What is Behavioral Interviewing, and How Can You Use it?

In today’s job scene, traditional interview tactics just aren't cutting it. This shortfall has driven a shift towards more modern and nuanced approaches, notably behavioral interviewing techniques. These methods, including the widely-used STAR method, delve into candidates' past behaviors and experiences to predict future performance.

Enhanced by advanced analytics tools like the Predictive Index®, behavioral interviewing transforms conventional interviews from simple Q&A sessions into rich, two-way dialogues of mutual discovery. This shift not only improves the quality of candidate assessments but also aligns more closely with the complex needs of contemporary organizations.

Why Behavioral Interviewing?

Behavioral interviewing goes deeper than traditional interview techniques, focusing on a candidate's previous professional experiences to uncover their real-world skills and behaviors. This approach is important for any role that requires making decisions under pressure as a routine part of the job, so, most jobs.

At IQTalent, we understand that a candidate’s past behavior is a reliable indicator of future performance. By exploring how candidates have handled specific situations in the past, we gain insights into their problem-solving skills, adaptability, and potential to succeed in similar future challenges. This approach helps identify the ideal candidate more effectively and predicts their potential growth and adaptation to new roles.

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Plus, behavioral interviewing reduces the risk of hiring mismatches. It provides a comprehensive view of a candidate’s capabilities and their reactions under stress, offering a clearer picture than can be gleaned from skills and qualifications alone.

The STAR Method and Beyond

While the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) is one of the most popular behavioral interviewing techniques, it's just one of the many tools in the behavioral interviewing arsenal. It helps structure the interview process in a way that's insightful for both the interviewer and the candidate, ensuring clarity and depth in the responses.

• Situation: Candidates start by setting the scene with a specific example from their past, providing the context for their actions.
• Task: Next, they detail the challenges they faced, which highlights the scope of their responsibilities.
• Action: This step focuses on the actions taken to address the challenges. It offers a window into the candidate’s decision-making process and problem-solving skills.
• Result: Finally, candidates describe the outcomes of their actions, which helps us assess their effectiveness and the impact of their decisions.

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While the STAR method proves to be highly effective, other behavioral techniques are also used depending on the specific role and the qualities being assessed. This flexibility ensures that the approach is tailored to suit the complexities and nuances of various positions.

• Behavioral Pattern Recognition: This involves analyzing repeated behaviors across different situations to predict how a candidate might handle similar future scenarios. By asking about various challenges they’ve faced, we identify consistent responses that suggest how they might perform in the role.
• Hypothetical Scenario Analysis: In this approach, candidates are presented with potential work-related scenarios and asked how they would manage them, testing their problem-solving skills and ability to adapt to new challenges. This method provides insight into a candidate’s critical thinking and creativity under hypothetical conditions.
• Competency-Based Assessments: This method focuses on assessing specific skills necessary for the job by asking candidates to demonstrate their expertise through relevant tasks or detailed discussions about key competencies. It ensures that candidates possess the essential skills required for the position, thereby aligning capabilities directly with job needs.

Enhanced Insights with Predictive Index®

Our partnership with Caldwell Analytics introduces an advanced layer of insight through the Predictive Index®. This tool doesn’t just collect data—it provides deep behavioral insights that inform the crafting of more targeted and revealing interview questions.

With the Predictive Index®, you can fine-tune interview questions to probe deeper into a candidate's behavioral traits. This is especially useful in assessing how well they might mesh with a company's values and the demands of the role. The process upgrades an interview from a question-and-answer session to an in-depth exploration of the candidate’s suitability.

This enriched dialogue ensures that both parties—the candidate and the organization—thoroughly understand the potential fit. It positions the interview as a collaborative discovery process rather than a one-sided interrogation.

Best Practices in Behavioral Interviewing

Here are some proven strategies for enhancing the efficacy of behavioral interviewing so that you can fully leverage its benefits.

• Keep the Questions Coming: Continuous questioning reveals more about a candidate's capabilities and suitability for the role. The more we understand, the better the hiring decision.
• Search for Patterns: Identifying consistent behavior across different scenarios is key. These patterns often predict future behavior, offering valuable insights into how a candidate will handle similar situations.
• Go Beyond the Script: Asking unexpected questions that require candidates to think on their feet provides a more accurate measure of their true capabilities and adaptability.
• Dig Deeper: Encouraging candidates to elaborate on their answers reveals nuances that a surface-level response might miss, providing richer insights into the candidate’s capabilities.

At IQTalent, our on-demand recruiting model adapts seamlessly to your organizational needs, eliminating the complications of commissions and inconsistent contractors. By integrating a variety of behavioral interviewing techniques and advanced tools like the Predictive Index®, we ensure that our clients don’t just fill positions but do so with candidates who are truly poised for success.

Rethink your hiring process with IQTalent, and make strategic, confident hires that propel your company forward. With our approach, selecting the right candidates becomes not just possible but predictable and successful. Get started today!