What questions will be asked in a 'behavioral interview?

[TooterIA]

Next week I am interviewing for a clinical nursing instructor position. The faculty member that called to schedule it told me it will be lots of behavioral questions, as it si a behavioral interview. I can imagine it will be lots of "how would you handle this" questions, but can anyone give me some examples? I would love to brainstorm anwers for potential questions.

Any tips for the interview? It is for the college I attended and I would love to work for them.

TIA

Jessica

[All_Smiles_RN]

Tell me about a time when you didn't see eye to eye with your manager. How did you resolve the situation?

Tell me about a time when you recognized signs that a pt was deteriorating. What was your course of action?

Tell me about a time.... you get the drift. Behavioral interviews work under the theory that how you performed in the past will indicate how you will perform in the future. They focus on what happened and how you responded, not what-if situations.

[Mrs. M.]

Exactly. They will be looking for how you have handled things in the past rather than how you would handle a situation in the future.

My advice is to think of several situations from you past where you handled very challenging situations with doctors, co-workers, and patients, and reflect on how you handled the situations. This will help you to be able to come up with your example more quickly.

[TooterIA]

Thanks for the replies!! I gues I will have to rack my brain.

Jessica

[nicunana]

Hi TooterIA,

Try googling behavioral interview questions. That's what I did 2 months ago when I was told that I had to conduct a behavioral interview. There were several excellent sites with some great questions. They should help you get a feel for how you need to think to answer them. Good Luck!