The cost of a bad hire is staggering, but it goes beyond financial loss. Someone who is a poor fit for a position affects company morale and its reputation as well. Other employees get resentful as they must pick up the slack for someone who only lasted a few months on the job. The situation is even more frustrating when the employee who resigned or got fired seemed like such a perfect match for the job on paper. It has become so problematic that many human resources departments are turning the focus from competency to past behavior during interviews.
Why Behavioral Based Interviewing?
You may have heard the expression that the best way to predict a person’s future behavior is to learn more about their past behavior. This is particularly true when it comes to interviewing job candidates. A person may have all the credentials you require and still be a bad fit for the position. By asking him or her to describe behavior and thought patterns in previous positions, you get a better idea of how the candidate would fit into your corporate culture. Some examples of behavioral based interviewing questions include:
Please describe a time when you felt so much stress on the job that it tested your coping skills. How did you respond?
Have you ever had to conform to a business policy you felt morally opposed to? What did you do?
How did you set goals and establish priorities in your last position?
The answers to these and similar questions tell you more about how a person thinks and responds to the environment than what he or she has accomplished. Please contact us to learn more about this interviewing technique or let us know how else we can help you.
