Behavioral Interviewing

Hiring Smart for Hiring Managers

©SHRM 2016
 Introduction M1

Instructor Introduction

©SHRM 2016 2
 Introduction M1

Program Objectives
This program is designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills necessary to:
• Describe your organization’s talent philosophy (how to hire the best candidates
for an open position)
• Explain behavioral interviewing and your role in the process
• Conduct a job analysis using the critical incident technique
• Develop or update a job description using your job analysis findings
• Develop rating expectations for the open position
• Develop legally defensible lead and probing interview questions
• Implement best practices for conducting a behavioral interview
• Make a hiring decision based on the results of a behavioral interview

©SHRM 2016 3
 Introduction M1

Agenda
Module 1 Introduction
Module 2 Talent and Your Organization
Module 3 Behavioral Interviewing Overview
Module 4 Job Analysis & Critical Incidents
Module 5 Behavioral Interview Questions
Module 6 Rating Guides
Module 7 Conducting a Behavioral Interview
Module 8 Making a Hiring Decision

©SHRM 2016 4
 Introduction M1

Legend
Component Icon Description
Activity Collaborative opportunity to apply
knowledge
Additional Information Links to content-related resources

Discussion Conversations to focus on a specific topic

Knowledge Check Questions to probe for comprehension of

seminar concepts
Source Material(s) referenced in development of
seminar content
Video Brief video(s) that enhance seminar
concepts

©SHRM 2016 5
Module 2 – Talent and Your Organization

©SHRM 2016 6
 Module Objectives M2

This module is designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills
necessary to:
• Describe your organization’s talent philosophy
• Articulate your organization’s goals to hire for KSAOs and cultural fit

©SHRM 2016 7
Module 3 – Behavioral Interviewing Overview

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 Module Objectives M3

This module is designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills
necessary to:
• Explain the purpose of behavioral interviewing
• Articulate your role, as a hiring manager, in the behavioral interview process

©SHRM 2016 9
 Behavioral Interviewing Overview M3

What is Behavioral Interviewing?

• A structured form of interviewing
• Focuses on a candidate’s past experiences,
behaviors, knowledge, skills, and abilities
• Involves asking candidates to provide specific
examples of when he or she has demonstrated
certain behaviors or skills
• Serves as a means of predicting future performance
of the candidate

©SHRM 2016 10
 Behavioral Interviewing Overview
Interview Techniques
Traditional Interviews
• Loose framework
• Discretionary content
• Conversational flow
• Candidates may be asked
different questions
• No standardized rating scale
• Interviewers do not need to
agree on acceptable answers
• Susceptible to legal
challenges
M3
Behavioral Interviews
• All candidates are asked the
same questions in the same
order
• All candidates are evaluated
on the same rating scales
• Interviewers are in agreement
on acceptable answers
• Consistency reduces legal
challenges
©SHRM 2016 11
 Behavioral Interviewing Overview M3

Behavioral Interviewing and Us

Think back to our discussion regarding our organization’s talent
philosophy.

Why might we, as an organization, want to use behavioral

interviews for our talent acquisition?

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 Behavioral Interviewing Overview M3

Your Role in the Behavioral Interviewing Process

Develop
Define
Behavioral Review
Define/Revie Competencie
Questions Prepare Information
w s Train
for/Conduct Collected/
Organization Interviewers
Create a Interviews Make Hiring
al Strategy Conduct Job
Rating Decision
Analysis
Guide/Scale

©SHRM 2016 13
Module 4 – Job Analysis & Critical Incidents

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 Module Objectives M4

This module is designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills
necessary to:
• Explain the role of job analysis in behavioral interviewing
• Define critical incidents for an open position within your organization
• Develop or update job descriptions based on critical incidents

©SHRM 2016 15
 Job Analysis & Critical Incidents M4

Behavioral Interviewing Process

Develop
Define
Behavioral Review
Define/Revie Competencie
Questions Prepare Information
w s Train
for/Conduct Collected/
Organization Interviewers
Create a Interviews Make Hiring
al Strategy Conduct Job
Rating Decision
Analysis
Guide/Scale

©SHRM 2016 16
 Job Analysis & Critical Incidents M4

What is a Job Analysis?

A job analysis is a systematic study of jobs to
determine:
• What activities (tasks) and responsibilities they
include
• The qualifications necessary for performance of the
jobs
• The conditions under which the work is performed
• The reporting structure for the jobs

A job analysis helps you define the critical duties and

functions of a position.

Source: 2016 SHRM Learning System. (2016). Alexandria, VA: Society

for Human Resource Management. ©SHRM 2016 17
 Job Analysis & Critical Incidents M4

Critical Incidents
A critical incident is a crucial activity or task that has
special significance to the role in discussion.
• May either make a positive or negative contribution
to the job/role
• Help to distinguish satisfactory performance from
unsatisfactory performance
• Are considered the “deal breakers” for a job
• Are typically identified through interviews with the
hiring managers or role incumbents

©SHRM 2016 18
 Job Analysis & Critical Incidents M4

How to Identify a Critical Incident

Hiring manager interviews position’s incumbent
employee to:
• Investigate job-related events, incidents, processes,
or issues
• Discuss how these incidents were handled
• Explore the outcomes or these incidents

Each incident should be shared as a story, and should

include a:
• Setting
• Behavior (what happened)
• Result (outcome)

©SHRM 2016 19
 Job Analysis & Critical Incidents M4

Guiding Questions
• What happened?
• What lead up to the event?
• Where did it take place?
• Who was involved?
• What was the outcome? Was it beneficial or
detrimental to the role?
• What did you do to influence the outcome?
• What did others do to influence the outcome?
• What did you learn from this experience/decision?
• What might you do differently in the future?

©SHRM 2016 20
 Job Analysis & Critical Incidents M4

Identifying Critical Incidents

Ask your partner to tell you the following about their current
position:
• One positive experience had while in that role that led to great
success
• One negative experience had while in that role that resulted in
problems which negatively impacted their ability to carry out a
crucial part of their role

As your partner shares his/her stories, listen carefully to identify

what themes are being presented in the stories and how these
themes contributed to the individual’s success or failure in the
role.

©SHRM 2016 21
 Job Analysis & Critical Incidents M4

Sample Job Description – Administrative Assistant

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Module 5 – Behavioral Interview Questions

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 Module Objectives M5

This module is designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills
necessary to:
• Describe the types of interview questions used in a behavioral interview and
when they are most appropriate
• Develop appropriate questions to explore a candidate’s past behaviors and their
connection with critical job-related KSAOs/competencies

©SHRM 2016 24
 Behavioral Interview Questions M5

Behavioral Interviewing Process

Develop
Define
Behavioral Review
Define/Revie Competencie
Questions Prepare Information
w s Train
for/Conduct Collected/
Organization Interviewers
Create a Interviews Make Hiring
al Strategy Conduct Job
Rating Decision
Analysis
Guide/Scale

©SHRM 2016 25
 Behavioral Interview Questions M5

Lead and Probing Questions

Lead Questions Probing Questions

• Open ended
• Use introductory
statements like:
o Tell me about a time
when…
o Provide a recent
example of…
o Describe an
occasion when…
o Walk me through…
• Should elicit a short story
from the candidate
• Follow-up questions used
when:
o Initial answers are
vague or do not fully
address the lead
question
o The candidate’s tone
changes drastically
o The candidate
seems to have
difficulty forming and
answer

©SHRM 2016 26
 Behavioral Interview Questions M5

Probing for More Information

What are some behaviors that you’ve witnessed in past interviews
that would prompt you to probe for more information from a job
candidate?

©SHRM 2016 27
 Behavioral Interview Questions M5

Where to Focus?
Individual Contributors
• Focus questions around skills and how the candidate will perform in
the context of the team
o Will the candidate be able to perform the role effectively?
o What in their past behavior indicates that the candidate
understands the role and has the proper KSAOs?
o Will the candidate interact with colleagues in a manner that
supports the culture of the existing team?

Supervisors
• Focus questions more around organizational culture, leadership
skills, and leadership potential
o What inspires the candidate as a leader?
o What is the candidate’s typical leadership style?
o Does this leadership style match the culture of the
organization?
o Does this candidate’s ethical behavior match that expected of
organizational leaders?
©SHRM 2016 28
 Behavioral Interview Questions M5

Avoid Legal Troubles

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and a
variety of other federal and state laws, it is unlawful for
employers with 15 or more employees to discriminate
against job candidates on the basis of:
• Sex
• Race
• Color
• National Origin
• Religion

©SHRM 2016 29
 Behavioral Interview Questions M5

Do Not Lead
Avoid guiding language such as:

• Tell me about a time when you successfully

performed…
• This type of activity or behavior doesn’t bother you,
does it?
• As an organization, we require this type of behavior.
How do you feel about this type of behavior?

©SHRM 2016 30
 Behavioral Interview Questions M5

STAR Model and Question Development

Situation: What was the situation the candidate was

in?
Task: What was the task the candidate needed to
accomplish?
Action: What were the actions the candidate took to
accomplish this task?
Results: What were the results of these actions?

©SHRM 2016 31
 Behavioral Interview Questions M5

Writing Behavioral Interview Questions

Select two of the KSAOs that you identified.
• For each KSAO, write one or two behavior-based lead
questions.
• Identify possible probing questions for each lead question.

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Module 6 – Rating Guides

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 Module Objectives M6

This module is designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills
necessary to:
• Develop a rating guide to support the implementation of the behavioral interview
questions

©SHRM 2016 34
 Rating Guides M6

Behavioral Interviewing Process

Develop
Define
Behavioral Review
Define/Revie Competencie
Questions Prepare Information
w s Train
for/Conduct Collected/
Organization Interviewers
Create a Interviews Make Hiring
al Strategy Conduct Job
Rating Decision
Analysis
Guide/Scale

©SHRM 2016 35
 Rating Guides M5

Rating Scales and Guides

Rating Scales Rating Guides

• Basis on which all • Used to tie each level of
candidates are your rating scale to
evaluated behavioral
• Should be easy to examples/representative
understand and well responses
defined • Used by interviewers to
• Should identify criterion support their use of the
that ties suggested rating scale
answers to each rating

©SHRM 2016 36
 Rating Guides M6

Rating Scales
What does our organization’s interview rating scale look like?

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 Behavioral Interview Questions M5

Developing a Rating Guide

Select one KSAO for which you wrote a lead question.

Using the comments from the critical incident exercise and our
organization’s rating scale, develop sample answers that would
satisfy each of the rating criteria on the scale.

©SHRM 2016 38
Module 7 - Conducting Interviews

©SHRM 2016 39
 Module Objectives M7

This module is designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills
necessary to:
• Develop training to prepare interviewers to conduct behavioral interviews
• Coordinate behavioral interviews that meet your structural and legal needs
• Implement key behaviors associated with strong interviewing practices

©SHRM 2016 40
 Conducting Interviews M7

Behavioral Interviewing Process

Develop
Define
Behavioral Review
Define/Revie Competencie
Questions Prepare Information
w s Train
for/Conduct Collected/
Organization Interviewers
Create a Interviews Make Hiring
al Strategy Conduct Job
Rating Decision
Analysis
Guide/Scale

©SHRM 2016 41
 Conducting Interviews M7

Interview Formats

Hiring Manager Only

• Independently observes, documents, and evaluates candidates
• Only one viewpoint
• Potential for rater bias

Panel Interview
• Two or more interviewers in a single interview
• Reduces rater bias/multiple viewpoints
• Final ratings come from discussion and consensus

Multiple Stakeholders (Serial)

• Multiple 1:1 interviews conducted in a serial fashion
• Multiple viewpoints

©SHRM 2016 42
 Conducting Interviews M7

Key Interview Behaviors

During an interview, it is imperative to follow these behavioral best practices:
• Come prepared with a writing utensil and a place to capture notes
• Look and act professional
• Explain the interview process to candidates
• Practice legally defensible behaviors
• Ask the behavioral interviewing questions exactly as provided
• Avoid leading questions when your probe for additional information
• Use appropriate body language
• Avoid non-verbal cues that could change a candidate’s behavior or response
• Use active listening skills
• Treat all candidates the same (practice fairness and objectivity)
• Do not give the candidate any unfair or unrealistic expectations

©SHRM 2016 43
 Conducting Interviews M7

Tips for Active Listening

• Maintain Eye Contact
• Lean forward to indicate interest
• Nod to demonstrate understanding
• Mirror facial expressions to demonstrate empathy or
sympathy
• Allow the speaker to complete his/her thoughts
completely (do not interrupt)
• Remain neutral
• Repeat and summarize information to clarify and
ensure understanding

©SHRM 2016 44
 Conducting Interviews M7

Identify the Red Flags

A crucial part of conducting a successful behavioral interview is
being a strong active listener.

Pay attention to the interaction between the “interviewer” and the

“candidate.” Identify what red flags the candidate is displaying.
How might you respond to a candidate demonstrating these
qualities?

©SHRM 2016 45
 Conducting Interviews M7

Note Taking Tips

• Use short-hand or key phrases to summarize the
content and delivery of responses
• Balance your note taking and your eye contact
• Avoid judgment in your notes
• Avoid rating a candidate’s response before they have
left the interview
• Rate the candidate’s responses as soon as possible
after the interview has ended
• Ensure that your notes support or justify your ratings

©SHRM 2016 46
 Conducting Interviews M7

Behavioral Interview
Using the behavioral interview questions that you’ve created,
work with your partner to interview each other.

Practice the interviewing techniques discussed and form legally

defensible probing questions.

©SHRM 2016 47
Module 8– Making a Hiring Decision

©SHRM 2016 48
 Module Objectives M8

This module is designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills
necessary to:
• Gain inter-rater agreement
• Debrief stakeholders on the behavioral interviews conducted
• Review and maintain all appropriate and necessary interviewing documentation

©SHRM 2016 49
 Making a Hiring Decision M8

Behavioral Interviewing Process

Develop
Define
Behavioral Review
Define/Revie Competencie
Questions Prepare Information
w s Train
for/Conduct Collected/
Organization Interviewers
Create a Interviews Make Hiring
al Strategy Conduct Job
Rating Decision
Analysis
Guide/Scale

©SHRM 2016 50
 Managing the Debrief and Selection Process M8

Inter-Rater Agreement
All interviewers need to:
• Have the same candidate expectations
• Evaluate the candidates in a similar way
• Agree upon (have consensus) on their evaluations of
each candidate’s responses to competency-based
questions

©SHRM 2016 51
 Managing the Debrief and Selection Process M8

Debriefing Meetings

Who Should • All Interviewers

Attend? • Hiring Manager

When • Immediately after each candidate interview, or

Should it • After all candidate interviews have been completed
Take Place?

What • First Impression Vote

Should the • Review of Questions and Responses
Discussion
• Final Voting
Include?

©SHRM 2016 52
Managing the Debrief and Selection Process M8

Documentation Review and Retention

The following should be provided to and maintained by
HR along with a final hiring decision:
• Job analysis data and outcomes,
• Job description,
• Behavioral interview questions
• Rating scale
• Rating Guide
• Interview notes,
• Candidate evaluations for this interview

©SHRM 2016 53