Let’s tackle the best reason to use behavioral interview questions right up front: It saves you a bucket load of money in staff turnover costs. We already know having an employee quit costs money; HRDive says each bad hire costs us $15,000 per lost employee, which is why it’s important to try so hard to find the right candidate for the job opening.
Behavioral interview questions are one way we can lower these numbers. This article will tell you what you need to know about this effective way to interview job candidates.
What is Behavioral Interviewing?
Trusting your gut can work during the interview process but is a risky endeavor if that is all you’re using to make a decision. Why not couple it with a methodology that seeks to determine future behavior by looking at past behavior? That’s the basic goal of behavioral interviews.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) says that behavioral interviewing “focuses on a candidate’s past experiences by asking the candidate to provide specific examples of how they have demonstrated certain behaviors, knowledge, skills and abilities.” It’s a structured interview process with a set series of questions correlated to a specific job description.
Job board ZipRecruiter lists some examples of behavioral interview questions:
- Give an example of a goal you reached and how you achieved it.
- Have you ever persuaded management to do something they didn’t want to do? Describe what happened.
- What’s been your most creative accomplishment in your career?
- Give me an example of a time you used your verbal communication skills to influence a group. What was the outcome?
Interviewers are encouraged to seek clarification by asking more questions like:
- Can you tell me a bit more about that situation?
- How did that turn out?
- What was your specific role in that event?
Each answer should be scored by the interviewers and evaluated afterward.
Benefits of Behavioral Interviewing
The benefit of these techniques is they are the most accurate predictor of future behavior. Monster.com says they allow the interviewer to go beyond the surface answer to get to the candidate’s critical-thinking skills and problem-solving ability. It gives the interviewer a measurable way of improving the hiring process.
Finding the Right Candidate With MAS Medical
It’s hard to find the right person to fill a medical role. That’s why the team at MAS Medical Staffing works diligently to develop relationships with reliable A-list candidates. Our goal is to supplement your hiring team with proven talent. We do this by using our expertise to source, screen and match the needs, wants and priorities of our clients with the goals of our candidates. We have 12 offices in New England standing by to help you succeed.
To find out more about behavioral interviewing and our staffing resources, contact the talent team at MAS.
