Insights

What’s Your Interviewing Strategy?

Interviewing Strategy

As ERE Media points out, the questions an interviewer asks a candidate are important, especially when it comes to hiring an executive because they can speak in subtleties. The interviewer needs to ensure that this decision is handled with care and accuracy, so behavioral interview questions are a fantastic way to learn as much as possible.

Many standard interviews begin with a simple “Tell me about yourself:” an open ended statement that is too broad to learn about specific skills and experience. Open ended questions can lead to a misleading answer because candidates can pick and choose from their past, maybe even omitting important information. Another type of question to steer away from is a closed ended question, such as “Have you ever had to partner with a CEO?” This question only leaves room for a “yes” or “no” answer and could make it easy for a candidate to lie.

The best type of question to ask is one that uncovers the past behavior of the candidate because it serves as a reference on how they may act in the future. A well constructed question has three parts to it: a brief opening statement, a specific situation, and something called a bar raiser that makes the question more complex. Going back to the CEO example, a behavioral question could read “Tell me about a time when you had to partner with a CEO in a fast paced environment.” The response could decide on whether or not the candidate would be a good fit for the position. These behavioral questions can help eliminate superficial answers, making sure that every question asked uncovers something about the candidate, whether it be on their motivation, communication, or teamwork skills. What an interviewer needs to listen for is a situation the candidate faced, the steps they took, and the results that were achieved. Asking direct and specific questions prompts candidates to reveal their behavior in the workplace, something hiring managers truly need to know.

Read more about Behavioral Interview Questions here.

Let’s Connect

Power is found in partnership. Add our resources to yours and create a better, more personalized hiring experience.