Behavioral interview method

Behavioral interviews can be used to assess a popular candidate and are extremely important in selecting the best fit.

The theory behind the technique is that the most effective predictor of future behavior is past behavior. So basically, what you ask candidates about actual work experience in the past can be what they can do to handle a situation or problem that is related to your business and position. mind you are trying to find.

First, you need to think about the competencies, expertise, and skills required for the job you're hiring for. Then think about what “behavior” needs to be linked to the “competency” factors to create the highest performance.

Here are some sample questions that you use to review your ability to meet the job requirements.

“Give me an example of a stressful situation you handled to demonstrate your flexible coping skills?”

“Describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult colleague or customer?”

“Tell me about a time when you failed and what lessons did you learn from those experiences?”

In addition, you can test the suitability of the job and the ability of the candidates further by asking many questions directly related to the job being recruited. For example, for a retail employee position:

“Give me an example of a time when you had to work with a really demanding client under the most demanding conditions? How do you deal with this situation? What have you learned from that experience to help you become a better person? "

You can judge candidates not only by how they present the situation, but also by how proactive they are in dealing with conflicts and professionally in saving face in front of clients.

You can also use this method to test technical skills by presenting a typical engineering problem and asking candidates to respond on how they faced it. This process is what you really care about.

Behavioral interviews are also an effective way to test a person's negotiation skills and how they communicate and present themselves in public. Often candidates will tell you about the contribution of the entire group they have joined. You need to go deeper by asking questions like: “So what is your role in the team? Tell me about what you did?”

To prepare, you should analyze the job you are hiring for in terms of related duties. Employers will need to research exactly what specific challenges they will face on the job. Then jot down the skills and knowledge that the job requires. Finally, write down some questions that you think will test these and consult with some other colleagues who will be working directly with the new employee. What competencies and behaviors are there in employees that they value highly?

Experts suggest using the “SAO” (Situation/Action/Outcomes) method when preparing questions for interviews and then in private interviews with candidates. So, imagine questions about how to deal with someone struggling at work:

Situation: You want candidates to talk about difficulties they faced in previous jobs and how this impacted their work.

Action: You need them to outline the steps they took to resolve the situation.

Outcome: What was the outcome of facing the difficulty? What have they learned from those failures?

Also, as an employer, you need to make candidates comfortable and give them a chance to express themselves. Remember, you are looking for someone who is good and suitable for the job, which also demonstrates your own abilities.