"How to Prepare for a Behavioural Interview"

“Tell me about a time when…”

If you’ve interviewed recently, you’ve heard this. Behavioural interviews are now standard in Australia – and most candidates prepare poorly.

Here’s how to actually prepare.

What Are Behavioural Questions?

Behavioural questions ask for specific examples from your past. The theory: past behaviour predicts future behaviour.

Examples:

• Tell me about a time you dealt with a difficult customer
• Describe a situation where you had to meet a tight deadline
• Give an example of when you disagreed with your manager

They want real stories, not hypotheticals.

The STAR Method

Structure every answer using STAR:

Situation: Set the scene (brief context)
Task: What you needed to do
Action: What you actually did (the bulk of your answer)
Result: What happened (quantify if possible)

Keep answers to 2-3 minutes. Longer than that, you’re rambling.

Example STAR Answer

Question: “Tell me about a time you dealt with a difficult stakeholder.”

“In my last role, we were implementing a new CRM system. The Sales Director was resistant – he thought it would slow his team down. (Situation)

I needed to get his buy-in for the project to succeed. (Task)

I scheduled a one-on-one to understand his specific concerns. Turned out he’d had a bad experience with a previous system. I arranged for him to visit another company using our proposed CRM successfully, and I involved him in selecting key features. (Action)

He became one of the project’s biggest supporters. We launched on time and his team’s adoption was the highest in the company. (Result)”

Prepare 6-8 Stories

Most behavioural questions cover similar themes:

• Leadership/influence
• Teamwork/collaboration
• Problem-solving
• Dealing with difficult people
• Meeting deadlines/pressure
• Failure/learning from mistakes
• Initiative/going above and beyond

Prepare stories that can flex across multiple themes. One good example might answer three different questions.

What If You Don’t Have an Example?

If you genuinely can’t think of a work example, you can use:

• Volunteer work
• University projects
• Sports teams or clubs
• Personal situations (sparingly)

But try to have mostly professional examples.

Practice Out Loud

Behavioural answers feel awkward if you haven’t practised. Run through your stories until they flow naturally.

Don’t memorise word-for-word – you’ll sound robotic. Know the key points and tell the story conversationally.

Common Mistakes

• Giving vague answers without specifics
• Saying “we” instead of “I” (they want YOUR contribution)
• Forgetting the result
• Stories that don’t show you in a good light
• Taking too long to get to the point

If you have interviews coming up and want to practice your behavioural answers with feedback, book a session. We’ll work through your stories and sharpen them.