Interview Style is Key to Hiring the Best Workforce—or Finding the Ideal Job
Responses to behavior-oriented interview questions reveal not only who is qualified, but also who is likely to excel.
“Past behavior may be the best predictor of future behavior,” says Booz Allen Hamilton associate Chris Carlson. “The behavioral style job interview is based on that premise.”
Behavioral interviews are more likely to predict candidates’ success in a specific job by assessing their past experiences, achievements, and missteps, and using those behaviors to predict how they might approach future professional challenges.
Most potential employees are familiar with traditional interviews, when they’re asked to discuss their strengths and weaknesses, or case-based interviews, when they’re presented with a hypothetical situation and asked to provide a solution. But behavioral style interviews help determine not only whether a candidate can do the job, but also whether he or she has the characteristics that would make him or her successful in that position.
In fact, some analysts believe that responses provided in behavioral interviews are 55% predictive of the candidate’s future on-the-job behavior, while responses during traditional interviews are only 10% predictive.
Booz Allen uses behavioral interviews as part of its three-step process to find the best candidates for consulting positions. The process also includes questions targeting a candidate’s consulting skills (e.g., active listening, data gathering) and questions evaluating her or his technical and functional proficiency and motivation to develop those skills.
By focusing on behavior-oriented questions that solicit personal facts, behavioral interviews enable interviewers to elicit real-life experiences that demonstrate less tangible traits.
For example, a question asked at a traditional interview would be: “Tell me about yourself.” In a behavioral interview, however, the interviewer might ask, “Describe a situation in which…” or “Tell me about a time…,” and encourage the candidate to tell a brief story. Behavioral interviews also provide opportunities for candidates to explain what they have learned from their experiences.
Other examples of behavioral-based interview questions might include:
- Describe the greatest challenge in your last job and how you addressed it.
- Describe a situation in which you found yourself working with someone who didn’t like you. How did you handle it?
- Tell me about a time that you exhibited leadership qualities.
