Behavioral Interviewing for the Interviewer
In hindsight, you can often identify why the person did not fit into your workgroup. But by then it is probably too late. Consider behavioral interviewing. It can yield significant insights about the person sitting across from you. It can help you uncover key behaviors and attributes.
What is it and why do it? Behavioral interviewing was developed in the 1970's by industrial psychologists. The premise behind behavioral interviewing is that it is the most accurate predictor of future performance. While there are no guarantees, behavioral interviewing and the questions you ask can provide you with more relevant information about the candidate and his or her fit within your organization.
What behavioral interviewing can uncover is the extent to which the candidate has experienced the same or a similar situation and what they did or did not do to handle that situation. The questions are designed to uncover how a candidate communicates that experience. The responses demonstrate an ability to formulate a response and communicate that response in an effective and persuasive manner.
Prepare for the Interview. There are many ways to establish a behavioral interview. One way is to think in terms of themes of general behaviors and practices that you (and others) believe are relevant for the position. You can focus on the candidates' technical abilities and qualifications, but often what separates the best candidate from others are their people skills and how effectively they interact with others to get things done. Create a set of questions for the themes-competencies you believe will be critical for the position. As a starting point, consider these themes and sample questions for your next interview.
Assertiveness: Give me a specific example of a time when you presented your immediate manager with an idea or concept. How did you proceed? What was the result?
Creativity and Innovation: What has been the most creative thing you have done in your life?
Customer Service: Do you believe the customer is always right? Why or why not?
Decision Making: Describe a decision you made only to regret that decision later.
Planning and Organizing: How do you decide which projects or tasks get top priority when you schedule your time each day?
Self-Management: Tell me about a time when you failed to meet a deadline. What did you fail to do? What were the consequences? What did you learn?
Time Management: How do you decide what tasks to work on first?
Risk Taking: How do you decided if an idea or plan is worth the risk?
Working with Others: Tell me about a time when you had a major conflict with another employee. What was the cause of the conflict? What did you do to alleviate the situation? What were the results?
Converting Questions to Behavioral Questions
It is up to you to identify what questions to ask a candidate. Ideally, you are forming your questions based upon the position and the knowledge and skills needed to fulfill that position. There are many types of questions to ask of course. Doubtless, you have a series of questions you ask now. You can convert any question into a behavioral question. Here is a very short list of some typical interview questions and how you can convert them into the behavioral format.
If you now say, "What do you do to motivate your direct reports," consider rephrasing your question to, "Describe how you have motivated each of your direct reports and what the results were."
If you now say, "Have you helped reduce costs in your department," consider rephrasing your question to, "Describe how you have helped reduce costs in your department."
If you now say, "Are you creative," consider rephrasing your question to, "Describe one of the more creative ideas you have proposed to your immediate manager (or others in your organization). How was that idea received? What happened as a result?"
If you now say, "Tell me about yourself," consider rephrasing your question to, "How would you describe your style (leadership, management, supervisory, etc.)?"
If you now say, "Do you think you are a good leader," consider rephrasing your question to, "Give me an example of when you had to show good leadership."
If you now say, "Are you a quick learner," or, "How quickly do you think it will take you to learn this job," consider, "Tell me about a situation that required you to learn something difficult or unfamiliar quickly. Why was it difficult to learn? What did you have to do to learn it? How long did it take? What was the end result of your learning process?"
Be flexible with your questions and the sequence. You have to ask one question first. What you ask next can be driven by what and how the interviewee responds. Create your list of behavioral-based questions. Ask them in a sequence that provides you with the information you need and follows on to what you have just heard from the candidate.
