What are the common mistakes made in behavioral interviews? Here are the four red flags which interviewers might show if you do not follow the correct paths.
Rambling: Talking too much may be annoying. It is a signal of not having a clear communication and thought process, which might imply that
you do not know what you are talking about,
it may not be easy to work with you.
Try to keep your answers short and targeted. Try to limit yourself to around 60 seconds. Don't give too many details since they will come as follow-up questions. For example; An interviewer asks, "Tell me about a project/time where you had to overcome difficult circumstances to deliver results.", use the Star Technique [1]
Situation must be one sentence
Task must be one sentence
Activity must be 2-3 sentences
Result must be one sentence
Think about what is relevant. As follow-up questions, "What would you do differently? How can you do better?". So it is time to give more details.
Not Answering the Question: Assume the question is about a technically challenging project, but if your answer is about a situationally difficult case such as working with a tough customer, you can lose your interviewer. Do not waste your and the interviewer’s time by going in a different direction. Understand the question and clearly answer it.
Selling Opportunities: When you are asked strength questions such as "Why should we hire you?" will you be neutral, or is this opportunity to sell? So if you do not sell yourself, you are unprepared, lack confidence, and are not the right person. The other side is, "Tell me about a conflict?" Is this an opportunity to sell yourself or be neutral? Remain neutral because it is an opportunity to remain neutral. Do not be arrogant. Since you are implying I am better than others and the conflict was created by other people.
Never openly discuss the outcome of the conflict. Instead, discuss the method of handling that disagreement.
No conflict to discuss, which implies that you were not important enough or/and passive in your relationships.
Too many conflicts imply that you are hard to manage.Focus on processes rather than emotions/the other person in the conflict.
Speaking Negatively: Speaking negatively of others creates a lack of safety. Do not speak negatively, and do not complain. People are weak psychologically, so when we talk to someone negatively, we start to lose trust; we need a surrender/people who will protect us. We need to create safety and trust. For example; An interviewer asks, “Why do you want to leave your existing company?”
Never say anything negative about your current or past employer, manager, or team even if it's true.
Have you burnt bridges with your current company?
Never say you were not paid enough. What if it's the same situation here?
We should reframe our thoughts by taking into consideration of these red flags. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situation,_task,_action,_result