This is an article that was published in QUINTCAREERS, the author talks about “Behavioral Interview Strategies”.

Behavioral interviewing is a relatively new mode of job interviewing. Employers such as AT&T and Accenture have been using behavioral interviewing for about 15 years now, and because increasing numbers of employers are using behavior-based methods to screen job candidates, understanding how to excel in this interview environment is becoming a crucial job-hunting skill.

The premise behind behavioral interviewing is that the most accurate predictor of future performance is past performance in similar situations. Behavioral interviewing, in fact, is said to be 55 percent predictive of future on-the-job behavior, while traditional interviewing is only 10 percent predictive.

Behavioral-based interviewing is touted as providing a more objective set of facts to make employment decisions than other interviewing methods. Traditional interview questions ask you general questions such as “Tell me about yourself.” The process of behavioral interviewing is much more probing and works very differently.

In a traditional job-interview, you can usually get away with telling the interviewer what he or she wants to hear, even if you are fudging a bit on the truth. Even if you are asked situational questions that start out “How would you handle XYZ situation?” you have minimal accountability. How does the interviewer know, after all, if you would really react in a given situation the way you say you would? In a behavioral interview, however, it’s much more difficult to give responses that are untrue to your character. When you start to tell a behavioral story, the behavioral interviewer typically will pick it apart to try to get at the specific behavior(s). The interviewer will probe further for more depth or detail such as “What were you thinking at that point?” or “Tell me more about your meeting with that person,” or “Lead me through your decision process.” If you’ve told a story that’s anything but totally honest, your response will not hold up through the barrage of probing questions.

Employers use the behavioral interview technique to evaluate a candidate’s experiences and behaviors so they can determine the applicant’s potential for success. The interviewer identifies job-related experiences, behaviors, knowledge, skills and abilities that the company has decided are desirable in a particular position. For example, some of the characteristics that Accenture looks for include:

• Critical thinking
• Being a self-starter
• Willingness to learn
• Willingness to travel
• Self-confidence
• Teamwork
• Professionalism

The employer then structures very pointed questions to elicit detailed responses aimed at determining if the candidate possesses the desired characteristics. Questions (often not even framed as a question) typically start out: “Tell about a time…” or “Describe a situation…” Many employers use a rating system to evaluate selected criteria during the interview.

As a candidate, you should be equipped to answer the questions thoroughly. Obviously, you can prepare better for this type of interview if you know which skills that the employer has predetermined to be necessary for the job you seek. Researching the company and talking to people who work there will enable you to zero in on the kinds of behaviors the company wants.

In the interview, your response needs to be specific and detailed. Candidates who tell the interviewer about particular situations that relate to each question will be far more effective and successful than those who respond in general terms.

Ideally, you should briefly describe the situation, what specific action you took to have an effect on the situation, and the positive result or outcome. Frame it in a three-step process, usually called a S-A-R, P-A-R, or S-T-A-R statement:

1. Situation (or task, problem)
2. Action
3. Result/outcome

It’s difficult to prepare for a behavior-based interview because of the huge number and variety of possible behavioral questions you might be asked. The best way to prepare is to arm yourself with a small arsenal of example stories that can be adapted to many behavioral questions.

Despite the many possible behavioral questions, you can get some idea of what to expect by looking at Web sites that feature behavioral questions, including:

• Sample Behavioral Interview Questions
• Job Interview Question Database
• Behavioral Interviewing

Knowing what kinds of questions might be asked will help you prepare an effective selection of examples.

Use examples from internships classes and school projects, activities, team participation, community service, hobbies and work experience — anything really — as examples of your past behavior. In addition, you may use examples of special accomplishments, whether personal or professional, such as scoring the winning touchdown, being elected president of your Greek organization, winning a prize for your artwork, surfing a big wave, or raising money for charity. Wherever possible, quantify your results. Numbers always impress employers.

Remember that many behavioral questions try to get at how you responded to negative situations; you’ll need to have examples of negative experiences ready, but try to choose negative experiences that you made the best of or — better yet, those that had positive outcomes.

Here’s a good way to prepare for behavior-based interviews:

• Identify six to eight examples from your past experience where you demonstrated top behaviors and skills that employers typically seek. Think in terms of examples that will exploit your top selling points.
• Half your examples should be totally positive, such as accomplishments or meeting goals.
• The other half should be situations that started out negatively but either ended positively or you made the best of the outcome.
• Vary your examples; don’t take them all from just one area of your life.
• Use fairly recent examples. If you’re a college student, examples from high school may be too long ago. Accenture, in fact, specifies that candidates give examples of behaviors demonstrated within the last year.
• Try to describe examples in story form and/or PAR/SAR/STAR.

To cram for a behavioral interview right before you’re interviewed, review your resume. Seeing your achievements in print will jog your memory.

In the interview, listen carefully to each question, and pull an example out of your bag of tricks that provides an appropriate description of how you demonstrated the desired behavior. With practice, you can learn to tailor a relatively small set of examples to respond to a number of different behavioral questions.

Once you’ve snagged the job, keep a record of achievements and accomplishments so you’ll be ready with more great examples the next time you go on a behavior interview.

This is an article that was published in WHAKATE, the author gives ideas on how employees can be effective in a work place.

The season right-sizing is just starting to cool off, but the stress at work to deliver results is not seeing any signs of abating. A recent study cited in CNN’s “How to Leave Work at the Office” claimed that more than 30% of workers take work home just to cope with the work load.

Indeed, there is a better way to achieve career success while “finding the right balance in life”, but you will need to decide to not succumb to the pressures of your work and take steps to rise above the situation.

To achieve this, you must first put an end to time-wasting activities. One of the best ways to do this is to hold more effective meetings. Both Seth Godin and Entrepreneur.com give solid advice for making meetings work: Get people to do their homework ahead of time, ban laptops and distracting devices, and remove all chairs in the conference rooms.

Another idea is to end the “busyness” mindset, characterized by plenty of motion without any clear results. Contrary to the intention of busyness, most people caught up in it usually end up with low energy levels and procrastinate at work.

An important thing to watch for, as Stepcase LifeHack warns, is physical and mental burnout. Prevent it early by learning new ways of doing old work and by remembering to give yourself a break.

After you eliminate these self-sabotaging behaviors, it is time to get better at what you do. Lifehacker shows us how to handle the information overload by batching tasks and using software to filter off non-important items from your attention.

Never forget your values and principles and always remember to pay attention to detail, says Stepcase Lifehack, while reviewing the ideas from a book based on Bear Bryant, famous coach and leader figure.

CNN tells us that work-life balance can be achieved by setting clear boundaries for work and home, and by organizing and prioritizing how your time is spent. The article – angled at parents but clearly applicable to all workers – also suggests forming a support group of people from similar backgrounds to help when challenges become insurmountable.

There’s a saying, “Find a job you enjoy, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” I wouldn’t say dream jobs are easy…even dream jobs can be hard work, but, it does make life much easier when you are doing something you love.

What’s Your Dream Job?

What type of job do you dream about? Some of us know from an early age what we want to do when we grow up. Others are still trying to figure it out. Still some have tried a career or two, and then went on to do something completely different with their lives. The days of working for the same company for a lifetime are long gone and in some industries having one job for a significant period of time is frowned upon rather than considered an asset. So, it’s quite acceptable in today’s workplace to consider a variety of career options.

It’s interesting to see the wide variety of jobs that visitors’ to this site dream about:

• Stand-up comedienne on a cruise ship for singles
• Jockey
• Concert promoter for charity
• Help disadvantaged families
• Work for an outdoor adventure travel
• Work for a cruise line or any fun and adventure job
• Freelance writer or editor
• Track the number of words a variety of animals could learn to differentiate
• Work for a dolphin therapy organization
• Travel the world and bring joy and change to the lives of others
• The best martial arts superstar there ever lived
• Work for the gaming industry
• Thoroughbred Racing/Training/Breeding farm owner

How to Find Your Dream Job

You will be excited to know that ChennaiJobSite.Com had organized an invaluable workshop on “How to get a Dream Job and Excel” over three consecutive weekends. We sponsored this mini workshop as a value-added service to all our job seekers registered in our site www.ChennaiJobSite.com to help them get very well placed. Many aspirants participated in this workshop and benefited tremendously.

As you can see, dreams come in all shapes and sizes. They are often more attainable than you think. When starting to follow your dreams, the first step to take is deciding what it is you really want to do with your life. Assess where you are and what you need to do to achieve your dream. You may wish to:

1. Research career options and potential employers to discover what it is you really want to do.
2. Be cognizant of the top industries and career fields for job seekers and be aware of the options that are available for you given your skills and experience.
3. Consider a short-term work experience or an internship as a way to experiment with different positions. You do not need to make a long-term commitment and you will have the opportunity to test the waters with jobs that sound interesting.
4. Gain new skills to accomplish your goals, consider going back to school to get the appropriate training.
5. Consider voluntary work to build up your experience.

Then follow your dreams as best you can…