer:

• S = Situation
• T = Task
• A = Action
• R = Results

Devote more of your response time to the Action and Results sections since this is what the employer is really asking about. Also, focus on your behavior, not that of others involved in the story. If the interviewer doesn't explicitly request an example, give one anyway. They may be trying to trick you.

Sample Behavioral Questions

• Tell me about a time when you worked as part of a team and one team member wasn’t carrying his or her weight.
• When have you failed?
• How do you deal with conflict and give me an example?
• Tell me when you took initiative on a project and had it succeed.
• Tell me about a time when you worked with someone you didn’t like and whose value system was different from yours.
• Give me a specific example of a time when you had to conform to a policy with which you did not agree.
• Describe a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills.

This information is provided as a courtesy of Georgetown University's Career Education Center.

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