Behavioural Interviewing: A Practical Guide for Hiring Managers

Behavioural interviewing asks candidates for examples of work they have already handled. It is useful when past situations provide evidence relevant to the vacancy, but it works only when questions and scoring are tied to the job.

Choose behaviours from the role

Start with situations the employee will face: resolving a payroll discrepancy, persuading a hiring manager to reconsider a requirement, prioritising several deadlines or handling a sensitive employee conversation. Select four to six behaviours that distinguish acceptable from strong performance.

Avoid broad labels without definitions. “Leadership” could mean setting direction, coaching a colleague, making a decision during uncertainty or taking accountability. Define the observable behaviour before writing the question.

Write questions that invite evidence

Ask about a specific past situation: “Tell me about a time a stakeholder rejected your recommendation. What was at stake, what did you do and what happened?” Do not signal the preferred answer or combine three competencies in one complicated prompt.

Use the same core questions for all candidates applying to the same role. Follow-up can differ because examples differ, but it should clarify context, the candidate’s own action, reasoning and result.

Probe the candidate’s contribution

Team achievements can hide individual work. Ask what the candidate personally decided, produced or changed, who else was involved and how success was checked. If the outcome was poor, explore what they learned and did next; a neat success story is not the only evidence of judgement.

Score evidence, not storytelling style

A polished speaker may give a weak example, while a thoughtful candidate may need prompting. Use anchored ratings describing insufficient, acceptable and strong evidence. Score after each response before discussing candidates with the panel. Notes should capture job-relevant facts, not accent, confidence or personal similarity.

Adapt for early-career candidates

Graduates may use internships, projects, volunteering or college responsibilities. Keep the behaviour relevant but do not demand a corporate example they could not reasonably have. Ask what constraint they faced, what action they chose and how they evaluated the outcome.

Common failure modes

• Questions are copied from the internet and have no link to the role.
• The panel accepts hypothetical answers to a past-behaviour question.
• Interviewers reward an identical personality rather than effective behaviour.
• One impressive example influences every other score.
• Candidates receive no time to think or clarify the question.

Run a disciplined panel discussion

Each interviewer should share evidence and a rating before seeing the group’s preferred answer. Discuss material differences against the anchors. A hiring decision should combine behavioural evidence with other relevant assessment—such as technical work, a practical exercise or verified experience—rather than treating one interview as complete proof.