How to Answer Behavioral Questions About Teamwork
Questions about your interpersonal communication skills and teamwork experience allow you to demonstrate your ability to work well with others and effectively communicate.
It's important to highlight your successes in these areas, but if you've had less than ideal experiences, be sure to also emphasize how you learned from those experiences and would approach things differently in the future.
By showing your self-awareness and willingness to grow, you can still present yourself as a strong candidate for the role.
Storytelling Structure
The STAR method is a popular structure you can use to answer behavioral questions. It helps you to clearly articulate the situation, task, action, and result of a specific experience.
In my coaching sessions, I use the STARC method, which adds the step of Connection. This helps you to directly connect your experience to the job for which you are applying.
Here's how you can use the STARC method to structure your responses:
Situation: Describe the specific situation or task that you were faced with. Be sure to provide enough context so that the interviewer understands the context of the situation.
Task: Explain the specific action that you took to communicate effectively or work well in a team. This could be anything from facilitating a team meeting, to giving a presentation, to having a one-on-one conversation.
Action: Describe the steps you took to effectively communicate or work as part of a team. This could include things like actively listening to others, asking questions to clarify understanding, offering constructive feedback, and collaborating with others to achieve a common goal.
Result: Share the results of your action. Did you successfully communicate effectively or work well as part of a team? If so, how did you know? Did the situation improve as a result of your intervention? Be sure to highlight any positive outcomes or impact that you had on the situation.
Connection: Explain how the lessons and skills you learned from that experience will help you be better at this job.
EXAMPLE
Here's a more specific example of how you could use the STARC method to answer a question about interpersonal communication skills and teamwork:
S: I was working on a team project with a group of colleagues from different departments. We had a tight deadline and needed to work closely together to get the project done on time.
T: I recognized that effective communication and teamwork would be crucial to our success, so I took the initiative to hold a team meeting to discuss our progress and address any issues that had arisen.
A: In the team meeting, I made sure to listen actively to everyone's input and ask questions to clarify any misunderstandings. I also provided constructive feedback on areas where I thought we could improve our teamwork. We also worked together to set clear goals and assign tasks to ensure that everyone was on the same page.
R: As a result of our meeting and increased focus on communication and teamwork, we were able to complete the project on time and meet all of our objectives. The team received positive feedback from our client, and we were able to build stronger relationships with our colleagues as a result of the successful project.
C: This was a great experience where I learned the value of earning trust and how building solid relationships is essential in order to work efficiently with cross-functional teams, like I would in this position.
Invest time in identifying experiences that showcase your professional strengths. It's really important to practice and be prepared for these types of questions because they will help you stand out as the best candidate for the job.
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