Candidate Preparation

Behavioral Interview Questions

Behavioral questions are based upon the theory of past behavior. That is past behavior is a good predictor of future job performance. How a candidate handled a situation the past will give a good indication of how they will handle a similar situation in the future. Not only is the world of job interviewing relying on this theory of past behavior, but well-known and established systems like the criminal justice system also relies on this theory.

Behavioral questions are very prevalent in the human resources industry. Studies of shown that this style of interview question is a better predictor of job performance than the traditional job interview question. Behavioral questions ask the candidate to recall a work situation in the past. They are used to assess competencies anywhere from problem solving, tolerance for stress, to risk taking and so forth. Behavioral questions start with phrases like:

• Tell me about a time when…

• Describe a situation where you…

• Given example, when…

Here are some examples of behavioral questions:

• Tell me about a time when your work was criticized?

• Give me an example of when you had to make a decision without all the information and details that you would have preferred.

• Describe a situation where you identified a problem before anyone else?

What’s the difference between a traditional interview question and a behavioral interview question? For example, suppose you were trying to assess competency of conflict resolution. A traditional job interview question would be something like:

“Tell me how you feel about conflict resolution” or “What are the steps in conflict resolution”.

A behavioral question would be phrased as follows:

“Tell me about a time when you had to deal with an angry or abusive customer. How did you handle it?”

Now that we have explained the theory of behavioral interviewing, in our next post, let’s look at how to create your own behavioral interview questions for your specific client and job order.

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