What Is Behavioral Style Interviewing And Why Do I Care

O ver the years,                   you are applying for. The thought  interviewers have deployed      process is that your past          all sorts of methods to         behaviors are the best indicator   “weed” out candidates in an           of future behavior. A good job     effort to determine who is best       interviewer will have assembled    qualified for a job. A lot has        all the necessary skills required  changed from the days when the        for the job and prepared a list    interviewer could ask anything        of behavioral style questions      s/he wanted to. With changes in       surrounding those traits. For      laws regarding discrimination,        example, for each question, you    etc, new methods were developed       may be asked about a situation,    to pass judgment on candidates.       what you did and what the outcome  One of those methods is called        was.                               “Behavioral Style” interviewing                                          and the reality is you may not        As an example, you may be asked    even know you are in this type of     “Tell me about a time when you     interview.                            had too many things to do and you                                        were required to prioritize your   You may be asking yourself, “What     tasks.” Compare to “Tell me how    exactly is behavioral                 you would prioritize your tasks    interviewing and why do I care?”      if you had too much to do.” Do     Behavioral style interviewing is      you see the difference? In one     a standard method of eliciting        situation you are asked very       information from a candidate          specifically what you did in a     about his or her relevant past        certain situation where as the     behavior and performance. The key     other question merely asked you    word is “relevant”, meaning, how      to describe what you might do. We  you performed in job situations       all have the best intentions, so   in the past where these same          what you say you might do is not   situations might be in the job        necessarily what you might         actually do.                          you.                                                                                                        Now that we know what this style      Moving right along, the things     is, how do we prepare for this        mentioned above you must do no     type of interview?                    matter the style of interview.                                           Now, for the behavioral style,     Like for any interview, you must      you need to think hard. You need   prepare. You still need to go         to come up with solid examples of  through the normal preparation        your experience and how they       such as understanding the             relate to the job you are about    company, financial information,       to interview for. Think again of   products, culture, etc. You can       the three items I mentioned        get most of this from the             above, the situation, what you     company's web site or 10-k            did and outcome. Most behavioral   filings. Since you now have the       style questions are the same       name of the hiring manger, do an      questions that have been used for  internet search on him/her. Has       years but with the wording         this person been in any               slightly modified to elicit very   business/trade journals?              specific responses from you of     Sometimes you can learn a lot         actual past behavioral. Go to any  about the person you will be          search engine and type in          interviewing with. By the way,        interview questions and you have   the hiring manager can do the         your list to practice from.        same thing on you. You may want       Remember, the interviewer is       to do a search on yourself. If        thinking that past behavioral is   your name is John Smith, you          an indicator of future             probably do not have anything to      behavioral. When answering         worry about. But if you have a        questions, do not ramble on. Be    very unique name, it is very easy     specific and to the point. There   to find out information about         is a fine line though between      being to brief and not giving                                            enough detail to being full of        Good Luck!                         hot air.                               About the Author: Keith Scott is a business leader and has over 20 years of management experience. He has interviewed thousands of candidates from entry-level positions to executive management. His mission in life is to help others understand and navigate the job interview process and the work environment. For a touch of humor, visit his websites at http://bad-job-interviews.coolinternetlinks.com http://workplace-dorks.coolinternetlinks.com/index.htm http://my-boss-is-a-jerk.coolinternetlinks.com Read more articles by: Keith Scott This article is distributed by: www.iSnare.com