Mastering the Behavioural Based Interview
THIS ARTICLE WAS FIRST SHARED on Workplace.ca Summer 2012
Q :We have come across an increasing number of candidates who fail to perform in the behavioural based interview. Can you give us some tips for success?
A: Watching candidates who fail at behavioural based interviews (BBI) is a management activity that can definitely tire us out. The BBI is a preferred selection interview based on the notion that past behaviour is a good predictor of future success.
The interviewer asks a number of experience-based questions designed to test the candidate’s capability to perform the required capabilities of the work. They are looking for evidence of transferrable skills and demonstrated competency. They are listening for the STAR response. STAR refers to the description of the situation or task, the action taken and the result of that action.
Interviewees often have difficulty with the BBI. If they have not prepared by studying the job ad, asking for the job description or spent time combing through their work experience, it is difficult to remember appropriate examples during the interview. Interviewers have to evaluate the candidate based on the strength and comprehensiveness of the answers provided.
HR professionals and managers can help employees by coaching them to prepare and to avoid some of the more common mistakes made by interviewees. It’s of course critical for a manager to refrain from coaching an employee for a competition he or she is hosting unless all internal candidates receive the same information.
Here are some tips for preparing for interviews.
Prepare, prepare, prepare. The job advertisement and job description can provide insight to the competencies likely to be tested during the interview. Employees should review them thoroughly and make a list of the behaviours, skills and abilities identified. Use the list to think about previous experience where they demonstrated this behaviour or skill. What was the situation? What was required? What action did the employee take? What was the result? What feedback did the employee receive? How does the employee know they did a good job?
Answer the question and provide an example. Many interviewees will complete a BBI never providing a single example. Rather they simply name the example and neglect to provide the details. Often they talk around the competency neglecting to speak to the how. Develop the answer speaking to the what and the how. Remember STAR.
Avoid answering questions using “we.” Often when the interviewee has been a member of a task team, the tendency is to answer using the pronoun “we.” Interviewees need to speak to their role in the team. What was the task assigned or the product to be delivered? What outcome was to be produced? How was that specific task or activity accomplished? How did that work benefit the team overall? Remind the employee that “we” is not being interviewed. “He” is.
Speak to the full depth and breadth of the current role when providing examples. It is common for interviewees to understate their current role or experience because of their familiarity with it. They thin that the skill they execute in the job is just part of what they do every-day. It’s nothing special to them so they don’t think to use it as an example. Sometimes they also hold back because it feels like bragging.
Avoid forcing the interviewers to be mind readers. Answering with an, “Oh yes, I do that all the time” then neglecting to provide the example leaves the interviewer to guess. Interviewers want the specifics. They are looking for the how and the what.
Provide an example from outside the workplace rather than saying they’ve never had to use the skill or competency before. In some cases it is possible that an interviewee simply does not have the
be overcome by demonstrating the competency in another area of life. Skills and competencies can often be demonstrated through volunteer, post secondary or unpaid work. Use the full range of experience to answer the question.
Practice answering behavioural based questions and listen for the competency being tested. Unprepared interviewees cannot come up with the examples. They often miss the question’s context due to unfamiliarity with the BBI process, the job and the competencies required by the hiring organization. Practice the STAR technique.
Speak to the level of the position. It’s important to match the level of competency and skill offered in the answer with that required of the job. Some interviewees over or under speak the competency. Treat all the interviewers as if they were strangers. Interviewees need to behave as though they are unknown. Employees often think their previous experience or relationship with the interviewer will speak for itself. Remind them to provide the full example and not to assume the interviewer will fill in the blanks.
Provide a negative example and the learning rather than not answer a question. When a negative example is offered, it can be powerful if the employee is able to speak to the learning the situation provided.
Keep an experience journal. Many examples of BBIs can be found on the internet and in “How to” books. Employees should be encouraged to research them and to journal experiences against the competencies asked through the questions. If this becomes practice throughout an employee’s work life, the work of preparing for a BBI is minimized. Encourage employees to keep their experience fresh and top of mind.
In conclusion, mastering the behavioural-based interview takes preparation, insight and practice. HR professionals and managers can play a crucial role in establishing the general parameters for a successful interview. Preparing employees helps minimize interview anxiety and increases everyone’s satisfaction with the interview process. It also serves to help an organization retain its talent.
Gail Boone is an Independent Facilitator and Consultant specializing in Strategic Human Resources and Organizational Development. She can be reached at (902) 497-8650 or via email at gailboone@ns.sympatico.ca.
