A job interview rarely determines whether a person has valuable experience. It determines whether that person can communicate the value of that experience clearly.
During our BMG 205 Customer Experience course at Washtenaw Community College, instructor John Mira introduced the class to behavioral interviewing. He began using this approach in 2008 while helping hire more than 300 employees for the launch of an AT&T call center in downtown Detroit.
Behavioral interviews ask candidates to describe specific situations from their past. Instead of asking only what someone would do, the interviewer asks what the candidate has already done.
This approach gives candidates an opportunity to prove their skills through real examples involving leadership, communication, customer service, teamwork, conflict, problem-solving, adaptability, and accountability.
What Is Behavioral Interviewing?
Behavioral interviewing is based on the idea that a person’s past actions can provide useful information about how that person may approach similar situations in the future.
Traditional interview questions may include:
- What are your strengths?
- Why should we hire you?
- How would you handle an upset customer?
- Are you a team player?
These questions can still be useful, but they allow candidates to speak in generalities.
Behavioral questions require specific evidence:
- Tell me about a time you handled an upset customer.
- Describe a situation in which you had competing deadlines.
- Give me an example of a mistake you made and how you corrected it.
- Tell me about a time you disagreed with a supervisor or team member.
- Describe a situation in which you had to learn something quickly.
- Give me an example of how you improved a process.
The interviewer is not only listening for a positive ending. That person is evaluating how the candidate thinks, communicates, accepts responsibility, and responds under pressure.
Why Specific Examples Are More Convincing
Almost any candidate can say, “I provide excellent customer service.”
A stronger candidate explains what excellent service looked like in a real situation.
For example:
A customer contacted me because she was uncertain whether a resale item would fit. I reviewed the listing, took additional measurements and photographs, and explained the garment’s condition clearly. The additional information helped her make a confident purchasing decision and reduced the risk of disappointment after delivery.
This answer is more persuasive because it contains evidence.
Behavioral answers also make it more difficult to rely entirely on rehearsed claims. Interviewers can ask follow-up questions about what happened, who was involved, what the candidate personally did, and what changed as a result.
Behavioral interviewing is not a perfect method for predicting performance, but it can give employers a clearer picture of how a candidate has applied important skills.
Use the STAR Method to Organize Your Answer
One of the best ways to answer a behavioral question is the STAR method:
- Situation: Explain the setting or problem.
- Task: Identify your responsibility or goal.
- Action: Describe the specific steps you took.
- Result: Explain the outcome and what you learned.
The U.S. Department of Labor recommends using evidence, specific examples, numbers, and short stories when appropriate. The Department of Veterans Affairs also recommends STAR for performance-based interviews because it helps candidates provide complete answers without getting lost in unnecessary details.
S Is for Situation
Begin by giving enough background for the interviewer to understand what was happening.
A useful situation is specific:
“While working as an office manager, I received an urgent request involving records that several departments needed before a deadline.”
Avoid spending several minutes describing every person or event connected to the situation. The interviewer only needs the information required to understand the challenge.
T Is for Task
Next, explain your responsibility.
What result were you expected to produce? What problem needed to be solved? What role did you personally hold?
For example:
“I was responsible for locating the correct records, confirming their accuracy, and coordinating with the departments before the deadline.”
The task should make your individual responsibility clear, especially if the example involves a team.
A Is for Action
The action section should receive the most attention because it reveals how you approached the situation.
Explain what you did:
“I reviewed the available records, created a checklist of missing information, contacted each department, verified the final documents, and provided progress updates so everyone knew what remained.”
Avoid answering every question with “we” unless you also explain your personal contribution.
An employer may appreciate teamwork, but the interviewer still needs to understand what skills you would bring to the position.
R Is for Result
Finish with the outcome.
Whenever possible, include a number, improvement, customer response, completed goal, or lesson:
“The records were completed before the deadline, the departments received accurate information, and the checklist became a tool we could use for similar requests.”
Not every story must end perfectly. Employers may ask about mistakes, missed goals, or conflicts.
A strong answer can still demonstrate growth:
“The first approach did not work, so I accepted responsibility, asked for feedback, changed the process, and prevented the same problem from happening again.”
Accountability is more credible than pretending you have never made a mistake.
Donnetta’s Behavioral Interview Example
Donnetta has decades of experiences that can become strong interview stories, including service in the United States Air Force, approximately 30 years in office management with Ann Arbor Public Schools, returning to college, and building Dee & Dee Brown LLC.
Question: Tell me about a time you had to adapt to a major change.
Situation: After more than 40 years away from college, I returned as an adult student while managing chronic health conditions and using current online learning technology.
Task: I needed to complete my courses successfully while learning unfamiliar systems and balancing medical, household, and business responsibilities.
Action: I created structured weekly plans, reviewed assignment instructions early, asked questions when requirements were unclear, organized course materials digitally, and divided larger assignments into smaller stages. I also connected class concepts with my professional experience and our business.
Result: I successfully completed complex assignments, received positive instructor feedback, and immediately applied customer-experience and management concepts to Dee & Dee Brown LLC. The experience strengthened my confidence and proved that I can learn new systems at any stage of life.
This answer demonstrates adaptability, planning, initiative, technology learning, and resilience.
Dominique’s Behavioral Interview Example
Dominique can draw from mechanical engineering, caregiving, college, technology, e-commerce, and business operations.
Question: Tell me about a time you managed competing priorities.
Situation: I was balancing my own college assignments, caregiving responsibilities, household needs, and operational work for our mother-daughter business.
Task: I needed to help complete customer orders and business tasks without allowing important school or caregiving responsibilities to be overlooked.
Action: I reviewed the week’s fixed deadlines, separated urgent tasks from tasks that could wait, grouped similar business activities, and coordinated responsibilities with my mother. I also left flexible time for medical or caregiving needs that could change unexpectedly.
Result: We continued meeting customer and household responsibilities while completing our academic work. The experience helped us recognize the need for clearer roles, shared planning, and repeatable operating systems.
This example demonstrates time management, caregiving, collaboration, prioritization, and business operations.
Build a STAR Story Bank
Candidates should not attempt to memorize an entirely different script for every possible interview question.
A better strategy is to prepare a STAR story bank containing six to ten flexible examples.
Prepare stories involving:
- A difficult customer
- A conflict or disagreement
- A mistake and what you learned
- A successful team project
- A time you showed leadership
- A process you improved
- A major change you handled
- A difficult deadline
- A goal you achieved
- A time you went beyond expectations
One story may answer several different questions depending on which skill you emphasize.
For example, a story about resolving a customer’s concern may demonstrate communication, patience, problem-solving, initiative, or conflict resolution.
Behavioral Interview Questions to Practice
Use these questions to prepare:
- Tell me about a time you dealt with a difficult customer.
- Describe a time you had to learn a new system quickly.
- Give me an example of a difficult decision you made.
- Tell me about a time you worked with someone whose approach differed from yours.
- Describe a time you received constructive criticism.
- Tell me about a goal you did not meet.
- Give me an example of how you improved a process.
- Describe a time you had too many responsibilities at once.
- Tell me about a time you took initiative without being asked.
- Give me an example of how you handled confidential information.
- Describe a time you had to communicate complicated information clearly.
- Tell me about a time you made an upset customer feel heard.
Practice speaking the answers aloud. A response that looks clear on paper may sound too long or confusing when spoken.
Common Behavioral Interview Mistakes
Giving a General Answer
“I always stay calm with customers” does not provide evidence. Describe one specific interaction.
Spending Too Long on the Situation
The interviewer does not need a complete history. Provide brief context and move into your actions.
Saying “We” Without Explaining Your Contribution
Acknowledge the team, but clearly identify what you personally did.
Leaving Out the Result
Do not stop after explaining your actions. Tell the interviewer what happened.
Blaming Other People
Even if someone else contributed to the problem, focus on your response and what you controlled.
Inventing or Exaggerating a Story
Interviewers may ask detailed follow-up questions. Use authentic examples you can discuss confidently.
Using an Example Without a Lesson
If the result was unsuccessful, explain what you learned and what you would do differently.
Experience Comes From More Than Paid Employment
Students, returning workers, veterans, caregivers, and entrepreneurs sometimes assume they do not have enough examples because they have not recently held a traditional job.
Behavioral examples can come from:
- Military service
- College projects
- Volunteer work
- Caregiving
- Community organizations
- Internships
- Entrepreneurship
- Freelance work
- Customer service
- Family responsibilities
- Previous careers
The experience must be relevant, truthful, and clearly connected to the skill the employer is evaluating.
Caregiving, for example, can demonstrate scheduling, advocacy, patience, communication, recordkeeping, and crisis management. Business ownership can demonstrate initiative, customer service, budgeting, decision-making, and accountability.
Preparing for Internal Promotions
Behavioral interviews are also used when employees apply for promotions or transfer within their current organizations.
Internal candidates should not assume that interviewers already know everything they have accomplished.
Prepare specific examples that demonstrate:
- Readiness for greater responsibility
- Positive influence on coworkers
- Knowledge of the organization
- Measurable accomplishments
- Leadership without formal authority
- Willingness to learn
- Ability to solve department-level problems
- Understanding of the new position
An internal interview still requires preparation. Familiarity with the organization is an advantage, not a replacement for evidence.
Turning Business Experience Into Interview Evidence
Our work with Dee & Dee Brown LLC provides both of us with valuable behavioral examples.
We can discuss times when we:
- Resolved a customer concern
- Improved a product listing
- Managed thousands of products
- Maintained a 4.9-star customer rating
- Coordinated shipping and packaging
- Learned a new digital platform
- Responded to changes in an online marketplace
- Developed promotional materials
- Used customer feedback to improve
- Divided responsibilities as business partners
- Balanced entrepreneurship with college and caregiving
These are not “just” small-business tasks. They are evidence of transferable professional skills.
The key is explaining them clearly enough for an employer to recognize their value.
Our Final Takeaway
Behavioral interviewing allows candidates to replace unsupported claims with evidence.
Instead of simply saying you are a leader, describe a time you guided others through a challenge. Instead of claiming you solve problems, explain the problem, your actions, and the outcome. Instead of saying you are adaptable, tell the story that proves it.
For Donnetta and Dominique, behavioral interview preparation is also an opportunity to recognize how much experience we already possess.
Military service, office management, engineering, caregiving, education, customer service, and entrepreneurship have given us a deep collection of real examples.
The STAR method helps us transform those experiences into clear professional stories.
Your experience has value—but during an interview, you must be prepared to communicate it.
Watch the recommended behavioral interviewing video, review the Department of Labor’s Interview Skills Participant Guide, and explore the VA’s guidance on using the STAR technique.
About Dee & Dee Brown LLC: Dee & Dee Brown LLC is a veteran-owned mother-daughter business focused on e-commerce, entrepreneurship, education, digital content, and creating opportunities through resilience and lifelong learning.
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