Have you ever hired someone who did not live up to expectations? I'm sure many of us have at one time. A wrong decision can be very costly. It's been estimated that replacing a key professional or manager can be three to five times the annual salary. Do you want to increase the odds for selecting the best person for your most critical positions?

Then try behavioral interviewing. This interviewing technique avoids the gut feel approach many managers use when hiring.

For example, "Mary seems right for the job...so let's hire her." Mary may look good on paper or even interview good, but how do you know she had the specific skills and traits you are looking for?

Now take a look at behavioral interviewing. It focuses two very important elements of the interviewing process:

1. Identifying the required skills and traits that are needed to be effective for the particular position.
2. Asking the right questions to obtain a behavioral example of a specific skill or a specific trait you are looking for.

The rationale for asking for behavioral examples is the notion that the best predictor of what individuals will do in the future is what they have done in the past. Therefore, you ask an applicant to describe a specific event that shows in detail how she did something or handled a problem or dealt with a specific situation.

Behavioral example questions typically start out with the following phrases to encourage the person to talk about their experiences in a non-threatening manner.

• "Tell me about a time when...."
• "Give me an example of...."
• "How did you....?"

Note how the following question has been rephrased so that it will elicit an answer that explains how the person dealt with a specific situation.

Original: "Have you had experience training new supervisors?"

Revised: "Tell me about a time when you had to hire and train a new supervisor. How did you go about it? Would you do anything differently?"

Asking the right questions can provide you with a wealth of information about specific skills as well. For example:

Motivate Others
"Tell me about a time when you needed to motivate your staff and had to deal with morale problems."

Time Management
"During peak hours when you were short staffed, how did you organize your day and get your job done?"

Decisiveness
"Give me an example of a decision you had to make quickly under pressure. How did you approach it, and how did it work out?"

Remember, the purpose of the interview is to obtain accurate information for selecting the best person for the job. Behavioral interviewing is a technique that focuses on an applicant's skills and traits not on a manager's gut impressions.

Do you want good hires? See the Staffing: What Really Works handbook.  It's packed with solid, roll-up your sleeves tips to hire right the first time and avoid costly mistakes.

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Copyright 2006-2008, Marcia Zidle. Will you have a bright future? you ready to make your organization stand out in the crowd in competing for customers, clients, funders or community awareness? Contact us and let us show you how to make that happen.

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