At GE - in fact, at most companies today - our interviewers are big fans of the behavioral interview. Most of you have probably been in one of these before, the kind of interview consisting mainly of questions that begin with "Tell me about a time when..." or something similar.

Some people dread these types of questions, complaining that they're too open-ended - but they're actually a great opportunity to set yourself apart from other candidates. A little preparation is all it takes.

One of the most popular approaches to the behavioral interview question, which we use a lot at GE, is the STAR method - situation, task, action, and result. For each behavioral interview question you answer, you should describe the:

1) Situation - a little background information.
2) Task - what exactly was the problem or scenario you were facing?
3) Action - what did you do about it?
4) Result - how did things turn out because of your actions?

Notice the focus on you. Interviewers don't want to hear about what your team did, or how another person did all the work - the interview is all about you!

To really prepare for a campus interview, brainstorm a list of challenges, projects, scenarios, and successes that you can use to answer behavioral interview questions. For each one, make sure you can talk about the situation, tasks, actions, and results. Choose scenarios that demonstrate a variety of your strengths - teamwork, technical skills, overcoming challenges, interpersonal skills, conflict resolution, etc.

By preparing a little for any question the interviewer might throw at you, you'll be less nervous, provide great responses, and hopefully blow the interview out of the water!