Behavioral Event Interview

Behavioral Event Interview
A structured interview that uses behavioral questions to help the

interviewer identify a candidate’s potential performance based on
critical competencies identified for that position (Barclay, 2001;
Decisions, 2010;Kessler, 2006).
Competency-based behavioral interviews are a widely used mode of
job interviewing, there is evidence that both standardization and the
use of behavioral questions increase the psychometric properties of
interviews (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998; Roulin & Bangerter, 2012).
• BPSI – Behavioral Event Interview (BEI) is a structured interview
format that is used to collect information about an individual’s past
behavior. BEI is based on the premise that past behavior is the best
predictor for future behavior.
• BEI uses open ended questions to uncover and analyze a candidate’s
behaviour in the past in order to predict his future performance.
Preparing for a Competency-Based Behavioral
Interview
Job specific competencies can be matched with candidate strengths in
the pre-hire phase of employment to clarify expectations and help in the
selection process. Behavioral questions that are linked to job-related
competencies may be used in the structured interview to help identify
top qualified candidates.
The interviewer identifies desired skills and behaviors, and then
structures open-ended questions and statements to elicit detailed
responses. A rating system is developed and selected criteria are
evaluated during the interview.
Even if you don’t have a great deal of work experience, companies expect you to
be able to relate past experiences – from undergraduate or graduate school,
campus activities, volunteer work, membership in an organization, etc. – to the
job for which you are interviewing.
The BEI Process
• Step 1 – Determine Essential Job-Specific Competencies: In order to
determine the essential competencies for a position, the first step is
to look at the job duties. What does it take for the incumbent to
perform the duties well? These competencies are typically
established in the analysis of the position and should be
communicated to the search committee or the interview
panel/interviewers.
Step 2 – Develop Behavioral Interview Questions:
• With the essential competencies defined, create a question for each one. Stay
away from traditional questions that begin with statements like, “what would
you do it…
• Tip: If you have hired for this position before, it’s important to take time to
review and update the questions with the current needs of the department in
mind and to update and change accordingly.
• As you are creating the list of questions, it’s important to make sure you are
asking the right questions to candidates, since the way you ask a question can
provide different answers.
• Once a list is created, review the full list of individual questions and how they
flow together as a whole. Also review your list of competencies and make
sure they are all covered by the questions you created.
• Step 3 – Interview Candidates: Each candidate should be asked the same questions.
If the answer provided by the candidate leads to a follow-up question, these can be
asked as they arise, as long as they are relevant to the original question.
• Focusing on what the candidate is saying is one of the most important things during
an interview process. Candidates will usually provide a lot of information, but as an
interviewer, it’s your job to listen to that information, use it and relate it to the
individual’s qualifications and to check for inconsistencies. Listening to the
candidate’s answers will also be helpful to determine if any follow-up questions are
needed. Through listening you will know if the candidate has fully answered the
question presented.
• Another technique that can be helpful during the interview process is the ability to
reflect back on what the candidate has mentioned during the interview. For
example, “You mentioned earlier that your favorite part about teaching is working
with students, can you tell us about a time when you involved students in your
research?”
• Also, during the interview process be sure to also make notes about the candidate’s
behaviors during the interview. The non-verbal actions can provide insight into if the
candidate feels comfortable with their answer for each question.
• Step 4 – Evaluate Candidate Responses for Each Question: Review
the candidate’s responses to each question and decide if they truly
answered the questions.
• When evaluating candidates, it can be helpful to use a rating
instrument. A rating instrument can consist of multiple categories
(unacceptable, acceptable, and target), or even a simple numeric
scale of 1 to 5 or 1 to 10. The rating instrument can be used for each
answer provided by the candidate and can provide an easy way to see
how many questions were answered on target or who had the
highest scores.
Benefits of BEI
• BEI is an objective, fair and reliable tool for evaluating and comparing
candidates and employees.
• BEI helps you to set clear criteria for employee selection or

assessment.
• BEI helps you to eliminate bias in assessment.
• BEI helps you set reliable expectations regarding employees’ future

performance.
Role of HR
• Behavioral Interview Question creation/evaluation

• Evaluation form creation/evaluation
• Candidate screening
• Interview tips/guidance
• Designing and implementation of process of competency
identification
• Designing follow up plans and interventions
• Ensuring equity and fairness in the process
Conducting BEI – STAR method
STAR is an acronym for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. In addition, a second
R—referring to ‘Reflection’—may also be added, resulting in the question: ‘what
are your thoughts on your own course of action?’
• Situation – What was the situation?

• When a selection board is looking for a commercially minded person who is particularly
well versed in handling complaints, the candidate may be asked whether they already
have enough experience and, if so, whether they can describe a situation that
demonstrates their skills.
• Task – Who was involved in the situation / What was your task in the
situation?
• By discovering the exact task of the candidate in the situation described, the interviewer
finds out what perspective the candidate took on and how they felt at the time.
• Task – What were your thoughts and emotions in this situation?
• This task-oriented question is the follow-up to the second question. By asking this
question, the interviewer discovers the candidate’s reasoning in and thoughts about the
situation. This can be both in a positive and negative sense. The candidate’s emotions at
the time (e.g. fear, self-confidence, happiness) especially provide important information.
• Action – What did you ultimately do and say in this situation?
• By asking this question, the BEI interviewer finds out what the candidate’s
competencies are.
• Result – What was the result of all the actions taken by the
candidate?
• the interviewer may use the ‘result question’ to find out whether the desired
effect had been achieved. This is not just about the result from the
perspective of the candidate, but also from other stakeholders, such as the
customer, colleagues, and managers. Once again, the interviewer may pose
follow-up questions here.
Conducting a Detailed Behavioral Event Interview
Role Play 1
Role of Purchase manager
Background:
A textile firm producing yarns as well as fabrics. The firm also has a
dyeing unit. A large number of parts are required for the machines.
Moreover, chemicals of various types, oils, are required for the dye
house. The firm also requires raw materials of various types (cotton,
Polyester, VSF) and grades. Apart from materials required for
production the firm requires various materials for the working of the
firm.
• Identify competencies required.
• Prepare questions (STAR)
• Prepare rating / evaluation sheet
• Conduct interview
Role Play 2
• Role of industrial relations (IR) manager
• A textile firm producing yarns as well as fabrics. The firm also has a
dyeing unit. The firm has a strength of 180 in managerial role (non
unionized, not under CB). It employs around 350 workmen on its direct
payroll and another 550 as contract labour. The firm has one
recognized trade union, which owes allegiance to the leftist political
thought. Splinter groups are trying to make their presence felt. Other
elements belonging to other political thoughts also try to make their
presence felt. There seems to be competition amongst different groups
in making their presence felt.
• Identify competencies required.
• Prepare questions (STAR)
• Prepare rating / evaluation sheet
• Conduct interview

Behavioral Event Interview

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Behavioral Event Interview

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Behavioral Event Interview

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Behavioral Event Interview

A structured interview that uses behavioral questions to help the

• BEI helps you to set clear criteria for employee selection or

• BEI helps you to eliminate bias in assessment.

• BEI helps you set reliable expectations regarding employees’ future

• Behavioral Interview Question creation/evaluation

• Situation – What was the situation?

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.