When you’re on the lookout for new talent, it can easily seem like skillset takes priority over all else. Whether that’s years in industry, qualifications, or shining portfolios of past projects, hard skills are a vital part of any application, but that doesn’t mean soft skills should be ignored. That’s where behavioural-based interview questions come in.
Designed to assess a candidate’s habits and behaviours in the workplace, behavioural interview topics aren’t about technical competency, but how a person interacts with those around them. These sorts of questions are perfect for assessing a candidate’s:
• Adaptability • Cultural fit • Collaboration • Leadership • Ability to reflect
All while letting candidates to show off their personalities — and with over 80% of companies now using online interviews as standard, it’s more important than ever to virtually get to know the behaviours of a candidate you’ll soon be working with face-to-face.
What is the behavioural-based interview process?
Often, behavioural-based interview questions are part of the hiring process after the technical competency round of interviews. At this stage, you know your candidate can functionally perform the role, but now you need to find out if they’d really be able to flourish as part of the team.
This round can also be attended by members of the wider business who candidates will still work closely with, so it’s the perfect opportunity to see how they interact with colleagues who aren’t as well-versed in the day-to-day role. For example, can a front-end engineer talk in a clear and accessible way to a marketing manager?
If a take-home task or portfolio presentation is part of the process, it’s an ideal time to introduce some common behavioural interview questions. This provides the candidate with a great starting point for their answers as they can relate them directly to the work they’re sharing.
What are the best behavioural interview questions?
The top behavioural interview questions are the ones that really let you understand if a candidate will fit the culture of the company and their specific team. These may follow certain techniques like the STAR method which ask about specific scenarios, or they can be more creative, allowing candidates to express themselves more freely. Here are some great examples of behavioural interview questions:
1. Tell me about a time you dealt with conflict with colleagues in the workplace
2. How do you think your colleagues would describe you?
3. How do you prioritise your work tasks?
4. What’s your proudest accomplishment in your career so far?
5. Tell me about your favourite work project
6. What do you think makes for an excellent <job position e.g. Engineer>?
7. What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made at work and how did you handle it?
8. Tell me about a time you had to collaborate with others at work
9. Describe a time when you were proactive in your role
10. Is there any event from your past roles that you wish you handled differently?
Other examples of behavioural interview questions can be even more high-level, letting you focus on things like a candidate’s self-awareness and ability to express themselves:
1. Tell me about a time when you failed
2. Describe a time you logically had to work through a problem
3. Have you ever used creativity to solve a dilemma?
4. What’s your favourite way of working?
Ultimately, the top behavioural interview questions are the ones that let candidates showcase their strengths, as well as talk transparently and reflectively about areas where they hope to improve.
What are the benefits of behavioural interviewing?
Using these common behavioural interview questions lets you understand candidates beyond the hard skills set out in their CV. You’ll get valuable insight into someone’s personal approaches to work, as well as their potential to grow as these questions allow them to reflect on past behaviours so you can better predict future suitability.
Knowing if a candidate is going to be a good culture fit is key to any recruitment process, and this is where behavioural questions become essential. Company culture isn’t just about finding people who tick all the boxes of ‘ambition’, ‘innovation’, and ‘drive’ but finding people who can demonstrate emotional intelligence, effective and personable communication styles, and who match the company values. Someone who can seamlessly be added to a role to help nurture a company-wide sense of team.
Behavioural interview topics as an open forum
Remember, hiring goes both ways! Make sure you’re just as prepared to demonstrate the company culture and behaviours and have the answers ready for the key interview questions candidates are likely to hit you with. That’s another great benefit of these sorts of interviews; it allows candidates to ask their own questions and respond to anything you share about the wider role and culture. So it’s also a more passive way of understanding their behaviours — are they active listeners? Are they inquisitive? Do they ask authentic questions?
Ultimately, behavioural interviews are about getting to know a person on a deeper level, they’re not about tricking your candidates or catching them out with curveball questions. Take some time to craft questions that really matter and that can inform your decision-making.
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