Out of all the different types of interviews conducted during the recruitment process, behavioural interviews identify the best fit candidates for the job. A behavioural interview is when the applicant is questioned concerning their skills and how they solve a particular problem. Besides, it can help the employer to know prospective candidates who will be suitable for permanent recruitment positions. However, it is unlike the typical interview questioning method used to evaluate a knowledgeable candidate with attributes that may benefit the workplace.
With behavioural interviews, the evaluation of candidates by hiring managers becomes critical. The following are important to know about:
- Insight into past performance: In interviews, the focus is on how the candidate has handled situations in previous positions. Through requests for real-life examples, hiring managers can assess how well a candidate performs under pressure, challenges their way around an issue, or makes certain decisions. It provides better predictions, as the basis is on experiences that are representations of the candidate’s capabilities.
- Reveals competencies and soft skills: Behavioral interviews further the technical skills and qualities of the candidates to competencies and interpersonal skills, which are nearly always critical for any position. Other interpersonal and problem-solving skills may matter as much as functional skills in most careers. Moreover, past experiences allow the candidate to interact with other people and adjust to change.
- Minimises bias and subjectivity: Unconscious biases sometimes destroy traditional interviews. Behavioral interviews reduce these biases because the focus is on specific structured questions about past behaviours. Since the candidate’s responses are based on actual events, interviewers are less likely to make subjective judgments based on a candidate’s appearance, background, or other irrelevant factors.
- Identifies skills: All jobs have several challenges that they go through, requiring one to solve problems or make decisions. Thus, behavioural interviewing helps to get into how such situations occur or asks when a candidate encountered problems and how they handled them. They allow interviewers to evaluate just how a person tackles thinking, neither over utilizing intuition nor over-engaging in personal advice from others.
- Helps predict cultural fit: Each organisation has its culture, and it is very important for the new joiner to align with the culture to prosper at work. By asking questions, behavioural interviews may help identify if the candidate will fit in the environment. By learning how candidates have adapted to different work cultures in the past, interviewers can assess whether their work style and values are compatible with the organisation.
- Enhances candidate engagement and transparency: Behavioral interviews are more interactive and transparent for the interviewer and the candidate. A more dynamic conversation is provided by asking the candidate to describe how they have handled situations in the past. Moreover, it is also natural, allowing candidates to show their skills and experiences without feeling they need to present an artificial version of themselves.
Final words
Overall, behavioural interviews have the greatest significance in finding the right candidate based on his skills, experience, and cultural fit. Additionally, permanent employee benefits ensure long-term employee satisfaction and retention. A partnership with recruitment agencies like BGC, a listed recruitment agency, could speed up the process since outsourcing recruitment increases the time-to-hire by 32%. With BGC’s success stories of placing 50,000 job seekers into more than 3,000 organisations, they are a reliable partner in expediting the hiring process.
