Page 78 - Carlson School GBCC Career Guide

The Interview: What To Expect (continued) Behavioral Questions
Behavioral interview questions are the most common type of interview questions asked by graduate business recruiters. These interview questions are based on the premise that past performance is the best predictor of future success. With these types of questions, you will walk your interviewer through “stories” that illustrate how you have behaved in the past—at work, internships, in the classroom. These questions will focus on both high points in your career, as well as challenges that you’ve encountered. Most behavioral questions are designed to assess your proficiency in a number of critical leadership areas such as:
• Drive and Initiative
• Strategic Thinking
• Adaptability and Resilience
• Planning and Organization
• Teamwork and Collaboration
• Interpersonal and Communication Skills • Analytical and Problem Solving Skills
• Influence/Persuasion
Sample Behavioral Interview Questions
Tell me about a time when you...
• Encountered an unexpected challenge or obstacle in your work.
• Needed to motivate team members in a difficult situation.
• Gained support from others for an idea that you had.
• Needed to analyze an abundance of data to make a
INTERVIEWING
• Dealt with an uncooperative client, customer, or co-worker.
• Used a creative or innovative approach to solve a business problem.
Function-Specific or Technical Questions
Function-specific or technical interview questions are designed to test your knowledge and understanding of a specific function or industry. These questions are designed to assess whether
your academic and professional experiences have prepared you with the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in a particular functional area. Function-specific or technical interview questions are very common in finance (especially banking), and are becoming increasingly common in marketing, supply chain, and other areas of business. In order to answer these questions, you will have to rely on your knowledge, experience, and coursework. Unlike other types of interview questions, function- specific or technical interview questions generally do have a “right” answer.
Sample Function-Specific or Technical Interview Questions
• Walk me through how you prepare a discounted cash flow.
• What are the differences between selling into the grocery versus convenience channels?
• How would you decide to enter either a high-end or low-end market?
• What is an investment that is taken out specifically to reduce or cancel out the risk in another investment?
• What are the 4Ps of marketing?
business decision.
STAR TECHNIQUE
To answer behavioral questions, you should use the STAR technique:
SITUATION
TASK
ACTIONS
RESULT
Provide background to
the story and briefly set
the stage. You will want to keep this fairly short (no more than 30 seconds). Just provide enough information so that your listener will understand the context (e.g., your role, who you were working with).
Clearly explain the goal, plan, or objective. Be sure that you make this very clear before moving into the next section of your response.
Specifically state what you did in that situation. You should include more “I” statements than “we” statements to ensure that your interviewer understands what role you played in the situation. You should focus on your specific behaviors here, as well as your thoughts and feelings during the experience. This is where you should spend the majority of your time
in your response (your entire response, however, should generally not exceed two to three minutes).
Describe the impact
of your actions in quantitative (if possible). or measureable results. What was the final outcome to the situation? What was the final product of your work?
Be sure to include this important information as you conclude your story.
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