Behavioral Interview Questions to Ask Students

I’m often asked to recommend behavioral interview questions to ask students and/or other people with little to no work experience. My response is always to advise focusing interview strategy and behavioral interview questions on class work, and overall life experiences that are likely to be relevant—specifically to the job role and responsibilities, the candidate’s qualifications and life skills, and the characteristics that would make someone a good fit for your workplace culture.

For example, I recently led a behavioral interview training workshop for a healthcare client. One of the recruiters in the training told me about a candidate who had just graduated from college and had never had a job before. She told me she’d asked the candidate if she’d ever cared for a family member. This led to a good line of several behavioral interview questions that uncovered candidate skills they were looking for, namely, the ability to sit with a family member daily for a couple hours, care for their needs, show patience and empathy, as well as attention to detail with their medicine schedule.

This recruiter focused on life events that could potentially encompass skills they were looking for. The candidate’s experience and competencies didn’t come from a paying job, but rather her life experiences. Regardless of where they come from, the competencies and skills were there.

Behavioral Interview Questions for Specific Competencies

Here are six key competencies that many employers focus on when interviewing students, with some behavioral interview questions adapted for people with little or no work experience. Some of these questions may be relevant to more than one competency.

Many of these questions are worded in general terms of experiences at school, but it is also worthwhile to probe for experiences as a volunteer or in a part-time or temporary job.

Problem-solving

• "Give me an example of when you handled a difficult situation in class or with your course work."

• "Tell me about a significant academic challenge that you overcame."

• "Describe a problem that you solved using fact-finding skills."

• "Can you think of a situation where you had to make a quick decision regarding a class or coursework with minimal information?"

• "Describe a complex problem you faced in a class project and explain how you solved it." 

Communication & Interpersonal Skills

• "Give me an example of when you had to get your point across in a class or group discussion."

• "Describe a situation where you had to effectively communicate complex information with limited knowledge of the topic." 

• "Tell me about a conflict that you resolved with a classmate or teammate." 

• "Give me an example of when you motivated a classmate, teammate, friend, or family member."

• "Describe a time when you had to address a classmate/teammate because they weren’t doing their fair share?"

Initiative 

• "Give me an example of when you went above and beyond to get a class or team project completed."

• "Tell me about a project that you initiated."

• "Describe an instance where you took the initiative to improve a process or project in class." 

• "Describe a situation where you demonstrated leadership qualities in a group setting." 

• "Can you describe a time when you took the initiative to learn a new skill relevant to this role?" 

Adaptability & Resilience

• "Describe how you handled a situation where you had to work on a project without either a clear objective or without the necessary resources."

• "Give me an example of when you had to sacrifice short-term benefits for a long-term goal?"

• "Tell me about a time you had to adjust to a significant change in a class assignment." 

• "Describe a setback in your studies and explain how you overcame it." 

• "Share an example of when you had to adapt to a sudden change in a project deadline."

Teamwork and Collaboration:

• "Share an experience where you had to lead a group project despite having disagreements with team members." 

• "Describe a situation where you collaborated effectively with a group despite differing opinions."

• "Give me an example of a class project when it was most important for you to coordinate with another classmate. Who else was involved, and what happened?"

• "Tell me about a recent example when team cooperation began to fail.  What was the project or situation?  How did you and the team handle the situation?"

Time Management and Prioritization:

• "Give me an example of how you manage your time when you have multiple deadlines approaching?"

• "Give an example of how you prioritize tasks to meet a tight deadline." 

• "Describe an instance where you demonstrated strong time management skills."

• "Tell me about tools or techniques you use to manage your time effectively, and give me a specific example of how this has benefited you."

• "Explain how you manage distractions so that you can complete a project or course work on time."

How to Use the Behavioral Questions

Remember to tailor your questions to the specific role and responsibilities of the position you are interviewing for, and be aware that a candidate’s answer may be relevant to more than one competency.  Always follow up with primary and secondary probing questions to gain further insight into the student's experiences and thought process.