What Is the Behavioral Interview Process?
The BI process first identifies essential skills for the position, and then questions are developed so that the interviewer can assess and compare a candidate’s responses to the position requirements. Many employers now use BI during preliminary phone screening. During an on-site interview, a candidate may meet with more than one interviewer at a time, and that at least one person will take notes. A true BI can take two to four hours. Since BI is based on the concept that a candidate’s past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior, the interviewer will be listening for positive examples of past experiences, or success factors. These factors may include technical or job specific skills, abilities related to the position (for example, communication, customer focus, planning, leadership, teamwork) and more specific competencies (such as initiative, accountability for results, strategic thinking, risk taking, managing conflicts or ambiguity, etc.). The interviewer will expect the
