<p>I just had a "behavioral" interview with a Fortune 500, and I was a bit disappointed. I think I answered most of the questions in a way that conforms to what the company wants, but I found the process silly and somewhat "voodoo" in terms of its ability to sort people with the right character. What's even better is that I get to do one of these online with Gallup for an hour if my 30 minute intro interview was "good enough."</p>
<p>Have any of the parents experienced this? Is this really the way that hiring is moving?</p>
<p>It's pretty standard for job applications to include hour-long behavioral tests, done online. And this for minimum-wage jobs! How much moreso for higher paying jobs!</p>
<p>Not sure what you mean by a "behavioral interview" -- What would you do if this ahppened? What would you do if that happened? Or, did they stick you in a room with some weirdos and watch how you behave? Or, did the interviewer act bizarrely and they wanted to see how you responded?</p>
<p>I'm a business psychologist and have designed numerous behavioral interviews for clients. For me, the term refers to interview questions which ask how a person actually behaved in situations as opposed to hypothetical questions about how they think they would behave, or questions about attitudes or beliefs. A example would be to ask the person to describe a situation in which he or she had to deal with an employee who was not doing his share of the work-the interviewer would first ask the person to describe the situation, then describe what he or she did to fix it, and then what eventually happend as a result. The idea is to get peole to talk about what they have actually done and these interviews tend to be better predictors of future work performance than other types of interivews.</p>
<p>That said, it is hard for me to imagine how this type of interview could be adapted to an online test. They usually require skilled interviewers. Were you presented with different scenarios and then asked to choose among a list of alternative ways of handling it?</p>
<p>I've had two interviews now with said company, and one was an online test that was simply a scale of 1 to 10 for each question. The other was in person, and it was a mix between the scale of 1 to 10 and actual questions about situations.</p>
<p>I don't want to get into too much detail, but it's either going to be management or finance at a Fortune 500. Let's just say that this company prefers a more "get good people and find roles for them" approach rather than finding people for specific roles. However, it's in a field I'm interested in, so I'm willing to put up with some BS.</p>
<p>I'm just curious what people think of these sorts of interviews? Coming from my old job, I'm somewhat taken aback by this process-- I can't help but wonder if this is a consequence of abundant supply of labor.</p>
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It's more like, "on a scale of 1 to 10, how much more motivated are you than your peers?"
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</p>
<p>What's happened if you said 7-8-9? It depends on the peer, right? if you happen to have lazy unmotivated peer, than it's definite a 10.
The only thing is you need to be consistent if they ask this question again, otherwise I don't see a problem.</p>
<p>I will remain skeptical until I see some measurable evidence that they are more successful at making more money for stockholders than are other interview methods.</p>
<p>I think you are thinking too hard. I would say yes with a straight face. Sound like this company has ethics problem in the past. Sound like a company one member of my family is working for.</p>
<p>"One question really threw me for a loop, though.</p>
<p>"Do you always know the morally correct thing to do?" "</p>
<p>You were overthinking the question. Everyone can honestly say that they TRY to always do the moral thing, but no one is perfect and neither am I. My honest answer would be "I don't purport to be perfect. I TRY to do the right thing at all times. I TRY to perfect my humanity every day. I know I WILL fall short of perfection, but I will always keep trying."</p>
<p>If they don't want a humble person, so be it.</p>
<p>For that matter, many questions can be answered in the same vein. The attitude of doing your best, trying your hardest, but not being perfect.</p>
<p>I just had one of these the other day. It was not entirely behavioral, but a large part of the process was. I'm wondering how effective those behavioral questions really are, though. The answers to them -- at least the ones I was asked -- are so easily manipulable and very much formulaic. Ultimately, it's a guessing game at telling them what you think they want to hear, not how that actually is going to predict your performance.</p>
<p>I work square in the middle of the land of Dilbert. The pointy-haired bosses don't have a clue but are always trying to implement the latest trends in management. Behavioral interviewing techniques started several years ago. Just like other interview techniques, behavioral interviewing tends to favor the candidate who is verbal, speaks in platitudes and isn't smart enough to over analyze the questions. Since I work in a highly technical and analytical field, this technique just doesn't work, but we use it anyway. We have also implemented team interviews where the interview teams consist of an HR representative, the supervisor and coworkers. Of course the HR representative has no idea of our needs and the coworkers are struggling to use interview techniques. It is quite a process, but the idiocy really makes little difference. We have such a shortage of candidates that we almost always hire any warm body that applies for a job. The real damage occurs when we use the techniques of team and behavioral interviewing to select from candidates for promotion.</p>
<p>I own a retail store and belong to a national organization of independent stores in my industry. Our organization strongly suggests using behavior assessment tools in hiring for sales associates and other positions in our stores. I haven't done it -- and I think my problems in hiring the right people are more related to the limited pool of quality applicants and my need for warm bodies rather than something that can be solved by testing.</p>
<p>I really, strongly dislike behavioral interviews. They always ask a question about a time you had to do something or had to face a challenge, or deal with customer service. I really think they have no bearing on the job because any companies worth half of its yearly profits in salt trains their new employees. Hey, customer service was a weak point for me, but my company gave me some sensitivity-feedback training and I do well handling customer issues now. Expecting me, a blunt, upfront to the point of abrasive, college student to come in and be gentle and cuddly is unrealistic and asking me if there was anytime I had to deal with customer relations issues -- even though it was obvious I never had a job before beyond the IT one I had during my freshman-sophomore summer of college and I mostly tinkered with and fixed computers. The questions are all canned and don't take into variances in experience or life history really. Not just that, but people who can lie really well, can break the system and get a job over a much more qualified candidate who might otherwise not handle the situation of an interview very well.</p>
<p>4th floor -- if you are asking me about qualified candidates and pay scales ... I think it's any price. </p>
<p>The jobs I have available <em>all</em> require a willingness to work hard, get dirty, be physically involved, and at the same time be willing and able to help customers and go the extra mile for them. There are not a lot of people out there (especially in my neck of the woods) who meet that description -- and a lot of them would prefer not to work -- and they can afford not to work.</p>