Want a sure-fire way to determine if a candidate’s values, attitude and skills match the position you’re hiring for? Do a behavioural interview, which looks at how an applicant behaved in their past jobs to predict how they may act in the future.

The problem with behavioural interviews is that they’ve become overly-structured and predictable.

For example: when not done properly, a behavioural interview may deem a candidate as suitable even when they’re not.

Plus, there are resources and individuals out there who provide guidance on how to answer behavioural interview questions. They show candidates how to invent examples of good behaviour or how to respond with prepared examples in real-time, among other things.

Here’s a quick rundown of the things you need to do to conduct a truly effective behavioural job interview:

Identify the requirements for the position

Create a job description by talking to people who are successful in the role or at least something similar. Ask them about the traits that are needed the most. Consult with the team leader to learn what it means to be effective in the position and what are necessary to achieve it.

Collaborate internally while making the list of skills and experiences so everyone involved can provide their input. Find out about required outputs as well so you can understand why certain characteristics are important.

Craft questions according to your list

Inquire how the applicant has demonstrated each trait in prior jobs. For instance, if customer service is a must-have for the position, ask them to share a time when they successfully handled a difficult client.

For leadership, you can have them describe a situation when they had to influence someone (e.g. a teammate) who didn’t agree with them, and how they persuaded the other to see their point of view.

Don’t rely only on questions that demand specific examples. These make it easier for a candidate to respond with a prepared answer. Try enquiries that allow competencies to be displayed more naturally.

Dig deep into their documents

Review the cover letters, resumes, portfolios and other materials that you received from the applicant. Go through what they’ve written with the behavioural characteristics in mind. This alone will help you determine if they are worth interviewing or not.

If you don’t see anything on their resume that matches the skills on your list, there’s no point in scheduling a call. Be careful that you don’t miss skills that are closely related to what you’re searching for though.

Perform an initial screening

For candidates who’ve caught your attention, conduct an initial phone interview just to get to know them a bit better. This helps to narrow down the applicant pool further. You’ll want to have a behavioural interview only with the most qualified, after all.

Since it’s only an initial interview, you don’t have to delve into the details of their work experiences. You can ask them to introduce themselves and another basic questioning.

Choose your questions carefully

You have limited time to spend with each candidate but you must make sure to get the most relevant information out of them. So, strategically pick each behavioural-based question in relation to values, culture and function.

Instead of going into each trait, you’ve listed down, select 3 to 5 areas to focus on. It’s also worthwhile checking if the candidate will thrive in your company despite the remote arrangement.

Evaluate and measure their answers

Consider creating a scoring system for every area of focus. What this does is minimise any bias when it comes to deciding on the best applicant. Additionally, you’ll want to hear the specific details of every story that you hear, be it metrics or real-time results, so you have repeated evidence to look at.

Perhaps you can categorise your candidate choices according to their responses for each question. Those who were able to provide solid examples must be separated from those who sounded rehearsed.

The Takeaway

The best predictor of future success is past performance in a similar situation. This is why it’s essential to do a behavioural interview properly. While going beyond the original techniques seems complicated, it ensures that the questions aren’t predictable but are effective instead.

It’ll require a different way of thinking for each interview. You’ll have to work hard to keep your business practices up to pace within your changing industry too, else you won’t be able to ask applicants as properly as you should.

As to the role of Remote Workmate when it comes to interviews, we essentially screen all applicants for you. We also see to it that each candidate we endorse meets your minimum requirements. Once you’ve picked the candidate you want to hire, we’ll onboard them so they’ll hit the ground running.

We highly recommend that you conduct your own behavioural interview so that your final candidates are truly suitable. It may mean expending time and effort but it’s worth your while.