What is Behavioral Interviewing?
Jen A. Miller, Experience.com
Let's be honest: Coming out of college, you probably don't have that much real world experience.
How are you going to talk about past experiences in a job interview for a sales position if you haven't sold anything? And how is a potential employer going to gauge whether you'd be a good fit for the company if you haven't practiced your studied craft?
One way companies have tried to get around this barrier is the use of behavioral interviewing, a technique developed in the 1970s by psychologists for employers who were frustrated that the people they interviewed turned out to be much different than the people they actually hired.
Hiring the wrong person is not only irritating, but time consuming and expensive, and it's much cheaper to hire someone than to fire someone. So employers have a financial incentive to get it right the first time.
Studies about behavioral interviewing have proven it to be much more effective than traditional interviewing: one even showed that behavioral interviews were fifty-five percent predictive of future job behavior while traditional interviews clocked in at only ten percent. "Companies are recognizing the research out there saying that this is the most scientifically valid form of interviewing," says Scott Weighart, author of Find Your First Professional Job: A Guide to Co-ops, Interns and Full-Time Job Seekers and faculty member of the Department of Cooperative Education at Northeastern University. "In this increasingly litigious society, companies can't really afford to hire the wrong people."
Behavioral interviewing also cuts through resume exaggerations--according to the Society of Human Resource Management, fifty-one percent of resumes have inaccuracies. "So recruiters have learned that they need to probe deeper to validate experiences or achievements." says Ron Price, CEO of Price Associates, a business consulting firm.
"Behavioral interviews have become the accepted standard for most, if not all human resource professionals," he adds.
There's no way to know if you're going to get a behavioral interview, traditional interview, or a mix of both (though most mega corporations rely on behavioral interviews). Either way, since most people use the technique, you should prepare for it.
So how do you know if you're in a behavioral interview? And how can you get ready?
Behavioral vs. Traditional Interviews
Now you know why employers use behavioral interviewing. But how can you tell if you're in that kind of interview?
If you're being asked open-ended questions that force you to draw on events that have happened in your life to answer, you've got yourself a behavioral interview. The difference between "What's your weakness"? and "Tell me about a time you failed at something" might not seem like much, but it forces you to give a different kind of answer.
"Behavioral interviewing is used to get people to talk about what they do or how they might act in situations," says Dr. Herb Greenberg, founder, president and CEO of Caliper, an international management consulting firm, and co-author of Succeed on Your Own Terms.
Where before potential employers might ask you those old chestnuts of "What's your strengths"? and "Why are you a good fit for this job"? they're now using open ended questions to get a better idea of your behavior in a work environment. By asking you to reference something that's happened to you and only you, it forces you to give your employer a better picture of who you are and how you act in specific situations. You can't give an answer that a career guide book suggests. You have to tell about you, it shows a potential employer your behavior in a situation that could be mirrored in the workplace.
"Employers love behavioral-based interviewing because it allows them to see patterns that are often missed when people are answering basic questions," says Roberta Chinsky Matuson, principal of Human Resource Solutions, an HR consulting firm. "Employers can get past what a candidate says and focus on how they respond."
Behavioral interviewing also helps employers get over that hurdle of experience, so any experience you've had is fair game -- extracurricular activities, Greek life, relationships. You can even go back to things that happened to you in Boy or Girl Scouts, or on a sports team.
Some employers like behavioral interviews because theyt hink you can't prepare for it. Think again.
How to Prepare for a Behavioral Interview
Behavioral interviews are designed to make you think on your feet.
But no matter how many employers say you can't prepare for them, you can still dig deep into your memory before the interview and be ready to talk experiences that could fit situations your potential employer throws at you.
Here are some questions you might encounter, courtesy of Scott Weighart, author of Find Your First Professional Job: A Guide to Co-ops, Interns and Full-Time Job Seekers:
Tell me about the time you:
- failed at something
- had to take an unpopular stand
- really had to go way above and beyond
- had to show exceptional attention to detail
- dealt well with a difficult colleague/co-worker
- showed that you can multitask under pressure
Remember, it doesn't matter if what you'll talk about is from job experience or not -- the employer wants to get to know about you and then make judgments on how they think you would fit into the job.
Make sure you prepare your stories, too -- you might be able to wing it, but you won't give the best answers if you do.
"Using index cards, make some notes of past achievements, experiences, certifications, and formal education as these relate to perceived responsibilities on the job," suggests Ron Price, CEO of Price Associates.
And don't even think of making stuff up. "You don't want to invent stories about yourself that aren't true. Those would be seen through pretty quickly because you need so much detail," says Weighart.
In one of his classes, students write five behavioral based stories, which are critiqued and graded. That way, the students are prepared to talk about something that shows off their best qualities. If you're not lucky enough to have Weighart as a professor, read your scenarios aloud to a family member or friend, and ask for feedback.
"And if it's a good story, it should prove three or four different scenarios," says Weighart.
Really think about (and write out) how the scenario proves something about you. The best way to do that is making sure your story has its ABC details:
Affection, which shows emotion
Behavior, which shows your action
Cognition, which shows your thoughts
Experience, Inc. is the only university-endorsed career network bridging the gap between college and the working world. Since 1996, the company has partnered with universities to educate, assist, and inspire college graduates to launch and lead extraordinary careers. For more information, visit www.experience.com.