Behavioural based interviewing is based on discovering how the interviewee has acted in specific employment-related situations. The logic is that how you behaved in the past will predict how you will behave in the future i.e. past performance predicts future performance
Behavioural interview questions will be more pointed, more probing and more specific than traditional interview questions
The type of Competencies against which you will be assessed will depend on the seniority of the position, the company recruiting, whether it is an internal recruitment role or you are looking to work in an agency environment. Some companies will value the importance of certain competencies over others.
We have drafted example interview questions together based on the common competencies required to be a successful Recruitment Consultant. While the list of questions is by no way complete, it serves as an example of what you may be asked.
What's the best way to prepare?
Then, since you don't know exactly what situations you will be asked about if it's a behavioural interview, refresh your memory and consider some special situations you have dealt with or projects you have worked on. You may be able to use them to help frame responses. Prepare stories that illustrate times when you have successfully solved problems or performed memorably. The stories will be useful to help you respond meaningfully in a behavioural interview.
Finally, review the job description, the job posting or advert. You may be able to get a deeper sense of what skills and behavioural characteristics the employer is seeking from reading the job description and position requirements.
During the interview, if you are not sure how to answer the question then don’t be afraid to ask for clarification. Make sure you include these points in your answer:
• A specific situation
• The tasks that needed to be done
• The action you took
• The results i.e. what happened
It's important to keep in mind that there are no right or wrong answers. The interviewer is simply trying to understand how you behaved in a given situation. How you respond will determine if there is a fit between your skills and the position the company is seeking to fill. So, listen carefully, be clear and detailed when you respond and, most importantly, be honest. If your answers aren't what the interviewer is looking for, this position may not be the best job for you anyway.
PO Box 5653, St Georges Terrace, WA 6831 Tel: 08 9467 2329 www.aspirerecruitment.com.au
Aspire Recruitment Partners Pty Ltd ABN: 31 164 181 613

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Driven to Achieve Results - Ambitious and invests the time and energy to succeed.
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Talk to me about one of your greatest achievements in your personal life
Talk to me about your greatest achievement in your current role? What was it, what was your route to success, why are you proud of it etc
Tell me about how you set goals for yourself and how do you plan to achieve these goals.
Talk me through an example.
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Resilience and Tenacity – Deals with pressure, remains optimistic and persistent even under adversity. Recovers quickly from setbacks. Stays with a problem until a solution is reached.
What was the toughest situation you have ever faced in your life? How did you overcome it?
Tell me how you deal with setbacks in your day
Talk to me about a time you received negative feedback from your manager, what was the situation, how did you respond, how did you feel?
What makes you feel stressed in your current role, how do you handle that?
How do you work under pressure? Give me an example of a time you felt under considerable pressure, how did you deal with it?
Talk about a situation where you achieved a successful outcome when the odds were tacked against you.
Tell us about your biggest failure. What have you learnt from the experience?
Under what conditions do you work at your best and your worst?
Give me an example of when you lost your temper.
When was the last time you were upset with yourself? Tell me about the situation.
What makes you frustrated at work?
What is the biggest challenge you have faced so far in your career? How did you overcome it
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Team Oriented – Willingness to participate as a full member of a team of which he/ she is not necessarily the leader. Contributes effectively when team is working on something of no direct personal interest
• What do you enjoy most about working with others? What do you enjoy least and why?
Tell me about a situation when you suggested a new idea/ work practice to the team.
Talk to me about a team you have been a part of that functioned really well.
What have you done in your present company to improve the team culture?
How would your work colleagues describe you?
What qualities do you like to see in your time members and what don’t you like?
Tell me about a situation where you played an important role in a project as a member of the team – even though you were not the leader?
PO Box 5653, St Georges Terrace, WA 6831 Tel: 08 9467 2329 www.aspirerecruitment.com.au
Aspire Recruitment Partners Pty Ltd ABN: 31 164 181 613

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Give an example of when you were involved in a dysfunctional team. Why was it dysfunctional and how did you attempt to change things?
Give an example of when you had to deal with conflict within a team. How did you deal with it and how did you help to resolve the situation?
How do you build relationships with other members of your team?
Ability to influence others – ability to convince others to a different point of view, gain agreement and acceptance
Talk to us about a situation when you were able to influence others on an issue. What was your approach?
Describe a situation where you needed to influence different stakeholders who had differing agendas. What was your approach?
What is your worst selling experience?
Describe a time when you failed to sell an idea that you knew was the right one
Integrity - Acts ethically in business practices and builds professional relationships. Takes responsibility for own mistakes and follows through commitments
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Tell me about a time when you showed integrity and professionalism
What do you believe is meant by integrity as it applies to your current role?
Have you ever been asked to do something which you felt was not right? How did you deal with this?
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Customer Service Focus – The ability to focus effort on discovering and meeting customers' stated or unstated needs and expectations. Committed to continuous improvement of services
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How you do know if your customers are satisfied?
What do you enjoy most when dealing with your candidates?
What do you enjoy most when dealing with your clients?
What frustrates you with you candidates and clients and how do you handle this?
Can you give me an example of when you had to deal with a difficult/ unreasonable client?
What was the situation and how did you deal with it?
How have you dealt with unsatisfied a) clients b) candidates?
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Adaptable/ Flexible/ Adapts to Change – Adjusts to changing environments, tasks, responsibilities or people while maintaining effectiveness.
What changes have you experienced in the market in your present role? How have you responded to these changes? How do you feel about the change?
Can you give me an example of when you had to change to work around a new process/ procedure that you didn’t necessarily agree with? Talk me through how you dealt with this and how you felt about having to change
Tell us about the biggest change you have had to deal with. How did you cope with it?
PO Box 5653, St Georges Terrace, WA 6831 Tel: 08 9467 2329 www.aspirerecruitment.com.au
Aspire Recruitment Partners Pty Ltd ABN: 31 164 181 613

previously your approach
Describe a situation where you were asked to do something that you had never attempted
Give an example of a situation where your initial approach had failed and you had to change
If you were asked to recruit in a new discipline/ area you had no prior experience, how would you go about approaching this?
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Self-motivated/ Self Directed - Ability to satisfy a or goal without being influenced to do so by another person. Takes responsibility to assess own development needs, identifies resources, and continually looks for ways to improve performance.
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What motivates you? Give me examples.
What demotivates you? Give me examples
Talk to me about the parts of your job that you find most frustrating?
What kind of boss gets the best out of you? What do you expect from your manager?
Describe the company culture where you feel you will thrive
Talk to me about your career goal. What are your time frames?
Decisiveness – Readiness to make well- informed, effective and timely decisions, take actions and commit himself / herself
Give me some examples of when you have to make decisions quickly
How do you like to reach your decisions? How do you involve others in reaching a decision?
How did you reach the decision that it was time to look for another job?
Give me an example of when you had the make a decision without the input of key players
(i.e.: your boss) knowing that you may be judged by your superiors on that decision?
Tell me about a time you had to make a decision without knowing the full facts.
Tell us about a situation where you made a decision too quickly and got it wrong. What made you make that decision?
Give an example of when you had to delay making a decision to reflect on the situation. Why did you need to do this?
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Leadership - Effectively communicates a vision and is a positive role model to the team.
Anticipates and plans for change
Talk to me about a situation where you had to get a team to improve its performance. What were the problems and how did you address them?
What skills and attitudes do you look for in your team members?
Describe a situation when you had to lead a team through a period of change. How did you go about it?
Describe your natural leadership style. Describe a situation where you had to use different leadership styles to achieve your goal
PO Box 5653, St Georges Terrace, WA 6831 Tel: 08 9467 2329 www.aspirerecruitment.com.au
Aspire Recruitment Partners Pty Ltd ABN: 31 164 181 613

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Talk about a time when you faced reluctance from your team to accept the direction that you were settling. What was the situation and how did you deal with this?
What do you understand by the term leadership?
What do you think would be the most difficult task associated with being a manager? Talk us through a situation that you have personally found difficult
What do you or do you think you will enjoy most about being a manager? ...and least?
How would you go about further developing and mentoring a high achiever/ top performer in your team? Talk us through an example
Talk about how you would manage an under performer in your team
Talk to us about a situation when you coached a person to improve their skills / performance. What were you looking to achieve, what was your approach?
Describe a situation where you needed to inspire a team. What was the situation, what were the challenges and how did you achieve your objectives?
What type of responsibilities do you delegate? Give examples
Give an example of when you delegated a task to the wrong person? How did you make that decision, what happened and what did you learn from it?
How do you cope when you are away for the office, on holiday etc? Explain how you delegate your responsibilities
Talk to us about a change you had to make which you knew would be unpopular with a group of people/ your team. How did you handle the situation?
PO Box 5653, St Georges Terrace, WA 6831 Tel: 08 9467 2329 www.aspirerecruitment.com.au
Aspire Recruitment Partners Pty Ltd ABN: 31 164 181 613