Essential Behavioral Interview Questions to Ask and Their Purpose

As a Hiring Manager, it can be difficult to determine which candidate will fulfill the role best and fit into your company culture. This is why behavioral interview questions are commonly used as they assess past actions to predict future actions. Behavioral interview questions accomplish the following:

  • Evaluate the candidates behavior, knowledge, skills, and abilities.
  • Provide structured interviews to compare and contrast candidates.
  • Reduce bias and ambiguity in the interview process.

Asking the right questions serve as an accurate predictor of their future performance. First you must determine what you are looking for in a candidate and then form behavioral questions that will help you discover if that candidate is right for your organization. 

Here are essential behavioral interview questions and their meaning:

“Give me an example of a time when you had to deal with a difficult co-worker. How did you handle the situation?”

This question helps you understand if they are able to professionally handle opposing personalities in a team or with customers. 

“In what way(s) do you express your personality in the workplace?”

This question is great for learning about their personality.  Diversity in personalities help make a fun and creative culture. The answer to this question allows you to assess their cultural fit in your organization.  

“Tell me about a time you failed. How did you deal with the situation?”

Failure is inevitable in any job. This question shows how the candidate deals with failure and their ego. Do they give up and never try again? Do they go back to the drawing board to correct mistakes? 

“Describe a time when you caught a co-worker behaving unethically. How did you handle that situation?”

The way this question is answered shows how their own moral character and how they will constructively handle conflict within the workplace.

“What is your most common role you assume when you work on a project as a team and why?”

Balance is key in teams, if you have too many Alphas then you can have conflict. If you lack leadership you will quickly spiral out of control.  This question allows you to see if they are a potential leader or will follow the lead of the person in-charge.  

“Think back to a time when you had to solve a problem at work. What sources of data and information did you use? How did you identify relevant information?”

This question determines the candidate’s problem solving abilities. Are they able to research and come to conclusions on their own or do they immediately ask their manager what to do?

“Think of a time when you had to work on multiple projects simultaneously. How did you manage your time?”

Multitasking is an important skill that employees need to succeed. The answer to this question showcases the candidates multitasking skills. 

Incorporating behavioral interview questions into the interview process is essential to revealing the “thinking style” and ultimately finding the right candidate. We hope this helped you create an interview process that is fair and consistent. Click here for a bank of interview questions to use for your interview (insert document). 

For more interviewing advice such as situational interviews, open-ended interview style, or scorecard rankings follow Agency 8 on our social media. 

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