While I was at SHRM’s annual conference out in San Diego last month, I was lucky enough to meet Nancy L. Newell, principal of Nth Degree Consulting to discuss the biggest mistakes most companies make in interviewing candidates.
Among them: Failing to focus on the most important aspects of the job the candidate would be doing. One way to overcome this is through behavioral interviewing, which she says can dramatically increase the quality of hires companies make.
Behavioral interviewing is really just a simple shift in the way you ask interview questions, she said. For example, asking a candidate to “Tell me about a time when…” instead of “What would you do if …”
Check out my full interview with Nancy, as well as other conversations with HR thought leaders from Smartbrief’s video series with Monster.com.:
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This interview is "right on the money". Most employers when conducting an interview with a job candidate focus on the resume and tasks accomplished. They usually ask questions to describe their past jobs. Since it is important to remember to hire a person who will not only grow with the organization but also will help the organization grow, a behavioral interview is the best approach (and frankly the only one to take). However, most managers and even HR professionals are not schooled in the critical behavior interview and unless the results are matched against a competency profile for the job (series), they do not know how to interpret the results. An organization needs both–a job competency profile and a critical behavior profile against which to code the interview. Sadly, many organizations do not want to invest the money indeveloping such profiles and those that are "bought off the shelf" often do not fit the job or the organization.
[...] via Nancy L. Newell, on the power of behavioral interviewing. [...]