Behavioral interviewing is a structured interviewing strategy built on the premise that past behavior is the best predictor of future performance in similar circumstances. The interviewer proves for behavioral evidence of what the candidate said, did, felt and thought, and what were the results.
Behavioral interviewing allows the interviewer to gather evidence for critical capabilities in a way that is most likely to ensure that a person both possesses these capabilities and is likely to demonstrate them in future situations. It is these critical capabilities, called success factors that identify the very best performers in a given job. Success factors include:
–Technical of job specific knowledge and skills
–General abilities (communication skills, customer service, etc.)
–Behavioral traits or competencies (initiative, results orientation, risk taking, etc.)
Typically behavioral based questions are used to ask a person to describe an actual past situation. For example:
To assess communication skills, the interviewer might ask a question like….
“Tell me about a specific situation where you had to get something across to someone he or she found difficult to understand.”
To assess results orientation, the interviewer might ask a question like….
“Give me an example of a time when you had to go beyond the call of duty to get a job done.”
