Interview Strategies for Identifying Top-Tier Applicants: Navigating the Careful Process of Recruitment
Behavioral interviewing, a method developed by industrial psychologists in the 1970s, has become a powerful tool for hiring better people. Unlike traditional interviews, which often rely on general impressions or hypothetical questions, behavioral interviewing focuses on candidates’ past behaviors in specific situations. This approach tends to be more reliable, as it helps predict how individuals will perform in similar circumstances in the future.
The Advantages of Behavioral Interviewing
Research from SHRM shows that behavioral interviewing is 55% better at predicting job performance than traditional interviews. It encourages candidates to provide specific examples and details, rather than vague generalizations. This approach allows interviewers to dig deeper and get real answers, not rehearsed monologues.
Behavioral interviewing is designed to show how a candidate thinks and works, not just their answers to hypothetical situations. It is a method used to predict job performance by asking candidates to describe real experiences and actions. By doing so, it reveals concrete past behaviors that are indicative of future success.
Structured Interviews and Technical Skills Tests
While behavioral interviewing is more effective than traditional unstructured interviews, its effectiveness increases substantially when combined with structured interview methods and validated technical or cognitive skill tests. Structured interviews, which often include behavioral questions, have a higher predictive validity coefficient—typically above 0.40—than unstructured interviews and most personality or behavioral assessments.
Technical skills tests and cognitive ability tests outperform behavioral assessments in predicting job performance across various roles. However, behavioral assessments and psychometric tests bring objectivity to hiring by reducing unconscious bias found in traditional interviews. They can also improve cultural fit and provide insights into motivation, decision-making, adaptability, and interpersonal skills, which are important but complementary to technical competence.
Preparing for Behavioral Interviews
Preparing for a behavioral interview involves skimming the resume, highlighting key moments, picking core competencies for the role, and preparing STAR-style questions. The STAR method, a framework used in behavioral interviews, consists of Situation, Task, Action, and Result. This method helps interviewers to understand a candidate's problem-solving skills, thinking process, and ability to get things done.
During the interview, interviewers should tell the candidate that they will be asking about real situations they've been in, let them think before answering, take good notes, ask follow-up questions, and keep the conversation conversational. Leading questions should be avoided, as they suggest the desired answer.
Examples of Behavioral Interview Questions
Examples of behavioral interview questions include asking candidates to describe a time they led a team through a big change, made a tough call that affected their team, had an underperformer on their team, or dealt with a difficult customer or coworker. The contrast method, which involves asking a candidate to describe a time they nailed their communication and then one where it totally flopped, and what they learned from each experience, is another effective approach.
Ignoring negative examples is another pitfall, as they often provide valuable insights into a candidate's character, resilience, and learning ability. Focusing only on recent examples can limit the candidate's ability to provide revealing examples, so interviewers should ask about experiences from earlier in their career or from different contexts.
In summary, behavioral interviewing is more effective than traditional unstructured interviewing in predicting job performance. However, its effectiveness increases substantially when combined with structured interview methods and validated technical or cognitive skill tests. Behavioral interviews excel at assessing soft skills and cultural fit, providing valuable complementary insights to technical evaluations. They bring objectivity to hiring by reducing unconscious bias and provide insights into motivation, decision-making, adaptability, and interpersonal skills. By asking candidates to describe real experiences and actions, behavioral interviews help cut through the fluff and find out how someone really works based on what they've actually done, not what they say they'd do.
- A successful mindset for a behavioral interview involves focusing on providing specific examples and details, as this approach allows interviewers to gauge an individual's problem-solving skills, thinking process, and resilience.
- Education and self-development, coupled with career development, are essential for candidates to have a strong mindset for behavioral interviews, as these skills are crucial in demonstrating adaptability, interpersonal skills, and the ability to handle diverse situations during the interview process.
