Behavioral Interview Questions You Can Use Monday Morning

If past behavior is the best way to determine future behavior then behavioral interviewing is a requirement for anyone serious about hiring top talent. This skill isn't something that should be taken lightly, but everyone's got to start somewhere. Keep in mind that you're looking for specific examples rather than vague descriptions. A good communicator can dance around the question and sound very convincing if you don't insist that they give specifics. Here are a few questions that I have found to predict the future behavior of some of the most critical personality traits.

Leadership Ability

These abilities will be important for any position that involves persuasion or managing a team. Here are a few questions to determine the strength of a candidate.

Tell me about a time when you lead a discussion, task force, or committee meeting. What was the situation and how did you orchestrate it?

Tell me about a time when your co-workers looked to you for guidance on an important project or task. What was the situation and how did you handle it?

Verbal Skills

Any employee that requires a high degree of human interaction will benefit from strong verbal skills. Here are a couple of questions to determine the strength of a candidate in this area.

Tell me about a time when you had to explain a challenging concept or idea to a co-worker. How did you communicate it to them to ensure that they understood?

Tell me about a time when you were required to speak before a large audience. What was the situation, how did you feel about doing it, and what was the outcome?

Decisiveness

This is an indicator of an individual's ability to make decisions independently and is also an indicator of an individual's self confidence as well as their tolerance for risk. Here are a couple of questions to understand a candidate's strength in this area.

Tell me about a time when you were required to make an important decision without having complete information. What was the situation and what was the outcome?

Describe a situation when you had to make a decision that you didn't feel was your responsibility or authority to make. What course of action did you take to make sure you did the right thing?

Assertiveness

This is an indicator of an individual's ability to communicate. This will closely relate to leadership ability and is important for any position that requires giving direction to others. Here are a couple of questions to gain a better understanding of a candidate's strength in this area.

Tell me about a time when you had to speak up in order to get your point across. Be specific.

Tell me about a time when you had to "sell" your manager or co-workers on one of your ideas. What was the idea and what was the outcome?

Energy Level

This is an indicator of an individual's ability to maintain intense levels of work for long periods of time. While most candidates will be able to complete an 8 hour work day, someone with a low energy level will feel the effects much more than someone with a high energy level. This is also an indicator of an individual's propensity to work quickly. Here are a couple of questions to determine the strength of a candidate in this area.

Tell me about a time when you were required to work with a team on an important project and you weren't pleased with the speed at which it progressed. How did you deal with the situation?

Describe a situation where you were required to work an extended period of time to accomplish a task. What was the situation and how did you keep yourself motivated?

These interview questions should set you on the right path to becoming a proficient behavioral interviewer. For a more complete understanding of behavioral interviewing, get my free 19 page behavioral interview guide at http://www.mikenacke.com/behavioral-interview.html. It will provide a more complete understanding of the behavioral interview process and take your interviewing skills to the next level.

Mike Nacke is the Director of Development for PrideStaff, a national staffing and recruiting firm and is an expert at building a world class workforce. For more information on how to hire and retain passionate employees visit http://www.mikenacke.com

---

Tales From the Corporate Frontlines: Team Dynamics and Communication

This article relates to the Team Dynamics competency, which evaluates... Read More

Climb out of the Box - How to Hold Effective Meetings

Out of the box thinking is a popular fad today.... Read More

Take This Into Consideration Before You Write Your Mission Statement

What principles should a company keep in mind when developing... Read More

Four Steps to Better Performance Reviews

Direct reports-people who need direction and leadership-rely on their leaders... Read More

Difficult Staff - It Pays To Get To Know Them Better

It's very easy for a business owner or manager to... Read More

It?s Not All About Cheese: The Missing Component in Employee Development (Part 2)

In part one of this article I told you about... Read More

The Few & the Many: Free Trade, Outsourcing, & Communication

Have you noticed that some sound ideas get bad publicity?... Read More

The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - Competitive, Not Complementary Action

A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that... Read More

Creativity and Innovation Management ? Money Doesnt Do It

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

To Meet or Not to Meet - What are the Questions?

Meetings can be a total waste of time or a... Read More

Big Company Intelligence on a Small Company Budget

Information is the lifeblood of the economy. That's especially true... Read More

The Cheapest, Forget It !

Wouldn't it be great if we got get the cheapest... Read More

Comparing Ancient Programs from the East to Modern Programs like Stephen Covey.

Comparing Corporate and Personal goal attainment programs that have developed... Read More

Identifying Potential in Ourselves and Others

If there is someone nearby as you read this look... Read More

The Permissive Environment is the Suspect

The permissive and participatory conduct which most employees take for... Read More

Five Steps to Better Employee Management

Hiring employees is a huge responsibility. Before hiring anyone, be... Read More

Have You Fixed the Broken Window?

Left alone it doesn't take long for a building with... Read More

Encouraging Behavior That Gets Results

You're the boss, and you have every reason to feel... Read More

4 Tips on How to Avoid Communication Lines Breakdown

For example, in a small, two-person company, there is often... Read More

Multiple Channels, Multiple Times

I've just been reading about the frustrations of a Human... Read More

Conflict Resolution Training- When Personal Safety is an Issue

Conflict generally arises by having your needs, desires, perceptions and... Read More

Effective Meetings: Why Most Meetings are a Waste of Time

Whether your company holds one meeting a week or dozens... Read More

How to use NLP for Business?

What is Neuro-Linguistic Programming?Neuro-Linguistic programme is nothing but the study... Read More

How Invisible Communication Barriers Kill Productivity

Many kinds of interferences or disturbances can confuse a message.... Read More

The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - Conflict Becoming the Norm ? Part 1

A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that... Read More

The 70% Solution: Practical Testing and Version Control

"What do you mean you need to push back the... Read More

Miracle Max On Market Breakthroughs

Successful enterprise building requires seven elements. These are:1. People, who... Read More

How to Coach Your Employees - 5 Simple Steps Anyone Can Do!

Want to get more from your people, but you don't... Read More

5 Ways to Work More Effectively With Your Administrative Assistant

Stop hiring new administrative support staff. And learn how to... Read More

9 Tips for Getting the Most From Your Conference Investment

Tips for Getting the Most From Your Conference Investment All... Read More

Strategic Clarity for Communication Management

Over the past few weeks I've been developing plans for... Read More

Ten Top Ways for Managers to Motivate Their People

So to help start the ball rolling, here are ten... Read More

The Ivory Tower Syndrome

"His cardinal mistake is that he isolates himself, and allows... Read More