I haven't decided how I feel about behavioral interviews. I always pass them, but it feels like I'm telling the interviewer what they want to hear. I don't lie, but I certainly cherry-pick examples that make me look good and present an analysis that makes me seem more emotionally intelligent than I probably was in the moment.
My assumption is that everyone does this, and the interview is largely a test to determine if you even know what a "good" answer would sound like. The assignment is to describe how you think an emotionally intelligent and mature person would act, and if you don't even know what that looks like then there's no way they're hiring you.
If you say "I repeatedly managed to singlehandedly save the day despite being surrounded by idiots" then you've done them a huge favor of letting them know you're a pain in the ass to work with. I would assume that most people know better than to admit to an interviewer that this is how they think, but I don't conduct these interviews so I'm not sure.
This is well said. And I would say there is huge value simply in demonstrating that you know the right answers and what effective teamship looks like. Nobody is perfect, but if you know what perfect looks like, you can keep getting better.
My assumption is that everyone does this, and the interview is largely a test to determine if you even know what a "good" answer would sound like. The assignment is to describe how you think an emotionally intelligent and mature person would act, and if you don't even know what that looks like then there's no way they're hiring you.
If you say "I repeatedly managed to singlehandedly save the day despite being surrounded by idiots" then you've done them a huge favor of letting them know you're a pain in the ass to work with. I would assume that most people know better than to admit to an interviewer that this is how they think, but I don't conduct these interviews so I'm not sure.