Training Workshop -The Art of Interviewing

Behavioural Event Interviewing / Targeted Selection

Workshop Ground Rules

During the workshop, remember to:

• Share openly

• Respect the other’s contribution

• Keep an open mind

• Be responsible for your learning

• No mobile phones !

• No meetings !

• Have FUN !!

Why Focus On Interviewing?

• Effective interviewing / selection helps identify people

who can and will do the job over a period of time.

• It is productive time invested.

Interviewing – Why Is It So Hard?

You have one hour or less to evaluate someone who:

• You probably have never met before

• May be nervous and who therefore may not do

themselves justice

• May see the interview as a “game” in which to sell

themselves and their achievements in a far more positive

way than is the case in reality.

Interviewing – Why Is It So Hard?

You, as the interviewer:

• May be short on time

• May be occupied with tasks

• May not have had time to prepare

• May be preoccupied with managing the interview process

than actually evaluating the candidate

Little wonder then that interviews so often result in hiring the wrong

candidate!

The challenge: An interview will always involve a judgement – but

how to make this judgment as objective as possible?

Absence Of Effective Interviewing

Organization’s challenges:

• Hiring people that do not meet the organizational fit

• High employee turnover - low morale

• Disrupted customer service / threat of losing business

• Focus of leaders on filling positions

• Lack of time for coaching & contributing to goals

• Increasing pressure to achieve goals

• Costs of hiring.

Consequences Of A Poor Hiring Decision

Higher Cost:

• Recruitment Fees

• Separation Costs

• Training Fees

Disruption:

• Time & Energy Spent Recruiting

• Reduced Efficiency

Lower Performance:

• Service

• Quality

• Productivity and teamwork.

Cost of Poor Selection

A hiring mistake costs 40% - 60%

of the position’s

annual compensation.

……as per study.

Exercise -

What Makes An Effective Interview

• For the interviewer, what makes an effective interview ?

• For the interviewee, what makes an effective interview?

• What barriers prevent you from conducting an effective

interview?

For the Interviewer, What Makes An

Effective Interview

• Preparation : the candidate’s resume is read thoroughly and

questions are prepared

• The interviewer knows what to look for in candidates

• The candidate does most of the talking, but the interviewer

controls the interview

• The interviewer asks the right questions in order to evaluate

the candidate accurately

• There is enough time for the interview

• The candidate is briefed fully about the role and the

company.

For the Interviewee, What Makes An

Effective Interview

• The interviewer is confident, enthusiastic, approachable

• The candidate is made to feel comfortable and attended to

• The interviewer listens to the candidate and does not

interrupt

• The interviewer allows time for the candidate to ask

questions

• The candidate’s questions and comments are dealt with

effectively

• There is enough time for the interview

• The interviewer briefs the candidate fully about the role and

the company.

Common Selection Problems

• Lack of preparedness by the interviewer: has not read

the resume, not prepared questions

• Lack of structured, consistent approach

• Lack of focussed questions

• The candidate talks too little

• The interviewer talks too much

• Interviewers overlook organizational fit

• Lack of data gathering during the interview

• Lack of exchange of notes among interviewers.

A Solution ... Targeted Selection / Behavioural Event Interviewing

Aims to help hire the best fit candidate by :

• Building the selection process around job requirements

• Obtaining accurate behavioural information to predict

future behaviour

• Eliminating inconsistencies

• Equal treatment of all candidates.

Behavioural Event Interviewing:

What Is It?

An interviewing technique that is based on

three fundamental principles:

• Evaluate candidates against job capabilities

• Past behaviour is the best predictor of future

behaviour

• Ask the right questions.

Behavioural Event Interviewing

• First Principle:

It is essential to identify the required capabilities for the

job, and evaluate candidates against these capabilities

in a targeted way:

• Functional capabilities

• Behavioural capabilities.

What To Look For In Candidates – Functional

Capabilities Functional capabilities are specified in Job Descriptions:

• Key functional capabilities are:

• Education: Is a degree/MBA required?

• What languages are required?

• Technical or professional qualifications:

• Are particular medical qualifications required?

• Does the job require IT skills?

• Does the job require other specialist skills?

• Work experience:

• What industry / sector / skills experience is required?

• Must the candidate have worked overseas?

• Must the candidate have lead a large team?

What To Look For In Candidates – Behavioural

Capabilities

• Behavioural capabilities are linked directly to the job/ role

• Desired behaviours to perform the job / role successfully

• Part of Job Description

• Also called Competencies.

Behavioural Event Interviewing

• Second Principle:

Past behaviour and achievement is the best predictor of

future behaviour and achievement:

• What people do or have done is a far better measure of

them than what they say !

• What people have actually achieved in the past is the

best predictor of their future capability.

Past Behaviour Is The Best Predictor Of Future

Behaviour If a candidate makes the following statements in an

interview, would you accept them at face value?

• My weakness is that I sometimes push my people too hard, because I like

to get things done

• I’m a strong leader

• I’m a good team player

• I left my last job because I was looking for a new challenge

• I like working with people

• I really like the kind of opportunity you have

• I like interacting with people / customers

• I left my last job because I was looking for a new challenge

• I’m attracted to working for an organization that helps people.

Behavioural Event Interviewing

• Third Principle:

Ask the right questions:

• Questions must generate specific examples of what the

candidate has done or achieved in the past

• Specific Example = Action + Outcome (use the “STAR”

concept)

• Candidates should be selected on the basis of how well

these examples of past behaviours and achievements

match the required capabilities of the job.

Behavioural Event Interviewing – Asking The

Right Questions

The right questions are ones which obtain specific

examples (action + outcome), from the candidate’s past

achievements, of the capabilities you are looking for in the

job.

The Right Questions To Ask:

• Questions Which Gather Data

• Questions Which Probe For Background

• Questions Which Probe For Action

• Questions Which Probe For Outcomes.

• Introduce a general area or topic to discuss with the

candidate

• Are open ended – i.e cannot be answered in one word –

“ yes” or “no”

• Get the candidate to talk about what they have done in

the past

• Are usually in the past tense

• Are succinct but specific.

Data Gathering Questions

Examples:

• Tell me about the most challenging project you have

been involved with at your current job

• Describe a situation in which you had to overcome a

major obstacle to accomplish an objective

• What were your top three achievements in that job?

• Give me an example of when you have demonstrated

leadership.

• What challenges did you face in that role?

• Tell me about the most challenging project you have

been involved in.

• How did you approach that problem?

Data Gathering Questions

Questions Which Probe For Background

Examples:

• Describe your department’s organization and how you fit

into it.

• Who initiated the project? Whose idea was it?

• Did you lead the project or were you a team member?

• Who else was on the team, and what role did they play?

• What was the issue?

• For how long were you involved with the initiative?

Questions Which Probe For Actions

• Are follow up questions from Data Gathering questions

• Elicit more data /detail about what the candidate

actually did

• Probe specifically :

• What was the Action?

• Who did What?

• Most important questions to ask to determine whether

the candidate has the required capabilities.

Questions Which Probe For Actions

Examples:

• What did you actually do?

• How did this initiative start?

• What was the very first step?

• Take me through what you did, step by step.

• Describe to me in detail what happened.

• How did you respond to that challenge?

• How did you approach that problem?

• What did you do differently?

• Walk me through the meeting. What happened first?

Questions Which Probe For Outcomes

Examples:

• What was the final result?

• What did you actually achieve?

• Specifically what financial results did you achieve?

• Specifically what improvements resulted from your

action?

• Can you quantify for me the results you achieved?

• What could have been done better?

• What were the consequences of the action that you

took?

Helping Gather Data - “STAR”

• STAR – a complete behavioural example

• Situation / Task = Why?

• Action = What done and how done?

• Result = Effect of Action?

Wrong Questions To Ask

• Leading Questions

• Closed Ended Questions

• Theoretical Questions.

Ineffective Questions

Leading Questions: - The desired answer is provided in the question.

- Reflect the interviewer’s assumptions or

preferences.

Poor:

“You like to keep busy all the time, don’t you?”

Better:

“Tell me about a recent time at work when you didn’t have much to do.”

Poor:

“Are you tactful when communicating with customers?”

Better: ___________

Ineffective Questions

Closed Ended Questions: - The answer usually has a one-word response.

- Discourage expression and elaboration.

Poor:

“Have you ever had a bad customer service experience?”

Better:

“Tell me about your worst customer service experience.”

Poor:

“Do you think you would like to work here?”

Better:

Ineffective Questions

Theoretical Questions :

- Generate vague responses or “textbook” answers.

Poor:

“What should you do when you disagree with a client?”

Better:

“Describe to me an instance when you disagreed with a client?”

Is What The Candidate Telling Me Real Or

Not?

Candidates who are fabricating tend to:

• Use the word “we” rather than “I” when describing their

achievements

• Become vague or evasive when probed for specific

examples of achievements

• Try to change the subject

• Adopt defensive non-verbal communication:

- Avoid eye contact

- Less re-assuring tone of voice

- Fidget

- Adopt a more “closed” body posture – eg, crossed

arms.

Summary - Interview Preparation

Before the interview, be sure to:

• Read the job description for the position

• Be clear about the required capabilities for the position:

Functional capabilities

Behavioural capabilities.

• Read the candidate’s resume thoroughly

• Prepare the questions you want to ask the candidate

• Prepare information to share with the candidate about

the job opportunity and the company

• Prepare the physical arrangements – meeting room, etc.

Interview Structure

Here is a suggested structure: • At the beginning, exchange pleasantries and establish a rapport:

- Helps candidates relax and “be themselves”

- Acts as a “bridge” to the interview process

• Review the interview agenda with the candidate: - Explain the areas you would like to cover, and tell the

candidate that he/she will have an opportunity to ask

questions

• Provide an overview for the candidate on: - Yourself

- Your role

- The job opportunity

- The company

Ask the candidate to provide a brief overview of their career so far, in no more

than 5-10 minutes

Interview Structure (cont’d)

• Then proceed with the specific questions to target required job capabilities, and

any other areas you want to probe

• Provide time at the end to address any questions the candidate may have

• Explain to the candidate what the next steps will be, following the interview

• Close.

38

Thank You.

Dhanyavad.