CRAFTING BEHAVIOURAL QUESTIONS

Job Interviews are a common selection tool in the recruitment and selection process but what kinds of questions should be asked in an interview?

Assuming you wish to employ an Industrial Relations Manager will the questions below give you an idea as to whether S/he will do a good job?

• What is your favourite colour?
• Who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs?
• What makes you think you will be a good Manager?

If the answer is No, then the questions are not Behavioral. Behavioural questions are asked to elicit relevant behavioural examples from the job applicants   to help the interviewer predict the applicants’ behavior in a similar job situation.

To craft behavioural questions, you must Pick out Key Competencies from the Industrial Relations Manager’s Job Description.

Key Competencies are skills and attitudes that the job incumbent must have by all means to effectively perform the job.

E.g. The Job of the Industrial Relations Manager is to lead the Management team in negotiations with the local union. From this, you can deduce that Negotiation skills is a key competency.

It is important to define what the competency means especially when it is going to be a panel interview, that way all panelists share the same understanding of the competency and know how to assess the applicant.

Negotiation skills: ability to dialogue to reach an agreement.

Afterwards, craft the behavioral question. One Main question and follow-up questions

Have you led a management team in a Negotiation with the Local Union?

• What was the situation?
• What did you do?
• What was the result?

It is always essential that you establish the situation, what the applicant did or did not do and what the result was. 

In summary: Pick key competencies; Define competencies; and Craft questions to elicit Behavioural examples.

Credit: Ama Pimpong, Programme Officer - IHRMP