Behavioral Interviewing
for Hiring Success
Barbara Rutkowski
Senior Consultant, Learning Dynamics, Inc.
 How behavioral interviewing leads to successful hires
 Pitfalls of behavioral interview training
 What your hiring managers need to know
Today’s
Content
 Key content for effective behavioral interview training
 Tools you can use
 How to make sure training translates to results
TRADITIONAL
10% predictive of future
competence
Behavioral
Interview
Effectiveness
Can be subjective based
on supposition.
“How would you….”
Examples can’t be tested.
“So you would save the
day by acting like
superman!”
BEHAVIORAL
TRADITIONAL
Behavioral
Interview
Effectiveness
BEHAVIORAL
10% predictive of future
competence
55%
Can be subjective based
on supposition.
“How would you….”
Objective, fact-based
“Tell me how you have…”
Examples can’t be tested.
“So you would save the
day by acting like
superman!”
Answers can be tested.
“Tell me how you did xyz…”
“How did that contribute…”
“Why did you do xyz…”
Preparation
Pitfalls of
Behavioral
Interview
Training
• Determine position needs
• Create behavioral questions
Interview
• Interview logistics
• Ask questions, record answers
Selection
• Review candidate interviews
• Make selection, extend offer
Planning
What Hiring
Managers
Need to Know
Interviewing
Decision
Making
•
•
•
•
Strategic assessment of needs – THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
Defining position qualifications
Select behavioral interview questions
Prepare for interviews
•
•
•
•
Review resume & ask clarifying questions
Ask behavioral questions, probe, follow-up, take notes
Invite questions from candidate
Explain next steps & thank candidate
• Complete candidate comparison chart
• Debrief with other interviewers & HR
• Select best candidate
How can we get managers to think
outside the box?
Discussion
What do you want managers to
consider as they identify skills and
qualifications?
Strategic
Planning
Inspire managers
to hire based on
skills and competencies
required for
FUTURE success
Experience: Must haves versus wants
Education: Preferred versus required
Skills/Competencies:
Qualifications
 Functional: technical or operational skills,
expertise, or knowledge
 Behavioral: behaviors required for success in
the job
 Organizational: behaviors identified as
important for success in your
company/organization
Preparation
Pitfalls of
Behavioral
Interview
Training
• Determine position needs
• Create behavioral questions
Interview
• Interview logistics
• Ask questions, record answers
Selection
• Review candidate interviews
• Make selection, extend offer
A great
question alone
is not sufficient
1. Ask behavioral questions
2. Test answers and probe
3. Assess responses
Give me an
example
of...
Behavioral
Questions
Talk me
through a
situation
when...
Core
Questions
Explain
how you
have...
Tell me
about a
time
when...
Describe
how you
have...
S.T.A.R.
How do you
recognize a
great answer?
SITUATION/TASK
This provides the overview
of the situation/task where
the competency was
demonstrated.
ACTION
This is what the
individual has said or
done personally to
complete the task or
address the challenge.
RESULT
The result shows the
effectiveness of actions
taken and links the
action to a successful
outcome.
Question: Tell me about a time when you
worked on a team and someone was not
cooperating or working as an effective team
member.
S.T.A.R.
Exercise
SITUATION/TASK
This provides the overview
of the situation/task where
the competency was
demonstrated.
ACTION
This is what the
individual has said or
done personally to
complete the task or
address the challenge.
RESULT
The result shows the
effectiveness of actions
taken and links the
action to a successful
outcome.
 What was your specific contribution?
 Talk me through what you did step-by-step.
 What did you learn from this experience?
Testing and
Probing
 Why was that critical?
 Why did xyz occur?
 If you were to complete the task again, what
would you do differently?
 If you were to give a colleague advice on this,
what would it be?
Expressions of Positive Feelings
“I felt really motivated in that role.”
Listen
Carefully & Ask
Follow-up
Questions
Expressions of Negative Feelings: what a candidate
feels about a situation
“I was frustrated by the way I was managed in that
project.”
Subjective Statements: what a candidate thinks he/she
would do
“I would be great at dealing with client complaints over
the phone.”
Vague Statements: candidate is not specific about their
actions
“…so I managed to persuade the client that it was a good
deal and they bought the product.”
Listen
Carefully & Ask
Follow-up
Questions
General Statements: candidate uses ‘we’ not ‘I’
“…so we delivered the process training and…”
Response Omissions: candidate was asked about
achieving a project delivery deadline, but avoids
answering
“…and my project successfully achieved the quality
targets.”
Preparation
Pitfalls of
Behavioral
Interview
Training
• Determine position needs
• Create behavioral questions
Interview
• Interview logistics
• Ask questions, record answers
Selection
• Review candidate interviews
• Make selection, extend offer
Competency: Interpersonal Skills
Question: Describe a situation where you and a coworker disagreed. How did you handle this?
Interviewer Notes:
Tools: Notes
and Rating
Scale
Situation/Task
Rating: __________
5 = Much More
4 = More Than
3 = Acceptable
2 = Less Than
1 = Much Less
Action
Result
Key:
1 = Unsatisfactory
2 = Meets Some Requirements
3 = Meets Requirements
4 = Very Good
5 = Outstanding
Candidate
Comparison
Chart
Planning
Successful
Execution
Interviewing
Decision
Making
How can we do this?
Implementation
support will ensure
your investment in
training pays off
Training
Effectiveness
If managers can’t apply what they’ve
learned you might as well skip the
training.
 Provide follow-up support after class
 Group conference calls or webinars
Consultative
Support
 Peer support group discussions
 Tools & Resources
 On-demand coaching for next 3 position openings
 Coaching / consulting services
A national training company, created in 1981 to serve the
needs of companies seeking highly cost-effective means
of supplementing their existing internal resources.
Learning
Dynamics
Learning Dynamics partners with its clients to
strengthen employee and/or organizational
performance.
We are proud to work with clients across the country in a
wide variety of industries. In addition to our corporate
clients, we also work with colleges, universities,
municipalities and non-profit organizations.
 Bringing Out the Best in Others
 Common Decency®
 Diversity Without Adversity
 Emotional Intelligence
Learning
Dynamics
 Honest Appraisal
 Integrity at Work®
 Managing Stress and Multi-Tasking
 Personally Speaking (Presentation Skills)
 Supervisor’s Tool Kit
 The Write Approach
 Understanding and Leading a Multi-Generational Workforce
Thank you