Behavioral-Based Interviews

Video Transcription

Behavioral interviewing involves probing into a candidate's past behavior to predict their future behavior and performance. Now, unlike a skills fit interview where candidates are asked to grapple with a new problem, the behavioral interview is a close look at their problem-solving process. This allows recruiters or interviewers to assess a wide variety of competencies such as coachability, adaptability, and willingness to collaborate, which provides a reliable indication of whether or not a candidate will succeed in a specific role.

For the interviewing process, it's important to establish a rapport with the candidate. To do that, the interviewers begin by introducing themselves and describing their own position and major responsibilities. Next, they should express appreciation for the candidate's interest and time and request clarifying information from the candidate's application or resume if needed.

Now, behavioral-based questions usually require the candidate to think of a time when they displayed a specific quality and start telling a short story in three parts-- the event that responds to the question, the actions they took to deal with the event, and the concrete results of their actions, including accomplishments, awards, improvement, and what they learned or would do differently next time.

This is usually abbreviated as EAR. If necessary, the interviewers may ask clarifying or follow-up questions to complete the EAR for each question. During the process, it's helpful to keep EAR notes since they can assist in scoring the candidate when the interview is completed.

There are several reasons why behavioral interviewing techniques should be used over other forms of interview. The first reason is unprecedented transparency. Traditional panel interviews involve back-to-back sessions with prospective colleagues. This can be a painful experience for the candidate as prospective colleagues did not always put enough time in to review the candidate's resume and questions they'll be asking.

A second reason to use behavioral interviewing is to promote diversity and inclusion. Behavioral interviewing provides interviewers the tools to focus on what matters, which is an individual's suitability for the role as demonstrated by their past behavior and experience. This can help organizations reduce bias during hiring and increase the chances of qualified candidates getting the appropriate level of consideration regardless of their background.

Third, research has shown that in contrast with traditional interviewing which seems to be only 10% predictive of future on-the-job behavior, behavioral interviewing can be 55% predictive.