BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEWING

BEHAVIOR-BASED INTERVIEWING SKILLS

A Methodological Playbook for Data-Driven Hiring

Attendance Check
  • Instructions to share hobbies: Participants are encouraged to share a hobby they enjoy in their free time to foster engagement and class participation.

Projective Test: The Pig Personality Test

Introduction to the Test
  • A creative personality indicative method that interprets the drawing of a pig to reveal personality traits.
Interpretations of the Pig Drawing

  1. Position on the Page:
       - Top of the Page: Indicates a perception of the individual as positive and optimistic.
       - Middle of the Page: Represents a realist nature.
       - Bottom of the Page: Suggests a pessimistic personality, possibly exhibiting negativity under pressure.

  2. Direction the Pig Faces:
       - Left Facing: Suggests traditionalism, friendliness, and a good memory for dates and birthdays.
       - Facing Forward: Indicates a direct personality, one who confronts discussions head-on and enjoys stimulating change.
       - Right Facing: Portrays an innovative and creative spirit, with less concern for remembering dates and birthdays.

  3. Detail in the Drawing:
       - Many Details: Reflects an analytical and cautious perspective, requiring trust to be earned by others.
       - Few Details: Signifies a risk-taker, emotionally expressive, and less concerned with detail.

  4. Legs of the Pig:
       - Four Legs Visible: Indicates a sense of security and adherence to beliefs; individuals may have been told they're stubborn.
       - Less than Four Legs: Suggests undergoing significant life changes.
       - Ear Size: Larger ears symbolize better listening skills.
       - Tail Length: A longer tail represents greater satisfaction with one’s love life.

Warm-Up Exercise: Translating Traits into Behavioral Observations

Conversion of Subjective Traits to Objective Observations
  • Example:
       - Trait: "Impatient and loses temper easily."
       - Behavioral Observation: "Closed-minded, has critical thinking skills, and is a good communicator; relates well with others."

The Context: Why Upgrade to Behavior-Based Interviewing?

Reasons for Implementing Behavior-Based Interviewing (BBI)
  1. The Talent War: The competition for qualified candidates is becoming more intense, necessitating effective interviewing methodologies.
  2. Human Capital: Organizations recognize that human capital is the most critical resource today.
  3. Collaborative Hiring: Emphasis on a collaborative, win-win approach to interviewing improves outcomes.
  4. Candidate Experience: Treat candidates as customers, ensuring they feel valued throughout the hiring process.

The Structured Toolkit: Effective Interview Techniques & Principles

Core Focus of Behavior-Based Interviewing
  • Emphasis on competency and critical events through behavioral questions. Past behavior serves as a predictor of future job success.
Data Collection Approach
  • The focus on gathering performance data against candidates’ ideas—reducing misunderstandings, emphasizing real behavior versus personal impressions, and employing a structured probing scheme.
Business ROI of BBI
  • Enhanced accuracy regarding person-job fit,
  • Shorter development periods,
  • Reduced employee turnover,
  • Lower overall hiring costs leading to improved productivity levels.

Steps in the BBIT (Behavior-Based Interviewing Technique) Process

Breakdown of the BBI Steps

A. BEFORE:

  • Understand competencies required for the position.
  • Develop a guided approach for the interview.

B. DURING:

  • Capture meaningful and maximum data possible from the candidate’s responses.

C. AFTER:

  • Compare collected data against the required competencies.
  • Utilize data for the overall assessment of candidates’ fitness for the role.

Phase 1: The Opening Format

Key Components of the Opening Phase
  • Greet: Establish rapport with the candidate at the beginning of the interview.
  • Explain the Process: Clearly communicate the structure and purpose of the interview.
  • Document: Inform the candidate of note-taking to capture insights during the conversation.
  • Set Expectations: Let the candidate know that detailed behavioral questions will be asked, focusing on recent experiences.
  • Warn: Acknowledge that interruptions may occur for clarification throughout the discussion.

Exercise: Writing Your Formatting Statement

Guidelines for Preparing an Interview Statement
  • Include a formal greeting and introduction.
  • Initiate small talk to create a comfortable atmosphere.
  • Outline the general goals and steps to structure your interview.
  • Reflect on how to present yourself and facilitate a friendly discussion.

Phase 2: Data Gathering Responsibilities

Responsibilities During Data Collection
  • Information Pull: Pose focused questions related to the candidate’s past behaviors relevant to the job.
  • Information Push: Provide insights about the job position and take notes, ensuring any gaps in the candidate’s resume are clarified.
  • Conviction: Encourage the candidate on the benefits of the job and the organization while asking targeted questions to fill in information gaps.
Questions for Effective Probing
  1. How do you probe for significant data from candidates?
  2. What methods do you use to distinguish between significant and insignificant data during interviews?

The S-B-R Target: What is Significant Data?

Understanding significant behavioral responses
  • Situation-Behavior-Result (S-B-R): Listen for specifics regarding what candidates said, did, thought, and felt during distinct past situations rather than their general habits or opinions.
  • Exclusions: Insights given should avoid general personal feelings about others and focus on concrete actions.

The STAR Method: A Blueprint for Behavioral Interviews

Elements of the STAR Method
  1. Situation: Establish the context of the experience—describe a specific event or situation.
  2. Task: Define your objective and the goal for the situation.
  3. Action: Detail the steps taken to address the situation, emphasizing personal contributions.
  4. Result: Communicate the outcome of actions undertaken and analyze the overall impact.

Phase 1: Framing the Context and Objectives

Detailed Steps for Communicating Past Experiences
  • Past Experience: Define specific events from prior roles or volunteer opportunities.
  • Task Instructions: Clearly articulate the objective relevant to the previously mentioned situation.

Phase 2: The Execution Engine

Details Required in the Execution Phase
  • Focus should remain on individual actions taken rather than on team contributions, using first-person language (“I” statements).

Phase 3: Measuring the Impact

Evaluating Outcomes of Actions Taken
  • Outline quantifiable metrics achieved through actions.
  • Discuss any personal growth resulting from the experience, eliminating negative reflections unless strategically useful to provide depth.

Anatomy of a Winning Response

Sample Structure for Behavioral Responses
  • Situation (S): Outline advertising difficulties in a college newspaper context.
  • Task (T): Specify goals like striving for a 15% increase in advertisers.
  • Action (A): Enumerate actions taken such as creating promotional packets and conducting presentations.
  • Result (R): Clarify results achieved, including contract signings and advertiser increases, thus affirming the impact made.

The Preparation Blueprint

Effective Strategies for Story Preparation
  • Recall various real-life situations demonstrating favorable personal behaviors.
  • Diversify examples across different life areas to enrich narratives.
  • Prepare concise story descriptions capable of expanding with detail if prompted.
  • Ensure every narrative includes a clear structure (beginning, middle, end).
  • Authenticity is critical: truthfulness in the recounting of events is essential.
  • Outcomes should reflect positively on the candidate, even in the face of negativity from the situation.

Practice Matrix I: Interpersonal & Communication

Example Questions for Interview Practice
  • [Persuasion] Describe a situation where persuasion led to success.
  • [Influence] Share a time you influenced through presentation skills.
  • [Conflict] How do you handle conflict? Give an example.
  • [Friction] Describe an interaction that required successful management of personal differences.
  • [De-escalation] Provide a recent example of a conflict with a customer or colleague.
  • [Hard Conversations] Describe a challenging task such as terminating a friend's position.

Practice Matrix II: Problem Solving & Adaptability

Core Questions for Skill Showcasing
  • [Stress Management] Discuss a stressful event highlighting your coping strategies.
  • [Judgment] Give an example illustrating good judgment in problem-solving.
  • [Agility] Provide an example of a split-second decision-making scenario.
  • [Investigation] Detail a past experience involving fact-finding for solutions.
  • [Oversight] Discuss a missed solution in a given situation.
  • [Foresight] Describe an instance of anticipating issues and acting preventively.
  • [Written Communication] Talk about an important document that needed your attention.

Practice Matrix III: Leadership, Drive & Failure

Interview Questions for Leadership Assessment
  • [Execution] Illustrate a goal setting and achievement experience.
  • [Compliance] Describe conforming to an unpopular policy.
  • [Initiative] Discuss a time you exceeded expectations.
  • [Prioritization] Give a situation where you had to prioritize tasks.
  • [Tough Choices] Share difficult decisions made recently.
  • [Failure] Describe a time of failure along with the lessons learned from it.
  • [Leadership] Relay a leadership experience where you motivated your peers.
  • [Management] Discuss effective delegation of a project.
  • [Ambition] Tell about an experience with ambitious goal-setting mistakes.

The Pre-Interview Diagnostic Checklist

Ensuring Effective Interview Preparation
  • Did I choose a specific event to showcase rather than generalities?
  • Is the main objective of my response clear?
  • Did I focus on personal actions with the use of 'I' instead of 'we'?
  • Did I finish with clear, measurable outcomes that speak to my accomplishments?

Pitfalls: Ineffective Questions to Avoid

Types of Questions that are Counterproductive

  1. Theoretical Questions:
       - Lead to assumptions rather than behavior indicators.
       - Examples include vague inquiries about ideal employee qualities or hypothetical situations involving irate customers.

  2. Leading Questions:
       - Direct candidates towards expected answers, often leading to confusion. This includes questions implying the need for specific desirable traits.

Best Practices: Do's in Getting Data

Effective Questioning Approach
  • Ask direct inquiries about actual actions and dialogues, anchoring questions in the past tense.
  • Request literal dialogue quotes to provide clarity.
  • Intervene and clarify when responses do not meet expectations.
  • Strive to uncover motivations behind actions for deeper insights.
  • Reinforce and praise good responses to guide candidates toward desired specifics.

Phase 3: Closing Statements

Ending the Interview Effectively
  • Acknowledge and thank the candidate for their time during the session.
  • Provide candidates a chance to ask questions regarding the role.
  • Clearly indicate the next steps that candidates can expect in the hiring process, ensuring honesty without false optimism.
  • Always conclude on a positive note, even when delivering disappointing news, to foster goodwill for the future.