Behavioral Interview Questions

I find that these particular questions are important to ask because there are many things to take in to consideration when hiring a new employee. I feel that finding out how a candidate will be a right “fit into your company is just as important as a candidate’s past work experience, technical skills and education. To hire an employee who is cultural fit within the organization does not mean to hire individuals that think, walk and talk like you. Thus, hiring a new employee who challenges your thinking and is aligned towards achieving company goals would prove to be a better cultural fit than a candidate who is just like you in most ways.

Susan Martin of the Interview Coach says: “Behavioral Questions are questions that ask for specific examples from a candidate about his or her past behavior on the job. Using past behavior is a proven technique used to more accurately determine the future performance or success of the individual, says Martin, who has over 20 years’ experience in human resources and staffing and the author of “Boost Your Hiring IQ”.

Some of the things that I expect to learn from these questions help provide some helpful information about a candidate’s personality. These things can range from measuring their ability to handle stress, provide a sense of their reliability and how they handle certain situations or how well they manage stressful situations. With these types of questions, it is hopeful that it will help to quickly sift through candidates so that those who are able to commit to the time and dedication of the position clearly stand out from the others.

Some of the limitations I see are as competition between candidates are high some candidates have more experience with interviewing and with their skilled knowledge are better and providing the “right” answers that employers want to hear. As the interviewer, they must also be just as skilled as sifting through candidates who are able to ‘breeze’ through interviews with common answers. Being able to provide unique questions helps to keep the candidate on their toes and not provide the usual answers to typical questions. It is important as the interviewer to be able to break through that and determine if a candidate is a right fit based on their presentation and answers. Interviewers will want to be clear and concise and at the same time sensitive to matters that stay within compliance of the law and are not discriminatory and/or too personal.