|
 Behavioral
questioning seeks demonstrated examples of previous work situations
and how they were handled. The premise is that past behavior is a
sound predictor that the interviewee will probably handle a similar
situation in the same way in the future.
There are three types of questions typically found in interviews:
-
Theoretical questions - Questions that place an interviewee
in a hypothetical situation. These questions are more likely to
test his/her skill at answering questions rather than in doing a
good job. Example: How would you organize your project team to
begin work?
-
Leading
questions - Questions that hint at the answer the
interviewer is seeking by the way they are phrased. Example:
Working on your own, doesn't bother you does it?
-
Behavioral
questions - Questions that seek demonstrated examples of
behavior from the interviewee’s past experience and concentrate
on job related functions. They may include:
-
Open-ended
questions - these require more than a yes or no response.
They often begin with "Tell me...", "Describe...", "When...”
Example: Describe a time you had to be flexible in planning a
workload.
-
Close-ended questions - Used mostly to verify or confirm
information. Example: You have a Masters Degree, is that
correct?
-
Why
questions - Used to reveal rationale for decisions they have
made or to determine the level of motivation. Example: Why did
you decide to apply for this position rather than somewhere
else?
When asking
questions it is recommended to use the STAR guide in order to
obtain a STAR answer which assists in uncovering the “ENTIRE
STORY”.
Use the following as a guide:
-
Situations
showing specific examples of situations they were involved in.
-
Tasks
that describe the situation they were involved in.
-
Actions they took related to the situation's tasks.
-
Results followed due to their actions.
An example of
a complete STAR answer:
Last semester, I
was working with a group on a project for a class. We needed to
decide on a topic and determine the data that needed to be analyzed.
A number of people in the group became argumentative and could not
come to a consensus as to what direction to take. I remembered a
workshop that I had attended about conflict resolution and used some
of the techniques to help us understand each other. We sat down and
outlined all of our options, and determined exactly where we
actually disagreed. In the end, coming together at the table and
making lists really helped, and we were able to pull off a great
project. The professor said that it was one of the best organized
projects that she had ever seen!
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