HR questions are an essential part of any interview, be it for college admissions, internships, or job applications. While other sections of an interview indicate your ability to handle the technical aspects of the job, HR questions scope out whether you are the right fit for the firm and the job profile. One set of HR questions are situation based questions. These questions are quite important, however not widely prepared for. In this article, we will discuss different types of situation-based questions and how to prepare for them. For tips on other types of HR questions, read this article Interview Tips: Tackling HR Questions in Interviews.
Types of Situation-Based Q
There are two main types of situation-based questions in HR interviews:
A. Give a situation where you portrayed a specific quality or personality trait.
For example - Give a situation where you portrayed exemplary leadership skills or give an example of an instance where you remained loyal to your colleagues.
B. Give an example of a situation where you faced a specific difficulty.
For example - Give a situation where you faced and resolved conflicts with your peers or give a situation where you made a big mistake. How did you deal with the same?
How to prepare - Conventional Approach
One technique people use is to list down commonly asked situation-based questions and prepare answers for the same. The main drawback of this strategy is that there is no exhaustive list of possible situation-based questions. Thus, this form of preparation may leave you puzzled when you face a question you haven’t prepared for.
How to prepare - Advanced Approach
A more effective technique to prepare for such questions is to make a list of 3-5 challenging situations that you have faced, wherein you displayed multiple desirable qualities and dealt with conflict/failure. For each of these situations, keep a note of different qualities/skills you portrayed and the difficulties that you overcame. Now, for any given situation based question, you can attempt to map that question to this list of 3-5 instances that have in mind. In most cases, it will work. However, bear in mind that this too is not a 100% reliable approach, but it allows you to prepare for a larger number of situation-based questions in an efficient manner.
Tips to answer situation-based questions
Ideally, pick something from the past 2-3 years of your life. Recent experiences seem more relevant.
While answering such questions, first describe the situation that you were facing, then move on to describe how you handled that situation, the impact you created, and finally why you think it was the right way to handle the situation.
Keep your answer brief. Refrain from going into elaborate descriptions unless probed for further details by the interviewer.
It is ideal to prepare for situation-based questions beforehand, rather than attempting them on the spot, as you may forget specific details if you attempt to recall a situation for the first time in a high-stakes setting such as an interview.
Keep in mind the key skills and qualities that the firm is looking for in a candidate while preparing and answering any HR questions
You can now effectively prepare and answer situation-based questions in an interview. As the saying goes, ‘practice makes perfect’. Practice answering situation-based questions prior to your interview to become more comfortable and confident with the same.
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