{"id":1793,"date":"2008-11-17T08:24:03","date_gmt":"2008-11-17T14:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/?p=1793"},"modified":"2008-11-17T06:39:09","modified_gmt":"2008-11-17T12:39:09","slug":"are-you-really-running-a-behavioral-based-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2008\/11\/are-you-really-running-a-behavioral-based-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You Really Running A Behavioral-Based Interview?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Behavioral-based interviewing has been the buzz in hiring for the past few years and rightly so.\u00a0 This technique brings real-world clarity to a sales interview as opposed to theoretical, positional answers.\u00a0 Selling Power provides a good article<\/a> to assist you in your interview strategy.<\/p>\n

In order to ensure you are using a behavioral-based approach (emphasis mine):<\/p>\n

“A lot of people think that they are conducting behavioral-based interviewing when they’re really not,” says Wolf, who defines behavioral-based questions as questions that allow candidates to relate real situations and demonstrate how their strengths and weaknesses are exhibited on the job. “Many times hiring managers are asking theoretical questions, such as, ‘How would<\/em> you handle this situation?’ Or, ‘If <\/em>you were faced with this situation, what would<\/em> you do?’ A behavioral-based question is phrased differently, such as, ‘Can you tell me about a situation where you\u2026’ A true behavioral question may not even be a question.<\/strong> For example, ‘Tell me how you handled<\/em> a client objection.’ The whole premise that past behavior predicts future behavior falls flat unless you are really getting examples of past behavior.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I am partial to using a statement as opposed to a question in the interview.\u00a0 I find this approach focuses the candidate and allows less room for theoretical answers.\u00a0 Here are a few suggestions from the author:<\/p>\n

Wolf shares a few best practices of behavioral-based interviewing to help you garner the most information from your candidates:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Have a valid interview guide.<\/em> “Start with a job analysis because every question you ask in an interview has to be job relevant,” says Wolf. “Questions have to be linked to the tasks performed on the job \u2013 that’s critical. For example, if the job requires the ability to overcome objections, you need to specifically ask about a time when a candidate overcame an objection.<\/li>\n
  2. Be familiar with your information.<\/em> “Just like you wouldn’t go into a sales call without researching the company, don’t go into the interview without some knowledge about the candidate,” says Wolf. Review the resume, check out social networks, and review the candidate’s company Website.<\/li>\n
  3. Be a practiced interviewer.<\/em> Seek training and role-play because interviewing is a skill, says Wolf.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    “The most difficult things about doing behavioral-based interviews are balancing the timing and pace of the interview, while managing the experience that the candidate is getting,” says Wolf. “You need to get the information by getting enough detail, but not too much. At the same time, you need to get that detail without making the candidate feel as if you are drilling them \u2013 you need to have empathy. It takes a lot of practice and training.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    That last paragraph is filled with wisdom.\u00a0 If you overdo it the interview becomes something of a scene from a crime drama interrogation.\u00a0 One thing we always remind our hiring managers – you are selling the candidate also…don’t forget that fact.<\/p>\n

    However, we always recommend that you model the interview after a sales call.\u00a0 You can be a little standoffish and disconnected to see how the candidate handles the situation.\u00a0 The best way to see a salesperson’s talents is to see them selling.\u00a0 You can model your hiring process after your typical sale to see which candidates can handle the different situations, pressures and processes.<\/p>\n

    If you need help in this area we would welcome the chance to talk to you about your sales hiring process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Behavioral-based interviewing has been the buzz in hiring for the past few years and rightly so.\u00a0 This technique brings real-world clarity to a sales interview as opposed to theoretical, positional answers.\u00a0 Selling Power provides a good article to assist you in your interview strategy. In order to ensure you are using a behavioral-based approach (emphasis mine): “A lot of people think that they are conducting behavioral-based interviewing when they’re really not,” says Wolf, who defines behavioral-based questions as questions that allow candidates to relate real situations and demonstrate how their strengths and weaknesses are exhibited on the job. “Many times hiring managers are asking theoretical questions, such as, ‘How would… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"bgseo_title":"","bgseo_description":"","bgseo_robots_index":"","bgseo_robots_follow":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[14,16,10],"tags":[257,1087,1086,38,446],"class_list":["post-1793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-communication","category-hiring-salespeople","category-interview","tag-hiring-sales","tag-hiring-technique","tag-interviewing-sales","tag-sales-hiring","tag-sales-interview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5Oho-sV","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":670,"url":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/02\/assessing-the-behavioral-based-interview\/","url_meta":{"origin":1793,"position":0},"title":"Assessing The Behavioral-Based Interview","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"February 16, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Selling Power discusses behavioral-based interviewing in On Your Best Behavior. The article covers the main points of this interview approach and it is certainly an approach we incorporate - to some extent. First, if you are relying on the face-to-face interview to make a strong sales hire, you are taking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Assessing"","block_context":{"text":"Assessing","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/hiring\/assessing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1334,"url":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/12\/mediocrity-in-the-hiring-process\/","url_meta":{"origin":1793,"position":1},"title":"Mediocrity In The Hiring Process","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"December 12, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Hiring salespeople is the difficult combination of science and art weighted perfectly to select the right person for the position's requirements.\u00a0 Obviously, knowing the position's requirements is the preeminent step.\u00a0 Many sales managers believe they know what it takes to be successful in the position and they do to a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hiring"","block_context":{"text":"Hiring","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/hiring\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":987,"url":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/06\/candidate-training\/","url_meta":{"origin":1793,"position":2},"title":"Candidate “Training”","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"June 7, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"This text is from an online ad to assist job seekers in their quest (my emphasis): ---I am able to get job interviews anywhere I want. This is key because once you get the interview, you can get the job --- I CAN SHOW YOU WHAT TO DO AND WHAT\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hiring"","block_context":{"text":"Hiring","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/hiring\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1759,"url":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2008\/10\/tips-for-interviewing-sales-candidates\/","url_meta":{"origin":1793,"position":3},"title":"Tips For Interviewing Sales Candidates","author":"Lee Fratzke","date":"October 22, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Too many times the process of hiring a sales person rarely takes priority in a sales manager's duties\u00a0- they have enough to do already.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the hiring tasks get pushed to the margins of their day.\u00a0 Any sales manager knows how important it is to hire strong sales people, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hiring"","block_context":{"text":"Hiring","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/hiring\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1596,"url":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2008\/05\/always-be-interviewing-salespeople\/","url_meta":{"origin":1793,"position":4},"title":"Always Be Interviewing Salespeople","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"May 29, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"From Inc.com's Sold! blog (my highlighting): The number one mistake in building and maintaining an effective sales team is a flawed hiring process. 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