Why Behavioral Interviewing Could be Right for You
Posted February 16th, 2015
One of the greatest challenges in interviewing is trying to correlate a candidate’s past achievement with their future potential. One strategy to accomplish this feat of soothsaying this is to focus more on personality and work style than skill set and employment history.
This is called behavioral interviewing, and tech companies are increasingly integrating this tool into their recruitment process to mitigate the effects of a bad hire. Learn more about what is involved and why the strategy works, and decide if it’s a tool you could use to find better candidates.
What is Behavioral Interviewing?
Behavioral interviewing is designed to reveal how a potential hire will get along with co-workers, respond to challenging projects and responsibilities, and integrate themselves into teams. The aim is to determine the candidate’s fit for your entire organization and long term goals, not just the bullet points included on the job description. This is a radical approach compared to traditional STEM profession interviews which have typically focused on technical skills and research.
Here are some examples of behavioral interviewing questions:
- Describe the most difficult person you have ever worked with and how you dealt with them.
- Tell me about an error you made that adversely affected other team members. How did you overcome it?
- What makes you excited to come to work? What was the most exciting moment of your professional life?
- What are your independent decision-making skills like, and how have they affected your past performance positively and negatively?
As you can see, these questions are all about the candidate as a person, not just a tech professional.
Why is Behavioral Interviewing Valuable?
There is a reason that this interview style has been increasingly adopted into scientific recruiting over the last 15 years. As part of a broader evaluation strategy it has been shown to produce candidates who are simply better at their jobs. Here’s why:
- Behavior relates directly to company culture. Candidates who make it through these interviews better reflect the company’s values and goals.
- Since the candidates are a better fit for the existing culture, they are happier in their jobs, more productive, and easier to retain.
- Behavioral questions are often unexpected and help solicit honest, unprepared answers from the candidates.
- Success in STEM endeavors increasingly relies on cohesion within a team. Behavioral interviews help determine if a potential hire is a compliment or an impediment.
Could behavioral interviews add something valuable to your recruitment process? If so, work with Bayside Solutions to learn more about conducting these interviews effectively.
