No, behavioral interviewing has been around since the 70′s
when industrial psychologists developed a way of
“accurately” predicting whether a person would succeed in a
job. They concluded that if candidates were asked questions
that requested examples of past behavior it would be an
indicator of their future behavior.
So, employers began using this interviewing technique to
determine whether you were a good fit for the job. The
technique is of growing interest to companies who would
like to choose the “right” candidate, especially in today’s
market with so many candidates for them to choose from.
The types of questions that are asked using this technique
are used to find out how and what you did in the past and
the skill sets you used in the process – if you did it
before you can do it again!
The difference between a behavioral question and other
questions is what the question asks for. A behavioral
question will be very specific. For example when asked,
“Tell me about a time when you solved a problem,” the key
words are “a time.” This answer calls for a “specific”
example of a “specific” incident.
When traditional questions are asked they usually include
the word “if.” When “What would you do if…” questions are
asked you can use your imagination to come up with an
answer. For example, “What would you do if you had a
problem to solve?” The word, “if,” is the clue word that
indicates the interviewer wants to hear your thought
process – how you think through a problem. This question
does not require a past experience example.
While preparation is important for every interview, it is
essential to prepare for the behavioral interview. You must
have examples or stories for anything you have claimed on
your resume or that you say in an interview.
One example would be, if you claimed you were very
organized on your resume. A natural question for the
interviewer would be: “Tell me about a time when you
organized a project.” It is now your task to let the
interviewer know that you have had success when organizing
a project or event. In other words, prove what you said you
did by providing an example.
There are several methods and acronyms suggested for
formatting your stories but the main point to remember is
that any story has three key elements:
A beginning – “There was a time….”
A middle – “The action steps I took were…”
An ending – “The end result was…”
Stories should be interesting and full of action. Give the
interviewer something to remember about you. A savvy
interviewer will be able to hear skills from the stories
and judge your behavior from your past actions. The more
details and skills you can work into your story, the more
convincing your story will be.
Preparing your stories before the interview will take the
mystique out of behavioral interviewing and allow you to
tell the success stories you want your interviewer to hear.
Through your examples the interviewer will begin to get a
clear picture of you and be able to decide whether you are
the right person for the job based on your past experience
and successes.
—————————————————-
Carole Martin, America’s #1 Interview Coach, is a
celebrated author, trainer, and mentor. Carole can give you
interviewing tips like no one else can. Get a copy of her
FREE 9-part “Interview Success Tips” report by visiting
Carole on the web at http://tinyurl.com/2kd3xm The
Interview Coach http://www.interviewcoach.com
Comments on this entry are closed.