Behavioral Bridge Carpenter Interview Preparation Guide

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Whatever you do, just don't act bitter. A lot of times we wish we could change the past, but focus on the positive reasons and results of the decisions you already made.

Provide several reasons including skills, experience and interest. If you can show how you've been successful in a similar career field or job position that will go along way to helping the interviewer believe you'll also be successful at this new job.

Candidates without specific examples often do not seem credible. However, the example shared should be fairly inconsequential, unintentional, and a learned lesson should be gleaned from it. Moving ahead without group assistance while assigned to a group project meant to be collaborative is a good example.

Is it money? Is it career development? Is it recognition? Is it a sense of achievement? Is it to impress your peers? Is it for fame?

You'll want to be prepare with some very specific examples of what you've done over the last year and what you're currently doing to improve your professional knowledge and skill set as well as anything else you're doing the shows self improvement.

Be completely honest and thoughtful with this one. You don't want to wake up one to find out that you're moving to a new city or state and it may be a major factor in your eligibility for employment. But again, if you don't want to move then the job probably isn't for you.

Here being specific is probably not the best approach. You may consider responding, “I hope a very long time.” Or “As long as we're both happy with my performance.”

This is a great opportunity for you to discuss how you've given back to the community, how you've achieved in a competitive extracurricular activity (think sports or clubs), how you've mentored others, and so forth.

First ask yourself that question before the interview - what are your priorities? Are money and success actual one in the same goal for you? If not, what's more important based on how do you define success?

By asking this question, your interviewer hopes to learn whether you can communicate effectively, address issues in the workplace and motivate others during difficult times. Giving negative feedback requires honesty, thoughtfulness and tact. Answering this question well can help show an interviewer that you would be a good fit for a managerial position or a position that involves working closely with others.

Here are a few you could choose from:
Hard working, strong willed, persistent, intelligent, adept, amicable, friendly, collaborative, eager, humble.

There is almost no good answer to this question, so don't be specific. If you tell the interviewer that the job you're applying for with his/her company is the perfect job you may loose credibility if you don't sound believable (which you probably won't if you're not telling the truth.) If you give the interviewer some other job the interviewer may get concerned that you'll get dissatisfied with the position if you're hired. Again, don't be specific. A good response could be, “A job where my work ethic and abilities are recognized and I can make a meaningful difference to the organization.”

Before you answer, consider how you best contribute to a team:

☛ Do you get along easily with people?
☛ Are you an effective collaborator?
☛ Can you communicate with people from various backgrounds and with different personalities?
☛ Can you motivate people?
☛ Do you know how to push back tactfully?
☛ Can you mediate conflicts?
☛ Can you deal with difficult personalities?

Be sure to discuss a very specific example. Tell the interviewer what methods you used to solve the problem without focusing on the details of the problem.

When answering this question, discuss situations where you completed tasks benefitting your previous employers.

Bad business ethics, teammates / managers that are disrespectful / inconsiderate. But of course, this job wouldn't have things like this right?

You could discuss your goals with regards to these categories: Career goals, impact you want to leave on society, financial goals, academic goals, charitable goals.

Talk about the potential career development, your career aspirations, your work relationships and the learning you'll receive.

No matter your previous job experience or educational background, be sure to tell the interviewer you have the knowledge and skills to successfully execute the job responsibilities.

Discuss your work experiences. The key is to show you're calm under pressure and can handle sensitive situations with a clear train of thought.

It would be great if you did - then you could potentially use them as a referral if they thought highly of you.

Behavioral interviews As Bridge Carpenter where popularized by industrial psychologists in the 1970s, and have been used at big companies like AT&T. The idea behind them is that past responses to situations are the best predictor of how candidates will respond in the future.


1. Tell me about a time you faced a conflict while working as part of a team.

2. Talk about a goal you set for yourself. What did you do to make sure you met the goal?

3. Give an example of a time when you had to work with someone with a very different personality from yours.

4. Talk about an instance where you wish you’d handled a situation differently with a team member.

5. What’s the most difficult problem you have had to solve As Bridge Carpenter?

6. Give an example of how you handled a situation where you needed information from a colleague who wasn’t responsive.

7. Talk about a time when you had problems building a relationship with a key team member. What did you do?

8. Tell me about an instance when it was important to make a great impression on a client. What did you do?

9. Tell me about a situation where you had to work with a difficult client.

10. Tell me about a situation where you disappointed a client, and how you tried to fix it.

11. Talk about a time when you had to strategize to meet all your obligations.

12. Talk about a time when you failed at something. How did you react?

13. Talk about a time you took on a leadership role.

14. Tell me about a long-term project you oversaw. How did you keep it focused and on schedule?

15. Talk about a time when you were under a lot of stress. What caused it, and how did you manage?

16. Do you prefer to work alone or with others As Bridge Carpenter?

17. Tell me about a time when you were overwhelmed by the amount of work on your agenda. How did you handle it?

Conflict resolution, problem solving, communication and coping under pressure are transferable skills desired by many employers As Bridge Carpenter.
Answering this question right can help you demonstrate all of these traits.
☛ Use real-life examples from your previous roles that you are comfortable explaining
☛ Choose an example that demonstrates the role you played in resolving the situation clearly
☛ Remain professional at all times – you need to demonstrate that you can keep a cool head and know how to communicate with people

You answer depends on the type of company you're interviewing for. If it's a start up, you need to be much more open to taking on risk. If it's a more established company, calculated risks to increase / improve the business or minimal risks would typically be more in line.

There should be many times where you've assisted others As Bridge Carpenter. If you haven't, think of how you would in the future. You can discuss charitable causes, how you mentored someone, and so on.

Again, be honest about sharing a story here about someone who may not have gotten along with you in the office here and explain how you were able to fix that relationship or change your attitude/action to be a better person / coworker.

Describe both your personal and professional favorites. If you happen to like professional books / magazines that relate to the industry of the company you're applying for - that's definitely worth highlighting.

First, the key to inspiring others it to first understand what their goals and objectives are. Once you understand what people want, you can inspire them with a vision that aligns to what they care about. People generally care about having purpose, being successful (and being recognized for it), contributing in a meaningful way, and financial rewards (to a degree) and much more. Then once you understand what people set as goals, you can inspire them through 1:1 pep talks, a presentation to multiple people and so forth.

List three attributes that you aspire to attain / build in the next few years - and then explain how you would develop those.

OK, if you get the admittedly much tougher follow-up question as to why you were let go (and the truth isn't exactly pretty), your best bet is to be honest (the job-seeking world is small, after all). But it doesn't have to be a deal-breaker. Share how you’ve grown and how you approach your job and life now as a result. If you can position the learning experience as an advantage for this next job, even better.