INTRODUCTION TO
BEHAVIORAL- BASED
INTERVIEWING
July 2014
TRAINING OBJECTIVES
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Identify the Legal Issues Related to the Interview
Process
Define Competencies
Develop Behavioral Based Interview Questions
Evaluate Candidate Responses
Why Competency-based
Behavioral Interviewing?
Competency-based Behavioral Interviewing assists the
hiring manager to:
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Identify if the candidate has the skills, knowledge and abilities
(competencies) to perform the job.
Ensure culture and organizational fit.
Hire top talent for a “best in class” organization.
Retain the best talent and in a high performing organization.
Remain competitive in an environment of increased competition
for talent.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
LAWS
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission provides oversight and
coordination of all federal equal
employment regulations, practices and
policies.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
LAWS

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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
(ADEA)
Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination
Act of 2008 (GINA)
The Civil Rights Act of 1991
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
Equal Opportunity Policy
“Johns Hopkins University is committed to equal
opportunity for its faculty, staff, and students. To that
end, the University does not discriminate on the basis
of sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color,
ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion,
sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,
veteran status or other legally protected
characteristics.”
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
Equal Opportunity Policy
“The University’s equal opportunity policy is essential
to its mission of excellence in education and research
and applies to all academic programs administered
by the University, its educational policies, admission
policies, scholarship and loan programs and athletic
programs. It applies to all employment decisions,
including those affecting hiring, promotion, demotion
or transfer, advertisement of vacancies, layoff and
termination, compensation and benefits, and selection
for training.”
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
For more information, please see the JHU Human
Resources Policy Manual at
https://hrnt.jhu.edu/polman/appendices/sectionA.cfm
Additional EEOC information can be found at
http://www.eeoc.gov/
What Are Competencies?

Measurable or observable knowledge, skills and
behaviors critical to successful job performance.
Why Are Competencies Important?
Competencies help to:
 Organize
and develop the work of employees.
 Recruit and select the best employees.
 Effectively manage and train employees.
 Allow you to develop succession plans and prepare for
future job openings.
Why Competencies?
Benefits for Leaders


Identify hiring,
performance and
selection criteria.
Provide more objective
performance
standards.
Benefits for Employees


Identify behavioral
standards of
performance excellence.
Support a more specific
objective assessment of
their strength and areas
of professional
development.
What Are Job Descriptions?

Job descriptions explain the duties and other
aspects of the job, including the competencies
needed to perform the job.
Job Descriptions and Competencies
The job description and competencies form a basis for
recruiting, hiring, training, developing and managing
the performance of employees.
Competencies convey, to employees, what level of
knowledge and skill is required to successfully perform
the job duties.
Exercise
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Job Description:
Patient Service Coordinator
Patient Service Coordinator
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Offers friendly, courteous and confidential
assistance to patients to ensure each patient has a
positive experience while at Johns Hopkins.
Schedule patients for laboratory tests, examinations
and consultations.
Answer phones and provide routine information to
callers.
Patient Service Coordinator

Requirements:
 One
year experience in a similar service-oriented
industry
 High school diploma or GED
 Excellent customer service skills

Preferred Qualifications:
 Epic
and EMR experience
What Is A Behavioral Based Interview?

It is a hiring practice, based on the theory that past
performance and behavior is an accurate predictor
of future performance and behavior.
How To Conduct a Behavioral Based
Interview
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Perform a thorough job analysis.
Develop and write job descriptions with behavioral
competencies. Include knowledge, skills and abilities
required to perform the job.
Develop interview questions about past behavior,
actions and experiences.
What Are Behavioral Interview
Questions?

Behavioral based interview questions ask for
specific examples of a candidates past experience.
Examples are:
 “Tell
me about a time when…”
 “Share with me when…”
 “Give me an example of a situation when…”
 “When have you been…”
Behavioral Based Interviewing

When conducting a behavioral based interview, the
goal is to have the candidate provide you with an
overview of:
 The
Situation (What happened?)
 The Task
 The Action or Behavior (What did they do?)
 The Result or Outcome (What was the end result or
outcome?)
Examples of Questions and Responses
Question:
This position involves providing exceptional customer
service to our patients. Tell me about a time when you
provided exceptional service or went the extra mile
for a customer?
Examples of Questions and Responses
Weak Response
I enjoy working with the public and have really good
interpersonal skills. I would do a great job answering
the phone and providing great service to patients. I
love working with people!
Examples of Questions and Responses
Strong Response
1.
The situation is described..
“At my last job I was responsible for answering questions patients
had regarding their billing. I received a call from a patient who
was very upset about her bill. She felt she was overcharged for
the emergency room services she received.”
Examples of Questions and Responses
Strong Response
2.
The task is described..
“The first thing I did was assure the caller that we would take
care of the situation immediately. Then I asked for her full name
and verified confidential information to make sure I was speaking
with the correct person. I pulled up her billing statement and
noticed the co-pay had not been deducted from the statement
and I could see in the system that this was paid. I asked the
caller what she thought was in error with her billing statement,
and she confirmed what I suspected – the $100 copay was not
showing as deducted from her billing statement.”
Examples of Questions and Responses
Strong Response
3.
The action or behavior is described..
“I asked the caller if I could place her on hold while I looked into the situation. I
called our accounts payable department and they confirmed the error and
were able to correct it immediately. I asked if a new statement could be sent
to the patient, reflecting the copay. They were able to send out a new
statement the same day. I returned to the caller and informed her the error
had been corrected and a new statement was being issued. I also provided
the customer with her new balance. We normally would not contact accounts
payable directly, but since this was an obvious error, I thought contacting them
directly was more efficient. It would have taken a month to resolve if a normal
service request ticket was opened to look into this situation.”
Examples of Questions and Responses
Strong Response
4.
The result or outcome is described…
“The customer was very happy to learn that this had been
resolved. She was also glad to know she would be receiving a
statement reflecting the correction. She was impressed with how
quickly this was taken care of and I later received a thank you
letter. My boss even said I did a great job going the extra mile
for the customer by not following the normal process of submitting
service request.”
Summary
Remember:
 The importance of identifying the Legal Issues
Related to the Interview Process
 The role of competencies in developing optimal
behavioral-based interview questions
 Components of optimal behavioral-based interview
questions
 The specific factors that determine optimal
candidate responses (STAR model)
Coming soon!
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Stay tuned for upcoming instructor-led courses
on Behavioral-based Interviewing this FALL
(2014)
In- class exercises
Step #1
Review a job description and define the competencies
needed for the position…
Step #2
Develop behavioral based interview questions
PRACTICE
Practice your behavioral interviewing skills

Divide into groups of three. Each individual will take
turns as:
a. An interviewer
b. Interviewee
c.
Observer
The observer will provide feedback to regarding the
interviewers skills using the behavioral interviewing
technique.
Remember…
Practice, Practice, Practice!
Questions
Thank You
Thank you for your time and participation!