Behavioral Interviewing: The New Approach to Professional Interviewing

Training Objectives
To enable delegates to: Prepare for a selection interview using the CV and Job Profile Plan and use a structure throughout your interview Recognise the different questioning types Use funnelling in your questioning Use the STAR model To write your own interview questions Write up your evidence Understand the impact of your own behavior Evaluate your interviewees to be able to support your selection decision

Course Learning Map

This This pre-course guide pre-course guide

Theory

Background Structure Questioning Recording and Evaluating Writing Questions Interview Behavior

5 minutes 5 minutes 20 minutes 10 minutes 20 minutes 5 minutes

Practical Application Prepare for the Interview Interview and Evaluate a Candidate

Background to the Professional Interview

Recruitment Time Line

Keep in mind that the recruitment time flow can take even longer. After the job offer the person may be only available after 2 month, so altogether to fill in a vacancy you may need 2 to 4 months.

Time

Job posted

CVs come in
CV short-listing Professional Interviews Decision Job Offer
Background Structure Questioning
Recording & Evaluating Writing Questions Interview Behavior

Where to Focus in the Professional Versus HR Interview

Psychological interview focus on Common Competencies

Common Competencies (Soft Skills: leadership and teamwork communication, flexibility, assertiveness, problem solving, initiative, etc.

Key Professional Competencies (Java, C++, C#, Database, etc. programming languages)

Hiring Managers, Team leaders Professional interview focuses primarily on the Key Professional Competencies

Job Profile Job Profile

Background

Structure

Questioning

Recording & Evaluating

Writing Questions

Interview Behavior

Interview Questions Common Competencies

Asseriveness / Tenacity What do you normally do when faced with an objection or rejection during a meeting presentation? Give me one example! What do you do when faced with a problem during the developing you realize that something does not work? Do you like to confront problems? Why? Give me an example of a situation where you have done this! When was the last time you sood up for your opinions and did not back down? Why was this? What was the result? Can you realte some situations in when being persistent was the only way to reach the target? Give some examples. Have you ever submitted a good idea to your superior, but they have not taken it any further? How did you react? How many times do you normally try to have your proposal accepted before you give up? What are the biggest problems you have encountered whilst accomplishing a task or project. How did you handle these problems?

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Attention to Detail / Analytical Thinking Describe your approach to controlling errors in your work! How often do you find errors or inaccuracies in the work that you or your team produce? What kind of errors do you normally detect? Give me examples of how you knew that things were not going well with a process/work/project you were involved in. Tell me about the most boring jobs or tasks you have had. Why wew they boring? What did you do about it? How did you handle the boredom? How often do you notice that someone in your organization uses incorrect terminology or expressions? What do you do in these situations? Time pressures often increase the possibility of errors in our work. Give some examples of typical errors or mistakes you have found in your work as a result of this. What kind of errors can you easily detect in a job performed by yourself or someone. Give me some examples of when you have noticed that things were not going well / right by picking up on minor details! Describe what sources of information you typically use in order to solve problems! Describe the most demanding problem you have ever solved. How did you manage to this?

Monitoring / Planning and Organizing Give me some examples of how you have kept yourself infromed about the progress of project or tasks that you have been responsible for. What are some typical examples of corrective action you have made during a process? What methods do you use to keep informed of what is going on with the project in which you are involved? What procedure do you use to keep track of matters requiring your attention? What kind of documentation do you prefer to send or receive in your work? What kind of planning do you regularly do in your work? Give me some examples of how you determine what constitutes top priorities when scheduling your time. What is your method of keeping track of several tasks you are involved in? Give me some examples. What kind of plans you normally do and how you conduct the planning in your work? What is the largest planning project you have carried out so far by yourself? What are the short / long-term plans in your organization?

Responsibility Describe your present responsibilities. Give me some examples of decisions made by your team for which you took full responsibility. Give me one example of tasks / instructions / approaches that you disagreed with. What do you do in your job that is not covered in your job description? Describe an incident in which you took matters into your own hands, although it should have been handled by your superior. Adaptability Give me examples of sudden or unexpected changes which have occurred in your job. How did you deal with this changes? What kind of superior / client you not like to work with? Why is this? Tell me about situations in which you have had to adjust quickly to changes in organizational priorities. Have there been occasions in your job when you have had to abruptly change what you were doing? What kind of problems have you encountered when changing a project / department / job? When applying for a new job, what do you think are the biggest challenges to be faced in that job, and why?

Initiative What changes have you tried to implement recently in your project / organization and how successful were you? Give me some examples of things you have accomplished inside or outside work without being asked. Have you made improvements in your area of responsibility during your work? Why have you made this changes? Describe some ideas that were implemented or carried out successfully primarily because of your efforts. List any new ideas or suggestions you have made to your manager. What things do you do differently to your colleagues? Why is this?

Problem Solving / Conflict What are the biggest problems you have ever faced at work, and how did you resolve them? What typical problems / conflicts do you encounter daily / weekly in your job? What kind of problems take you the longest to solve? Why? What kind of pressures do you encounter at work? How did you deal with them? What is the highest pressure situation you have been under in a recent year(s)? How did you cope with it? What conditions or situations do you find the most frustrating? Why?

Behavioral Interviewing - the Way to Conduct Professional Interviews

Behavioral Interviewing is asking questions about a candidates previous experiences to establish how they typically behave in specific situations
Behavioral questions often start with open questions such as "Describe how you worked ?" This allows the interviewer to explore real behavioral events (actions that happened in the past) and not opinions, desires or conceptions This methodology is based on research data that has found candidate's past behavior is a highly effective indicator of future job performance

Background

Structure

Questioning

Recording & Evaluating

Writing Questions

Interview Behavior

The Foundations of Your Interview

Behavioral questions can assess both - biographical items or competencies

CV-based or biographical interview

Competency-based interview

When preparing the interview sheet, it is worth to work out a practical mixture of the two approaches
Recording & Evaluating Writing Questions Interview Behavior

Background

Structure

Questioning

The Two Main Aims of the Professional Interview

Receive information: to find out about the motivation for the position, gather information on the professional competencies and skills of the candidate as well as to gain a general impression about the person and his/her future potential Give information: to tell the candidate about the position, organization, the evoline way of working, etc. => to sell the position

End of Section Quiz

What are the aims of the professional interview?

To sell the role to the candidate whilst understanding their professional competencies and skills, motivation and potential To test how the candidate reacts to stressful situations and hostile questioning

To establish evidence of their generic management style

Structure of the Interview

Interview record

Professional Interview Structure

Introduction Education Work Experience Specific Job Requirements Motivation Common & Professional Competencies
5 minutes 5-10 minutes 5-15 minutes 5-10 minutes 5 minutes

Approximate Time 30 mins to 1hr 30mins

1020 minutes

Conclusion
Background Structure Questioning

5 minutes
Recording & Evaluating Writing Questions Interview Behavior

The Interview Form

Think of the interview flow Review the job profile description job profile description Needed competencies (Common and Professional) Decide on the critical skills & knowledge Collect the most relevant technical questions (and answers for them) Prepare the interview form, mixture of CV based questions and competency based questions Apply the behavioural technique (open questions, funnelling, STAR model)

Background

Structure

Questioning

Recording & Evaluating

Writing Questions

Interview Behavior

End of Section Quiz

What is the main objective of the introduction?

To quickly observe the candidate and see what first impression they make on people

To get any questions that the candidate may have about the job out of the way

To put the candidate at easy so that they provide you with the information needed
Background Structure Questioning
Recording & Evaluating Writing Questions Interview Behavior

The correct answer is

To put the candidate at ease so that they provide you with the information needed

Background

Structure

Questioning

Recording & Evaluating

Writing Questions

Interview Behavior

Asking Effective Questions

Question Types that Should Be Used

Open Questions Encouraging Responses Tell me about your job with? Fine Yes I see Simple Probing ..and now? ..why? More responsibility? Difficulties? Comparative Questions What were the differences between your handling of the situation and the standard approach ?
Questioning Recording & Evaluating Writing Questions Interview Behavior

Background

Structure

Question Types to Avoid

Double Questions What do you think caused the problem and what solutions have you considered? Tell me something about yourself? What was the last movie you saw? I expect you left your last job because you wanted to improve yourself? Are you expecting to start a family in the near future? How would you deal with a difficult customer?
Questioning Recording & Evaluating Writing Questions Interview Behavior

Ambiguous questions Irrelevant questions Leading Questions

Discriminatory Questions

Hypothetical Questions
Background Structure

Question Types Used in Exceptional Circumstances

Closed Questions
Multiple Choice

Did you enjoy your last job?

Did you leave because of the pay or because you were bored?

Funnelling Approach

Tell me about a time when you last managed a project discussion? How did you go about organising the project meeting? What did you do about those problems? Why did you take that approach? What was the outcome?

Background

Structure

Questioning

Recording & Evaluating

Writing Questions

Interview Behavior

STAR Model for Behavioral Interviewing

This is one of the most widely used interview models in the world It can be used for many types of questioning It is a systematic process particularly good for probing specific aspects of their CV or competencies

Situation
(10% of questioning time)

Task/Target
(10% of questioning time)

Action
(70% of questioning time)

Result
(10% of questioning time)

Situation
Situation
T A R Describe what the situation was? Tell me about a specific time when you have had to ? What was the background? Who else was involved?
Background Structure Questioning Recording & Evaluating Writing Questions Interview Behavior

Task or Target
S

Task/Target
A R What was the task? What exactly were you trying to achieve?

What was the end goal?

Background Structure Questioning Recording & Evaluating Writing Questions Interview Behavior

Action
S T

Action
R What did you actually do? How did you deal with that? How did that approach compare with colleagues? What difficulties did you face?
Background Structure Questioning Recording & Evaluating Writing Questions Interview Behavior

Result
S

T
A

Result
What was the outcome? How does that result compare to others? What have you learnt about planning projects / making architecture?
Background Structure Questioning Recording & Evaluating Writing Questions Interview Behavior

End of Section Quiz

What does the A stand for in the STAR model?

Asking

Analysis

Action
Background Structure Questioning Recording & Evaluating Writing Questions Interview Behavior

The correct answer is

Action

Background

Structure

Questioning

Recording & Evaluating

Writing Questions

Interview Behavior

What type of question is this:

How would you deal with a difficult customer?
Closed

Leading

Hypothetical
Background Structure Questioning Recording & Evaluating Writing Questions Interview Behavior

The correct answer is

Hypothetical

Background

Structure

Questioning

Recording & Evaluating

Writing Questions

Interview Behavior

What type of question is this: I noticed you moved to be with your boyfriend, are you planning to get married?

Ambiguous

Leading

Discriminatory
Background Structure Questioning Recording & Evaluating Writing Questions Interview Behavior

The correct answer is

Discriminatory

Background

Structure

Questioning

Recording & Evaluating

Writing Questions

Interview Behavior

What does the term funnelling refer to?

Probing a competency for lots of examples

Starting with a broad question and then narrowing down to a specific example

The interviewee trying to mislead the interviewer

The correct answer is

Starting with a broad question and then narrowing down to a specific example

Background

Structure

Questioning

Recording & Evaluating

Writing Questions

Interview Behavior

Recording & Evaluating Evidence

Writing Interview Notes

Why?
Create an accurate record of the evidence to support the decision making process (compare the candidates)

What?
Make legible notes Note actual behaviors, facts and observations, include quotes

How?
Record up to 75% of what the interviewee says Openly (keep your notes above the table, but dont let the candidate read them)

Then What?
Compare & rate applicants against the position requirements and team composition Write notes to the HR Consultant about any areas you think they should be aware of or that you want them to seek further clarification for during a second conversation.
Recording & Evaluating Writing Questions Interview Behavior

Background

Structure

Questioning

Evaluating the Interview:

Job Requirement Rating Scale
Good Meets all of the essential criteria and exceeds some criteria for the job requirement Meets most of the essential criteria for the job requirement. Criteria not met could be learned on the job
Meets very few or none of the criteria for the job requirements

Acceptable

Poor

Background

Structure

Questioning

Recording & Evaluating

Writing Questions

Interview Behavior

End of Section Quiz

What is an acceptable piece of evidence?

The candidate described how they managed a team of 5, by setting monthly objectives and having 1 to 1 meetings The candidate came across very professionally: full of drive and integrity

The candidate was very poor at delegating to others

Background

Structure

Questioning

Recording & Evaluating

Writing Questions

Interview Behavior

The correct answer is

The candidate described how they managed a team of 5, by setting monthly objectives and having 1 to 1 meetings

Background

Structure

Questioning

Recording & Evaluating

Writing Questions

Interview Behavior

Writing Effective Questions

Writing Interview Questions

Exploring Job Criteria
Too General
Tell me about your working style.

Target level

Tell me how you approach the development of your projects/tasks/team.

Too Specific
Background

Tell me about the last development intervention you created for your project/team.
Structure Questioning
Recording & Evaluating Writing Questions Interview Behavior

Paper Work
Write 3 complete STAR questions with associated probes for the Common competency below: Team working Demonstrates an interest in and understanding of others. Adapts to the team and builds team spirit. Recognises and rewards the contribution of others. Listens, consults others and communicates proactively. Develops and openly communicates self-insight, such as an awareness of own strengths and weaknesses. Refer to the funneling and STAR information on guidance of how to structure your questions When thinking about your questions consider carefully the information you are trying to elicit and work backwards from this

Effective Interviewing Behavior

Non-Verbal Signs of Attention
Proximity Posture Eye contact Facial expression Head movements Gestures Voice production