Behavioral

Interviewing
More Than a Gut Feeling

Jonathan “JJ” Jarrell,

PHR Regional Human Resource
Manager
Customized
Distribution
Brainstorm:
Interview Questions
Q1 What is the Most Widely
Used Pre-employment
test in America today?

Answer:
The interview
Q2 What is the Least Accurate
Pre-employment test in
America today?

Answer:
The interview
(traditional)
 Tell me a little about yourself.
What is your greatest strength?
What is your greatest
weakness?
Where do you want to be in 5
years?
QUESTION
S
Downhill from here…
If you could be any
animal which would you
be?
Who are your role
models?
Poor odds with high stakes
Most Hiring Managers make their selection
decision within the first 3 minutes of the
interview.
Source: Harvard Study

More than 75% of turnover can be traced back

to poor interviewing and hiring practices.

Source: Harvard Study

If an untrained interviewer uses an

unstructured interview format, then the
probability of hiring the
best applicant is less than 15%.
Source: Michigan State University
Improving your odds
The best predictor of future performance
is past performance

Using behavioral-based interview questions in conjunction with

standard questions can improve the accuracy of selecting the
best candidates over standard interviews by as much as
500%.
Source: The Advisory Board
Company
Advantages to
using past behavior
Using behavior eliminates
misunderstandings about a
candidate’s past experiences.

Using behavior prevents

personal impressions
from affecting the
evaluation.

Using behavior
reduces applicant
“faking.”
What is behavioral interviewing?
A thorough, planned, systematic way to gather
and evaluate information about what
candidates have done in the past to show how
they would handle future situations.
Why use behavioral
interviewing?
Lower the high direct and
indirect costs related to hiring the
wrong people

High-quality hires out-

produce poor ones by
25- 50%.

An estimated 80% of turnover

is due to hiring mistakes

A job that pays $48,000 can

cost up to $100,000
to replace.
Why use behavioral
interviewing?
It is based on competencies and
behaviors critical for success in a
particular position.

It is objective, so it helps
eliminate unintentional biases.
It is structured, with set questions that are
delivered to every candidate, in the same
wording, in the same order and scored in
the same way.
It focuses less on specific tasks a candidate
has done and more on his or her
approaches to doing them, so it is effective
even for candidates with little or no actual
job experience.
How is it different?

“If you could choose to be any

animal (tree, piece of furniture, etc.),
which would it be?”

“Where do you see yourself in

5 years?”

“What would you do if…?”

“If you had an employee

who…how would you handle
that situation?”

Hypothetical
Answers Are Opinions
How to structure a behavioral interviewing
program
Determine critical competencies.

Develop questions (and follow-up

questions) to address
each competency.

Create a structured note-taking sheet for

the interview, including a candidate
evaluation section.

Train interviewers.

Evaluate post-offer results.

Develop critical competencies
Accounting Associate General
•Manager
Customer Service • Customer Focus
• Integrity/Ethics • Integrity/Ethics
• Job Knowledge • Job Knowledge
• Adaptability/Flexibility • Budgets/Cost Control
• Dependability • Communication
• Listening Skills • Decision Making/Judgment
• Personal Organization • Leadership
• Productivity • Managing for Results
• Quality • Organizational Savvy
• Teamwork • Planning
• Results Focus
• Team
Leadership
Develop critical competencies
Customer
General Manager
Service
Representative • Ethics and Values
• Customer Focus • Business Acumen
• Written • Problem Solving
Communications • Process Management
• Technical • Drive for Results
Learning
• Developing Direct Reports
• Organizing
• Managing and Measuring Work
• Informing
• Time
Management
Develop behavioral-based questions to
address the competencies
Teamwork Team
Leadership
• “Tell me about a time you • “Tell me about a time you
were part of a great team.” were part of a great team.”
• “What was your role in • “What was your role in
making it great?” making it great?”
• “What was the end • “What was the end
result?” result?”
Develop behavioral-based questions to
address the competencies
Integrity/Ethics
Deals with others in a straightforward and honest
manner, is accountable for actions, maintains
confidentiality, supports company values, conveys good
news and bad.
Develop behavioral-based questions to
address the competencies
Decision-Making/Judgment
Recognizes problems and responds, systematically
gathers information, sorts through complex issues, seeks
input from others, addresses root cause of issues, makes
timely
decisions, communicates decisions to others.
 Developing and analyzing answers

To assess the quality of the

candidate’s
answers, use the “STAR” method:

S Situation AR outcome

T
It provides a framework for both developing an
answer, and Task
assessing the value of an answer
to a behavioral interview Action
question. Result or
 Evaluating candidate responses

Tell me about a time

when…

S Situation AR outcome

T
Use your Task
competency definition to guide
Action
you Mirror your performance rating
Result orsystem
Sample answer - communication

“
Last year, we were bidding a
big
project, and I knew the proposal had to be
especially well written. Not only did I make sure it
was very clear, I tried to use some of the
“lingo” in the proposal. I proofread it five times and
firm’s
some of the other people in the department read it
for clarity. Several days after the client received it,
they called and said that mine was the best-written
proposal they had received and we were awarded
the contract.”
False STARs or partial STARs
Vague Opinions Theoretical or
Provide no specifics
statements future-oriented
statements

• I usually... • I was the most • I would, I would

• I always... accurate in my have, I would like
• We all class... to
participated... • I think coaching is
the most
important
characteristic
Taking Notes
 Forgetting Curve
100%
98%

80%

60%
58%
Retention

44% Rete
40%
ntion
37%

20%

0%
0 0. 1.0 9.
2 0
Hour
s
Taking notes

TIPS
• Inform them you’ll be taking notes.
• Slow the pace if necessary.
• Use key words and phrases.
• Avoid judgmental or evaluative
comments

Purpose: To have an accurate

and complete record of candidate
responses during the interview.
Create a structured note-taking sheet XYZ Food Distribution
Candidate Evaluation Form

Candidate Name: Position: Interviewed by: Date: Rating Scale:

1 = unsatisfactory, 2 = below average, 3 = average, 4 = above average, 5 = outstanding, N/A = not applicable

Rating Element Rating Comments

Core Values:
Customer Focus: Give me an example of when you were able to avoid a major 1 2 3 4 5
problem because of the close communication you had with a customer or
coworker. Describe the last time you had to say no to a customer. Tell me
about a situation in the past year where you had to deal with a very upset
customer or coworker.
Integrity/Ethics: Tell me about a time when you conformed to company 1 2 3 4 5
policy even though you did not agree with it. Describe a work experience you
had in which you had to speak up and tell other people what you thought or
felt when you knew it would be unpopular.
Job Knowledge: In what ways have you helped your customer segment deal 1 2 3 4 5
with changes in the industry? Tell me about an area you got into at work where
you had no experience. What did you do about addressing this inexperience?
Competencies:
Communication: Describe a situation in which you got people to change from 1 2 3 4 5
the way they were doing something to the way you suggested. Tell me about
the toughest negotiating (or selling) situation in which you succeeded. Tell me
about the one in which you were unsuccessful. How will you address the
challenge of maintaining clear and frequent communication among
geographically diverse team members?
Decision-Making/Judgment: Give me an example of a problem you faced at 1 2 3 4 5
work and tell me how you solved it. Tell me about a problem at work that you
were unable to solve. What was the last bad decision you made at work?
Describe the process by which you made a difficult decision at work.
Budgets/Cost Control: Tell me about the last time you saved your employer 1 2 3 4 5
money. What have you done in your current job (last position) to increase
your organization’s revenues? What have you done in your current job (last
position) to reduce your organization’s operational costs?
Team Leadership: Give me an example of when you felt you were able to 1 2 3 4 5
motivate a coworker. Describe a time when someone on your team was not
doing his/her share of the work. What did you do? Tell me about the last
time you had to create a sense of urgency to get a team or individual motivated
again.
Train interviewers
2-3 day training (DDI Targeted Selection)
• Two full days building foundation for interviewing
technique
– Writing questions, categorizing answers, etc.
• Day three is practice with ‘live’ applicants

In-House Training by You

• We can discuss further options

Just in Time Training

• Work with managers to review process 1-2 days
ahead of the interview
Evaluate post-offer results
• Better retention rates?
• Better performance?
• Higher productivity?
• Other industry- or
organization-
specific benchmarks
Connect With Me