Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills (stress tolerance)

The interviewer wants to know whether you are able to perform under pressure and cope with difficult situations. Show that you can stay calm under pressure and are able to plan to reduce stress.
"I worked for a manager who used to yell at me when he was under pressure to meet deadlines. (Situation)
I got upset the first couple of times and then I decided to talk to him about it. I empathized with the stress he was under and suggested that he communicated his expectations clearly to me on a daily basis so that I knew exactly when he needed something and I could also give him feedback on progress. We arranged an early morning feedback meeting every day. (Action)
This helped as we were able to sort out issues immediately and anticipate likely problems." (Result)
Here is a behavioral question that explores the candidate's resilience.
Tell me about a time when you received negative feedback from your manager or supervisor. How did you handle this?(resilience)
The interviewer is looking at your ability to handle disappointment and rejection. Show how you handle criticism whilst maintaining enthusiasm and performance.
"I had worked hard on a presentation to a potential customer. My boss told me that he was disappointed in the quality of the information I presented and that the customer had not been impressed. (Situation)
I was surprised as I felt I had prepared well but I asked my boss to go through the presentation with me again and explain exactly what the problems were. He pointed out outdated information and I realized that I had not used the most recent financial information in my preparation. I researched the updated information and asked if I could rework things and prepare a new proposal for the customer. He agreed. Once I had sent the proposal I followed up with the customer to ask if he had any queries or wanted to discuss anything with me. (Action)
We didn't get that particular contract but the company has asked us to submit a proposal for some other business." (Result)
Tell me about a time you had to quickly adjust your work priorities to meet changing demands (Adaptability)
In this sample interview question the interviewer wants to know if you can effectively perform in different environments and with different tasks, people and responsibilities. Show that you can adjust your actions to meet changing demands and tasks.
"I was in the middle of drawing up my departmental budget when I was asked to put together a costing for a big project we were tendering for. (Situation)
Common Behavioral Questions & Answers
overview
problem-solving, initiative & judgment
team work, leadership & negotiation
attention to detail, work standards & organizing
I made an outline of the information I needed immediately for the costing and assigned a portion to each of my staff. I spent the next couple of days drawing up schedules of the tasks that needed to be carried out to complete the costing and meeting with staff members to brief them and get feedback. I was then able to re focus on completing the budget on time. (Action)
The costing was completed on time, each staff member really contributed and I didn't miss my budget deadline". (Result)
Use these answers to the sample interview question to prepare your own behavioral examples and succeed in the behavioral job interview!
View the behavioral interview questions commonly asked in a customer service job interview.