Behavior Flashcards
STAR Model
S - Situation: Describe the specific situation or context in which the behavior or event occurred. Set the stage for your response.
T - Task: Explain the task or challenge you were faced with in that situation. What was your responsibility or role?
A - Action: Detail the actions you took to address the situation or task. This is where you explain what you did, step by step.
R - Result: Conclude by discussing the results or outcomes of your actions. What did you achieve, and how did it impact the situation or organization?
How would you describe your management style?
Encouraging collaboration of team members, and encouraging them to take ownership of their work by encouraging open discussions where team members can freely express their ideas, concerns, and suggestions. This encouraged them to contribute to the decision-making process and provide a level of autonomy. Additionally, regular check-ins and progress updates ensured that team members were held accountable for their tasks.
Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a customer or colleague.
Situation: In a project with a tight deadline, I had a new colleague struggling to implement a key feature.
Action: Offered Assistance + Shared knowledge + Pair Programming + Provided Resources.
Do you become friends with your colleagues or prefer to have a strictly professional relationship?
Try to keep a balance between professionalism and friendship.
Friendship: a positive and supportive work environment contributes to better collaboration and productivity and creates a comfortable atmosphere in which everybody openly shares ideas, and provides constructive feedback.
Professionalism: maintaining appropriate boundaries in which personal relationships do not interfere with the quality of our work.
Do you prefer to work by yourself, with a partner, or in a team?
Try to cover positive and negative points regarding the situations, and show that you can adapt your approach based on the situations and goals.
Working alone: better to concentrate on complex tasks with minimal distractions.
Work with a partner: better to share ideas for brainstorming sessions or in situations where you can divide tasks.
Working in a team: it is more enjoyable, especially in case where different skill sets are required. It could result in more innovative solutions, and is better to thrive and learn new things or think of the problems from different perspectives.
How would your previous coworkers or manager describe you?
Talk about positive points that might be useful for personal and professional development and the company and team, but might have some side effects. Example: setting high standards for myself that improve the quality of work but might delay tasks.
What do you think makes a good leader?
Focus on these keywords: Good leaders have a clear vision for the goals and effective communication. They are supportive, flexible, and open to change. They can take responsibility, make decisions, trust their team members, and motivate their team to excel.
How do you handle stressful days at work?
Techniques:
Take short breaks;
Prioritize tasks to stay focused on what needs to be done first;
Stay organized by using to-do lists and calendars to reduce stress;
Seek support from colleagues;
Break down complex tasks into simpler ones.
What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made at work and what did you learn from it?
Action: underestimated the complexity of a feature and set an unrealistic deadline.
Result: I ended up rushing through the development that needed further revisions.
What I learned: taught me the importance of accurately assessing the scope and complexity of tasks before committing to deadlines by using
effective project planning and communication with the team and stakeholders or clients.
Do you think receiving constructive feedback is helpful?
Yes. It provides insights into areas where improvement is needed and helps us grow both personally and professionally;
It is essential to see our blind spots from an outside perspective that we might not have considered;
It is useful to identify our strengths and weaknesses;
We should approach it with a willingness to learn.
How do you manage a healthy work-life balance?
Techniques:
Time management by setting boundaries between work and personal time;
Take short breaks to recharge and stay productive;
Having relaxation through hobbies and interests outside of work;
Having exercise like gym;
Spending quality time with family and friends.
What’s your ideal day of work?
Start my day with a healthy breakfast;
Review my to-do list and prioritize tasks;
Collaborative discussions with colleagues to have brainstorming, Knowledge-sharing, and decision-making;
Satisfaction in helping team members;
Regular breaks;
Productive work;
End of the day: review my accomplishments, assess, and plan for the next days;
My ideal day is when I feel I’ve made a positive impact.
What are you passionate about in this line of work?
Solving complex problems;
Continuous learning, because in the software industry, we are always Staying up-to-date;
Creating an impact on society or businesses;
Collaboration with people;
Innovation.
Which of our company’s core values do you resonate with the most?
Take a look at the company’s website.
What would you do if your manager asked you to complete a task right before the end of the day?
Example:
I evaluate the task’s complexity, urgency, and impact.
If it’s a quick task, I might complete it.
* Otherwise, I’d assess if it’s feasible to complete it by the end of the day without compromising the quality of my work.
* If it has impact on quality, I will communicate this to my manager and provide an estimate.
* If the task is critical, I would consider extending my working hours, or delegating parts of it to other teammates, or asking for assistance.
If you enjoyed your job but not the work environment, what would you do?
First, I try to understand the causes of discomfort.
Then I schedule a conversation with my immediate supervisor or manager.
Also, I ask for feedback from colleagues to see if this is a common problem.
Finally, I try to propose solutions to resolve the issue.
Have you ever helped a team member succeed? What did you do?
Keypoints to be used:
Understand their strengths;
Open communication;
Set goals and regular check-ins with that teammate;
Sharing resources like documentation and best practices with them;
Pair programming;
Maintaining autonomy to encourage them to take responsibility and make decisions;
Recognize and celebrate their achievements;
Giving them constructive feedback.
