Behavioral Questions

One of the primary types of questions you will be asked are behavioral questions. These questions can take the form of "Tell me about a time when you failed", "Describe a situation when your ethics were challenged", and "How have you showed leadership in your past jobs?" The Behavioral Question is best answered in a structured and succinct manner to ensure that your stories/examples are clear and that your accomplishments (and their significance) resonate with the listener. Using the following frameworks to structure your answers will go a long way towards making those answers impactful.

SOAR Method

The SOAR method is a highly effective way to structure your answer. SOAR stands for:

Situation - Lay out what the situation was to give the interviewer background and context

Obstacle/Opportunity - Describe the Obstacle (challenge) or Opportunity that was presented to you by the situation

Action - State what Action you took in order to overcome the Obstacle or capitalize on the Opportunity

Result - Highlight the Results of your Actions, the positive impact you had

A strong SOAR answer:

• Tells a compelling and memorable story, typically highlighting an accomplishment
• Is usually 1-2 minutes in length, which is approximately 7 - 10 lines of text if you were to write your answer out verbatim
• Is clearly structured so that the Situation, Obstacle/Opportunity, Action, and Result are distinct and easily identified by the listener
• Is broken down so that approximately 30% of your answer is spent on the Situation and Obstacle/Opportunity and 70% of your answer is focused on detailing your Action(s) and subsequent Result(s)

SOFT Method

For questions that ask you about a failure (e.g. "Tell me about a situation where you failed and what you learned from it") you can use SOFT, which is a modified SOAR framework. SOFT stands for:

Situation - Lay out what the situation was to give the interviewer background and context

Obstacle/Opportunity - Describe the Obstacle (challenge) or Opportunity that was presented to you by the situation

Failure - State how the results of your efforts or your team's efforts fell short of your intended goals

Takeaway - Share what you learned from the experience that will help you achieve a better result in the future

A strong SOFT answer:

• Tells a compelling and memorable story, typically highlighting a valuable lesson learned
• Is usually 1-2 minutes in length, which is approximately 7 - 10 lines of text if you were to write your answer out verbatim
• Is clearly structured so that the Situation, Obstacle/Opportunity, Failure, and Takeaway are distinct and easily identified by the listener
• Includes taking responsibility for your part in the failure
• Is broken down so that approximately 30% of your answer is spent describing the Situation and Obstacle/Opportunity, 30% of your answer is focused on detailing the Failure, and 40% is spent sharing the valuable lessons you learned that will benefit you in the future