All interview candidates will be different, and many are nervous during an interview. We recommend that employers use a conversational tone rather than confrontational. Keep in mind there are certain illegal questions which may not be asked. Also, remember it is important to ask each candidate the same questions. While there are several techniques to obtain answers, we prefer to ask questions that will allow the candidate to provide examples of how they have handled or will handle a situation. The technique we recommend most often is a combination of Behavioral and Competency-Based interview questions.
Behavioral interviewing is a technique for assessing a candidate's suitability for a position. The employer asks the applicant how he or she handled a particular situation in the past to get an idea of how the candidate will handle future situations. Below are two examples of Behavioral Interview questions.
- Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills.
- Give me a specific example of a time when you had to conform to a policy with which you did not agree.
Competency-based interviewing can give the employer a sense of a candidate’s job performance and attitude toward work. Following are two examples of Competency-Based questions:
- Tell me about a time when you had to encourage others to contribute ideas or opinions. How did you get everyone to contribute? What was the result?
- Tell me about a situation in which your spoken communication skills made a difference in the outcome. How did you feel? What did you learn?