Behavioral Interviewing
for Career Centers
A soft-skills solution that gives your students a development
plan in less than an hour and better prepares them for a
successful business school experience and post-MBA
career.
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part unless authorized by the
Graduate Management Admission Council®.
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Table of Contents
Behavioral Interviewing-Activity ...................................................................................................................... 2
How to Use this Document .............................................................................................................................. 2
Section 1: Activity Outline ................................................................................................................................ 2
Section 2: Activity Guidance ............................................................................................................................ 2
Section 3: Supporting Collateral ..................................................................................................................... 2
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part
unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
3
Behavioral Interviewing-Activity
Description
Career offices have a vested interest in their
students successfully securing jobs that are well
suited to their strengths. Since many companies
conduct behavioral interviewing as part of their
selection process, this effort provides students
with firsthand behavioral interviewing information
and practice based on the Reflect competencies.
Even if recruiting companies don’t employ
behavioral interviewing in their selection
processes, student practice with these types of interview questions only support their
interview effectiveness and build their competency self-awareness.
This initiative specifically involves career offices providing a three-pronged service to
students:
1. Distributing basic information on behavioral interviewing.
2. Sharing sample lists of possible interview questions.
3. Providing practice opportunities and interview coaching for students.
Type
This is a career center activity.
Learning Objective
Through the (NAME OF SCHOOL) career office’s rollout of a behavioral interviewing
“resource and practice” initiative that aligns with the Reflect assessment, business school
students are better equipped to position themselves for jobs.
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unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
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How to Use this Document
Document Roadmap
Section 1-Activity Outline
a. Step-by-Step Process
b. Supplies Needed
Section 2-Activity Guidance
a.
b.
c.
d.
Implementation Notes
Mixing it Up
Competency Applications
Activity Examples
Section 3-Supporting
Collateral
a. For Career Services—
Presentations, Probing
Questions, Scripts
b. For Students—Handouts
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part
unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
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Section 1: Activity Outline
Step 1—Career Staff Determines Scope of Effort
a. Providing collateral with information on interviewing.
b. Providing behavioral practice/feedback opportunities.
c. Partnering with hiring organizations to optimally position and align this initiative with both their hiring
processes and emphasis on the Reflect competencies.
Step 2—Career Center Determines Implementation Process
a. Invite students to complete evaluation/report every time they participate in an interview for a real job or
internship (Supporting Collateral-Item 2).
b. Review results of evaluation.
c. What are the products?
d. What are the other actions?
i. Outreach to hiring organizations.
ii. Messaging to students and faculty?
e. What is our timeline?
f. Roles and responsibilities of key career office staff?
i. Coordinator of initiative.
ii. Individuals charged with collecting company profile information
(Supporting Collateral-Item 2)
iii. Interviewers (including, if desired, academic faculty and student/peer interviewers).
Step 3— Career Center Partnerships (Optional)
a. Career centers identify hiring organizations with which it wants to partner on this effort.
b. Career centers solicit feedback on a few basic “interview process” questions.
c. Designated staff collects and disseminates specific information:
i.
Hiring companies with whom it has partnered.
ii.
Their emphasis on candidates’ behavioral competency.
iii.
“Intelligence” on interviewing processes.
Step 4— Collateral Development
a. Behavioral interviewing questions “inspired” by Reflect competencies
(Supporting Collateral-Item 1).
b. Hiring Company Profile (Supporting Collateral-Item 2).
c. Messaging (Supporting Collateral-Item 3, Supporting Collateral-Item 4).
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part
unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
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Step 5— Interview Practice Sessions
a. Career staff determines process for offering behavioral interview practice/feedback sessions.
i. Interview sign up
1. Interviews are 20 minutes in length.
2. Feedback after interview is 10 minutes.
3. 15 minutes between interview slots for interviewer “break.”
ii. Interviewer assignment (use “interview form” for documentation of this informationSupporting Collateral-Item 6).
1. Career office staff.
2. Volunteer faculty member.
3. Volunteer peers.
4. Organizational partners (if applicable).
iii. Optional Student Profile completion and electronic submission to interviewer 24 hours
before interview (Supporting Collateral-Item 5).
iv. Interview
v. Feedback
1. Student self-evaluation of his/her interview performance
(Supporting Collateral-Item 7).
2. Interviewer (Supporting Collateral-Item 8).
Step 6— Professional Profile Pitch
a. Encourage students to complete to synthesize the insights they developed through the interview process
(Supporting Collateral-Item 9).
Step 7— Initiative Evaluation
a. Invite students to complete evaluation/report every time they participate in an interview for a real job or
internship (Supporting Collateral-Item 10).
b. Review results of evaluation.
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part
unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
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Section 2: Activity Guidance
Implementation Notes



Career offices certainly have flexibility with
regard to the way they position the
behavioral interviewing resources and
support. For example, some offices may
elect to provide written collateral but may
not have the capacity to offer interview
“practice” opportunities. The outline
provides a “menu” from which career offices
can choose, based on their individual
service goals, their capabilities, and student
needs.
Certainly, having a career office staff
person(s) who has participated in formal
behavioral interviewing training would be
ideal for this initiative.
Any activity process details (e.g. steps,
timelines, timing, materials) as reflected in
the outline are strictly suggestions and are
dependent on career office staff-determined
needs and capabilities.
HOW TO MIX THINGS UP
Ideas to modify the activity, introduce new
design and delivery options, and increase the
difficulty level for students.

While career centers “own” this initiative,
they may benefit
from partnering
with faculty and
business school
“ambassadors”
(e.g. alumni) who
may be important co-messengers
regarding interview prep.

Career centers may elect to align this
initiative with the “organizational
competency scan” activity (see specific
write up). Depending on a particular
company’s general emphasis on the
competencies and the specific ones it
targets for specific jobs, complementary
interview support, as described below, may
be very helpful. As an example, if a
company places priority competency
emphasis on “innovation” among its senior
staff, students seeking employment with
that company may be well advised to
practice responding to questions about
their capacity to be creative or to innovate.
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part
unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
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Opportunities to Apply Reflect Competencies
Through its implementation, the activity offers the student opportunities to build insight and
skill on:
 Strategic Self-Awareness: Provides the student with a chance to further
define and articulate, through examples, his/her competency strengths and
areas for development. The expression of these stories in and of
themselves helps to cement his/her self-understanding and define for
him/herself subsequent action.
 Interpersonal Intuition: Interview offers the student-job candidate the
chance to flex his/her interpersonal and modify style in response to the
perceptions of the interviewer. Different interview situations likely will
require an approach adjustment.
 Resilience: Those high in resilience perform well under stress.
Interviewing can be extremely stressful, and through behavioral
interviewing practice students can work on their resilience.
Certainly, this initiative supports students’ efforts to understand, appreciate, and verbalize
their competency strengths and areas for development. By participating in mock behavioral
interviews, students actually have a chance to describe with specificity their experiences
demonstrating the competencies and their subsequent learning.
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unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
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Activity Example
“Chris” is a business school student, seeking to
secure a job after graduation. While he/she
has confidence and comfort articulating his/her
“technical” skills, the Reflect assessment has
introduced a whole new landscape with which
to frame his/her capabilities and areas for
development.
“Chris” consults the (NAME OF BUSINESS)
school’s career office for assistance in
preparing for interviews in a way that better
leverages the Reflect competencies and his/her specific results. The career office provides
him/her with some resources to assist in his interview prep activities; specifically behavioral
based interviewing information – a process that nicely aligns with his/her goal to highlight
his/her competency strengths.
Chris also signs up for a session with one of the career office’s staff to actually practice
interviewing.
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part
unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
10
Section 3: Supporting Collateral
Materials, as referenced in the activity
outline, appear on the subsequent pages.
When applicable, instructions are provided
to the user (faculty member, student).
Faculty members are encouraged to edit
the materials to suit their needs and to
align with their preferences for activity
implementation. This section is divided
into two primary categories, collateral for
teachers and collateral for students.
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part
unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
11
ITEM 1 FOR CAREER PERSONNEL: Behavioral
Interviewing Sample Questions
Distribute these questions to students and individuals who may be participating as
interviewers in “mock” behavioral interviews to support their appreciation of the kinds of
questions that may arise in a behavioral-based interview. Interviewers have discretion
whether to use these exact questions for interviews or develop comparable ones on their
own.

Innovation
 Tell me about a time when a project that you were leading called for a more
creative solution.
 Sometimes we get in “idea” ruts. Tell me about a time when you were in a
“rut?” What did you do to get out of it?

Operational Thinking
 Tell me about a time when a time when you had the lead role in managing a
project.
 Tell me about a time when a project you were working involved a very uncertain
timeline and unclear metrics.

Decision Making
 Can you describe a time when your emotions got in the way of making a sound
decision?
 Tell me about a time when asking good questions made the difference in a
project?
 Do you consult others when making a decision, or do you tend to make
decisions based off of your own analysis and intuition? Tell me about a time you
implemented one of these approaches.

Strategic Vision
 Can you describe a time when you were involved in the future visioning of a
project. What did you do? What happened as a result?
 How have you worked to achieve your own professional vision?
*Continued on Page 12
*Continued from Page 11
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unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
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
Strategic Self Awareness
 Please describe two situations for me – one in which you received very positive
feedback on your performance and one where you received pretty negative
feedback? What happened in each situation? What did you do? What was the
outcome?
 Tell me about a time when you made a big mistake?

Resilience
 Can you describe a time for me when you managed your stress really well
despite difficult conditions?
 Can you tell me about a time when you procrastinated? What did you do/not
do? What happened? What, if anything, would you do differently next time?

Drive
 Describe a situation when you had to give feedback to someone for being a demotivating a person/team?
 Can you a time when you needed to be assertive to get things moving in the
right direction?

Interpersonal Intuition
 Can you describe a time when your perceptions and response to a workplace
situation made a positive difference?
 Tell me about a time when you had to begin a difficult conversation with another
person?
 Describe a time when you used communication, or altered your communication
style, to influence others.

Valuing Others
 Describe a time when you recognized the work of another person?
 Describe a situation when you were responsible for ensuring that a project
involved a diversity of thoughts and ideas.
*Continued on Page 13
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unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
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*Continued from Page 12

Collaboration
 Can you describe a time when you worked on a matrixed project where team
members were responsible for outcomes but had no direct reporting
relationships to one another?
 Can you describe a situation when you worked on a remote or global
team/project?
 Describe a time you have acted to encourage cooperation on a team.
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part
unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
14
ITEM 2 FOR CAREER PERSONNEL:
Company Survey Template
Complete this template for every organization from which you have secured information
about its interviewing processes, particularly as they relate to behavioral interviewing and
[Reflect] competencies. Consider using the script at the top of the page to introduce the
conversation.
(NAME OF BUSINESS SCHOOL) appreciates your willingness to talk to us about your
company’s use of behavioral interviewing as part of your candidate selection process.
Considering our recent roll out of the Reflect competency self-assessment, our students are
most excited and optimally positioned to talk about their candidacy for positions in terms of
their competency strengths. Your responses to the following questions will help us prepare
our students for interviews and assess their fit for open positions within your organization.
Name of Organization:
Organizational Contact Person:
Career Center Staff Person:
1) Reflect-inspired Competencies Through Which It Screens Job Candidates (circle as
many as apply)
Important Note to Staff Person: Organizations may use different language to describe the
same general competency category (e.g. Innovation=Creativity, Operational
Thinking=Process Excellence, Valuing Others=Inclusivity). It’s your job to assess the degree
to which competency labels/definitions align and to note any distinctions below (next page).
*Continued on Page 15
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unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
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*Continued from Page 14
 Innovation
 Operational Thinking
 Decision Making
 Strategic Vision
 Strategic Self Awareness
 Resilience
 Drive
 Interpersonal Intuition
 Valuing Others
 Collaboration
2) Does your organization employ behavioral-based interviewing as part of its screening
process? Describe briefly.
3) If yes, is the process formal (e.g. trained interviewers, questions are prepared ahead
of time with system support) or informal (questions emphasize past work situations
and actions but no formal process).
4) Can you share any other “need to know” information for job candidates regarding
company’s interview process as it relates to screening for behavioral competency?
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part
unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
16
ITEM 3 FOR CAREER PERSONNEL:
Message to Faculty
Use the following script to update faculty on the behavioral interviewing initiative and invite
their participation.
I’m writing to share the details about an exciting new initiative that the career office is
sponsoring.
Obviously, one of the metrics that is critically important to our Office and the School is
our student hiring rate and, qualitatively, the types of internships and jobs that our
students are securing.
With the introduction of the Reflect assessment, we have enhanced our current
“interview skills” offerings so that students are better equipped to effectively leverage
Reflect data as part of job interviews.
More specifically, we are in the process of finalizing student materials (e.g. a general
information slide deck, practice interview questions aligned with the competencies,
organizational profiles) on behavioral interviewing – a type of interview based on the
premise that past behavior predicts future behavior –and companies’ use of it in their
candidate selection processes.
Students’ use of these materials will support their efforts to capture their competency
strengths during interviews and share specific examples of how they used competencies
to meet job expectations.
Beyond the introduction of these materials to students, we are soliciting faculty help in
serving as interviewers for student who wish to practice these skills. If you are interested
please contact us.
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part
unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
17
ITEM 4 FOR CAREER PERSONNEL:
Message to Students
Use the following script to update students on the behavioral interviewing initiative and
invite their participation.
I’m writing to share the details of an exciting new initiative that the career office is
sponsoring.
Obviously, one of the metrics that is critically important to our office and the school is our
student hiring rate and, qualitatively, the types of internships and jobs that our students are
securing.
With the introduction of the Reflect assessment, we have enhanced our current “interview
skills” offerings so that you are better equipped to effectively leverage Reflect data in your
upcoming job interviews.
More specifically, we are in the process of finalizing student materials (e.g. a general
information slide deck, practice interview questions aligned with the competencies,
organizational profiles) on behavioral interviewing – a type of interview based on the
premise that past behavior predicts future behavior – and company’s use of it. Your use of
these materials will support their efforts to capture their competency strengths during
interviews and share specific examples of how you used competencies to meet job
expectations.
Beyond these materials, we are encouraging you to sign up for interview practice sessions
that emphasize the Reflect competencies using a behavioral based format. We are also
encouraging you to consider serving as a peer interviewer as well – you can learn as much
in this role as that of interviewee.
Sign up and other information to help you prepare will be forthcoming in the next few
weeks. Please contact our offices if you have any immediate questions.
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part
unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
18
ITEM 5 FOR CAREER PERSONNEL:
Student Profile
This form will help frame your goals for your interview(s). Please complete and return this
form electronically to your designated interviewer 24 hours prior to your interview.
Name:
Date of Interview:
Name of Interviewer:
Reflect Competencies to Focus on During Interview (Select from the list below the
competencies you wish interviewers to emphasize or, indicate “surprise” if you wish
interviewers to select competencies without your input).
 Innovation
 Operational Thinking
 Decision Making
 Strategic Vision
 Strategic Self Awareness
 Resilience
 Drive
 Interpersonal Intuition
 Valuing Others
 Collaboration
Please identify below the types of jobs and/or companies that you are prioritizing in your job
search.
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part
unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
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ITEM 6 FOR CAREER PERSONNEL: Interview
Form
Please complete Questions 1, 2, and 3 of this form prior to the interview and Questions 4
and 5 during the interview.
1)
Name of Candidate:
2)
Any Specified Competency Focus For Interview
(if student submitted a form with this information)
3)
Designated Interview Questions
(no more than five of which you likely will only have time for two or three)
4)
Notes on Candidate’s Responses
5)
Additional/Miscellaneous Observations During Interview
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part
unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
20
ITEM 7 FOR CAREER PERSONNEL:
Self Evaluation Form
Complete this self-evaluation after your interview.
1) How would you generally assess your interview performance?
a. Strengths?
b. Areas for improvement?
2) What did you learn as a result of going through the interview? How might you
therefore prepare differently moving forward?
3) How would you generally assess the interview experience?
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part
unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
21
ITEM 8 FOR CAREER PERSONNEL: Interviewer
Feedback Form
Complete this evaluation after your interview. After its completion, first invite the student to
share his/her perspectives on the interview. Then, share one positive observation from the
interview with the student and one opportunity for further development. Solicit any final
questions and comments from the students before completing the conversation.
1)
How would you generally assess the student’s interview performance?
a.
Strengths?
b.
Areas for improvement?
2)
What suggestions can you offer regarding his/her preparation his/her future interview
preparation?
3)
Do you have any additional feedback/observations to offer?
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part
unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
22
ITEM 9 FOR CAREER PERSONNEL:
Professional Profile Pitch
Instructions to Student:
After reflecting on the process and outcomes of your mock behavioral interviews, use this
document to synthesize your insights about your competency strengths and areas from
development.
Specifically, this sheet invites you to summarize at least three “stories” where you
leveraged a competency strength and three “stories” where you are working to further
develop a competency area, based on past professional experiences and learning. The
examples that you outline below essentially create the framework for an elevator speech
that you can use, as a whole or in pieces, to conveying your professional “offer” to
employers.
You may also choose to frame your “stories” with a bit of background about yourself and
your professional goals interests. Space below is provided for that information is well.
My name is ______________ and I am interested in pursuing a professional career in
(DESCRIPTOR). Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you.
(A BIT OF BACKGROUND ABOUT YOURSELF) (academic/job history, interests)
______________________________________________________________________
I also want to share with you some of my strengths that I think will support my success in my next
job/work environment [OUTLINE THREE PROFESSIONAL STORIES THAT CONVEY A
COMPETENCY STRENGTH. PICK AND CHOOSE WHICH STORIES YOU WISH TO SHARE
BASED ON AUDIENCE AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF CONVERSATION.]
1)
2)
3)
*Continued on Page 24
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unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
23
*Continued from Page 23
Certainly, a career in (NSERT DECRIPTOR) also offers me an opportunity to further develop my
skills and strengths. Specifically, I hope to use my next job/work environment as a platform for my
professional development in the following ways.
[BELOW OUTLINE THREE PROFESSIONAL STORIES THAT CONVEY YOUR GOAL AND
COMMITMENT TO SPECIFIC COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT. YOU CAN PICK AND CHOOSE
WHICH OF THESE STORIES YOU WISH TO SHARE BASED ON YOUR AUDIENCE AND THE
CIRCUMSTANCES OF YOUR CONVERSATION.]
1)
2)
3)
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part
unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
24
ITEM 10 FOR CAREER PERSONNEL:
Student Post Interview Evaluation/Report
Complete this template for every organization from which you have secured information
about its interviewing processes, particularly as they relate to behavioral interviewing and
[Reflect] competencies. Consider using the script at the top of the page to introduce the
conversation.
(NAME OF BUSINESS SCHOOL) appreciates your willingness to talk to us about your
company’s use of behavioral interviewing as part of your candidate selection process.
Considering our recent roll out of the Reflect self-assessment, our students are most
excited and optimally positioned to talk about their candidacy for positions in terms of their
competency strengths. Your responses to the following questions will help us prepare our
students for interviews and assess their fit for open positions within your organization.
Name of Organization:
Date:
Company for which you Interviewed:
1) Did you have an opportunity to talk about your competency strengths and/or areas for
development as part of the interview? Explain and if possible, provide examples of the
competencies on which you focused and/or the types of questions posed.
*Continued on Page 25
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part
unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.
25
*Continued from Page 24
2) Did you have the opportunity to use any behavioral interviewing strategies during the
interview process? Explain.
3) In retrospect and on a scale of 1-10 (1=no help; 10=tons of help), how helpful were the
following behavioral interview resources that the career office provided?
a. Resource Materials___________
b. Interview Practice____________
This information is confidential and proprietary and may not be reproduced in whole or part
unless authorized by the Graduate Management Admission Council®.