Why you should add Behavior Based Questions to your Interviews.

Many candidates have prepared answers to common interview questions. These can mask their true personality, experience, and behaviors.

Behavior-based interview questions are the most effective way to dive deeper into a candidate’s experiences.?

As an interviewer, your goal should be to determine what this person will be like after they get hired. Standard interview questions such as, “Tell me about you,” or “Tell me about what you did in a particular job” are great for understanding their background. However, they do not give you any insight into:

• how they handle situations,
• how they handle stress,
• how they solve problems,
• what their beliefs and attitudes are,
• and are they sharp and quick-witted?

Behavior questions focus on how they approach and think about situations. These can be the most difficult questions to answer. They challenge candidates to think creatively and to recall examples on how they have how they have handled similar situations.

Warning: Be ready for resistance. I have actually had candidates get up and walk out when these questions were asked. While this may seem dramatic, I am so thankful to have uncovered either their inability to handle stress or their overbearing ego that would not have worked well with our team and our clients. Since our long term success is based on the people we hire for ourselves and our our clients, we only look for people who are adaptable, willing to take on new challenges, and not be stuck in their old ways.

Amazon has built an entire empire utilizing its Amazon Leadership Principles. In every interview, they ask candidates several of these behavioral questions based on whichever of these Principles are most appropriate for the position they are seeking.

Therefore, Fortify Experts has developed behavioral questions formulated around these Amazon Leadership Principles which we would like to share with you. You can see some of these same questions below or go here for the full article.

For each position, select one or two questions from several of the most appropriate leadership principles to ask each candidate. If there are multiple interview rounds, you may want to give each interviewer one or two of these principles to cover. It is best to ask the same behavior questions in each interview round to give yourself a better way to compare candidates.

Customer Obsession

Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.

1. Describe your most difficult customer and did you do anything different with them?
2. Give me an example of a time when you did not meet a client’s expectation. What happened, and how did you attempt to rectify the situation?
3. When you’re working with a large number of customers, it’s tricky to deliver excellent service to them all. How do you go about prioritizing your customers’ needs?
4. Tell the story of the last time you had to apologize to someone.

Insist on the Highest Standards

Leaders have relentlessly high standards many people may think these standards are unreasonably high. Leaders are continually raising the bar and driving their teams to deliver high quality products, services and processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and that problems are fixed so they stay fixed.

1. Tell me about a time when you couldn’t meet your own expectations on a project.
2. Tell me about a time when a team member didn’t meet your expectations on a project.

Are Right, A Lot

Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgment and good instincts. They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs.

1. Tell me about a time when you were wrong.
2. Tell me about a time when you had to work with incomplete data or information.
3. Tell me about a time when you were proposing a solution that other doubted that turned out in your favor.

Ownership

Leaders are owners. They think long term and don’t sacrifice long-term value for short-term results. They act on behalf of the entire company, beyond just their own team. They never say “that’s not my job.

1. Tell me about a time when you had to leave a task unfinished.
2. Tell me about a time when you had to work on a project with unclear responsibilities.
3. Give me an example of when you took a risk and it failed.

Invent and Simplify

Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify. They are externally aware, look for new ideas from everywhere, and are not limited by “not invented here”. As we do new things, we accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.

1. Tell me about a time when you gave a simple solution to a complex problem.
2. Tell me about a time when you created a new way of doing something that gave a company a competitive advantage.
3. Tell me about an out-of-the-box idea you had and what was its impact.

To read the rest of the article and to download a saveable PDF of these questions go here:

https://fortifyexperts.com/why-you-need-to-add-behavior-based-question-to-your-interviews/

About Tim Howard

Tim Howard is the founder of 5 technology firms including Fortify Experts which helps companies create higher-performing teams through:

• People (Executive Search and vCISO/Advisory consulting),
• Process (NIST-based security assessments and vCISO Leadership Coaching),
• Technology (Simplifying Security Solutions).

How I can help you:

1. Join over 30,000 People Getting Free Security Leadership Improvement Advice - Follow me on LinkedIn. www.dhirubhai.net/in/timhoward
2. If you want to hire a great security leader, download our free ebook on How to Hire a Great CISO.
3. If you want to quickly assess your Cybersecurity Maturity Level or Need a Strategic Improvement Roadmap, Contact me.
4. If you are looking to simplify cybersecurity, check out Fortified Desk. The Zero Client secure, instantly deployable, BYOD workspace.
5. Come be a part of the discussion in our Monthly CISO Forums.