Behavioral interviewing
The following are typical questions that may be asked by an interviewer:
1. Tell me about yourself. 2. What accomplishment has given you the most satisfaction? 3. What do you think is your greatest weakness? 4. Why did you choose Ohio Northern? 5. What has been your most rewarding college experience? 6. What led you to major in ________________? 7. Do you think your grades adequately represent your abilities? 8. What course have you liked the least? The most? 9. How has your education prepared you for working with us? 10. What are your long-range goals? 11. What major problem have you encountered and how have you dealt with it? 12. How do you work under pressure? 13. Are you willing to relocate? 14. What do you know about my organization? 15. Why do you want to work for us? 16. Why should I hire you? What makes you a better candidate than the others I am interviewing? 17. Do you have plans for continued study? 18. What questions do you have about my organization? *19. How do you go about deciding what to do first when given a project? *20. When you have some free time, what do you enjoy doing the most? *21. Tell me about a time when you experienced a failure and how you reacted to it. *22. Tell me about a time when you were under considerable pressure to meet one or more goals. *23. Describe a situation where you had to resolve a problem at work and explain how you resolved it. *24. Tell me about an experience you have had in a working environment (school, work, or community). What role did you play in the group? What problems did the group have to resolve or projects did they complete? How could the group improve their performance? *25. Describe a situation where you did not agree with something your boss asked you to do and how you resolved the problem. *26. Describe for me a project you completed that required you to use a computer.
If you are interviewing for teaching positions, you should also be prepared to answer these questions: 1. How has your education prepared you for a teaching career? 2. What is your philosophy of education? 3. Why do you want to teach? 4. Who was your favorite teacher? What made you admire him/her? 5. How will you handle discipline problems? (You will probably be given a situation and asked how you would react.) 6. Have you had experience with students from varied social, economic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds? 7. Why do you want to teach in my school system? * 8. Would you rather try a lot of way-out teaching strategies or would you rather try to perfect the approaches which work best for you? Explain your position. * 9. Do you like to teach with an overall plan in mind for the year, or would you rather just teach some interesting things and let the process determine the results? Explain your position. *10. A student is doing poorly in your class. You talk to her, and she tells you that she considers you to be the poorest teacher she has ever met. What would you do? *11. What do you want to accomplish as a teacher?
BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEWING
Previous questions listed with an asterisk (*) are considered behavioral in nature. Studies completed from 1984-88 by various research groups showed that the current methods used by interviewers did not predict the success of the applicant. It is so expensive to recruit and train new employees, they had to find a better method of selection. Some companies have reported a 70% success rate with this method vs. 20% with normal interviewing methods. Behavioral interviewing is a method of asking questions which requires the interviewee to relate past experiences or behaviors in certain circumstances. It is also referred to as "situational" interviewing. Employers are seeking certain competencies which can often be determined with this line of questioning; the competencies are:
1. Communication skills - The ability to think on your feet, formulate ideas and relate them in a succinct manner. 2. Leadership skills. 3. Management of resources - Time and money. 4. Direction setting - Goals. 5. Computer savvy. 6. Knowledge of business and organizational management. 7. Teamwork experience. 8. Leading, directing, developing people. 9. Knowledge of how to select people for certain jobs. 10. Adaptability.
It is equally important for you to have an idea of the types of questions employers expect candidates to ask during employment interviews. Obviously, there will not be enough time to ask all -- or even most -- of the following questions, so choose them wisely. Most importantly, ask the questions which are important and relevant to you as you consider a particular employment opportunity. In any case, avoid asking questions which are adequately covered in the recruiting literature most companies provide. It is perfectly permissible to ask for clarification of information provided in recruiting literature, annual reports and the like, but do not give the interviewer the impression you have not "done your homework" prior to the interview.
1. What qualities are you looking for in your new hires? 2. Could you describe a typical first assignment? 3. Could you tell me about your training program? 4. What are some of the typical career paths followed by others who have been in this position? What would be a realistic time frame for advancement? 5. How is an employee evaluated and promoted? 6. What are the opportunities for personal growth? 7. What is the retention rate of people in the position for which I am interviewing? 8. What are the most challenging facets of the position? 9. What are your expectations for new hires? 10. What is the overall structure of the department where the position is located? 11. What is the work environment like? 12. How often can I expect to relocate during the initial years of employment with your company? 13. What are the company's plans for future growth? 14. Is the company stable and financially sound? 15. What is the company's record of employment stability? 16. How has your company fared during recent recessions? 17. What assurance about employment stability can I expect? 18. Is it company policy to promote from within? What is the work history of your top management? 19. What makes your firm different from its competitors? 20. What industry-wide trends are likely to affect your company? 21. What are your company's strengths and weaknesses? 22. How would you describe your corporation's personality and management style? 23. Why did you join and stay with the firm? 24. What do/don't you like about working for your company?
If the interviewer appears pressed for time, do not prolong the interview by trying to fit in all of your questions. There will probably be time to ask further questions during subsequent interviews and before you will need to respond to an offer of employment.
1. Tell me about yourself. 2. What accomplishment has given you the most satisfaction? 3. What do you think is your greatest weakness? 4. Why did you choose Ohio Northern? 5. What has been your most rewarding college experience? 6. What led you to major in ________________? 7. Do you think your grades adequately represent your abilities? 8. What course have you liked the least? The most? 9. How has your education prepared you for working with us? 10. What are your long-range goals? 11. What major problem have you encountered and how have you dealt with it? 12. How do you work under pressure? 13. Are you willing to relocate? 14. What do you know about my organization? 15. Why do you want to work for us? 16. Why should I hire you? What makes you a better candidate than the others I am interviewing? 17. Do you have plans for continued study? 18. What questions do you have about my organization? *19. How do you go about deciding what to do first when given a project? *20. When you have some free time, what do you enjoy doing the most? *21. Tell me about a time when you experienced a failure and how you reacted to it. *22. Tell me about a time when you were under considerable pressure to meet one or more goals. *23. Describe a situation where you had to resolve a problem at work and explain how you resolved it. *24. Tell me about an experience you have had in a working environment (school, work, or community). What role did you play in the group? What problems did the group have to resolve or projects did they complete? How could the group improve their performance? *25. Describe a situation where you did not agree with something your boss asked you to do and how you resolved the problem. *26. Describe for me a project you completed that required you to use a computer.
If you are interviewing for teaching positions, you should also be prepared to answer these questions: 1. How has your education prepared you for a teaching career? 2. What is your philosophy of education? 3. Why do you want to teach? 4. Who was your favorite teacher? What made you admire him/her? 5. How will you handle discipline problems? (You will probably be given a situation and asked how you would react.) 6. Have you had experience with students from varied social, economic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds? 7. Why do you want to teach in my school system? * 8. Would you rather try a lot of way-out teaching strategies or would you rather try to perfect the approaches which work best for you? Explain your position. * 9. Do you like to teach with an overall plan in mind for the year, or would you rather just teach some interesting things and let the process determine the results? Explain your position. *10. A student is doing poorly in your class. You talk to her, and she tells you that she considers you to be the poorest teacher she has ever met. What would you do? *11. What do you want to accomplish as a teacher?
BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEWING
Previous questions listed with an asterisk (*) are considered behavioral in nature. Studies completed from 1984-88 by various research groups showed that the current methods used by interviewers did not predict the success of the applicant. It is so expensive to recruit and train new employees, they had to find a better method of selection. Some companies have reported a 70% success rate with this method vs. 20% with normal interviewing methods. Behavioral interviewing is a method of asking questions which requires the interviewee to relate past experiences or behaviors in certain circumstances. It is also referred to as "situational" interviewing. Employers are seeking certain competencies which can often be determined with this line of questioning; the competencies are:
1. Communication skills - The ability to think on your feet, formulate ideas and relate them in a succinct manner. 2. Leadership skills. 3. Management of resources - Time and money. 4. Direction setting - Goals. 5. Computer savvy. 6. Knowledge of business and organizational management. 7. Teamwork experience. 8. Leading, directing, developing people. 9. Knowledge of how to select people for certain jobs. 10. Adaptability.
It is equally important for you to have an idea of the types of questions employers expect candidates to ask during employment interviews. Obviously, there will not be enough time to ask all -- or even most -- of the following questions, so choose them wisely. Most importantly, ask the questions which are important and relevant to you as you consider a particular employment opportunity. In any case, avoid asking questions which are adequately covered in the recruiting literature most companies provide. It is perfectly permissible to ask for clarification of information provided in recruiting literature, annual reports and the like, but do not give the interviewer the impression you have not "done your homework" prior to the interview.
1. What qualities are you looking for in your new hires? 2. Could you describe a typical first assignment? 3. Could you tell me about your training program? 4. What are some of the typical career paths followed by others who have been in this position? What would be a realistic time frame for advancement? 5. How is an employee evaluated and promoted? 6. What are the opportunities for personal growth? 7. What is the retention rate of people in the position for which I am interviewing? 8. What are the most challenging facets of the position? 9. What are your expectations for new hires? 10. What is the overall structure of the department where the position is located? 11. What is the work environment like? 12. How often can I expect to relocate during the initial years of employment with your company? 13. What are the company's plans for future growth? 14. Is the company stable and financially sound? 15. What is the company's record of employment stability? 16. How has your company fared during recent recessions? 17. What assurance about employment stability can I expect? 18. Is it company policy to promote from within? What is the work history of your top management? 19. What makes your firm different from its competitors? 20. What industry-wide trends are likely to affect your company? 21. What are your company's strengths and weaknesses? 22. How would you describe your corporation's personality and management style? 23. Why did you join and stay with the firm? 24. What do/don't you like about working for your company?
If the interviewer appears pressed for time, do not prolong the interview by trying to fit in all of your questions. There will probably be time to ask further questions during subsequent interviews and before you will need to respond to an offer of employment.
posted by Arjun | 9:28 AM
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