Behavioral Interviewing focuses on a candidate’s past experiences and actions, which are believed to be a good example of their future behavior and approach. Behavioral interview questions to assess specific behaviors essential for job success are a key component of this technique.
The candidates’ responses should refer to their past actions and indicate how they would handle the situation in a new setting. It gives interviewers a good idea of how candidates use their skills and thought processes when approaching a task.
What is Behavioral Interviewing?
Behavioral interviewing is a technique used to assess a candidate’s ability to meet job requirements based on their previous experience. The purpose of behavioral interviewing is to evaluate a candidate’s past performance as a predictor of their future behavior in a specific role. This approach focuses on the candidate’s past experiences and how they can predict future performance. By using behavioral interviewing, hiring managers can identify the candidate’s skills, abilities, and qualities that are essential for the job, reducing the risk of making a bad hire.
Benefits
A simple and effective tactic, Behavioral Interviewing, is used in almost every interview. This is likely because of the many positives of this approach to interviews:
Real World Evaluation
Thanks to Behavioral Interviewing, interviewers can assess how the candidates approach the types of tasks that they may have to pursue at the new job. Past examples not only prove their experience in a similar role but also give the candidates an idea of what the job might entail. Interviewers might ask, ‘How do you approach a challenging task?’ to gain insights into the candidate’s problem-solving skills and thought processes.
Genuine Responses
Asking candidates about real-life situations allows them to answer in a more candid manner. This allows the interviewers to assess the genuineness of the candidates and their behavior in the workplace.
Culture Fit Assessment
Apart from providing a candidate’s approach to work, Behavioral Interviewing also highlights whether or not they might fit well with the company’s existing culture. This is crucial to understand whether or not the candidate’s own values align with the organizational culture.
How to Create Behavioral Interview Questions?
To create efficient questions for a Behavioral Interview, it is important to assess the offered position carefully and then take steps accordingly.
Identify the Responsibilities and Values
It is important to be well aware of what the job entails and what values the company is looking for in a new employee in order to formulate appropriate Behavioral Interview questions.
Formulate the Questions
Once the requisite values and skills have been identified, create a question that will require the candidate to highlight their thought process and skillset. Traditional interview questions such as ‘What are some of your strengths?’ aim to elicit background information and personal insights from candidates. The question should be broad enough to allow the candidate to find a relevant incident but should still contain constraints that will allow the interviewer to assess the candidate for necessary skills.
The STAR Approach
One of the most popular methods of conducting a Behavioral Interview is the STAR Approach. This method includes a specific situation, the tasks involved, the actions taken, and the results. For example, an interviewer might ask, ‘How do you handle a situation where you have to meet a tight deadline?’ to understand the candidate’s approach to time management and problem-solving.
The STAR Approach highlights what the ideal answer from a candidate must contain when talking about their past experience. Through this method, the interviewers assess whether or not the candidate has worked in a similar setting to the offered position and how they have approached the tasks in the past.
Rate the Answers
Based on how the candidates answer the behavioral interview questions to assess specific skills and behaviors, the interviewer can compare their skills and thought processes with the company’s requirements. Creating a numeric scaling allows the interviewer to compare them with others in an unbiased manner easily.
Tips to Conduct a Behavioral Interview
When conducting a behavioral interview, it is important to think beyond the type of questions you can ask. Any interview question is only as effective as the asker’s ability to assess its answer and delve deeper. As such, there are certain steps you can take to elevate the results of your next behavioral interview.
Create a Rating Scale
Creating a rating scale is an essential step in conducting a behavioral interview. A standardized rating scale helps to evaluate the candidate’s responses objectively and consistently. The rating scale should be clearly outlined, so all interviewers understand how to rate each candidate. Assigning a point value for each response can help to quantify the ratings. For example, a rating scale can include the following criteria:
- 1-2 points: The candidate’s response does not demonstrate the required skill or behavior.
- 3-4 points: The candidate’s response partially demonstrates the required skill or behavior.
- 5-6 points: The candidate’s response fully demonstrates the required skill or behavior.
By using a rating scale, hiring managers can ensure that all candidates are evaluated consistently and objectively.
Asking Follow-Up Questions
Asking follow-up questions is a crucial part of conducting a behavioral interview. Even with strategically crafted behavioral interview questions, follow-up questions can help to clarify the candidate’s response and provide more insight into their past experiences. Follow-up questions can help to identify the candidate’s skills, abilities, and qualities that are essential for the job. For example:
- Can you provide an example of a time when you had to handle a difficult situation?
- How did you handle a project that required you to work with a team?
- Tell me about a time when you had to make a difficult decision.
By asking follow-up questions, hiring managers can gain a deeper understanding of the candidate’s past experiences and how they can predict future performance.
Conclusion
Behavioral Interviewing highlights a candidate’s approach to work and how they implement their skills. The real-life examples provide a more realistic picture to the interviewer while also assessing the candidate’s mindset regarding the kind of job they have applied for.
Unlike traditional interview questions such as ‘What are some of your weaknesses?’, behavioral interviewing provides a more structured and predictive approach to evaluating candidates.