Behavioral Event Interviewing
In the world of human resources, interviews are often one of the more reliable and effective ways to gain an accurate understanding of how an employee or potential employee will operate in a professional environment. Furthermore, interviews offer an opportunity to examine individual thoughts and behaviors, making them extremely useful for evaluating an employee’s job-related performance. One of the newer and more effective ways of interviewing potential employees is the use of behavioral event interviewing. This type of interviewing style involves revolving questions around specific situations the potential employee has been involved in, rather than asking general questions.
Behavioral event interviewing is a great tool for recruiters because it allows them to gain insight into the past behavior of a given individual, and get a much clearer picture on how they are likely to perform in a similar situation in the future. It is an especially useful approach to interviewing, as it requires the interviewee to draw upon meaningful experience they have had in similar professional contexts. This way, the recruiter is not relying on their ability to simply answer questions, but rather to demonstrate their thought process in a particular situation.
How it works
Behavioral event interviewing is rooted in the premise that past behaviors tend to be excellent indicators of future behaviors. It encourages the interviewee to reflect on their past experiences, assess their responses, and draw upon their individual knowledge to answer the question posed to them.
For example, the interviewer might ask a question about how the applicant handled a particular situation at their previous job, such as working in a team environment. The interviewer would then follow up with a series of questions that explore how the applicant dealt with the specific issues they faced. This allows the interviewer to understand the individual’s problem solving strategies and how they interacted with their colleagues.
Benefits
The benefits of using a behavioral event interviewing approach are vast. It allows recruiters to:
• Gain a better understanding of an individual’s past experiences, successes, and challenges in a professional environment
• Determine how well the applicant is able to think outside the box and solve complex problems
• Assess the individual’s ability to work in teams and how they interact with others
• Appraise how well the applicant understands the company’s core values, mission, and objectives
• Give the applicant a chance to show off their knowledge and demonstrate their capabilities
Conclusion
The Behavioral Event Interview approach has opened up a lot of new possibilities for recruiters and potential employees alike. It gives the applicant a chance to display their knowledge in a meaningful way and allows recruiters to assess an individual’s past behavior and experiences in a professional context. It is perhaps one of the best ways of gaining an accurate picture of a potential employee’s performance in a given job.
