Interview preparation involves many factors to consider. One of which is the preparation of responses to the questions that will be asked where the meat of the interview process is based on.

An interview is basically a question and answer portion between two individuals. When seeking for a job, applicants initially go through interviews during the hiring process. As part of the groundwork, jobseekers must learn the kind of questioning style that interviewers usually apply in order to excel and surpass the interview stage.

Traditional interview questions have long been the usual types of questions that simply require straight answers such as “What can you contribute to the company?” Lately, most companies have adopted a behavioral style of questioning to the job applicants alongside the traditional manner of asking questions.

Behavioral versus Traditional Interviewing Technique

In a traditional interview technique, an interviewee can simply make pretensions on the response with the purpose of pleasing the interviewer even if the truth is kind of distorted. If you are asked “Can you deal with the pressures at work?” a jobseeker would definitely respond with an eager “Yes.” However, this does not guarantee any truth in the answer and the employer may be deceived by such responses.

With the goal of acquiring the right employees, many organizations employ behavioral-based method in screening job candidates. Behavioral questioning is a technique that lets interviewees talk about the past work performances or experiences and behaviors as well as the associated outcomes. These questions are not answerable by a yes or no. Also, the construction is not completely hypothetical but behavioral, based on past actions. It is based on a principle that past performances accurately reflect or mirror the future performance of a job applicant in similar situations.

According to a study, behavioral questioning technique during interviews projects 55% of a jobseeker’s future on-the-job actions and behavior compared to traditional manner which predicts only 10%.

Probing is an essential tool in behavioral method. Once a question is asked, the interviewer can go in-depth and gather more information through relevant open-ended questioning. Interviewees will be compelled to provide truthful responses that reflect their character. As a technique, the interviewer will isolate a certain behavior in an applicant’s answer by digging deep into that particular action through probing questions.

Examples of Behavioral Questioning

Various aspects of a jobseeker’s values and skills can be used in constructing behavioral questioning. It may be questions about leadership, communication skill, motivational skill, interpersonal skills, decision making and problem solving, planning and organization, and other skills. Some of the questions below are examples of behavioral-based interview technique.

1. Describe a situation wherein you had to defend a certain point that was important to you.
2. Tell us an experience where you recovered from a trying situation.
3. Have you led a big project where your team members were not helpful? How did you deal with it?
4. Share to us an accomplishment and how you achieved it.
5. Tell us a situation wherein your schedule was interrupted and how you handled it.
6. Share any work contributions that helped the organization or a team succeed in its goals.
7. Have you ever worked with a colleague with work attitude issues? Tell us how you dealt with the problem.

STAR Questioning Technique

The STAR technique is probably the best questioning tool that interviewers can use in order to generate the right kinds of questions to ask. STAR is an acronym for the different elements each question should carry. An actual behavioral questioning consists of the four components of this technique.

S – Situation
T – Task
A – Action
R – Result

The first letter “S” which represents situation describes the “who,” “where,” and “why” of the experience or behavior. The next letter “T” requires an explanation of what needs to be done or the task at hand. Thirdly, “A” which stands for action, asks the interviewee to describe how the task was accomplished or how a situation was overcome. Lastly, the letter “R” requires the person to share the associated outcome. A question following the STAR method can have follow-up questions based from the initial answer until all the elements are covered.

Applying the behavioral questioning technique during job interviews can be an effective method of straining only those potential candidates for the job who can spell success and positive performance at work in the future.