What The Job Seeker Needs to Know about A New Interview Approach

Behavioral based interviews are becoming increasingly popular. The main purpose of such interviews, sometimes called situational interviews, is to document transferable skill sets. Mike Hammond, Group Recruiter with Enterprise Rent-A-Car shares that, “Enterprise uses the behavioral based interview format because we believe that past performance is a direct indication of how one will perform in the future.” To begin the process, interviewers review the pertinent job description and highlight four to five of the most relevant skills. Common skill sets in today’s market may include problem identification, problem solving, being a team player, demonstrating initiative, flexibility or the ability to use a specific computer application or other industry specific tool or skill. Next the interviewer crafts questions that require applicants to tell how they would use that targeted skill or react in a given situation commonly faced in the position.
The interviewer is looking for STARs. STAR is an acronym that stands for the Situation or Task you faced/handled, what Action you took, and what was the Result or outcome. They are seeking short stories that document the skill or how you would handle the situation. It is beneficial to quantify relevant stories by including dollars, numbers, or percentages whenever possible.
Below are some examples of situational interview questions.

· Describe a time when communication with a customer was strained. Tell me how you handled it.
· Think of a day when you had many things to do and describe how you used the time.
· Sometimes we can identify a small problem and fix it before it becomes a big problem. Tell me about such a time.
· Have you generated any new ideas in your most recent position. Tell me about them.

Situational interviews require that the job applicant be well prepared with specific examples of job relevant and transferable skills. You also need to clearly communicate why you have made past major and career-related decisions. Through careful introspection and research into desirable job skills for the targeted position, you will be able to successfully carry out situational interviews.