Behavioral Interview Questions You Can Use Monday Morning
by Mike Nacke

If past behavior is the best way to determine future behavior then behavioral interviewing is a requirement for anyone serious about hiring top talent. This skill isn’t something that should be taken lightly, but everyone’s got to start somewhere. Keep in mind that you’re looking for specific examples rather than vague descriptions. A good communicator can dance around the question and sound very convincing if you don’t insist that they give specifics. Here are a few questions that I have found to predict the future behavior of some of the most critical personality traits.

Leadership Ability

These abilities will be important for any position that involves persuasion or managing a team. Here are a few questions to determine the strength of a candidate.

Tell me about a time when you lead a discussion, task force, or committee meeting. What was the situation and how did you orchestrate it?

Tell me about a time when your co-workers looked to you for guidance on an important project or task. What was the situation and how did you handle it?

Verbal Skills

Any employee that requires a high degree of human interaction will benefit from strong verbal skills. Here are a couple of questions to determine the strength of a candidate in this area.

Tell me about a time when you had to explain a challenging concept or idea to a co-worker. How did you communicate it to them to ensure that they understood?

Tell me about a time when you were required to speak before a large audience. What was the situation, how did you feel about doing it, and what was the outcome?

Decisiveness

This is an indicator of an individual’s ability to make decisions independently and is also an indicator of an individual’s self confidence as well as their tolerance for risk. Here are a couple of questions to understand a candidate’s strength in this area.

Tell me about a time when you were required to make an important decision without having complete information. What was the situation and what was the outcome?

Describe a situation when you had to make a decision that you didn’t feel was your responsibility or authority to make. What course of action did you take to make sure you did the right thing?

Assertiveness

This is an indicator of an individual’s ability to communicate. This will closely relate to leadership ability and is important for any position that requires giving direction to others. Here are a couple of questions to gain a better understanding of a candidate’s strength in this area.

Tell me about a time when you had to speak up in order to get your point across. Be specific.

Tell me about a time when you had to “sell” your manager or co-workers on one of your ideas. What was the idea and what was the outcome?

Energy Level

This is an indicator of an individual’s ability to maintain intense levels of work for long periods of time. While most candidates will be able to complete an 8 hour work day, someone with a low energy level will feel the effects much more than someone with a high energy level. This is also an indicator of an individual’s propensity to work quickly. Here are a couple of questions to determine the strength of a candidate in this area.

Tell me about a time when you were required to work with a team on an important project and you weren’t pleased with the speed at which it progressed. How did you deal with the situation?

Describe a situation where you were required to work an extended period of time to accomplish a task. What was the situation and how did you keep yourself motivated?