Bad Behavioral Questions

Some critics think “behavioral interviews” – where candidates give concrete examples of how they behaved in past situations as a way of indicating how they might behave as your employee in the future -- are, well, just a sign of the interviewer’s bad (or at least ineffective) behavior. According to such critics, how a candidate behaved in an entirely different company from yours is not a predictor of how he or she will act in your organization. Rather than behavioral interviews which focus on the past, critics say, it’s smarter to pose questions based on real situations that your company is currently facing. Whether or not behavioral interviews are bad behavior, if you decide to ask such questions, at least ask smart questions. In particular, this means that you should not, so to speak, “lead the witness.” Example of a bad behavioral question: "Describe a situation where you resolved a conflict." The foregoing assumes the candidate actually resolved a conflict (maybe he or she didn't, and instead is actually prone to causing conflict). In short, even if you're a believer in behavioral interviews, don't assume the answers. As that old (admittedly crude) saying goes: when you ASS-U-ME; you risk making an (insert first three letters in “assume”) out of U and ME!