Solid interviewing skills are crucial to landing a good job. Many people work very diligently on their resume and cover letter, but don't think about preparing for the interview. This is a step that you shouldn't ignore during your job search.

Most of us have been on interviews during which we were asked seemingly silly questions. It's nearly impossible to prepare yourself for such questions. However, many interviewers use a method called behavioral screening, and this is something for which you can prepare yourself.

Behavioral screening means that the interviewer will ask questions directed toward actual past experiences you have had in relation to a situation. One such question might be: "Give me an example of a time when you needed to adjust quickly. What did you do and how did it turn out?"

Before you begin to answer this type of question, keep in mind that the interviewer doesn't want to hear your opinion or the way you tend to act. They would like you to think of a specific instance from you past which fits the question stated. Therefore responses that begin with "I think", "I believe", "I am" or "I will" are not appropriate.

When you respond to interview questions phrased like the example above, the interviewer will be looking for the following information: 1) a brief description of the problem or situation, 2) your actions, and 3) results of your actions.

Many times, people who are being interviewed feel that they must have an answer immediately upon being asked a question. This is not the case for behavioral interviews. The interviewer expects that you will need time to think in order to remember a specific past experience. Relax and tell the interviewer you need a minute - and take that time to formulate the best possible example. Don't worry about a minute or two of silence. Pausing to think is much better than giving a poor example.

Behavioral type answers are a great way to communicate what you can do for a potential employer. It may be in your best interest to take time before the interview to come up with some examples of situations which you want to include if asked such questions. Even if you are not asked behavioral questions, working these examples into the conversation will help to impress the interviewer.

Some examples of characteristics you may want to prepare behavioral examples for are; teamwork, ability to deal with stress, initiative, tenacity, attention to detail, follow-through, customer service orientation, technical skills, and communication skills. The key is to think about the types of characteristics that are important to your career field and prepare a couple of behavioral examples for each.

In general, you should be relieved when you are asked these sorts of questions during the interview. Behavioral interviewing is an excellent way to assure that the interviewer really gets to know you during your meeting. Another benefit - there are no trick questions when someone is simply asking you to recall what you've done in the past!