Prepare your stories for a behavioural interview
"Tell me about a time when…" is far easier to answer when the story is ready. Five strong stories usually cover most of the questions.
A behavioural interview judges how you work through things that really happened: a tight deadline, a disagreement with a colleague, a mistake you made. A story put together on the spot tends to run long, jump around and lose its point.
Use a simple order
Start with the situation in a sentence or two, then the task or problem you had to solve. Spend most of the time on the action you took — what you did, not what the team did. Finish with the result, ideally with a number or a change people could see.
Have five stories ready
Pick five moments from your experience: a success you are proud of, a failure and what it taught you, a conflict you resolved, a time you led without the title, and a time you learned something new quickly. One strong story can answer several questions.
Interviewers are not looking for a perfect story. They are looking for proof that you think before you act and learn afterwards.
Practise out loud
Writing the stories down is not enough. Say each one aloud, record it and listen back. If a story runs past two minutes, cut the situation. If the result is unclear, find a number or someone’s reaction that shows it.