2025-05-20 • 23 min
Acing the Interview: Behavioral Questions "Tell Me About A Time When..."
Autistic Techie
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Summary
Does your brain freeze up when you hear this question? "Tell me about a time when..." Yeah, mine too. And for many other neurodivergent people, having to come up with an answer to questions like this can feel like running into a brick wall. But there's good news: Providing a meaningful answer to this kind of question doesn't have to be as scary or impossible as you might think. Let's get the inside scoop on approaching this kind of question from the neurodivergent perspective. You'll be shooting for the STARs in no time!
Takeaways
Interviewers often ask about past experiences to gauge your problem-solving skills.
Neurodivergent individuals may struggle with traditional interview questions.
Memorizing answers is unrealistic; focus on understanding the question.
The STAR method helps structure responses effectively.
Situation, Task, Action, Result is the framework for STAR.
You can modify past experiences to fit different questions.
Confidence in your response is crucial, even if the scenario is hypothetical.
It's okay to acknowledge past mistakes in your responses.
Prepare a core set of scenarios to adapt for various questions.
Interviews are about showcasing your thought process and adaptability.
Chapters
00:00 Navigating Difficult Interview Questions
02:42 Understanding the STAR Method
05:05 Crafting Your Responses
07:13 Adapting Scenarios for Interviews
09:33 The Importance of Context
11:31 Communicating Actions Effectively
14:33 Learning from Past Experiences
16:40 Preparing for Behavioral Questions
Does your brain freeze up when you hear this question? "Tell me about a time when..." Yeah, mine too. And for many other neurodivergent people, having to come up with an answer to questions like this can feel like running into a brick wall. But there's good news: Providing a meaningful answer to this kind of question doesn't have to be as scary or impossible as you might think. Let's get the inside scoop on approaching this kind of question from the neurodivergent perspective. You'll be shooting for the STARs in no time!
Takeaways
Interviewers often ask about past experiences to gauge your problem-solving skills.
Neurodivergent individuals may struggle with traditional interview questions.
Memorizing answers is unrealistic; focus on understanding the question.
The STAR method helps structure responses effectively.
Situation, Task, Action, Result is the framework for STAR.
You can modify past experiences to fit different questions.
Confidence in your response is crucial, even if the scenario is hypothetical.
It's okay to acknowledge past mistakes in your responses.
Prepare a core set of scenarios to adapt for various questions.
Interviews are about showcasing your thought process and adaptability.
Chapters
00:00 Navigating Difficult Interview Questions
02:42 Understanding the STAR Method
05:05 Crafting Your Responses
07:13 Adapting Scenarios for Interviews
09:33 The Importance of Context
11:31 Communicating Actions Effectively
14:33 Learning from Past Experiences
16:40 Preparing for Behavioral Questions