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Competency
Interviewing Tips
1. Zero in on what
seems significant.
- After getting a brief
overview of the event, follow up on specific pieces of it.
Examples:
- Tell me more about how you got involved.
- You mentioned a meeting
with the consultant; tell me more about that.
- Take me into that discussion.
What was your role?
- If it is not clear to
you what you should follow up on, ask the candidate to tell you what
part was significant. For example:
"Is there some
part of that project that stands out for you as significant–a
milestone or decision point that you were involved in?"
2. Keep the candidate
focused on actual past events.
- Keep questions brief,
specific, and in the past tense.
Examples:
- What did you do then?
- What were you thinking
when she said that?
- What did you say?
- How did you feel when
that happened?
- What led up to that
decision?
- What happened next?
- Ask for dialogue. If
the person can’t remember, say "Give me a sense of the conversation."
- If you are getting generalities,
philosophizing or hypothetical actions (e.g. "Well, the way we used
to approach it was to…."), bring the candidate back to the specifics
(e.g. "What did you do in this case?").
3. Keep the candidate
focused on his/her role in those past events.
- If the candidate is talking
about what "we" did, ask, "What was your role in that?"
- If you are still not
getting clear information about what the candidate did, stop him or
her and say, "I'd like you to stay with what you yourself actually
did."
4. Probe for thoughts
and feelings behind actions.
Examples:
- How did you reach that
conclusion?
- How did you know to do
that?
- What was your reaction
to that?
- What were you thinking
at the time?
- What were you thinking
before going into that meeting?
- What did you find satisfying/frustrating
about that?
Questions about feelings
or reactions can provide a lot of information about what a candidate
values or is motivated by.
5. Keep your responses
to a minimum.
- In order to make the
best use of time, say no more than necessary to keep the candidate
on track.
- It's fine to be reassuring
if the candidate seems uncomfortable, but try to avoid verbalizing
your own reactions (e.g. agreeing or disagreeing, expressing surprise
or approval, telling related stories, etc.). You don't want the candidate
to know your feelings or reactions to what they are saying. Instead,
focus on learning more about the candidate's behavior in the event.
- Refrain from asking "leading
questions" - questions that point a candidate toward a particular
answer, or express a bias or judgment. Some examples:
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Leading
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Better
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Tell me what kind
of preparation you did for the meeting.
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Tell me about events
leading up to the meeting.
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Didn't you check
with anyone else before making a decision?
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Could you say more
about how you ended up making that decision?
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What did you say
to them when they criticized your proposal?
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What happened next?
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6. Keep track of time.
- Keep an eye on your budgeted
time. If you are not getting any useful information, you can stop
probing about a given event and either ask for a new story to address
the question, or move to another starting question.
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