Writing Behavioral Interview Questions
Lesson Outcome: Ability To Write Behavioral Questions For A Job Interview
The premise behind behavioral interview questions is that the most accurate predictor of future performance is past performance in similar situations.
Step One: Make a list of job related experiences, behaviors, knowledge, skills or abilities that are required or desirable for the position. These can be found in the job description or posting. For example:
- Decision Making
- Creativity
- Problem solving
- Handling conflict
- Attention to detail
Step Two: Write questions that ask for specific examples of these from the interviewees past. Examples of questions for the above might be:
- Give an example of a time when you had to be relatively quick in coming to a decision.
- Describe the most creative work-related project you have completed.
- Give me an example of a problem you faced on the job and tell me how you resolved it.
- Tell me about a situation in the past year in which you had to deal with a very upset customer or co-worker.
- Do you prefer to work with the “big picture” or the “details” of a situation? Give me an example of an experience that illustrates your preference.
Notes:
- You may wish to add a qualifier to some questions such as “in the last year” or “work-related”.
- It is common practice to probe details of the stories the interviewee responds with. For example: “What were you thinking at that point?” or, “Lead me through your decision process.”
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