Transcript Tips on Preparation for Experienced

Welcome Participants
to
Behavioral Interviewing
Workshop
Presenters: Ja Rita Johnson
Regetta Nobles
Moderator: Regina Green
Tips on Preparation for
Experienced-Based
(Behavioral) Interviews
You arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled
time. The clock ticks ever so slowly. Your mind
is racing as you reflect on what you’ve done to
prepare, the books you’ve read, the wisdom
you’ve received from others. Now, it’s your turn.
The door opens and the panel asks you to come
in. You meet them. After you’ve told them about
yourself you begin to feel totally unprepared.
The questions are strange….
This workshop is designed to assist you in the
preparation of and participation in a behavioral
interview. During this session you will find the
definition of a behavioral interview and its
comparison to a traditional interview and
become more familiar with the behavioral
interview process . You will also be provided
tips to remember that will assist you in
having a successful behavioral interview.
Remember, you are not alone in this process.
You can obtain assistance from your manager,
coworkers, friends, members of the Career
Management and Learning Centers (CMLC’s)
and members of the AIM Organization.
The purpose of the interview is:
To get to know more about you
To see if you demonstrate the necessary
competencies/skills
To assess your potential to perform
effectively in the position
To see if you are a good fit for the job
To hear you tell how you have performed
various skills
To assess how your previous experience
fits with the position
To promote yourself
What are behavioral interviews?
Based on the "Behavioral Consistency
Principle" which states that past
behavior and performance predict
future behavior and performance.
Focus on experiences and
competencies that are job related.
Include work experience, activities,
hobbies, volunteer work or school
projects as examples of your past
behavior.
Why behavioral interviews?
Focus on actions & behaviors
Get into job skill specifics
Demonstrate Skills & Abilities
Elicits details of behaviors and outcomes
Is more structured and concentrates on areas
important to the interviewer
Minimizes personal impressions
Provides a systematic process
Shows a good match between the job & the
candidate
Does away with hypothetical questions
Increased success rate for hiring the right person for
the job
Decreased bias
Behavioral vs. Traditional
Interviews
Typical interviews:
May be unstructured and inconsistent
across interviewees
May use leading questions that hint at the
answer the interviewer is seeking from the
way it is phrased
Behavioral interviews use:
Questions that seek demonstrated examples
of behavior from your past experience and
concentrate on job related competencies
What is Evaluated?
Technical Competencies
Experience, knowledge, skills or abilities that are
job specific (PD identified by nouns)
General Transferable Skills
Non-technical skills that can be transferred from
one job to another (communicating, managing,
analyzing or organizing) (identified by verbs)
Adaptive or Self-Management Skills
Personal characteristics such as team player,
self-directed, dependable (identified by adjectives)
Management/Leadership Competencies
Experience, knowledge, skills or abilities needed
to accomplish business results or outcomes such
as leading change, leading people (identified in
combinations of verbs and nouns)
How Skills Are Selected
A Subject Matter Expert (SME - a person who
understands the job), or group of SME’s,
reviews the position descriptions, critical
elements and business measures to identify
critical skills for the position.
How Skills Are Evaluated
The interviewer or panel uses a numerical
scale to indicate the presence of the
competency. This is determined by:
Actions described by you
Relevance of your descriptive example to a
skill
Behavioral examples of how you
demonstrated the competencies relevant to
the position
Level of your personal involvement
How well your competencies match with
those needed for the position
Outcome of your actions
How to Prepare
Following are a few suggestions on how to prepare
for a behavioral interview:
Obtain a copy of the position description (P.D.) and
competencies for the job. Study them carefully to
identify technical and management/ leadership
competencies for
the job. List them.
Review your back ground to determine which of
your knowledge, skills, and abilities apply to the
position for which you are interviewing
Compare the two lists to identify how your past
experience relates to the new job. (If you don’t
have a skill match, reassess if this is the right job
for you.)
For each skill match from item #3 above, list a
minimum of three situations wherein you have
taken actions that demonstrate that skill (utilize
the SHARE model)
As you think about these
situations analyze:
Who was involved?
What did you do? Or what problems did you encounter
When did it occur?
Where did it occur?
Why was it important?
How did you handle it?
What problems did you encounter?
What was the outcome of your actions?
Support your situations with examples demonstrating
your strengths, what you learned, and how it fits into
your career goals.
Tips for Interview Preparation
Prepare your answers utilizing the SHARE model
S – Situation (What did you accomplish?)
H – Hindrance (What obstacle did you face?)
A – Action (What action did you take?)
R – Result (What was the outcome?)
E – Evaluation (What was learned?)
Be certain that your examples are pertinent to show
impact
Turn negatives into positives
Use examples that demonstrate to the panel that you
are the best candidate for the job
Conduct an informal interview with someone who
holds a similar position
Be specific, avoid generalizations
Be prepared to discuss your job related errors and
what you learned from them
The Behavioral Interview Process
Introduction
Meet the panel - panel may describe the type of interview
they’ll be conducting
Be ready to discuss who you are. Include:
Brief chronology of your work history, i.e., how did you get
where you are now
What do you do now
Why do you want this job
How does this job fit into your career goals
Personal information if it enhances your employability
The Behavioral Interview Process
(cont.)
Be prepared to validate or clarify information on
your application
Be prepared to answer behavioral interview
questions
Tell me about a time when…
Give me an example of when you…
Walk me through a situation when…
Describe…
Be prepared to answer probing or follow-up
questions that ask you for reflection,
results/outcomes of your actions, and what you’ve
learned.
Be prepared to ask the panel questions that are
relevant, or for which you need to know the answer
now or the answer will help you decide about the
job.
Thank the panel for their time. Reiterate your
interest in the job.
Interview Tips
Be prepared
Practice (schedule a mock interview)
Dress appropriately
Arrive on time
Listen to the question and answer what is asked
Take your time responding to the questions
Ask for clarification if you don’t understand the
question
Be aware of your tone of voice, speak up
Be aware of your body language
Be assertive and promote yourself
Highlight your strengths
Avoid criticizing your co-workers or supervisors
Behavioral Interviewing
List of possible questions
Attention to Detail
Describe a project you were working on that required
attention to detail
Communication
Describe a time when you had to communicate under
difficult circumstances.
Conflict Management, Relationship Management
Describe a situation where you found yourself
working with someone who didn't like you. How did
you handle it?
Behavioral Interviewing
List of possible questions (cont.)
Continuous Learning
Describe a time when you recognized a problem as
an opportunity.
Coping
Describe a situation where your results were not up
to you supervisors expectations. what did you do?
Describe a situation in which you were required to
work under pressure. What did you do?
Creativity, Communication
Tell me about a time when you developed a lesson,
workshop, or briefing and presented it to a group.
Behavioral Interviewing
List of possible questions (cont.)
Customer Service
Describe a situation in which you demonstrated an
effective customer service skill.
Decision Making
Give an example of how you reached a practical
business decision by reviewing all the facts.
Decisiveness, Coping
Tell me about a time when you had to stand up for a
decision you made even though it made you
unpopular.
Leadership
Describe a time when you exhibited participatory
management.
Behavioral Interviewing
List of possible questions (cont.)
Negotiating
Tell me about a time during negotiations when
your perceptiveness allowed you to make sense
of another person's behavior.
Planning, Organizing, Goal Setting
Describe a time when you had to complete
multiple tasks. what method did you use to
manage your time?
Planning, Prioritizing, Goal Setting,
Resource Management, Decision Making
Describe a situation when you had multiple
projects to complete with minimal human and
fiscal resources. What did you do? How did you
make decisions?
Behavioral Interviewing
List of possible questions (cont.)
Resource Management
Describe a situation when you capitalized on an employees
skill.
Team Work
Describe an instance when you participated on a team that
had a successful outcome.
Problem Solving
Describe a time when you analyzed data to determine
multiple solutions to a problem. What steps did you take?
Note: Be aware that when being asked a behavioral
question, your response as well as the questions could
apply to more than one skill.
Glossary of Terms
Adaptive/Self-Management Skill
Personal characteristics; such as team player, selfdirected, dependable. (Identified by adjectives)
Behavioral Interview
An interview based on the "Behavioral Consistency
Principle" which states that past behavior and
performance predict future behavior and performance.
It focuses on experiences, behaviors, knowledge, skills
and abilities that are job related. It includes work
experience, activities hobbies, volunteer work, or
school projects as examples of your past behavior.
Chronology
Experiences, actions, events, facts, etc. in the sequence
in which they occurred. (I.E. date, time)
Glossary of Terms
Competency
Knowledge, skills and abilities required to perform a
specific job.
Critical Skills
Essential knowledge and experience in performing a task
of the job.
General/Transferable Skills
Non-technical skills that can be transferred from one job
to another such as communicating, managing, analyzing
or organizing. (Identified by verbs)
Hypothetical Question
A questions that usually asks if and what you would do
in a situation.
Informational Interview
Interview conducted to gain information about a
particular job.
Glossary of Terms
Leading Question
Question that hints at the answer the interviewer is
seeking from the way it is phrased.
Probing Question
Question that allows the interviewee to provide details
about knowledge, skills, and abilities
Results/Outcome
End products of actions taken in a situation.
Skill
Ability to use knowledge and experience in performing
a task.
Skill Match
The association of previous experiences with potential
job requirements.
Glossary of Terms
Spontaneity
On the spur of the moment, impromptu, not
rehearsed.
Subject Matter Expert (SME)
A person who understands and has the ability to
determine critical skills for a specific job
Technical Skills
Knowledge that is task specific, usually identified in
a position description. (Identified by nouns)
Theoretical Questions
Questions that use scenarios to determine how you
would behave in response to a given set of facts.
(Are sometimes referred to as hypothetical.)
References and Internet
Websites Resources
http:\\www.usacareers.opm~gov
http:\\www.brockport.edu
http:\\www.holycross.edu/departmentslcounsellccB
ehaviorallnterviewing.html
http;\\www.holycross.edu/depanmentslcounset/cc
08147.htrn#ccOSl5Z
http;\\www.oswego.edu/oheqcampus/student~svc
&/Hobehavior.html
http:\\www.sph~emory.edu/studentservic&TIPSHE
ETSfbehavioraI~html#I
http:\\www.unc.edu/deptsicareer/bhavint.html
http:\\www.uwstout.edti/placetbehavior.hml