Behavioral-Based Interview

A behavioral-based interview is a technique a hiring manager use to evaluate how a candidate’s past behavior in specific situations can predict the candidate’s future performance. Rather than rely on speculation about how a candidate may perform in an example scenario, an interviewer can gauge how a candidate has performed in similar circumstances in the past. 

To conduct a behavioral-based interview, the hiring team asks open-ended questions about situations that candidates may have faced either at work or in their personal life. As the candidate answers, the interviewers can probe deeper to gain a better understanding and more detailed responses. 

The difference between a traditional interview and a behavioral-based interview is that with traditional interviews, the interview questions are usually about hypothetical situations. With behavioral-based interviews, the questions directly relate to how a candidate has performed when faced with a similar scenario. 

The goal of a behavioral-based interview is to reveal a candidate’s character traits, skills, and future performance. 

Example:

In a behavioral-based interview, a hiring manager may ask a candidate to “Tell me about a time on the job when you had to handle an upset customer.” The candidate’s responses can give the hiring manager an idea about how the candidate may handle similar situations in the future.