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One in three companies aren’t confident in their interview process. Many interviewers rely on gut instinct rather than objective data, resulting in arbitrary hiring decisions.
Enter behavioral interviewing—a powerful technique that helps you dive deeper into your candidates’ past experiences to predict future success. By focusing on how someone has handled real situations, this approach provides a clearer picture of how they’ll perform in your company.
In this post, we’ll explore why behavioral interviewing is such an effective tool, how to implement it successfully, and how it can streamline your hiring process.
What is behavioral interviewing?
Behavioral interviewing is a recruitment method where candidates share specific examples of how they’ve used their skillset and behaved in past work situations. It’s based on the idea that past behavior is the best predictor of future performance.
Rather than asking a hypothetical question like, “How would you handle a difficult customer?” you’d say, “Tell me about a time you had to manage a difficult customer.”
This shift in approach helps you get real, actionable insights into how a candidate thinks, reacts, and solves problems in scenarios that closely match the challenges they’ll face at your company. While traditional interviews often assess qualifications and general experience, behavioral interviews go deeper into key competencies.
Why behavioral interviewing works
Many companies find success with behavioral interviewing because it helps them evaluate skills, identify growth potential, and make objective hiring decisions.
1
Evaluate skills
Behavioral interviewing gives you a clear picture of how well a candidate’s hard skills (like technical expertise) and soft skills (such as communication or teamwork) match your job requirements.
For example, instead of just confirming they know a specific software, you can ask how they’ve used it to solve a problem or streamline a process. This method ensures you’re hiring someone who has applied their skills in real-world situations, not just someone with the right credentials on paper.
2
Identify growth potential
Behavioral interviews help you assess a candidate’s overall growth potential by exploring how they’ve learned from past experiences, taken on new responsibilities, or embraced challenges outside their comfort zone.
Questions like “Tell me about a time when you had to learn something new quickly” provide insight into their ability to adapt and evolve, which is crucial for a business that needs employees who can grow as the company scales.
3
Make objective decisions
Focusing on concrete examples from a candidate’s past helps you evaluate candidates more consistently and objectively.
Candidate examples can be included in your interview scorecard to help your team compare candidates interviewed by different team members. It also provides concrete reasoning behind your scoring rubric to reduce the risk of hiring biases.
How to conduct an effective behavioral interview
Conducting a successful behavioral interview requires preparation, the right questions, and a structured evaluation process. Here’s how you can set up your interviews for success:
1
Set your evaluation criteria
Take time to define the key competencies and soft skills the role requires before sitting down with candidates. Consider the day-to-day responsibilities and the qualities that lead to success within your company. Whether it’s adaptability, communication skills, or problem-solving abilities, knowing what you’re looking for will help guide the interview.
2
Ask the right interview questions
Work with your team to develop role-specific behavioral interview questions that are relevant to your role’s required competencies. This collaboration ensures that the interview aligns with both the job’s demands and your company’s values.
Effective behavioral questions should prompt candidates to share specific examples from their past experiences.
3
Listen for key indicators
When listening to candidates’ answers, focus on how they describe their actions and outcomes. Look for signs of accountability and learning—did they take ownership of the situation, and how did they grow from the experience?
Jot down notes to help you remember your candidate’s responses.
Behavioral interviewing best practices
Changing the way you interview can come with challenges, but following some best practices will help you maximize your chances of success.
1
Use a structured interview process
Ask each candidate the same set of questions, in the same order for a given role to help ensure all candidates are evaluated on the same criteria. This approach improves consistency, even if several interviewers are involved in the hiring process.
2
Train your interviewers
Consistency is key when conducting behavioral interviews, especially if multiple people are involved in the hiring process. Training your interviewers to ask the right behavioral questions and evaluate responses using a consistent scoring method is essential. Interviewers should also be trained to avoid biases and stay focused on skills and past behavior.
Having a well-prepared interviewer ensures more objective evaluations, a smoother interview process, and better hiring outcomes across your team.
3
Don’t make behavioral interview questions too specific
Behavioral interview questions should be short and simple to help ensure your candidates can recall a relevant example.
For example, rather than saying, “Tell me about a time when you had to work with your team to solve a website issue on a tight deadline,” try, “Tell me about a time you were able to successfully troubleshoot a website issue.”
4
Ask follow-up questions
Behavioral interviews are most effective when you use follow-up questions to dig deeper into a candidate’s responses. Doing so helps clarify details, reveal the candidate’s thought process, and demonstrate active listening.
If a candidate provides a vague or general answer, ask them to elaborate. For example, if they describe working through a conflict, you can ask, “How did you handle the feedback from your team?” or “What would you do differently next time?” These follow-ups not only give you richer information but also help assess their problem-solving and reflection skills in real-world scenarios.
5
Follow up with reference checks
Behavioral interviewing offers great insight into a candidate’s past actions, but it’s helpful to verify those insights by following up with reference checks. Ask former supervisors or colleagues about specific situations the candidate mentioned during the interview.
This extra step adds another layer of credibility and provides additional context to help ensure your chosen candidate can thrive on your team.
Sample behavioral interview questions
The specific behavioral interview questions you ask should be directly related to the skills and qualifications required for your open role.
Here are some examples to inspire you:
Final thoughts on behavioral interviewing
Behavioral interviewing is a proven way to make better, more consistent, and more fair hiring decisions. By focusing on candidates’ past experiences, you can identify the candidates with the right skills and qualifications to help your team succeed.
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