Definition of Behavioural Interview
A Behavioural Interview is a talk about a job where they question you on things that you have done in the past to find out how good you will do in the future. Instead of just dreaming about what you might do, they want true accounts of how you coped with challenges or displayed your talents in past positions.
Principles of Behavioural Interviews
Probing Beyond Resumes: In a behavioural interview, the objective is to reveal the habits and tendencies of an applicant by inquiring about their past experiences in certain circumstances. This is based on the principle that behaviour in the past can be used to predict future behaviour. This approach moves from general questions regarding strengths and weaknesses to specific instances in which candidates deploy their skills.
- Structured Approach: In behavioural interviews, candidates usually discuss their past with important job skills such as solving problems, working in a team, communication, leadership and being flexible. It is a normal course of these interviews.
- STAR Technique: Behavioural interviews often use the STAR technique as a framework for responses. STAR refers to the Situation, Task, Action and Result.
1 candidate must present a clear scenario (Situation), describing the specific tasks he was involved in (Task), explaining the activities that took place at that moment
2 candidates should emphasize the outcomes or results of their actions in a certain given case.
- Sample Questions:
- Behavioural interview questions are usually worded in this format “Can you tell me of an occasion where…” or “Describe a scenario where…..”.
- “Can you give me a case of a difficult project that you have done and how you managed to overcome barriers?”
- containing the question, “Describe a situation where you had to manage conflict in a team and how you mitigated it.”
- Predictive Nature: The basic principle of behavioural interviews stems from the fact that past performance is a good indicator of future behaviour. By using specific instances in a candidate’s past, interviewers hope to identify how that person might perform under similar circumstances for the position in question.
- Competency-Based Assessment: Behavioural interviews support competency-based assessment, allowing interviewers to assess candidates based on particular behaviours and skills relevant to success in the job. This method gives an objective and consistent assessment process.
Benefits of Behavioral Interviews:
- Concrete Evidence of Skills: Behavioural interviews offer concrete evidence of a candidate’s skills and abilities through real-life episodes. This method goes beyond general statements on a resume to provide insight into what a candidate can do.
- Consistency in Evaluation: Behavioural interviews are structured, which means consistency in the process of evaluation will emerge. Candidates are evaluated using specific criteria, which minimizes the influence of personal prejudices and provides equal evaluation of all the applicants by interviewers.
- Revealing Soft Skills: Many roles also require soft skills like communication, problem-solving and adaptability. Interviews are superior in revealing soft skills because a candidate must share examples where he or she has demonstrated such soft skills.
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FAQs
A structured job interview that focuses on a candidate’s past behaviors to predict future performance in a specific role.
Unlike traditional interviews with hypothetical questions, behavioral interviews delve into real-life situations for examples of how candidates handled challenges and demonstrated skills.
The goal is to reveal behavior patterns by asking about a candidate’s experiences in situations. Past behavior is considered a reliable predictor of future conduct.