Overview:
Those working in human resource and in management will frequently need to develop an unbiased, legally sound, excellent candidate selection processes for applicants. One way to do this is to use the Behavior Based Interviewing method. According to Dr. Paul Green, Behavior Based Interviewing seeks to evaluate a candidate’s skills gained from prior experiences, as it will predict their future job performance. In addition to formatting behavior based (and situational based) interview questions, having anticipated answers containing the competencies, desired tasks, duties or responsibilities (TDR’s) and skills critical to perform the job helps ensure a valid and reliable interview process. It leaves less “interpretation” of the candidate’s responses and removes most of the interview biases.
Materials/Resources:
A full job description – student’s choice but be sure to not confuse it with a job advertisement where only small information may be provided. Listen to Week II Chat. Additionally, use Chapter 8 in Mello Strategic Human Resource Management, this handout, including the example generic questions on page 3, and the full behavior based question example for a Manger of CNAs located on page 4 of this document, Onet online, the Behavior Based Interview PowerPoint in BB, the list of 31 job competencies in BB, and the job template at the end of this document. Consider asking someone who is in the job to help you formulate the questions and think about the answers.
Grading Factors (15 points for Each Question, Total of 2 Questions for 30 Pts)
Must comply with steps A through E
Must copy and paste job description or insert as a picture at the end or no points for the project. The instructor needs it for comparison.
In this project, students are to select a position that displays a full job description and develop a set of two interview questions: (1) behavioral based and (1) situational question. To receive max points, must insert the job description at the end either by copy and paste or insert as a picture AND complete steps A through E, and use good grammar, which includes a clear semantic message. All steps build upon themselves, and thus must logically flow to earn points.
To help the student organize their work in this project, the instructor created a template. Use the template in this document to complete the project – either delete the other pages or copy and paste the template it into a new Microsoft Word document. Using any other format will cause loss of points, including not accepting the assignment.
Step A: (4 points Each Question) Using the resources, compare the requirements with the job description and develop your interview questions using the criteria below.
In this exercise, students may use a host of resources, but some “professional judgement” is required to synthesize the resources into valid and reliable interview questions with anticipated answers. Each question design must relate to the competencies, e.g. skills and experience required for the job. For example, relating to a manager, one might develop a series of questions to explore the candidate’s leadership competencies. See the example question on page 4 regarding a manger question for CNAs.
One question must be behavior-based and the other must be a situational question that examines separate areas of the job. For example, if a student lists two behavior questions, then one of the questions will receive an entire zero out of 10 points. If a student asks about past experiences changing oil on cars and in the next questions asks the candidate to tell us how to change the oil, then no credit will be giving for the second question.
Behavior-based means something an applicant already did, or prior skills acquired in the past that demonstrates they have the skills for the new job.
Situation means that the question places an applicant in a current hypothetical situation (See Mello Chapter 8) and discusses the skill steps to solve the situation based upon ideal outcomes – it checks the applicants problem solving ability.
**Must explore two totally different areas of employment within your job – no overlapping of questions or the anticipated answers. Be careful not to overlap the competencies and skills among your two questions. Each question and anticipated answer must be different for each other. For example, do not overlap “remained calm under communication” as answers to both of your questions. This is redundant.
Write open ended questions, ones that cannot be answered with a yes or no.
Ensure the question is focused and is absent long-winded wording.
Do not lead a candidate to the answer by writing questions that contains too much information or clues of what the panel is looking to hear.
Avoid writing questions that are set the bar low or too high for the position being filled, e.g. competencies, skills or TDRs are too high or low for the job. This requires careful planning. For a light mechanic’s job, you might ask a behavior-based question, “Tell us your experience changing the oil on a compact vehicle.” If the question is phrased correctly, those who have the skills will rise to the top, and if someone has only surface skills, they will score low as they will fail to say key skills and/or provide enough details how they would change the oil. For a light mechanic job, asking how to rebuild a transmission would not be appropriate, as it is not required for the job.
Step B 1 and 2 (4 points for Each Question)
First: Review the Job Competencies list in Blackboard, Onet or other sources. Compare them with the requirements in the job description. Write down the top 3 to 5 job competencies (those global skills and behaviors that relate to the question being asked, which will ultimately help the panel determine if the candidate has the competencies for the jobs. Job competencies are the knowledge, skills, traits, qualities, abilities or characteristics that contributes to a person’s ability to perform the job. Don’t get hung up on whether something is a competency or skill/ability. However, often competencies are more global, and skills are more specific to a task or behavior needed. The idea here is that HRM professionals must understand how job competencies play a role in job performance.
Second:
To ensure validity of the question, in a sentence or two, state how the interview question relates to the position. (This area helps provide a common understanding of why the question was ask and to guide panel members on how to interpret the question and answers.)
Step C: (7 points for Each Question)
Write 7 to 8 Anticipated Answers next to the template boxes provided – using the competencies, skills, and/or the TDR’s essential for the required for the position (leave the “other” box alone). It does not count towards the 7 to 8 required answers. Be sure they relate to the question and are looking for specific details. Placing “communication” as an answer is not correct. Anyone can say they have communication. Placing an answer that relates to the type of communication would be appropriate. Do not repeat any answers. The goal here is to have a set of answers that the panel can “check off” as the interviewer speaks about how they have the competencies and skills. Focus on the behaviors, skills or job knowledge for answers.
Rather than listing “Communication,” as a competency in the box, locate the type of communication, such as remained calm, listened to customer, etc. to place as an anticipated answer. Communication is too broad and thus anyone can say they have these skills. Dive deep into the position requirements.
If the question relates to sequential steps, such as changing the oil on a compact car, list the steps they should take as the answer, e.g. 1) Ensure care is safely parked, 2) put blocks on wheels, 3) xxx etc.
The instructor will look for a balance of answers between the two questions – do not repeat the same competencies, skills or TDRs in either question. It is up to the student to figure out which TDRs, competencies and skills fit within their questions.
Further, avoid “boiler plate” language form O*net and sources of the like. They are too generic.
Lastly, we always include an “other” as someone should get credit if they come up with a great answer the panel did not think of and is very relevant to the job.
Things to avoid:
It is up to the student to figure out which TDRs, competencies and skills fit within their questions. These anticipated answers are up to a few short words describing or relating to the competencies and skills needed rather than anticipating an exact word for word sentence out of someone’s mouth. No one can predict how a person will formulate their examples, but one who has the competencies and skills for the job, should be able to articulate them in an interview as they describe their experiences and skills.
Step D: (Minus 2 points per question if not done) Develop a scoring system – HR assigns a point value for each response within the question. Based upon the significance of competencies and skills required, the point value may be adjusted up or down.
For example, under the example below: a manager of CNAs who demonstrates prior work experience in the healthcare field with a business model of homecare or in facilities should rate higher than someone who has limited experience. Since the manger job is more complicated, it should have a higher number of anticipated responses. The example below uses an “other.” One or two “others” do not count as the minimum, but are appropriate, as sometimes applicants have great answers and you want to reward them. A panel cannot think of all answers. For your project, you will only need 7 to 8 plus an “other” anticipated answer. Note how the scale is different in the example question below.
Step E: To avoid a 15-point loss, submit your work as one Microsoft Word document via the BB online course – ensure your file is named as Lastname_HRM432_AdvancedInterviewProject – and uploaded by Sunday 11:59pm PDT, of Week II of the course.
Example of Generic Behavior based and Situational Interview Questions
Normally, DHR personnel, along with SME’s, will develop questions, anticipated responses and a scoring system based upon behavioral or situational questions. Remember, behavior-based questions focus on the applicant’s past experiences whereas the situational questions place the applicant in a current situation related to the new position to solve.
Below are some example questions.
(S) Suppose someone asked you for assistance with a matter that is outside the parameters of your job description. What would you do?
(S) You are on a new committee member and disagree with a point or decision. How will you respond?
(S) Suppose you are in a situation where deadlines and priorities change frequently and rapidly. How would you handle it?
(B) Tell me about a time when you were a part of a great team. What was your part in making the team effective?
(B) What do you do when you know you are right, and your boss disagrees with you? Give me an example of when this has happened in your career
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