BEHAVIORAL-B

ASED

INTERVIEWS

NERAOC 2011, ANCHORAGE, A

LASKA

BEHAVIORAL BASED INTERVIEWSGary DezielAssociate Dean, Operations and Staff SupportUniversity of Vermont Extensiongdeziel@uvm.edu

Mary Fran San SoucieHuman Resources CoordinatorMontana State University Extensionmaryfran@montana.edu

OBJECTIVES• History of behavioral-based interviewing

• Why do behavioral-based interviewing

• Limitations of “traditional” interviewing questions

• How to prepare for behavioral-based interviewing

OBJECTIVES

• Some Typical B-B interview questions• What to expect• How to probe further• Other interview techniques

• Translating traditional interview questions to B-B questions

WHO DEVELOPED THEM AND RESEARCHED B-BByam

Using behavioral interviewing can increase by nearly 60% your chances of hiring the RIGHT employee.*Some researchers indicate 80%.Others say it is 5 times more accurate that traditional interviewing for choosing the right candidates.**

WHY DO IT?

*Salgado, J.F.(1997) Personnel Selection Methods in C.L. Cooper and I.T. Robinson, International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, New York: Wiley.

**Green, 2005

ANOTHER “WHY”

*Green, Wetzel, Somerville, 1983

In one study, researchers found that between 8 and 21 behavioral examples could be found in a single interview*

AND ANOTHERThe 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave their jobs:1. The job or workplace was not as expected2. Mismatch between job and person3. Too little coaching and feedback4. Too few growth and advancement opportunities5. Feeling undervalued and unrecognized6. Stress from overwork and work/life imbalance7. Loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders

*Leigh Branham, “The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave,” 2005

CLIP TIMEHow to determine what questions to ask.

1:12-2:03

TYPES OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONSType Example ApplicationBehavior-based Tell me about a specific time

whenyou faced this type of challenge andwhat you did to address it.

To evaluate how a person hasperformed in the past in a similarjob

Situational A colleague has told you, inconfidence, that she suspectsanother colleague of stealing. Whatwould you do?

To evaluate how a person mightapproach a situation with whichthey have little or no priorexperience

Self-evaluation What do you feel are your greateststrengths?

To explore alignment withorganization’s values, work stylesand attitudes

Simulation Please take two minutes to identifyall the spelling and punctuationerrors in this document.

To validate specific skills sharedon a resume or in an interview

GETTING THE COMPLETE PICTURE

CAPABILITY – the knowledge and skills to do the job

COMMITMENT – the attitude and motivation to do the job effectively

CHEMISTRY – sufficient alignment of the candidate’s values and working styles with

those of the organization (i.e., its culture)

TRADITIONAL INTERVIEWS (WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?)• Tell me more about yourself.• What are your strengths/weaknesses?• What challenges did you face in your last position?

• How did you handle them?• How do you handle stress and pressure on the job?• Who was your best client? Your worst?• Why should we hire you?• What would you do if an angry 4-H parent came to

our door and….?

TRADITIONAL INTERVIEWS

What do they tell us?

What don’t they tell us?

LOGIC/PREMISE BEHIND B-B INTERVIEWINGPast Performance predicts future performance

PROCESS• Carefully structured

• In-depth questions

• Used to gather and evaluate information on experience and skills which have already been determined to be necessary.

• Helps predict employee performance and reduce subjectivity

CLIP TIMEClip #2

BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEWSThese take a lot of work PRIOR to the interview

Requires advance preparationNeed to know skills/abilities/behaviors necessary for the positionNeed to determine what questions would help find out if interviewee HAS those skills/abilities and behaviors

Behavioral interviews end up being more probing and much more specific.Requires applicants to “tell a story” about what they’ve done in a specific type of situation.

Requires allowing pauses to require an answer

CLIP TIMEClip #3

FINDING INFO FOR ORGANIZATION CULTUREPersonality Personal &

FamilialOperates like an extended family; most individuals personallyinvested in their jobs

Dynamic &Entrepreneurial

Encourages and supports risk taking, individually as well ascollectively

Action & ResultsOriented

Stays focused on getting the job done; competitive andachievement-oriented

Structured &Controlled

Relies generally on formal procedures to govern what peopledo; values doing things “by the book”

Terronez and Shay, Structured Interviewing: Perfecting the Perfect hire, 2006

FINDING INFO FOR ORGANIZATION CULTURELeadershipStyle

Supportive Engaged actively in mentoring, facilitating or nurturing

Entrepreneurial

Focused on innovating and risk taking

Practical No-nonsense; aggressive; results-oriented

Efficient Managing/organizing a smooth-running operation

FINDING INFO FOR ORGANIZATION CULTUREBehavioralNorms

Collaboration Teamwork, group consensus and participation

Autonomy Individual risk-taking, innovation, freedom and uniqueness

Competitiveness

Hard-driving; high demands/standards and achievement

Stability Conformity; predictability; secure/stable relationships

FINDING INFO FOR ORGANIZATION CULTUREOperatingPrinciples

Loyalty &Mutual Trust

Seeks and expects strong commitment to the organization

Innovation &Development

Emphasizes being on the cutting edge; fostering new ideas

Goals &Achievement

Sets stretch goals regularly and aggressively pursues them

Formal Rules &Policies

Puts a premium on maintaining a smooth-running organization

FINDING INFO FOR ORGANIZATION CULTUREStrategicEmphasis

HumanDevelopment

Fostering high trust, openness and participation

Growth Acquiring new resources; creating new challenges; trying newthings; prospecting for opportunities

Competitiveness

Setting/hitting stretch targets; winning in the marketplace

Permanence &Stability

Maintaining efficiency, control and smooth operations; valuinglong-term relationships

FINDING INFO FOR ORGANIZATION CULTURESuccessCriteria

People Developing talent, teamwork and employee commitment

Product Being a product leader and innovator with the most uniqueand/or newest products

Competitive

Achieving market leadership; outpacing the competition

Operational Maximizing efficiency, low-cost production and dependabledelivery

CLIP TIME#414:24-18:07

SOME BEHAVIORAL QUESTIONSA la clip #5

18:10-

TYPICAL BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS• Give an example of an occasion when you

used logic to solve a problem. • Give an example of a goal you reached

and tell me how you achieved it. • Describe a decision you made that was

unpopular and how you handled implementing it.

• Have you gone above and beyond the call of duty? If so, how?

MORE• What have you done when your schedule was

interrupted on the job? Give an example of how you handled it.

• Have you had to convince a team to work on a project they weren't thrilled about? How did you do it?

• Give an example to a time when you encountered a difficult situation with a co-worker? How?

• Tell me about a time when you worked effectively under pressure.

MORE…• Give an example of a situation where you didn't

have enough work to do. • Give an example of a time when you made a

mistake. How did you handle it? • Describe a decision you made that was

unpopular and how you handled implementing it.

• Did you every make a risky decision? Why? How did you handle it?

• Tell me about a time when you postponed making a decision. Why did you?

MORE• Have you ever dealt with company policy

you weren't in agreement with? How? • Have you gone above and beyond the call

of duty? If so, how? • When you worked on multiple projects how

did you prioritize? • Please give us an example when you met a

tight deadline? • Give an example of how you have set goals

and achieved them. • Did you ever not meet your goals? Why?

STILL MORE…• Share an example of how you were able to

motivate employees or co-workers. • Give an example of a time when you had a

conflict with a supervisor? Would you have changed anything if you could?

• Give an example of a difficult situation you had with a client or vendor? How did you work through the situation?

• What do you do if you disagree with your boss?

CLIP TIME#624:05-24:33

LET’S TRANSLATE….• How do you handle stress and pressure

on the job?• What do you expect from a manager?• Are you decisive on the job?• Who was your best client?• Give some examples of teamwork…• How would you feel supervising two or

three other employees?

MORE….• Do you prefer to work independently or on a team?

• Are you comfortable about working on many projects at once?

• What motivates you?

• What would you do if an angry 4-H client came in the door?

SUMMING IT UPBehavioral interviews don’t offer ALL the information, but can

help determine past performance on specific behaviors needed for the position.

Many seemingly abstract behaviors can be brought out in behavioral interview questions.

MUST prepare ahead of timeMust ask for specific examples to get a storyAllow for silencesBe able to interpret responses

QUESTIONS?

BEHAVIORAL-BASED INTERVIEWINGGary DezielAssociate Dean, Operations and Staff SupportUniversity of Vermont Extensiongdeziel@uvm.edu

Mary Fran San SoucieHuman Resources CoordinatorMontana State University Extensionmaryfran@montana.edu