If you're being asked open-ended questions that force you to
draw on events that have happened in your life to answer,
you've got yourself a behavioral interview. The difference
between "What's your weakness"? and "Tell me about a time you
failed at something" might not seem like much, but it forces
you to give a different kind of answer.
"Behavioral interviewing is used to get people to talk about
what they do or how they might act in situations," says Dr.
Herb Greenberg, founder, president and CEO of Caliper, an
international management consulting firm, and co-author of
Succeed on Your Own Terms.
Where before potential employers might ask you those old
chestnuts of "What's your strengths"? and "Why are you a good
fit for this job"? they're now using open ended questions to
get a better idea of your behavior in a work environment. By
asking you to reference something that's happened to you and
only you, it forces you to give your employer a better picture
of who you are and how you act in specific situations. You
can't give an answer that a career guide book suggests. You
have to tell about you, it shows a potential employer your
behavior in a situation that could be mirrored in the
workplace.
"Employers love behavioral-based interviewing because it
allows them to see patterns that are often missed when people
are answering basic questions," says Roberta Chinsky Matuson,
principal of Human Resource Solutions, an HR consulting firm.
"Employers can get past what a candidate says and focus on how
they respond."
Behavioral interviewing also helps employers get over that
hurdle of experience, so any experience you've had is fair game
-- extracurricular activities, Greek life, relationships. You
can even go back to things that happened to you in Boy or Girl
Scouts, or on a sports team.
Some employers like behavioral interviews because they think
you can't prepare for it. Think again.
Read on to find out how you can be as
prepared for a behavioral interview as a traditional
one.
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