BA ED S L- G A A R S CHOR IO W A N V IE , HA RV 0 1 1 BE TE O C 2 IN E R A N E , A L A S K A
BEHAVIORAL BASED INTERVIEWS Gary Deziel Associate Dean, Operations and Staff Support University of Vermont Extension gdeziel@uvm. edu Mary Fran Soucie Human Resources Coordinator Montana State University Extension maryfran@montana. edu
OBJECTIVES • History of behavioral-based interviewing • Why do behavioral-based interviewing • Limitations of “traditional” interviewing questions • How to prepare for behavioral-based interviewing
OBJECTIVES • Some Typical B-B interview questions • What to expect • How to probe further • Other interview techniques • Translating traditional interview questions to B-B questions
WHO DEVELOPED THEM AND RESEARCHED B-B Byam
WHY DO IT? Using behavioral interviewing can increase by nearly 60% your chances of hiring the RIGHT employee. * Some researchers indicate 80%. Others say it is 5 times more accurate that traditional interviewing for choosing the right candidates. ** *Salgado, J. F. (1997) Personnel Selection Methods in C. L. Cooper and I. T. Robinson, International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, New York: Wiley. **Green, 2005
ANOTHER “WHY” In one study, researchers found that between 8 and 21 behavioral examples could be found in a single interview* *Green, Wetzel, Somerville, 1983
AND ANOTHER The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave their jobs: 1. The job or workplace was not as expected 2. Mismatch between job and person 3. Too little coaching and feedback 4. Too few growth and advancement opportunities 5. Feeling undervalued and unrecognized 6. Stress from overwork and work/life imbalance 7. Loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders *Leigh Branham, “The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave, ” 2005
CLIP TIME How to determine what questions to ask. 1: 12 -2: 03
TYPES OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Type Example Application Behavior-based Tell me about a specific time when you faced this type of challenge and what you did to address it. To evaluate how a person has performed in the past in a similar job Situational A colleague has told you, in confidence, that she suspects another colleague of stealing. What would you do? To evaluate how a person might approach a situation with which they have little or no prior experience Self-evaluation What do you feel are your greatest strengths? To explore alignment with organization’s values, work styles and attitudes Simulation Please take two minutes to identify all the spelling and punctuation errors in this document. To validate specific skills shared on a resume or in an interview
GETTING THE COMPLETE PICTURE CAPABILITY – the knowledge and skills to do the job COMMITMENT – the attitude and motivation to do the job effectively CHEMISTRY – sufficient alignment of the candidate’s values and working styles with those of the organization (i. e. , its culture)
TRADITIONAL INTERVIEWS (WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? ) • Tell me more about yourself. • What are your strengths/weaknesses? • What challenges did you face in your last position? • How did you handle them? • How do you handle stress and pressure on the job? • Who was your best client? Your worst? • Why should we hire you? • What would you do if an angry 4 -H parent came to our door and…. ?
TRADITIONAL INTERVIEWS What do they tell us? What don’t they tell us?
LOGIC/PREMISE BEHIND B-B INTERVIEWING Past Performance predicts future performance
PROCESS • Carefully structured • In-depth questions • Used to gather and evaluate information on experience and skills which have already been determined to be necessary. • Helps predict employee performance and reduce subjectivity
CLIP TIME Clip #2
BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEWS These take a lot of work PRIOR to the interview Requires advance preparation Need to know skills/abilities/behaviors necessary for the position Need to determine what questions would help find out if interviewee HAS those skills/abilities and behaviors Behavioral interviews end up being more probing and much more specific. Requires applicants to “tell a story” about what they’ve done in a specific type of situation. Requires allowing pauses to require an answer
CLIP TIME Clip #3
FINDING INFO FOR ORGANIZATION CULTURE Personality Personal & Familial Operates like an extended family; most individuals personally invested in their jobs Dynamic & Entrepreneurial Encourages and supports risk taking, individually as well as collectively Action & Results Oriented Stays focused on getting the job done; competitive and achievement-oriented Structured & Controlled Relies generally on formal procedures to govern what people do; values doing things “by the book” Terronez and Shay, Structured Interviewing: Perfecting the Perfect hire, 2006
FINDING INFO FOR ORGANIZATION CULTURE Leadership Style Supportive Engaged actively in mentoring, facilitating or nurturing Entrepreneurial Focused on innovating and risk taking Practical No-nonsense; aggressive; results-oriented Efficient Managing/organizing a smooth-running operation
FINDING INFO FOR ORGANIZATION CULTURE Behavioral Norms Collaboration Teamwork, group consensus and participation Autonomy Individual risk-taking, innovation, freedom and uniqueness Competitiveness Hard-driving; high demands/standards and achievement Stability Conformity; predictability; secure/stable relationships
FINDING INFO FOR ORGANIZATION CULTURE Operating Principles Loyalty & Mutual Trust Seeks and expects strong commitment to the organization Innovation & Development Emphasizes being on the cutting edge; fostering new ideas Goals & Achievement Sets stretch goals regularly and aggressively pursues them Formal Rules & Puts a premium on maintaining a smooth. Policies running organization
FINDING INFO FOR ORGANIZATION CULTURE Strategic Emphasis Human Development Fostering high trust, openness and participation Growth Acquiring new resources; creating new challenges; trying new things; prospecting for opportunities Competitiveness Setting/hitting stretch targets; winning in the marketplace Permanence & Stability Maintaining efficiency, control and smooth operations; valuing long-term relationships
FINDING INFO FOR ORGANIZATION CULTURE Success Criteria People Developing talent, teamwork and employee commitment Product Being a product leader and innovator with the most unique and/or newest products Competitive Achieving market leadership; outpacing the competition Operational Maximizing efficiency, low-cost production and dependable delivery
CLIP TIME #4 14: 24 -18: 07
SOME BEHAVIORAL QUESTIONS A la clip #5 18: 10 -
TYPICAL BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS • Give an example of an occasion when you used logic to solve a problem. • Give an example of a goal you reached and tell me how you achieved it. • Describe a decision you made that was unpopular and how you handled implementing it. • Have you gone above and beyond the call of duty? If so, how?
MORE • What have you done when your schedule was interrupted on the job? Give an example of how you handled it. • Have you had to convince a team to work on a project they weren't thrilled about? How did you do it? • Give an example to a time when you encountered a difficult situation with a co-worker? How? • Tell me about a time when you worked effectively under pressure.
MORE… • Give an example of a situation where you didn't have enough work to do. • Give an example of a time when you made a mistake. How did you handle it? • Describe a decision you made that was unpopular and how you handled implementing it. • Did you every make a risky decision? Why? How did you handle it? • Tell me about a time when you postponed making a decision. Why did you?
MORE • Have you ever dealt with company policy you weren't in agreement with? How? • Have you gone above and beyond the call of duty? If so, how? • When you worked on multiple projects how did you prioritize? • Please give us an example when you met a tight deadline? • Give an example of how you have set goals and achieved them. • Did you ever not meet your goals? Why?
STILL MORE… • Share an example of how you were able to motivate employees or co-workers. • Give an example of a time when you had a conflict with a supervisor? Would you have changed anything if you could? • Give an example of a difficult situation you had with a client or vendor? How did you work through the situation? • What do you do if you disagree with your boss?
CLIP TIME #6 24: 05 -24: 33
LET’S TRANSLATE…. • How do you handle stress and pressure on the job? • What do you expect from a manager? • Are you decisive on the job? • Who was your best client? • Give some examples of teamwork… • How would you feel supervising two or three other employees?
MORE…. • Do you prefer to work independently or on a team? • Are you comfortable about working on many projects at once? • What motivates you? • What would you do if an angry 4 -H client came in the door?
SUMMING IT UP Behavioral interviews don’t offer ALL the information, but can help determine past performance on specific behaviors needed for the position. Many seemingly abstract behaviors can be brought out in behavioral interview questions. MUST prepare ahead of time Must ask for specific examples to get a story Allow for silences Be able to interpret responses
QUESTIONS?
BEHAVIORAL-BASED INTERVIEWING Gary Deziel Associate Dean, Operations and Staff Support University of Vermont Extension gdeziel@uvm. edu Mary Fran Soucie Human Resources Coordinator Montana State University Extension maryfran@montana. edu
